Chapter Seven
Leah stepped into the car and placed the large bag of deliciousness down in the passenger seat. It was a little later than she had originally been expecting to eat, but when Jamie had sent a text saying the guys wouldn’t be home till late, it seemed only natural that she would share her dinner with her friend.
The spicy kung pao chicken was already calling to her from inside the bag, the scent making her mouth water and her stomach rumble.
Before starting the car, Leah pulled out her phone for about the millionth time.
Still nothing from Nikon. Not that she was really expecting it, but it would have been nice. Just any sort of word from him, if only so she knew he was okay.
Leah sighed and set the phone down on the seat next to her. This was silly. She obviously had feelings for Nikon that he didn’t share. In the end, it would likely be best for her to go for someone normal and reasonable like Matt.
The teacher seemed interested enough in her and was pleasant to talk to. Plus, he wasn’t a bad-looking guy at all. Sure, he wasn’t the perfect specimen of manhood that Nikon was, but that was an unfair standard to hold him to. Leah was sure they would be perfectly happy together.
Her heart twitched at the thought. Matt didn’t make her feel even a smidgen of what Nikon did. There was something about the hybrid that had always drawn her to him, even when she had been dating Alair.
A pang of guilt struck Leah. She shouldn’t be thinking about this sort of thing, but she knew it was true. In the end, she had been surprised Alair had asked her out. She had been even more surprised when she’d met his twin brother Nikon.
Alair was so nice and sweet. Plus, she did feel something for him, but it was nothing like the jolt of electricity she felt when she’d met Nikon.
There was no way to explain something like that to anyone, let alone the hybrids, especially after they had all been so certain Alair was her one true love, what they called a Vestal. From what she’d been told, it was like an actual soulmate.
Guilt and shame had been her only friends at that time. Now she wasn’t quite sure. She wanted to move on, but she also wanted Nikon to be a part of her life. Something she knew wouldn’t happen. It’s not like he could move in with her at the school.
Leah started the car and ignored the tightness in her chest. She would just have to figure all that out another day. She still had two full weeks at the school before they decided whether to keep her there or not. For now, she was just going to focus on what was in front of her. There was no point in worrying about things she couldn’t control.
She watched the traffic pass by and eased out onto the road. Another car a few lengths back also eased out at the same time.
Leah frowned. Hadn’t she seen that car outside the school?
It was hard to tell, but the slick black four-door sedan looked very familiar.
Likely it was nothing. There was no reason she should be worried. The chances she was being followed were very slim, and there were likely millions of cars like that around.
Leah drove along, glancing in the rear-review mirror at the car every now and again. It always stayed a few car lengths behind her, almost like they were trying not to draw her suspicion. Maybe she was being too paranoid.
The turn for her apartment came up, but she decided to pass it and make a turn the opposite direction at the next stop light. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few precautions. After everything that happened at the Lodge, there was such a thing as not worrying enough.
Leah pulled into the left turning lane with her signal on. The black car followed, except now it was right behind her.
Her heart kicked up. She glanced in the mirror, trying to see if it was anyone she knew, but the bright lights from the car prevented seeing much other than it was a man.
The light turned green, and she made the turn. The black car continued following her.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Maybe it was the Horatius Group.
Nikon never talked about his time with them, but she knew the stories from her time at the Lodge. The boys had talked about their time with the Group, and the cold isolated places they had been forced into, along with the horrible training. They’d also talked about how some of their people would just go missing, never to be heard from again.
The younger hybrids had been so distant when they talked about these things. All she could do was hold them close and tell them how loved they were, how all of that was in the past.
Leah made a quick turn right down a smaller side street, this time not signaling before she did so. She glanced at her mirror fully expecting the car to be there but watched as it passed right on by the turn.
She let out a sigh of relief. Had it just been coincidence? It seemed like too many strange occurrences to be nothing, but still she hadn’t been followed. That had to have meant it was all a big nothing in the end.
Leah picked up the phone on the seat next to her. Maybe she should call Nikon, just to be sure.
Her hand hovered over his name in her contact list. What was she going to tell him? That she thought a car had been following her, but it turned out to be nothing?
Leah shook her head. He’d think she was being a paranoid idiot. There was no reason to think that anyone would be following her. Woods was being investigated, and she doubted any of the other people involved wanted to show their faces right now with the full power of the United States government trying to ferret out corruption.
At the next turn, she got herself back on track toward the apartment, still glancing in the mirror every once in a while. Each time she was relieved it was clear. By the time she’d parked outside her apartment building, Leah felt much better.
With a bit of balance and grace, she pulled the Chinese food from the car and made her way upstairs to her apartment.
She’d just placed her key in the lock when Jamie swung open her door nearly scaring Leah to death.
“Oh, thank God. I’m fucking starving,” Jamie said. Her friend grinned as she pulled out two bottles of wine. “Chinese and wine. Just like the old days.”
Leah grinned back. It had been ages since they had done this. Had a girls’ night in.
They made their way into her apartment, and her friend looked around.
“So you aren’t living in boxes then,” Jamie said.
A small frown slipped onto Leah’s face as she set down the food on the coffee table. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jamie shrugged as she grabbed a couple glasses from the cabinet in the kitchen and came to sit on the couch. “You pretty much shut yourself in here and wouldn’t let anyone in besides Nikon,” she said. “I didn’t know what was going on in here. You could have set up some sort of BDSM red room for all I knew.”
Leah snorted as she opened the bag of food. “More like I was just huddled under the covers on the couch.” She reached in and pulled out the bag of egg rolls, making sure to set aside two, then she handed over the other four to Jamie.
“Yes. You know me well.”
Leah smiled again. She did know her friend well. Jamie loved egg rolls and could likely eat her weight in them. She had been a good friend throughout all they had experienced.
“Thank you,” Leah said softly. “For being my friend and giving me the space I needed.”
Jamie nodded. “It wasn’t easy. I was about to step in when Nikon came along. He’s been good for you in a way I could never be.”
Leah nodded. Nikon had been good for her.
Jamie sighed. “On that note… what are you two?”
Leah shrugged and grabbed one of the egg rolls. She took a large bite and enjoyed the greasy goodness. “I don’t know.”
Jamie frowned. “But you two have been hitting it, right?”
Leah slowly shook her head. “It’s not like that,” she said slowly. “Nikon is just…”
She didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
“I see,” her friend said softly.
Leah turned to Jamie who had shoved the rest of the egg roll in her mouth. What did her friend see that she couldn’t?
“You’re coming Saturday, right?” Jamie asked.
Leah groaned. It was the night of the going-away party. She had been dreading it since Jamie started talking about it. One, she was never the party girl. That was all Jamie. And two, she didn’t want to admit that her friend would soon be going.
“Come on,” Jamie said, and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Come for me.”
Leah took the wine her friend had poured and drained the glass. “Okay.”
Jamie hugged her neck. “I promise you’ll have fun.”
She grunted as she leaned forward and poured another glass. She needed the kung pao chicken more than ever.
* * *
The two chatted about her day as they drank and ate. Jamie agreed with Matt about the children being little monsters. She even suggested taking a little revenge on them. Leah laughed so hard at her friend’s very detailed revenge plot that by the end of their discussion of the plan her cheeks ached.
Eventually, the two wobbly friends stood and made their way to the door. The food had long since been put away and the two bottles of wine polished off.
When they reached the door, Jamie wrapped Leah in a great hug.
“You know, you don’t have to stay,” Jamie said next to her ear. “You could always come with us. You’re a Vestal as well.”
Leah pulled back to stare at her friend. She’d thought about it. It had crossed her mind more than once, but she knew eventually Nikon would move on as well.
Never once had he mentioned the idea to her. She took that as a sign that he didn’t want her there, and it didn’t matter that she was a Vestal, because apparently he didn’t feel the pull toward her that she felt toward him.
“Just think about it, okay?” Jamie said. “And maybe try to be more than just friends with him. I know you. Sometimes you just have to take a risk.”
Leah gave a small smile and nodded. She watched as her friend stepped into her own apartment before closing and locking the door. She leaned her spinning head against the cold surface.
If she were being honest, she wanted to go. To be with her friends. To be with Nikon.
Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked quickly to clear them away. There was no way in hell she was going to let herself be one of those sorts of drunks.
It was time for a shower and then bed. All she needed was a good night’s sleep, and the whole situation would look different tomorrow.