Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Yeah, not going to happen.”

  There was a lot we needed to talk about. What I’d found at Bethany’s house last night and if it meant anything. All the shit with Blake and how she kept ending up hurt. We could scope out Vaughn’s house early, but there was something so normal about her wanting to film a video for her blog. And she had very few normal moments lately.

  And giving her this moment seemed more important than anything else.

  “Why not?” I raised my hand, and the book on the top of the pile flew to my hand. I glanced at it. There was a guy on the cover with curly blond hair and ice-blue eyes. I got an idea. “Hey, I have an idea. I could pretend to be him.”

  “What?” She frowned as I flipped the book over, showing her the cover. “Wait. You don’t mean—”

  Glancing back at the image, I focused and then let my human form slip. It was harder to mirror the image since all I had was a photo, but I’d spent hours doing it when I was a kid, teaching Dawson. A few seconds later, a lock of blond hair fell across my eyes. I smiled slightly. “Hello there…”

  “Oh my God.” Kat lifted her hand and poked my golden cheek. She laughed. “You can’t do that. People would freak.”

  “But it would definitely get a lot of attention.” I winked. “It would be fun.”

  “But this cover model”—she took the book from me and waved it around—“is a real person somewhere. He’d probably be curious how he ended up in my In My Mailbox video.”

  I pouted. “You do have a point.” Letting go of the mirror image, I returned to my normal form. “But don’t let that stop you. Go ahead and film. I’ll be like your assistant.”

  She stared at me. “I don’t know about this.”

  “I’ll be completely quiet. I’ll just hold books for you.”

  “I don’t think you have the ability to be completely quiet. Ever.”

  “I promise.” My grin spread.

  Several moments passed, and then she nodded. Facing the screen of the laptop, she adjusted the placement so I was included. She hit record and took a deep breath. “Hi, this is Katy from Katy’s Krazy Book Obsession. Sorry for such a long absence. School and”—she glanced at me—“stuff have gotten in the way, but anyway, I have a guest. This is—”

  “Daemon Black,” I said. “I’m the guy she lies awake at night and fantasizes about.”

  Her cheeks flushed as she elbowed me. “And that is so not the truth. He’s my neighbor—”

  “And the guy she’s completely obsessed with.”

  “He’s very egotistical and likes to hear his voice, but he’s promised to stay quiet. Right?”

  I nodded as I smiled at the camera. “I think reading is sexy.”

  Kat’s brows inched up her forehead. “Do you now?”

  “Oh, yes, and you know what else I think is sexy?” I leaned forward so my entire face filled the picture. I lifted my chin in her direction. “Bloggers like this. Hot.”

  She smacked my arm and whispered, “Get back.”

  I sat back and I was totally quiet for a very, very long time. Like a good assistant, I handed her the books, but sometimes I had to say something. Like the guy on one of the other covers looked constipated. And seriously, did she have enough angel books? But one book did look interesting. I held it up, ignoring her muffled, disgruntled sigh, and said, “This reaper dude sounds like my kind of guy. He gets to kill people for a living.”

  Kat snatched it out of my hand, grinning. She spoke about the book for a few moments and then, “And that’s it for today. Thanks for watching!”

  I leaned in. “Don’t forget. There are cooler things out there than fallen angels and dead guys. Just saying.” I winked.

  Smiling like I hadn’t seen her do in a while, she pushed me aside and clicked off the record button. “You like seeing yourself being recorded.”

  More like I liked seeing her smiling. I shrugged. “That was fun. When do you do another?”

  “Next week if I get more books.”

  “More books.” My eyes widened. “You have, like, ten books you just said you haven’t read.”

  “Doesn’t mean I won’t get more books.” Her lips curved up again as I gaped at her. “I haven’t been able to read a lot lately, but I will, and then I won’t be out of anything new to read.”

  “You haven’t had time because of him and that’s ridiculous.” I looked away, jaw working. “Reading is something you love. So is blogging, and you’ve completely dumped those things.”

  “I have not!”

  “You’re such a little liar,” I shot back as I leaned against the couch once more. “I’ve checked out your blog. You’ve done five posts in the last month.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You’ve been stalking my blog, too?”

  “Like I said before, I’m not stalking. I’m just keeping an eye on you.”

  “And like I said before, your reasoning is faulty. You know what I’ve been doing. It pretty much soaks up my time—”

  “What the hell?” I exploded. Kat had bent forward to close the laptop, causing the back of her thermal to ride up, exposing several inches of skin—purple and blue skin. Bruised and angry-looking. Horrified, I grabbed hold of the thermal and tugged it up, revealing a huge bruise.

  “Hey.” She twisted around, knocking my hands away. “What are you doing? Hands off, mofo.”

  I looked up, meeting her wide stare. Rage bubbled like lava tinted with desperation. My hands curled into fists. “Tell me why your back looks like you fell out of a two-story window.”

  Kat’s face paled as she stood. Without saying anything, she walked out of the living room. I was right behind her, barely able to hold on to my human form as we walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a Coke out of the fridge. “I…I fell in training with Blake. It’s not a big deal, though.” Facing me, she toyed with the top of the can. “I told you I slept wrong because I figured you’d make fun of me.”

  I searched her face for a hint that said she was lying. She looked uncomfortable, embarrassed even, but she appeared genuine. My hands loosened. “Yeah, I would’ve made fun of you…a little bit, but Jesus, Kat, you sure you didn’t break something?”

  “I’m fine,” she assured me.

  Following her around the table, I took a few seconds to make sure my voice was level. “You’ve been hurting yourself a lot lately.”

  “Not really.”

  “You’re not clumsy, Kitten. So how does this keep happening?” I slowly approached Kat, not wanting her to dart away from me.

  “I tripped in the woods the night I first found out about you,” she reminded me.

  “Nice try.” I shook my head. “You were running full-out in the middle of pitch-black woods. Even I’d…” I winked. “Well, maybe not me, but normal people would trip then. I’m just too awesome.”

  “Well…” Her nose wrinkled.

  My gaze briefly dropped. “It looks like it hurts.”

  “It does a little.”

  “Then let me fix it.” I reached for her.

  “Wait.” She backed up. “Should you be doing that?”

  “Healing you can’t hurt. Not at this point.” I tried again, but she knocked my hand away. Frustration spiked. “I’m just trying to help!”

  She backed up against the wall. “I don’t need you to help me.”

  The muscle in my jaw started working. Kat always had to be so damn stubborn, even when she was obviously in pain, and I hated seeing her like this. I loathed the idea of her hurt. I couldn’t deal with it, so the moment she started to relax, I moved wicked fast. Within two heartbeats, I had my arms around her hips, careful to not touch her back, and I lifted her up, carrying her to the couch. I sat down, holding her in my lap.

  Kat gawked at me as her hair settled around her face. “That’s not fair!”

  “I wouldn’t have had to do it if you would just stop being so freaking stubborn and let me help you.” I slipped my hand under the back of her thermal, flattening my palm against h
er lower back. She jerked slightly. “I can make you feel better,” I told her. “It’s ridiculous that you won’t let me.”

  “We have stuff to do, people to stalk, Daemon. Just let me up.” She wiggled, but I held her still.

  “No.” I focused and felt heat flare from my palm. My lips tipped up when I heard her soft inhale. Her eyes met mine and then flickered away. Her mouth opened, and I knew she was preparing for another argument. “I can’t be around you when I know you’re in pain, okay?”

  Her eyes widened slightly. Uncomfortable, I focused on the spot above the TV. A moment passed and she asked, “Does it really bother you, me hurting?”

  “I don’t feel it, if that’s what you’re asking.” I paused, exhaling softly as I met her questioning gaze again. “Just knowing you’re hurt is enough for it to bother me.”

  She lowered her eyes and stopped squirming, the fight leaving her. Healing her didn’t take as much concentration as it had that night we’d fought Baruck. It was natural, requiring almost no thought, and that was a good thing, because Kat placed her head on my shoulder, and that was incredibly distracting.

  It felt like forever since I’d held her. Thanksgiving night was the last time. Too long ago. She snuggled in, resting one hand against my lower stomach. I closed my eyes, soaking up the feel of her. At some point I knew she was healed, but I didn’t want to bother her. She was completely relaxed in my loose embrace, where she belonged.

  Yeah, exactly where she belonged.

  I lowered my chin and tilted my head to the side. Her thick lashes fanned the top of her cheeks. With her slow heart rate, I knew she was close to sleep. It wasn’t late at all, but those shadows under her eyes were still there. She was exhausted. Folding my other arm under her knees, I stood.

  Kat stirred. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to bed.”

  “I can walk.”

  “I can get you there faster.” And I did. Leaving the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, I raced her upstairs and into her bedroom. “See?”

  She looked a little windblown as I neared her bed. Without touching them, I lifted the covers back and then placed her down. I tugged the comforter up to her hips, lingering as I stared down at her. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yeah,” she whispered, her gaze fixed on mine.

  The center of my chest throbbed in an unfamiliar way. There was so much between us that sometimes it felt like we would never be on the same page, but there were moments—moments like this—that there were no obstacles. It was just her and me, and the world outside didn’t exist.

  My throat worked. “Can I…? Can I just hold you? That’s all…that’s all I want.”

  Her lips parted, but there were no words. She nodded.

  Relief cracked me straight down the center as if some internal fault line had been ruptured. My heart started pounding, and I knew she could feel it as I kicked off my shoes and then walked around to the other side. I slid into bed beside her and extended an arm. Kat rolled onto her side without hesitation, curling against the side of my body. She rested her cheek on my chest.

  “I kind of like being your body pillow.” My hand trembled slightly as I placed it on her hip. “Even if you drool on me.”

  “I do not drool.” Her hand came to rest above my heart. “What about tailing Vaughn?”

  “That can wait until tomorrow.” I tilted my chin to the side, brushing my lips against her forehead. My arm around her tightened as I held her close. “Get some rest, Kitten. I’ll be gone before morning.”

  That was the plan. I would hold her until she fell asleep, and then I would leave. After all, it wasn’t even eight o’clock, and I could still scope out Vaughn without Kat. I just wanted a few…quiet moments with her, but Kat drifted off fast, and the seconds in between opening and closing my eyes rapidly increased. Being with her like this had a lulling, comforting effect, and before I knew it, I fell into the deepest sleep.

  I was having the most wonderful dream. Ever. Kat was in bed with me, her body warm and soft. My mind was full of vague, almost distant images and sounds. I felt her hand slip free from mine, and she shifted beside me. I rolled into her, my arm around her waist keeping her close as I buried my face in the side of her neck. Inhaling deeply, I caught the scent of peaches. I was half awake, present enough to know this wasn’t a dream. She was lying in bed next to me. Perfect. I pressed my lips to her neck.

  Kat pushed me. Hard.

  I blinked my eyes open. “Mmm, what’s your problem?”

  She looked at me, and then her gaze moved to the doorway. I followed and immediately woke right up. Her mom stood in the opening, a robe cinched tight at her narrow waist. Beside her was Dr. Michaels.

  Oh shit.

  I removed my arm from Kat’s waist. “Oh, wow, awkward.” Clearing my throat, I spoke louder.

  “Good morning, Ms. Swartz.”

  Kat’s mom smiled tightly while her look screamed are you serious, but I was really at a loss for what else to say. “Good morning, Daemon. I think it’s time for you to go home.”

  Yep. I was going to have to agree with that.

  Glancing down at a red-faced Kat, I was relieved to see that only a faint shadow lingered under her eyes. I grinned apologetically at her, and then I left the bed as fast as humanly possibly, which was really slow for me.

  I grabbed my shoes off the floor and turned sideways as I walked out the door. Her mom didn’t even spare one glance in my direction. Dr. Michaels stepped aside, and as I made my way past him, he clapped his hand on my shoulder in an age-old attaboy way.

  Weird.

  But when I stepped out in the frigid morning temperatures, all I could think about was the look on Kat’s face. I tipped my chin back and I laughed loudly, laughed harder than I had since…since Dawson.

  Chapter 23

  Over the next couple of days, I laid off dragging Kat into the whole stalking-Vaughn business. With Christmas, it didn’t seem right. Plus, I’d learned from Dee that Blake was spending all of Christmas break with his family. That meant that Kat should be able to actually get some rest, and that also meant that I needed to crawl out of her ass for a few days.

  Dee had managed to coax Kat out of her house over break and take her to the movies. Adam and surprisingly, Ash, had gone with them. That concerned me a little, considering that Ash and Kat usually escalated to DEFCON one whenever they were around each other, and I wanted to go with them. I’d even stood out on the porch and watched Adam, Dee, and Kat leave, but I remained behind. Kat needed the time with Dee. Needed the normalcy she’d been lacking…well, since she moved here.

  So I checked out Vaughn’s house, leaving the car behind even though my skin felt frozen by the night’s end. Nancy showed up soon after Vaughn arrived, and did so every night, but it wasn’t until Sunday night that my stalking finally proved fruitful. I’d followed him from his house to an industrial park just outside of Petersburg. He’d disappeared in there for several hours, and the place was well guarded from the outside by two officers.

  I knew they were hiding something or someone in there.

  When Vaughn finally left, the officers remained outside. It took everything in me not to bust right up in there now, but I was smart about it. I checked out the place over the next couple of days and by Christmas night I was confident that the guards were on a schedule. There was a gap in time, no more than thirty minutes, when they were gone from the outside premises, usually around twelve thirty in the morning, and the guards appeared active only once Vaughn arrived.

  Inside was a different story, one I didn’t know and wouldn’t know until I got in there.

  Deciding to make my move to get into the building the day after Christmas, I waited until it was close to eleven before I slipped out of the house. Dee was over at Adam’s, so I didn’t have to worry about her wondering what I was doing. I checked out Vaughn’s house first and saw that he was home. Another Expedition was in the driveway, most likely belonging to Nancy. Perf
ect. I was halfway to the industrial park before I stopped.

  I thought of Kat.

  Dammit.

  Turning back, I raced through the woods in the opposite direction, slowing only when I returned to my house. I stopped by my SUV and stared at Kat’s house. Taking her with me was risky, freaking dangerous as hell.

  But finding this warehouse wouldn’t have been possible without Kat telling me about seeing Bethany. Cutting her out of this seemed