“What do you want, Ryker?” I eye him warily. I’ve known Ryker my whole life, and he doesn’t just do something by chance. The fact he just showed up at my door makes me leery of his reasoning for being here.
“Now, Levi, what makes you think I want something? Can’t I just come and check up on my big brother?” he asks, patting me on the shoulder and giving me a coy smile. Doesn’t he remember that hasn’t worked on me since we were seven?
“If those words came from Knox, I would believe it. You, on the other hand, always have a motive,” I reply, standing up and straightening the nonexistent tie around my neck. Damn. I forgot I took it off when I got home.
“She really rattled you, huh?” He smirks and leans against my desk chair next to me. I don’t even try to reply. Of course, he knows that she did. She’s all I’ve been obsessed with lately. I haven’t even called Dad to check up on him or Lilith and her demon possession, so that should be saying something there.
Hanging my head in defeat, I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out before asking, “What did you need, Ry?” Silence falls in my room and it takes me a moment to realize why.
“Holy Shit! I haven’t heard that nickname from you since we were like five,” Ryker says in awe. “Damn. Um—we’re having a family meeting. Your dad’s been calling you but apparently couldn’t get through, so he called Knox. JP and Moni should be over here soon. I was just coming to get you.”
The mention of my phone has me searching under the scattered books, only to find it dead on my nightstand and under my notes about women and how I can possibly fix my problem.
“You know, if you need help with the ladies I’m more than happy to assist you in that department,” Ryker offers, and I try my best not to snap at him.
“I appreciate your proposal, Ryker, but not all of us have a built-in manual that can make women easily forget our hang ups like you do,” I reply, walking out of my bedroom and down the hall.
Ryker runs past and slaps me hard on the back, making me lose my pace a bit as he laughs. “Yep, keep telling yourself that’s all it is, brother.”
By the time I get to the living room, I’m the second to last to show up. Knox is in the kitchen grabbing a drink. Ryker is on the sofa while Moni is sitting on the edge of the coffee table and JP is sitting on the floor tickling her feet. It looks like we’re still waiting on Zeke. Taking my seat in Exile, I pull my jacket in place and realize, like my tie, I’m not wearing one.
Damn, I’m a mess.
“Where’s Ezekiel?” I can’t help but fidget without my suit of armor on. Without my jacket and tie, I feel naked to the eye, and of course, JP gives me a nod, picking up not only my motions but my thoughts.
“Good question,” Knox grunts, passing out drinks before sitting down next to Ryker.
“You okay over there, buddy? You seem out of sorts,” JP pushes, giving me a knowing smirk while Ryker chuckles.
Do I really need to have brothers in my life?
“So did my father say what he wanted?” I nonchalantly ask the group, ignoring their teasing and trying to keep my anxiety down.
“Besides wondering why your phone was dead? Yes. He was checking in on Zeke.” Knox takes a swig of his beer but doesn’t look up. Of course, I don’t need to see him to know he’s feeling guilty. Guilty for what?
The only reason I can think why Dad would call up to check in on one of us is if we weren’t showing up to class or we were having a hard time. Shit. When is the last time any of us have seen Zeke? It’s normal for him to take off for a few days, but even if it is during the week, he always shows up for school.
“When did we see him last?”
“I saw him Saturday before I had to go for the cooking contest. I was trying to get him to eat, but he didn’t want his smoothie and used his speed to lose me,” JP confesses. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so caught up with Rez that I haven’t checked up on him since.”
Moni pulls out her cell and tries to call him on speaker phone, but it goes directly to voicemail. “Well, out of all of us, who knows him best and knows where he might be? We can go out looking for him,” she eagerly suggests.
“Not that easy,” Knox growls out.
“Why’s that?”
“Why not?”
“Yes it is.”
“Of course it is.”
“Not with a newly risen Deathweaver running loose.”
“WHAT?” The room erupts into questions and I’m bombarded with emotions everywhere.
“Everyone calm down,” I urge, sending out calming waves. Thankfully, it seems to work as everyone takes a deep breath before looking back at Knox for an explanation.
