by Jamie Loeak
her friend stay over here one night. She was a sweet girl and knew a lot about marine biology.”
“Well that sounds nice, Blaire,” Erik said with a smile. “I’m glad that you and Aaron approve of Kate’s friends.”
“Well, that’s the only friend we’ve met, although I think the other one is a boy. What’s his name, honey?” Blaire asked Kate.
Kate gave her mother a sideways glance before speaking. “His name is Rico,” she said.
“Yes, Rico. He seems like a nice kid.”
“I thought that you hadn’t met Rico yet,” Erik said. His light eyes shone with curiosity and concern. He glanced back and forth between Kate’s parents, waiting for their response.
“Well, Erik, Blaire and I trust our daughter. We know that Kate wouldn’t choose friends that were bad influences,” Aaron interrupted, his voice firm. He stared at Erik, and Kate felt a great deal of pride for her father in that moment. At least Kate wasn’t the only one that thought Erik was funny.
Erik stared back at Aaron, and Kate thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes. She felt a pang of fear flash through her heart and knew that it was for a reason. Kate’s intuition had been correct about Mr. Evans, and she thought that she had grounds for her feelings now. Why was Erik so concerned with Kate? He seemed to ask questions that concerned only her life; he was either a predator or worse, a demon.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Kate nearly jumped in surprise, grabbing her heart as she turned around. Swallowing, Kate stood up quickly, eager to get out of the dining room. She rushed toward the door and opened it, finding Rico on the other side. He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, dark sunglasses covering his eyes. He wore black jeans, a faded black t-shirt and a pair of Converse sneakers.
Kate pushed her way out, nearly shutting the door.
“There’s a guy in the house,” she whispered. “I need you to tell me if he’s a demon. He seems overly concerned with me and I don’t like it at all.”
Rico’s casual stance grew rigid. He nodded his head and pushed past her into the house without a word. Kate followed him, running in front of him so that she could introduce him before he burst into the room. This was, in fact, the boy that she wanted to one day bring home as her boyfriend; even if that dream was out of reach she didn’t want to tarnish it by letting Rico ruin his first impression.
“Speak of the devil,” she nearly shouted to the room. “Mom, Dad, Erik, this is Rico.” She gestured to Rico as he walked into the kitchen.
“Oh!” her mother exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and rushing into the kitchen toward them. She grabbed a plate out of the cabinet.
“Would you like to stay for breakfast?” she asked eagerly.
“Thank you, ma’am. I would love that,” Rico said, taking the plate from Blaire. He walked over to the table and sat next to Erik, across from Kate’s father. Kate watched as he shook her father’s hand, the mark of a real gentleman.
“He’s hot!” Kate’s mother exclaimed quietly.
“Hush, mom.” Kate threw her mom a sideways glance, but couldn’t help but smile. “Gosh, he’ll hear you,” she said, fake reprimanding her mother. She looked over at Rico, noting his tousled hair. He did look exceptionally handsome today, his cobalt eyes bright against the monochromatic, black background of his clothes and hair. She watched as he and Erik battled it out in a staring contest; Rico wasn’t happy with Erik, but Kate decided to wait for confirmation before making assumptions. She went over to the table, taking her initial seat. Part of her wanted Rico to sit next to her, but she had no choice; she just had to sit between her parents beforehand. What had she been thinking earlier?
Kate glanced around. Now, the five of them sat around the table barely talking. Kate could almost feel the animosity in the room, a tangible force that slithered around like a vile snake. She could tell that the rest of breakfast would be miserable and very, very long. She hoped it wouldn’t be awkward as well.
“So, Erik, what is it that you do?” Rico inquired suddenly, breaking the silence. He looked into Erik’s eyes warningly.
“I work at a bank in downtown Tampa. It’s in one of the skyscrapers,” Erik replied.
Rico nodded and grabbed a slice of toast. He took a second to put grape jam on it. Then, he looked back up, glancing at Erik, who was staring Rico down. “Why did you buy a house out here then? It’s got to be a long drive for you in the mornings. What is it, thirty or forty-five minutes on a good day?”
Erik laughed, although it was cold and forced. “I’m too old for that downtown life. There are only young people in that area. I like this area much better. It’s quiet and secluded. And I don’t mind the drive. It takes about thirty minutes, if traffic is good.” The small comment ignited sparks between them, and Rico’s next words ended all real conversation.
“I see,” he said simply.
A very long hour later, Kate stood outside with Rico. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to the beach, half-dragging, half-supporting her with his grip. He didn’t stop walking until he was at Adriana’s house. Once he was there, he let go of Kate.
Rico twisted and faced the glass wall in the back of the mansion. “Adriana!” he shouted, his voice loud and serious.
Adriana dashed outside, curlers in her hair. She looked worried and deadly at the same time. Her black eyes were swirling with anger and curiosity. “What is it?” she asked as she approached them. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you heard of an Erik before?” Rico described Erik to Adriana. “I feel as though I’ve heard of him before. Why?”
“He works for Kern,” Adriana grumbled. “Why are you asking?” She reached up and pulled a curler from her hair, testing the bounciness.
Rico rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s having breakfast with Kate’s family right now.”
“What?” Adriana nearly shouted. She looked around then, and stepped closer. “Tell me everything.”
Rico stepped forward too, tightening the circle. Then, he told Adriana about Erik, and Kate mentioned her first encounter with him. In the middle of the stories, Adriana dragged them all up to her bathroom so that she could get ready for her date with Donovan.
“I’m going to talk to Donovan about this tonight,” Adriana said when she was finished with her hair and makeup. “I need to see what he knows about Erik. We need to know what he’s doing here. Kern usually does his dirty work on his own; it’s what makes him the most dangerous elder demon. If he’s sending men out to watch over Kate, or worse, watch us, then we need to find out what he wants from Kate as quickly as possible. I’m starting to worry that this won’t end well.”
Adriana turned around and looked at Kate, her dark eyes saddened. “I truly hope that it doesn’t, Kate. I truly care about you.”
Kate smiled and followed Adriana out into the hall. Then, she and Rico followed Adriana downstairs, Rico dragging behind the girls like a lost dog. He stopped at the bottom step and cleared his throat loudly. Kate and Adriana turned to face him.
Rico ran his fingers through his long hair. “We need to keep our eyes on Kate at all times, Adriana.”
Adriana nodded. “Well, you’re staying with her tonight, Rico. We can’t have sleepovers every night while you go out searching for clues. Take a break. Rekindle your friendship. Besides, I have a much-needed date with my husband. Okay?”
“And after tonight?” Rico asked.
“After tonight we’ll devise a plan to protect Kate around the clock. I promise,” Adriana said as she leaned forward and kissed Rico’s cheek. Then, she spun around once to show them both the final product. She looked absolutely perfect in a tight white and black color-block dress that was about three inches too short. She wore patent leather high heels, with spikes and silvery rhinestones covering the back of the heel. Her clutch matched her shoes. Kate smiled when she saw Adriana’s bright orange fingernails.
“Have fun tonight,” Kate shouted as Adriana
walked out the front door and onto the cobblestone driveway. The sound of the slamming door echoed around Kate and Rico, and they couldn’t help but to stare at each other. Rico was breathing hard, visibly agitated. Bravely, Kate moved closer to him and touched his lower back, hoping to break him from whatever thought he was tangled in. He looked at her, coming back.
“I’ll walk you back to your house,” he said simply, his blue eyes already off somewhere else. “I’ll meet you in your room when the sun falls.”
For the rest of the day, Kate sat with her parents, hanging out with them in the living room. They watched movies and ate snacks, and even baked dessert together. Kate enjoyed hearing her father mumble about Erik and his odd questions and disliked that her mother kept defending him. When the sun finally fell below the horizon, she feigned drowsiness and went upstairs to her room.
Kate walked in to find that Rico was already there, freshly showered, the ends of his hair curling as it dried. Kate noticed that his cobalt eyes were stormy again and wondered when she would see them shine. He was walking around the room, checking the surroundings much like Adriana had. Kate went into her bathroom and showered while he did this. When she emerged, Rico was reading the book he had started the last time he was in her bedroom.
“You look nice when your cheeks are flushed,” Rico observed.
“Thank you,” Kate said, trying hard not to get
