He walked away before the woman could respond, and judging by the irritated look on her face, that wasn’t something she appreciated. Dante led Cassidy past the woman who turned to glare at Kyle’s back.
Usually, she would have given him shit about the woman, but the flash of self-hatred in his eyes stopped her. Cassidy knew his lifestyle was taking a toll on him, but she hadn’t realized how much until now.
Dante followed as she hurried to catch up with her brother. “Kyle—”
“Not now, Cassidy,” he said.
“Kyle.”
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a stop. Turmoil churned in his eyes when he turned to face her. Her hand tightened on his wrist.
“You’regoingto get through this,” she said.
A vein throbbed in his temple as his jaw locked. “I don’t even know her fucking name.”
She didn’t know how to respond, and before she could think of something, he squeezed her hand and removed it from his wrist. Tears burned her eyes as she watched him walk through the crowd.
“What is going on?” Dante asked her.
Cassidy blinked away her tears and started walking again before they lost Kyle amid the sea of people and vamps. “I’ll explain later.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Yes,” Cassidy said with a conviction she didn’t feel.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The bar cameinto view as they caught up with Kyle. At the far end of it, Cassidy spotted the man she recognized from the boy in Lindsay’s pictures. Preston rested his elbow on the bar as he leaned against it. His resemblance to Julie was evident in the shape of his face, brown hair, and blue eyes.
Dante led the way to where Preston stood surrounded by three girls. The girls hung on his every word as they laughed loudly. Cassidy and Kyle hung back a little when he stepped closer to the quartet.
“Preston Parks?” he asked.
Preston’s eyes flicked toward him before returning to the girls. When he touched the back of one girl’s hand, she giggled. These three humans were quite enamored with the vamp.
“Who wants to know?” Preston asked without looking at Dante again.
“My name is Dan Vares.”
Preston brushed some of the blonde’s hair over her shoulder before touching her cheek. “And?”
Dante reminded himself to keep control of his temper in this place. The last thing he needed was a battle with Zan and Bull. However, he understood why Zan called this pretentious prick a pretty boy, and he itched to make him a whole lot less pretty.
“I’m looking for Julie Abbott,” Dante said.
Preston’s smug attitude vanished, and his head swiveled toward Dante. He jerked his hand from the blonde, stood away from the bar, and nudged the women aside as he stepped toward Dante. The women whined in response, but he didn’t acknowledge them.
“Have you talked to her?” he demanded.
Dante kept his confusion hidden as Preston looked at him like he was a puppy and Dante had the treat. “No. Have you?”
“No.”
“Do you know where she is?” Dante asked.
Preston’s shoulders hunched forward, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen her in two weeks,” he muttered.
He looked so upset by this that Dante didn’t know if he should comfort him or hand him an Oscar for putting on such an outstanding performance.Move aside, Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson.
