TWO HOURS LATER, Lou drove me back to the warehouse convinced for some unknown reason that I would be leaving with her. That was despite the fact that I’d answered in the negative every single time she’d asked. As we entered the street that led to the warehouse, I hoped with everything I had that Evie hadn’t come to try to find me. Or if she had, that she was long gone again.

“Well, go get your shit,” Lou said.

“Damn it, Lou! I already told you. I’m not leaving just yet.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Why on Earth would you want to stay in this dump?”

Ignoring her question, I climbed from the car and gently pushed the door closed behind me. Some habits were hard to break. She followed me out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Dad’ll kick your ass when he finds out you’ve been slamming that door,” I warned.

“Cut the crap, Clay.”

“Have a safe drive back, Lou.” I was trying to be dismissive so that she’d get the hint and just leave. What must Evie think? I’m so goddamn late. Why the hell did Lou have to eat at a goddamn proper restaurant? Why’d she take so long with every damn course?

“I’ll go, if you answer me one question.”

I spun back around to face her. She’d crossed her arms and was leaning against the quarter panel of the Chevelle. Printed on her face was a clear challenge. I thought briefly about warning her again that Dad would have her ass if there were any scratches on the paint, but it was probably easier—and immensely more satisfying for me—that she was reminded of that fact by my father himself.

“What’s that?” I asked instead.

“Why did you leave?” I met her gaze and saw the vulnerable girl who’d crept into my bedroom when her nightmares became too much for her to handle. The sight instantly disarmed me.

I ran my hand through my hair as I tried to think of the best way to explain it without tipping her off about Evie. “I just needed some time alone.”

“Eth said it was because of Ben and the . . . reminder it caused.”

“Yeah, that’s part of it,” I lied. “I know you were the one who was taken, but you’re not the only one who was affected.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m worried about you. It feels like there’s this rift between us that’s growing bigger every year.” Her eyes revealed her vulnerability, and I knew I was seeing a rare glimpse at the real woman behind the bitchy façade. “I don’t want to lose you completely. I don’t know that I can face the nightmares on my own. I’m still not strong enough.”

I stepped a little closer to her, instantly feeling guilty over my choice to pursue Evie at the expense of my family, even if that hadn’t been my original intention. With Lou’s hardened, no bullshit exterior it was sometimes easy to forget how broken she actually was inside.

“There’s no rift,” I promised. There might be soon though. I swallowed as my stomach twisted. “I just have some stuff I need to work out.”

“Like what?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer her. “Like stuff. Just things.”

She stared at the ground for a moment before meeting my gaze again. “Can I ask another question?”

Feeling bad that I’d hurt her, I looked away as I nodded. “Anything.”

“Is this about that damn phoenix again?” Her voice was hardened again, the lost little girl frozen out by the hardened hunter.

My gaze shot straight to hers as she said the word. I had no idea she knew what Evie was. The thought made my gut twist around itself once more.

How does she know about Evie? Does she know Evie’s in Charlotte too? Has she told Dad what she knows? I decided to play dumb. “What phoenix?”

She rolled her eyes at my feeble attempt at hiding the truth. “The one that you were completely infatuated with in Ohio. The one you came down here for. I know you got a hit on that software you’ve got. I know it told you that thing was here in Charlotte. I’m not stupid, you know. I’m just as competent on a computer as you are. I know you think you had some feelings for that creature, but I can’t believe you’d be so stupid. When I found out you’d left, it was more than obvious where you might have gone.”

I was shaking my head throughout her speech, unwilling to believe that she knew so much despite the evidence she was providing.

“No?” she asked. “And yet, here I find you chasing down every lead that might lead you to it.”

“Her,” I said involuntarily under my breath. I couldn’t stand hearing Lou refer to Evie as an “it.” She was a girl; a living, breathing, talking—kissing, hot, feels-so-damn-good-in-my-hands—girl.

“No, not her, it!” Lou snapped. “You need to remember that, Clay. You need to remember everything that we’ve been taught. You can’t humanize them or they will take advantage of you. That’s what these creatures do.”

“No. I don’t believe that.”

“There’s a line between good and evil, Clay, and we’re it. We’re the only thing that can stop these monsters. You know our orders.”

“I can’t just blindly follow those orders anymore. She’s not what we were taught she’d be. She’s not a monster!” The instant the words were free, I saw my mistake. I couldn’t help myself; the statement had blurted from me before I had the sense to stop it.

“So it is about the creature! Where is she?” Lou sneered as she spat the last word at me, no doubt trying to force me to see how ridiculous I sounded. What she didn’t understand was that I was long beyond caring about whether my family thought that I’d lost my mind. It was stupid falling for Evie—the worst idea I’d ever had—I couldn’t help it though. The last week had proven to me that she was worth the separation I’d endure from my family. She was worth anything—everything.

At that moment, almost as if the universe was giving me a great big “fuck you,” Evie’s F150 turned onto the street. Bile rose in my throat so quickly that I was certain I was going to vomit at the sight. Following the direction of my stare, Lou’s gaze spun toward the road.

“I don’t know where she is!” I shouted to draw Lou’s attention back to me.

“Bullshit!” Mercifully Lou was distracted enough by my cry to allow Evie to drive past unnoticed. It took everything I had to not follow her truck with my gaze.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll admit it, I followed a lead down here, but only because I wanted to make sure she hadn’t hurt anyone,” I lied, making up the story as I went and hoping that Lou would buy it. “But she was already gone by the time I arrived. I honestly don’t know where she is now.”

“Sure, twitchy, whatever you say.”

I rolled my eyes at her use of my old nickname. She’d always told me that one of my eyes twitched whenever I lied. I forced a shrug. “Don’t believe me then.”

“I’m worried about you, Clay. You rushed down here almost immediately, on your own I might add, after just seeing one little picture. That’s not healthy. It’s almost . . . spell-like.” Her voice was quiet and full of traces of emotions I couldn’t read when she said the word. “I really don’t want to be the one who has to explain to Dad that I have a barbequed brother because he fell for something he shouldn’t. Again.”

I could see that we weren’t getting anywhere and that was unlikely to change. She wasn’t going to leave until I relented, and I wasn’t going to do that. She was even willing to bring up the ancient past to try to win. I didn’t know what to do. My fingers twitched at my sides and my legs ached with a desperate desire to run to see Evie, partly to apologize and partly to warn her of the danger she was in. Either way, I had to convince her to leave town immediately. But I needed to get rid of Lou first.

“You’re right.” I decided to change tack and see if I could buy Evie a little extra time. “I fucked up with the harpy, and I’m doing it again now.” I hung my head in mock-shame. “I really need to get my head back in the game, but I need time to sort through the mess in here first.” I tapped my head. “I can’t do that with Dad breathing down my neck. You of all people should be able to appreciate that.”

She frowned, no doubt as her memories of Dad’s drill-sergeant ways filtered through her mind. Some of my earliest recollections were of him making us both cry because we weren’t training hard enough or our shooting wasn’t accurate enough.

“You’re going to get yourselves killed if you go into battle like that. Do it again!”

We’d been a little under seven at the time—Lou hadn’t even been home for two full years—and we hadn’t realized we’d be forced into the war a little over a year later.

She narrowed her eyes at me as she assessed what I’d said. “I get needing time away, but you have to be careful, Clay. These creatures are dangerous. Even if you think you feel something for it, you have to remember that these things aren’t capable of the same emotions. This phoenix will be the death of you.”

Not wanting to drag the argument out any longer, I simply nodded in agreement. It was easy to feign enough belief in Lou’s words to appear sincere—they weren’t really a lie after all. Evie could easily be the death of me; I knew it better than Lou ever could. And yet, Evie was worth the risk.

“I know that. I—I think I fooled myself into believing that she was something more than what she really is,” I said. “Something worthy of love, but I know I was wrong. She was gone by the time I got here, and you should have seen the state of the house she’d been in. I—I stayed because I needed time to work out how to tell you. I still need time.”

The lies tasted vile on my tongue; the thought of releasing them was enough to slay me where I stood.

“How come you never told me you knew or tried to find her yourself?” I asked, hoping I could use the information to my own advantage.

Her expression softened. “Because I didn’t want you to hate me. You needed to see the truth for yourself.”

I nodded. “And now I have.”

She smiled. “And now you have.”

A beat of silence passed between us, and she spent it assessing me carefully. Her ice-blue gaze penetrated into me, no doubt weighing every word to determine which ones were lies.

“Okay, look, I’ll give you some time to get yourself sorted,” Lou conceded after a moment. “But only two days, and that’s including travel. If you’re not here,” she held out a piece of paper to me, “by then, you’d better believe I’m coming back down here to drag your ass home with extreme prejudice.”

I reached out and took her offering from her. “Thanks, Lou. I really do appreciate it. I’ll be there. I swear.” I resisted crossing my fingers behind my back, although in my mind I was. I had no intention of leaving Evie’s side to return to hunting other beings who could be just like her. How could I be certain that they weren’t all as compassionate and loving as Evie had proven to be? Lou nodded before crossing to me and giving me an awkward one-armed hug. “Take care of yourself.”

“You know me.” I tried to give her a winning smile.

“You’re right. I do know you,” she confirmed. “And that’s exactly why I’m telling you to take care. Remember, two days.”

After the car had disappeared from the street, I waited for her to return. I hoped she was telling the truth and that she’d give me some space, but I couldn’t risk making a break for Evie’s place until I knew for certain that she would keep her word. We’d never lied to each other before, at least not about the serious things, and I felt a little queasy at the thought that I’d started now—over someone I should’ve wanted dead.

I leaned against the side of the warehouse, watching for any odd movement and waiting for Lou’s return despite her words.

After an hour, nothing unusual had happened, so I began to hope that there was some truth in her words. During that time, the tug on my emotions had lessened and then disappeared completely. That sensation, and the knowledge that despite an awareness of Evie Lou hadn’t acted on her suspicions, was enough to give me some faith in Lou’s promise of a few days grace.

A small doubt started to creep through me, but then experience reminded me of all the times Lou, Eth, and even Dad, had my back. I took a deep breath. If I couldn’t trust my family, who could I trust?

Two days.

With a sigh, I grew resigned to the fact that the time where I could live a fantasy world with Evie—to pretend we were just two normal teenagers falling for each other—was coming to a premature end. Within two days, we would have to leave Charlotte, and there was no telling where we’d end up after that.

There was no telling whether she’d even grant me another chance after I’d stood her up like an ass—even if I did have a good reason for it.