Adam laughed as he elbowed his brother. “See, guys, focus actually is as important as strength.”
I lifted my hand and flipped them off. Both burst into laughter, and I rolled my eyes as I bent, picking up another rock. This one was about the size of my hand. I turned to them. “I’m not going to miss this time, and I won’t be aiming for the trees.”
My threat made them laugh all the harder. I scowled as I turned away. At least the two asshats from the colony weren’t laughing. They looked scared. A heartbeat passed and then I spun, throwing the rock.
Adam darted to the left, narrowly avoided taking a direct hit. “What the hell?” he shouted, eyes narrowed. “You could’ve messed up this gorgeous face.”
Tipping my head back, it was now my turn to laugh. “I think you need to look in the mirror if you think that’s gorgeous.”
“Ha,” Andrew said, grinning.
“We’re identical.” Adam shook his head at his twin. “He’s insulting both of us, you idiot.”
Grinning, I wiped my hands on my jeans, but the humor quickly faded as realization set in, slamming into me with the force of a speeding bullet. The mere mention of Kat’s name had distracted me, pulled away my focus. This time it was just a stupid bet, but what if it had been something more serious, like if an Arum had been around?
People could die.
Closing my eyes, I swore under my breath. This thing with Kat…it was getting ridiculous, and it was unacceptable.
Completely unacceptable.
Chapter 11
I saw Kat on and off over the next couple of days, usually when I was heading out to my car, and each time, the trace was getting fainter and fainter—thank God.
Whenever she saw me, she seemed to want to speak to me. She would stop or head in my direction, but we didn’t talk. Mainly because I wasn’t having that. I needed to keep an eye on her to make sure another Arum didn’t snatch her up or endanger her, but there needed to be distance between us. That day at training had proven how just the mention of her name could put everyone at risk. She made me weak.
So, obviously , that was the only reason I’d gone to Smoke Hole Diner on Sunday afternoon. The trace on Kat had been pale, like a flickering candle creating a whitish glow, so there had been no stopping Dee. From what I’d gathered, she’d dragged Kat into town, loaded her up with school supplies, and then introduced her to Smoke Hole Diner.
I followed them. I wasn’t taking any more chances.
Dee had appeared surprised by my presence and Kat had been… Well, she had been annoyed that I had provoked her, and then she had tried to thank me. That was the last thing she needed to do, since the cast on her arm and the bruises on her face would’ve never happened if I hadn’t taken her for a walk that day.
My time at the diner had been short-lived. I’d also been followed. By Ash, who for some reason had been under the impression that we were supposed to meet there. Guess I missed that memo. None of that had turned out well. The moment Ash realized Kat was that Katy, I ended up having to drag her fired-up butt out of the diner and had spent the better part of Sunday talking Ash off the ledge.
Ash was still pissed on Monday, according to Andrew.
Needless to say, I wasn’t in the greatest mood when I left my house early Tuesday evening and went for a run in the nearby woods. I stayed out there in the muggy August weather until sweat slicked my skin and I’d burned off as much energy as possible.
On the way back, I decided I could go for a gallon of ice cream. I doubted there was any in the house. The moment ice cream was brought in, Dee consumed it like she was starving.
Jogging up the driveway, I slowed as the houses came into view. My gaze went straight to Kat’s house. The porch wasn’t empty. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, tapping the screen to turn off the music blaring through the earbuds.
Kat was sitting on the swing, her head bowed and her features pinched. In her hands was a thick hardcover book. A light breeze tossed into her face a strand of her hair that wasn’t clipped back. She absently knocked it out of her way. The sun hadn’t set yet, but the light was waning and it was still as humid as a bath in hell. Reading couldn’t be easy in those conditions, but she was oblivious to the world as I wrapped the headphones cord around my phone.
She had no idea I was even there. I could easily slip into my house unnoticed. She was safe out here. The trace was barely visible now, having faded even more in the hours since I’d last seen her. There was no reason for me to stop or hang around outside. Distance. There needed to be an ocean’s worth of distance between us.
So of course I walked my ass right to her house.
Kat glanced up when I reached the steps to the porch, her gaze widening when she spotted me.
“Hey,” I said, sliding my phone in my pocket.
She didn’t immediately respond. Oh no, she was too busy checking me out, which pleased me to hell. Her gaze dropped, wandering over my bare chest and stomach. Her throat worked as she looked away, cheeks turning pink, and she tilted her head to the side and gave a little shake. “Hey.”
Leaning against the railing, I folded my arms. “You reading?”
Her hands tightened around the edges of the book. “You running?”
“Was,” I corrected.
“Funny,” she said, pulling the book to her chest. The cast on her arm stood out starkly. “I was reading.”
“Seems like you’re always reading.”
Her nose wrinkled. Cute. “How would you know?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I’m surprised Dee isn’t with you.”