Page 26

A fool set on a collision course, and there was no chance I could jump off the trajectory.

I followed Elena out the front door of her apartment and into the bright morning light. Used my phone to set the alarm, then checked to make sure the door was secure before I edged in front of her.

Getting a mouthful of her delectable scent as I passed.

Apples and cinnamon.

My favorite fucking fruit.

I played it easy and like I didn’t have a care in the world as I eased down the exterior steps, hands stuffed into my pockets as I ambled down, even though my attention was skating from left to right.

Clocking every movement and every stilled shadow.

Ear tuned to the sounds of the morning that rode on the breeze.

A woman loading her two kids into a car across the forest-hedged lot, a few automobiles passing along the two-lane road that wound down into this side of town that ran along the river, the soft rush of that water babbling from behind Elena’s building, and the birds flitting through the abundant trees.

Nothing seemed out of sorts, but that didn’t mean that I was any less alert.

I could feel Elena’s energy radiating from behind. A thrill that amped her into the adorable upheaval she’d been right before we headed out.

The girl running around making sure she had everything she needed for the day.

Unable to help myself, I peeked back at her from over my shoulder.

Her face split into the biggest smile.

A couple strands of black hair that had gotten free of her braid whipped around her pinked cheeks, her lips the same blush color, though they were slicked with something shimmering and glossy.

It was a well-known fact people got distracted by shiny, sparkly things.

And I was nothing but a poor, pathetic fish getting caught on a hook.

“What?” she mumbled, all cute and shy as she peeked over at me.

Elena Mercer was a pendulum. One moment bold and brash, and the next swinging into timidness.

I knew it was a result of her upbringing. The way Silas had hidden her behind a corral of armor. Shielding and protecting her from the things he was terrified could cause her harm.

So stringent she might as well have been shoved into a padded, padlocked box.

All good intentions, but it’d still stunted her experiences in a lot of ways. Most fucked up part was that it’d also exposed her to things no human should be exposed to.

Put her in atrocious situations that even we hadn’t been able to keep her from.

Which was why all of us were having a hell of a time letting some of that go.

“Just making sure you’re good.”

A sarcastic sound peeped out of her. “I’m more liable to trip and fall onto my face than for the boogeyman to pop out of the trees.”

I arched a rebutting brow.

She knew fucking better than that.

She huffed, though she let her gaze wander, too.

“Okay, fine, I get it. But can we act normal for one day of our lives?” she grumbled as we hit the bottom landing of the stairs.