House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(34)

Crazy guy. Creepy window peeper.

Those words should have been a distraction, along with the icy wind sweeping in through the now-open front door. But all I could see and smell and feel was Chase.

“What happened?” Emma’s frantic voice was enough to bring me back to the reality of our situation.

With more reluctance than I would like to admit to, I pulled away from Chase and turned to the two pajama-clad females standing across from me. Emma’s hair was wild, curls and frizz springing out in a million directions. Her eyes were only half-open despite the clarity and fear in her tone, and I knew she’d been pulled right from a dead sleep.

Callie, on the other hand, looked very put together, hair straight and brushed, eyes alert, expression hard.

“I came down for a snack, and while I was eating a shadow moved across the window,” I said in a rush. “I couldn’t let you all be murdered in your sleep, so I crept over and peeked out.” His face flashed across my mind and I almost let out a small whimper. “It was the creepiest face, just standing on the other side, peering in. He … he said ‘gotcha’ when he saw me.”

Chase’s expression turned stormy as he crossed his arms, and I tried really hard not to notice all of the muscles standing out. He wore a pair of shorts only, and the cold didn’t seem to be bothering him. Meanwhile I was covered in goosebumps – which had a little to do with the chill and a lot to do with him.

I mean … how did someone that tall build so much muscle? Brad would be jealous as anything. It took serious effort and dedication for him to keep his muscle mass up, and he wasn’t even as tall as Chase.

The fact that Laous was probably outside preparing to kidnap and kill us all, and I was in here obsessing over muscles, was a little worrying. Maybe it was the shock.

Yeah, that made sense.

Emma moved close to me, face drawn. “You were so brave! Thanks for giving us the heads-up. It has to be Laous … or one of his minions.”

“This was why I was so worried yesterday. I knew he’d find us fast,” Callie bit out. She looked pretty relaxed and casual, but I noticed her clenched fists. She was not as calm as she was portraying.

“What does Laous look like?” I asked.

“He’s built like a barrel, round middle, scrawny arms and legs,” Emma said with a snort of laughter.

Callie added some more description. “Creepy dark eyes and slicked-back dark hair. Has the same marks on his head as Daniel, but his are fake, of course.”

There had been a flash of red I’d seen on his head. I was pretty sure. Ah, crapfuckshit.

“I think it was him.” Real fear crept into my voice. “He found me in less than twenty-four hours. With that stone, he’s going to be able to find me no matter where I go. I can’t put you all in danger. I need to separate from you.”

“No!” Emma gasped, holding onto my forearm. “We’re a team, we’ll figure this out together. It’s not just you he wants, it’s all of us. He seems to think that we might still be needed for something in the end, something required to find or unlock the stone.”

Callie shook her head as well. “You don’t have to deal with this alone. Just because you’re next in line doesn’t mean this is your problem. Emma is right, we’re a team.”

I could feel Chase’s gaze on me. I wanted so badly to turn to him, but I didn’t. When the girls said we were a team, they meant the three of us. They might have their soul mates, but as of right now I did not.

“It feels as if I’ve known you two forever,” I said, my usual filters gone. “This entire situation is insane, but I believe what you’re saying. We’re a team. I feel a bond to you both, stronger than any I’ve ever had, even with friends I’ve known my entire life.”

Except for Brad.

“If you think about it, we’ve known each other since before we were born.” Callie’s eyes were very shiny. “I’ve never had a family, but from the moment I saw Emma … and now you, Maya, I’ve felt like I was home. I’m not letting go of it for anything.”

Emma nodded, her eyes also sprinkled with tears. “Sisters from another mister. The four of us are bonded. It’s a simple fact.”

Sometimes the simplest of facts are the ones that can change a life.

Lexen and Daniel returned to their very worried girlfriends, both of them looking windswept and pissed off. “Nothing,” Lexen growled. “He managed to give us the slip, but there was definitely an energy trail.”

Daniel nodded. “House of Imperial is easy for me to pick up, but then it just cut off. Like he managed to disappear into thin air.”

A sound broke through the early morning silence then, a weird whomping noise, and as it moved closer it grew more familiar. It wasn’t until my father rushed down the stairs, dressing gown flapping open over his sleep clothes, shouting: “Helicopter!” that I realized what it was.

Really should have clued in quicker, since we’d flown in one recently.

The Daelighter men and my dad all moved toward the front door. Emma and Callie pressed close to Lexen and Daniel. I hung back. Chase stayed near my side, but we didn’t touch.

“How the fuck did he get a helicopter?” Daniel was growling, his arms winding protectively around Callie.

“Your council said some members of our government are compromised,” my dad bit out. “Which means he’ll have access to all sorts of our technology. The breach is not in my immediate division, or it doesn’t seem to be. But there’s no doubt that branches of Daelighter relations have gone rogue.”