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They really did. She had a couple of inches on me, but she managed to make my pink capri sweatpants and black racerback tank look like they were tailored for her.
She lifted an eyebrow, not even bothering to look down. “You have no idea how unnatural it feels to be wearing clothes again.”
I could only imagine. There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask, but my bladder felt like it was dangerously close to exploding.
An hour later—at least that was how long it felt—I shuffled my way back out of the bathroom and headed straight for the living room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Lily asked, still propped in my doorway.
“To find my phone and my laptop.”
“Leo!” she called past me.
I heard movement in the living room before my own personal Adonis appeared at the end of the short hall. I knew the guy was big, but with him looming like that in the dimly space of my crappy apartment hallway, he looked downright huge.
“Calling in the muscle to force me back to bed?” I asked with a glance over my shoulder.
Lily ignored my taunting. “Can you help her to the couch?”
He looked at me, then at Lily with a knowing smirk. “Yeah, I’ve got her.”
With that, Lily disappeared into my bedroom and shut the door. That should have been strange, having some woman I barely knew closing herself in my room, but I did know her. Sort of. I knew the hellhound/dog version of her.
Leo offered me his arm, and I took it gratefully. Once I was settled into the couch with my laptop propped on my crossed knees, I leveled Leo with a look.
“Before I open my computer and harass every person my brother has ever met via social media and email, I have a few questions.”
He sat at the opposite end, staring at the blank space where my television had once lived. We’d spent a good chunk of the evening cleaning up the mess from fighting with Matty—the shadow, but I had a feeling he and Lily had kept working after I’d passed out in bed.
“I’ll answer what I can,” he said.”
“Why did you follow us here? Into our world?”
His tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip before turning to meet my eye. “You mentioned Lily. I already knew you were a Darling, and it seemed like too big of a coincidence to not take the chance.”
“She’s your cousin? As in, actual blood relative cousin?”
“Yeah, though she’s more like a sister to me. Best friend. Call it whatever you want. We grew up together, did everything together.” His gaze slid from me to the hallway. “When we got older and had to take our places in the clan, we made it a point to meet up and spend time together at least once a week.”
“Did you know why she came here?”
He shook his head. “I have my suspicions, given the timing of her disappearance, but we haven’t discussed it yet.”
I twisted a little, instantly regretting the move. He must have heard when I sucked in a sharp breath at the jolt of pain that shot through me because he turned.
The hint of a smile curved his lips on one side. “Easy, Never. It takes a while to heal from a stab wound.”
“No shit?” The retort was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
He laughed. A real, genuine laugh, that turned his golden god appearance into something much more casual and inviting. The guy was hot. There was no pretending like that wasn’t a panty-combusting fact. And I was attracted to him, but what I felt for him was dim compared to what I’d felt for Hook.
Except pining over my broody pirate was pointless. He was trapped in his realm, and I was here. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to try using that amulet to go back to his world, but I couldn’t. Not with Petra’s shadow camping out in my little brother.
Even after this whole nightmare was over, I couldn’t picture myself leaving Matty alone in the world. And what if Hook didn’t want me to go back? It wasn’t like he’d asked me to stay. Hadn’t even hinted at it.
I shook my head and turned my attention to the thing that actually mattered, finding Matty. Or at least a lead on where he might be. I flipped my laptop open, turned it on, and navigated to one of Charleston’s local news sites.
Leo’s eyes went wide when the screen flickered to life, but he didn’t say anything.
