Chapter 11
“You were stalked in the country club parking lot?” Caden stopped so abruptly I slammed into his back.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, rubbing the bridge of my nose while trying to keep my balance on the curb.
We were standing on the sidewalk just outside the beautiful tree-lined property of the Thornbridge Historical Society. Caden had returned this morning after taking Professor Roberts’ cell phone to a friend. Hopefully, they’d be able to unlock it, and we’d have access to more of her private information.
In the meantime, we were checking out the lead at the historical society, and I had just finished catching Caden up to speed on my past few days. He hadn’t returned the favor, refusing to divulge where he’d been and with whom.
Which made his fierce reaction to my story completely unfair.
“What’s wrong with me? I gave you explicit instructions to wait until I got back to continue investigating, and you ignored them.”
“I did not ignore them. I had to return my uniform and pick up my last paycheck.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, from Angela, who you said was on your suspect list, which you also made in my absence.”
“True, I had some time to kill, but she’s not on the list anymore! She has an alibi. Besides, nothing happened beyond someone giving me a little scare. It was probably the groundskeeper.”
“The groundskeeper made the light bulbs explode?”
“Well, no . . . but, hey! I followed one of your instructions. I brought my demon blade, didn’t I?” Jiggling my wrist, I showed him the bracelet that now accompanied me everywhere I went.
Some of the fight left him, and he sighed. “I do like what you came up with. It’s clever.”
“I know, right? It’s super cute too. Do you think that hacker friend of yours could make me up a website? Somewhere on the paranormal web with a shopping cart built in.”
His features narrowed in exasperation. “Stop trying to change the subject. No, she can’t.”
I bristled.She, huh? Figures he spent the night with another girl. Bet she didn’t make him sleep on the floor.At least she was tech-savvy. I could be mildly jealous and still admire a smart woman.
“Fine! I’ll figure it out myself.” Balling my hands on my hips, I angled my head back and scowled. “I don’t know why you’re so secretive all the time when I’m expected to tell you my every move. And also, quit hoarding all the mystical talent!” I brushed past him, clipping his shoulder, and trudged toward the stone building.
“Hey—wait.” He reached for my forearm and smoothly tugged me back to his side. His touch lingered, warming a spot through the sleeve of my sweater. I stared up into his pale gaze, noting his frustration had melted into something dangerous to my emotions, almost bordering on empathy.
“What is it?” I straightened my spine, hardening myself against that look.
“I don’t boss you around because I’m some egomaniac who’s right all the time.” The corner of his mouth curved into a mischievous grin. “I mean, I am right all the time, but—”
“You are unbelievable!” I shrugged, trying to shake off his hand, but he tugged me closer. My stomach did a little flip as our bodies collided. It flipped again when his humor faded and our gazes locked.
“Elle, listen. You’re new at this, and the last thing I want is to see you get hurt. I’ve seen a lot. Hell, I’ve done too many things I regret, and my reputation has all the hits to show for it. But I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past few days, and this team we’re on . . . Oscar, Loki . . . you . . .” His voice turned to gravel as his hand slid up to cup the back of my neck. “You’re my second chance, and I will do whatever it takes not to mess that up.”
I swallowed around the tightness in my throat, feeling the constriction all the way down to my chest. How did he always know exactly what to say to knock me off-balance? His words didn’t ease my questions, but they made me wonder if I was being too hard on him.
We all kept secrets. As much as I hated knowing my best friend was hiding things from me, I was concealing a huge part of my life from her. How could I expect Caden to lay his life bare when I hadn’t earned that part of him?
My gazed softened. “One of these days, you’ll trust me enough to tell me what you’ve done in the past.”
“No, Graves, I don’t think I want you to know. You already resent me enough.”
“Funny—I could say the same about you. I guess we really did start on the wrong foot.” Trying to break the tension, I wriggled my fingers jazz hands-style. His grin returned, forcing some of the haunted look from his eyes. I poked him in the chest. “But just so we agree, you started it.”
“Yeah, I know.” He tugged on the end of my ponytail. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”
My nose twitched into a snarl, and I stepped back. “I amnotcute when I’m angry.”
I blinked, realizing he’d goaded me into a reaction. My cheeks flushed. His soft laughter washed over me. Using both hands on my shoulders, he spun me around and nudged me toward the entrance of the historical society.
