A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)(57)

“I have to go, Dad,” I say quietly. “I’ll see you soon.” I hang up and push the phone back into my pocket. As I approach the table, a fresh fear pulls at my heart.

“My sister,” I say, glancing between Harlin and Monroe. “She hasn’t been feeling well. And just now, my father forgot her middle name. Lucy’s been sneaking out, wearing a lot of makeup. She . . . she told me she had a secret.” I stop then, not sure I can go on.

Harlin reaches to take my hand. “Lucy’s a Forgotten too,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry, Elise. I wanted to tell you, but—”

I yank my fingers from his. “You knew?” I shout, my voice echoing in the small diner. Harlin lowers his head.

“I’m her Seer.”

I stumble back a step, feeling completely betrayed. Harlin said he loved me, agreed that we’d tell each other everything. How could he keep something like this from me? “Take me home,” I say coldly. “Take me home now.”

“Elise,” Monroe says. “As a Seer, Harlin isn’t allowed to tell—”

“She’s my sister!” At the words, I break. Lucy is like me, and that means she has a terrible choice to make. I think then about the Shadows, wondering if they’ve been tempting her too. Oh no. What if they’ve gotten to Lucy?

I don’t wait any longer as I rush toward the exit, hearing the heavy sound of boots behind me. Just as I make it outside, Harlin is next to me, trying to take my arm.

“I’m so sorry,” he says again. “If you’d let me—”

I push him back. “Don’t,” I growl. “Just get me to Lucy.”

Harlin’s expression is absolute regret, but I can’t worry about him right now. I have to find my sister.

CHAPTER 25

I keep my head on Harlin’s back as he races through the streets toward my house. I can’t believe I didn’t see what was wrong with Lucy. How could I not know? Tears stream down my face, my heart pounding in my chest. I tried to call her before we took off, but there was no answer.

I need my sister. I need to find my sister.

The night has darkened around us as Harlin pulls into my driveway and cuts the engine. He scrambles to help me but I push him away and climb off by myself, nearly falling.

“Elise, wait,” he calls as I hurry toward the front door. I don’t respond, but then he speaks again in a quiet voice. “Lucy doesn’t want to go to the light.”

I take in a startled breath and then slowly turn, looking back over my shoulder. “Are you saying my sister is a Shadow now?”

“No, I’m just saying it’s possible.” He holds up his hands, as if offering a truce. “And if she is, you understand that she won’t be the same, right?”

“She’ll still be my sister,” I murmur. “She’ll always be my sister.” I turn and start toward the house once again.

The blinds are drawn, the interior dim as I push open the unlocked front door. The house is silent as I click on the lights, the living room empty. Worry starts to cloud my senses. It’s like I can feel that something is off. Harlin walks in just as I move down the hallway toward the bedrooms, moving boxes still piled there.

When I get to Lucy’s room, I’m startled by what I find. Her posters have been torn down, along with all the pictures of her friends in Colorado. I see them piled in the trash next to her vanity, her clothes ripped and strewn about.

Harlin enters, his hands in his pockets as he takes in the scene. He makes his way over to sit on Lucy’s unmade bed. “Your sister’s angry,” he says. “Has been for a while. She probably tossed out the photos when her image began disappearing from them. Trashed the rest in a rage.” Harlin leans to put his elbows on his knees, his interlaced fingers under his chin. “I’m no longer drawn to her, Elise.” He meets my eyes. “I think she’s made the choice to stay.”

I almost can’t digest his words. I spin around the room, searching for something. Anything that can give me hope that it’s not true. I’m the one who told Lucy not to give up. I hadn’t realized what she was. I would never have let her stay—not like this. Not like Onika.

“What does this mean?” I ask.

“She’s lost, Elise. If she’s a Shadow, she’s lost. Consumed with hatred and temptation. Want. Your sister’s gone.” He whispers the last part, and I have to lower myself to the floor, not sure I can stand anymore.

“How did you let this happen?” I ask, even though I know I can’t fully blame him. But maybe if he would have told me, I could have done something more.

This isn’t happening. None of this is happening. I’m going to wake up in my bed, and my sister will be next to me, whispering secrets, and our father will be making pancakes in the kitchen.

“The first time I met Lucy was a few weeks ago,” Harlin begins in a low voice. “I found her sitting near the office of my motel, crying. She’d been there fulfilling a Need, although she calls it being a Good Samaritan.” He smiles sadly. “I hadn’t told her my name, just that I understood what she was going through. She was so glad. She was so alone.”

Harlin brings his fist to his mouth as he holds back his emotion. “We met a few more times after that. I told her about the destiny she had to fulfill, and it devastated her. She asked then about the Shadows. Said one had been coming to her, telling her that she didn’t have to go. I explained what the Shadows were, but I could feel her slipping further and further away.” Harlin looks up. “And then I met you.”