He sighed. "No . . . It's just a gift."
"To thank her for going out with me?"
A deeper sigh. I kinda liked the incentive idea. It might be the only thing that got me to six months. Not that anything was going wrong between Chloe and me. It was great actually. Which was the problem. For every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. It applies in physics and in life. Any day now, I expected Chloe to tell me it wasn't working out, that she'd made a mistake, that I was just too cranky, too protective, too overbearing, too . . . not what she wanted in a boyfriend. Not long-term anyway.
"You okay, bro?"
"Yeah."
I shook it off and stopped walking. I took a good look around. Inhaled deeply. Listened. Reminded myself that this was what I was supposed to be doing--scouting.
As usual, there was nothing. Dad was right--the St. Clouds were lying low and regrouping. Giving us time to get comfortable. Then we'd pop up like prairie dogs for a peek around and they'd swoop down and snatch us up. As long as we stayed in our hole, we'd be fine.
"Anything?" Simon said after a minute.
"Nah."
"Feel better? Everyone's safe and sound, so you can rest?"
"Yeah. After I get something to eat." I looked east. "We're close to the mall--"
"No."
"We won't look for them. We'll just--"
"No."
"Straight to the food court. That's it. I just want--"
"Oh, I know what you want." He caught my arm and tugged me back toward the house. "The answer is no. There's food at the house, and she'll be back soon."
I cast one last look east. Then I sighed and followed him.
Two
We went back to our rented place--a big old farmhouse a mile from town. I like it well enough. There's room for all six of us, which is a lot better than when we started out, sharing two motel rooms. Being on the edge of a forest is good. Being in the country is good, too. I'm not a city person--too many scents, too much noise, too many people.
When I was a kid, I used to dream of the day when we'd stop running and get a place like this. I should be happy. Except we hadn't stopped running. If anything, we were in even more danger than we'd been after Dad left the Edison Group. I've told him we should get moving again. He tells me not to worry.
We went in. As the back door slapped shut behind us, Lauren's voice called from deep inside.
"Boys? Is that you? I could use some help up here."
Simon motioned to keep quiet and sneak into the TV room. I couldn't. I've spent three months trying to convince Chloe's aunt that I'm not the big, bad wolf. Which means I need to go out of my way to be nice. Which is becoming a major pain in the ass.
"Just me," I called back as I waved Simon to the TV room. "What do you need?"
Simon hesitated, but I motioned for him to go. No need for both of us to suffer. I walked to the bottom of the steps. Lauren appeared at the top.
I'm not sure how I feel about Chloe's aunt. She was part of the Edison Group--the people who experimented on us. So was Dad, but he had the sense to get out years ago.
Lauren stayed. She was responsible for putting Chloe in Lyle House, the group home where we'd met. When Chloe escaped and went to her aunt for help, Lauren handed her back to the group. She eventually helped her escape again, but I don't think that balances the books. I know Lauren thought she was helping Chloe and then realized she wasn't. If Dad's okay with that, I guess I am, too. I just wish it didn't mean I needed to suck up to her. Chloe says I don't--and gives me hell when I do--but like most supernaturals, her aunt thinks werewolves are monsters. I need to convince her otherwise or she'll cause problems with me and Chloe, and I won't let that happen.
So when she asked me to come upstairs and fold laundry, I did. But I won't pretend I wasn't grateful when my cell phone rang, giving me an excuse to stop.
It was Chloe. I moved away from the clothing-piled bed and answered as casually as I could.
"Hey," I said. "How's it going?"
"Tori has clothing. Thankfully."
"Yeah, she'd be kind of scary without it."
Chloe laughed. "You know what I mean. We have accomplished the task of getting her a summer wardrobe that fit her budget, which was like shoving a camel through the eye of a needle. But it is done and I have survived."
"That's important."
"It is. So we're off to the food court and we were wondering if you guys wanted--"
"We'll be right there."
A pause. "I was going to ask if you wanted us to bring you home something."
"Oh."
Another laugh. "I'm kidding. Grab Simon and come on over. We'll be in the food court."
I yelled to Lauren that I was going to meet Chloe at the mall. As I flew down the hall, she stepped from a room.
"I think Chloe wanted to be alone with Tori for a bit," she said.
No. They just wanted to shop without "the guys" tagging along. There was a difference. I bit my tongue and said, "She called and asked Simon and me to meet them in the food court."
"Are you sure?"
No. I hallucinated it. But that's not what you're really asking, is it? You think I'm lying. You think we spend too much time together--despite the fact that we live in the same damn house and would need to actively avoid one another to spend less time together.
I held out my phone and kept my tone and expression neutral. "She just called. You can check or call her back . . ."
"No, of course not." An abashed smile. "I'm sorry if that came out wrong, Derek. Go on."
"Thanks. I'll finish the folding later."
I was halfway across the yard when I remembered Simon. I paused, looking at the house, and then at the road, as if going back would make me late and Chloe might . . . I don't know, spontaneously combust. Or Tori might get tired of waiting and drag her to another store.
There was only a second of hesitation, though, before I jogged back to get him. In the beginning, it was kind of awkward, hanging out with Simon and Chloe, knowing he'd liked her and I got her. But he'd been cool with it. Really cool, as if he was just glad that she was happy and I was happy. If it had been the other way around, I'm not sure I could have done that. I'm just really glad I didn't have to.
The mall is right on the edge of town. Less than a mile walk down our road and we're there. While I like living in the country, being home-schooled means we can go a little stir-crazy. Having a mall so close is a bonus, even if it does mean Chloe doesn't have an excuse when Tori wants to drag her out shopping.
As much as Chloe complains, I don't think she minds that much. She needs girlfriends and Tori, unfortunately, is her only option. Despite what everyone thinks, I'm okay with that. Well, not as okay with Tori as her friend--I still haven't forgiven her for what she did to Chloe at Lyle House. But I get that Chloe needs time with another girl, like I spend time with Simon. I don't want to dog her every step. I just . . . I just like to be closer when she's out like that, in a public place, where some goon from the St. Clouds could walk by in the crowd and stick a tranquilizer dart in her arm and all the self-defense skills in the world wouldn't help her.
We circled the parking lot to the entrance nearest the food court. That meant going all the way around to the back. It would have been shorter cutting through the mall, but Simon didn't suggest it. The place was packed on Saturdays, and if I could avoid walking through crowds I would.
I pulled open the doors and stepped into the food court.
"Ow," Simon said behind me.
I glanced back to see him rubbing his shoulder where the door must have hit him.
"Sorry," I said.
"Yeah, yeah. Just get in there and find her."
It was long past lunchtime, but there were people at nearly every table, more milling around with trays. I stayed back just inside the door and scanned the sea of faces.
Beside me, Simon murmured. "One, two, three--"
"There," I grunted and strode toward Chloe's tabl
e.
"Damn," he said as he jogged to keep up. "Three seconds. That's a record."
I scowled at him.
"What?" he said. "It's cute."
My scowl deepened.
"So cute," he said, grinning. "Incredibly, adorably cute."
I flipped him off and walked faster. Then I stopped so abruptly that he plowed into my back.
From the doorway, I'd only seen Chloe, eating fries at a table. Presumably, Tori sat across from her, but there'd been someone standing in the way, blocking my view. Now I saw that the "someone" wasn't just standing there. He was talking to them.
"Chill," Simon murmured as he followed my gaze. "It's just a kid."
The "kid" was at least a year older than me. Simon meant he wasn't likely to be a Cabal assassin. Just a guy. A college-aged guy. Talking to Chloe.
I watched him bend over the table, hands planted on it, his gaze fixed on Chloe, his lips parting in a smile as he said something to her. A slow burn started in my gut, and before I could stop myself, I was barreling down on them, Simon's protests fading behind me.
Three
Simon grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked hard enough that I staggered. And hard enough that people looked over, which stopped me like a bucket of ice water. The cardinal rule of being on the run: don't call attention to yourself.
Across the food court, the guy was still talking to Chloe. I could see now that Tori wasn't there. Just Chloe. And a stranger.
"Chloe is not flirting with that guy," Simon said.
"Course not."
"I mean it. She's--"
I glanced back at him. "I'm not blind. She's only paying enough attention to him to be polite. He's the one flirting, which is bugging her, and that's why I'm pissed off. She's trying to eat her fries and he's interrupting."
Simon chuckled. It did sound kind of stupid, as rationalizations went. I worry what will happen when we stop running. When we go back to school. When Chloe meets other guys. Guys who don't argue and snap at her. Boys who don't obsessively worry about her. Guys who could take her to a movie and stay right until the end, not have to leave halfway through because they start turning into wolves.
But even then she wouldn't pick up some random guy in the mall.
So why was I overreacting? I don't know. I saw the guy and a flash-fire ignited in my brain, burning away reason and common sense. If Simon hadn't stopped me, I'd have made an idiot of myself and called attention to us. Worse, I'd have embarrassed Chloe. I was too protective as it was. Frothing at the mouth because a guy talked to her? Really not going help us get to that next anniversary.
"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Thanks."
"No problem. Just keep it cool. And remember, in public, you're not her boyfriend."
I let out a noise that sounded a little too much like a growl.
"Yeah," Simon said. "It's a bitch. Especially at a time like this. But that's the rule."
It was a stupid rule. I'd been fighting it since we moved here. We were pretending to be a blended family--Lauren and my dad posing as a couple with their assorted kids. I've argued that it's not a blood relationship, but apparently, dating my step-sister would be one of those "call attention to ourselves" things we need to avoid.
"So just . . . be cool," Simon said. "Let me do the talking."
When I was within about ten feet, Chloe turned, as if she'd sensed me there. She shot me a huge smile. Then she rolled her eyes toward the guy beside the table and mouthed to me, "Don't ask."
I rolled my eyes back, managing a slight smile that made her eyes fill with relief.
"Good," Simon murmured beside me. "Very good."
I glowered at him.
"What?" he said.
"You sound like you're going to give me a dog biscuit."
"If the shoe fits . . ."
I shook my head. As we walked over, a wave of scent hit me. A musky, chemical scent, like someone spilled cologne. I had to switch to breathing through my mouth.
Chloe motioned me to the seat beside her. When I sat, she laid her hand on my arm, "Finally. I thought you guys were never going to show. Tori took off a few minutes ago. Apparently, she didn't have a belt to match her new shirts." Another roll of her eyes. Then, with her fingers still lightly resting on my forearm, she turned to the guy. "Carter, this is Derek and Simon. Derek, Simon . . . Carter. He's shopping with his grandfather."
Simon smirked. I tried not to. There was nothing wrong with shopping with your grandfather. It just made flirting with girls in the food court seem a little pathetic.
And I now knew what smelled so bad. Carter seemed to have showered in aftershave. Which made "hitting on girls while shopping with Gramps" even more pathetic.
"I bet you're starving," Chloe said, jumping up, fingers brushing along my arm. "Let's go grab you guys some food while Simon holds the table." She turned to Carter and flashed a bright smile. "It was nice meeting you."
I stood.
"Actually, I'd like to talk to you," the guy--Carter--said.
My head whipped around a little faster than I intended. I thought he meant Chloe, but he was looking at me.
"You go to college here?" Carter asked.
"High school," I grunted and took a step after Chloe, who was walking away, glancing back.
"Oh? I'd have guessed college. I hear they have a good football team. You must be planning to try out for it. I'm enrolling and I'd love any tips."
"I don't play--"
I stopped as I caught Simon giving me a look that said I was being rude. I wasn't--I don't go to college and I don't know a damned thing about their football team--but I guess I sounded churlish. Which was fine by me. But Simon motioned that he'd go with Chloe instead, and when she didn't argue, I was stuck.
I told the guy that I didn't play football or know much about the college team, but I tried to be nice about it, saying I hadn't been in town long and I was home-schooled. All that effort to be polite, and the guy seemed to tune me out after the first sentence, impatiently waiting for me to finish.
When I did, he said, "About Chloe. Has she got a boyfriend?"
I stiffened and managed to grunt, "Dunno."
"She's cute, huh?" He gazed after her with a look that made my gut twist. Not the normal look a guy gives a cute girl. A hungry one that had my hackles rising.
"She's fifteen," I said, my voice taking on a growl.
"So?"
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen." He grinned. It was an all-teeth grin that set off something in my brain and I fought the urge to curl my lip in a snarl.
"Girls her age like older guys," Carter continued. "We know our way around, if you know what I mean."
His grin grew, but his gaze was fixed on me now. His brown eyes glittered as I gripped the edge of the table, temper flaring.
Baiting me. He knew I was dating Chloe--or at least that I really liked her--and he was being a jerk about it.
I took a deep breath. No threat here. Chloe was safe. Chloe wasn't interested. Chloe was with me.
"Don't you have someplace to go?" I said. "Your grandpa's probably looking for you."
He didn't rise to my bait, just kept smiling, his gaze swiveling back to Chloe. "I think I'll wait and say goodbye. She's really cute. I'd like to get to know her better." That grin swung back to me. "I'd really like to get to know her better."
I leapt to my feet.
"Whoa," Carter said. "Something wrong, Derek?"
"Back off," I growled.
His gaze hardened, but he kept smiling. "Is that a warning? It sounded like--"
"Carter!"
We both looked over to see a man standing by the McDonald's counter. He didn't look old enough to be Carter's grandfather--maybe fifty. And he didn't look like Carter, either. He was huge, at least my height, with broad shoulders, graying dark hair and a broad, bulldog face.
The man looked at me and I felt a jolt, like recognition. I didn't know him, but he stared at me for at least five seconds b
efore turning his gaze to Carter and waving for him.
"Better run along," I murmured. "Gramps is calling."
Carter scowled at me and hesitated, but his grandfather called again, his voice harsh enough to make people look. Carter muttered something and stalked off.
His grandfather stayed where he was, feet planted, fixing Carter with a glower as he walked over to join him. When Carter was close enough, the man grabbed his upper arm, leading him away like a five-year-old who'd run off.
"You eating my fries?" a voice asked behind me.
I turned to see Chloe approaching, tray in hand. She put it in front of me.
"Got your own," she said. "Fries, burger, milkshake." A blaze of a grin. "Good enough for an afternoon snack?"
"Perfect. Thanks."
As she sat down, she whispered. "Everything okay?"
I nodded and reached for her french fry container. She laughed and slapped my hand away, and I smiled and relaxed. When I looked over again, Carter and his grandfather were gone.
Four
We didn't spend much time at the mall. Chloe seemed eager to get going and I wasn't keen on staying. Chloe suggested we take the forest route back while Simon and Tori went by road. I sure as hell wasn't arguing. Before we started dating, I'd gotten the impression--from movies and stuff--that the guy was usually the one suggesting things like a private walk in the woods, and the girl might want to sometimes, but not as often as the guy did. But half the time, Chloe was the one suggesting it, which was nice. Really nice.
When Chloe told them we'd take the forest route, Tori rolled her eyes. Simon grinned and shot me a thumbs up, which had Chloe rolling her eyes. In the beginning, she'd get embarrassed about stuff like that, and she'd change her mind, but I'd put a stop to that fast. We were going out; no one expected us to just walk around holding hands. No one other than her aunt, that is.
Once we got to the forest, we did hold hands, Chloe sliding hers into mine, twining our fingers, and if there was any knot still left in my gut, it slid away. When we're alone like this, I know everything's okay and I feel like a moron for worrying.
"Straight home then?" she asked as we walked along the path.
I snorted.
She looked over. "Ah, so you have other plans. I bet I know what they are, too."