“So what did you get at the mall?” he asked, dangling the small shopping bag at the end of his finger.
I had totally forgotten. “I got this killer new video game,” I told him as I sat up. “It’s got flesh-eating zombies in it.”
He gave a light shake of his head, smirking. “You are the only girl I know that can go to the mall and not buy one pair of shoes, not one article of clothing, but come home with a gory game.”
“Thank you. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I dabbed at the corner of my eye. “It brought a tear to my eye.”
“This has been the strangest day.”
“It’s not over yet, big guy,” I said, snatching the game from his hands.
His mouth tightened. “That’s what I am afraid of.”
I snorted. “I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I wasn’t. Then I met you.”
“Funny.”
“Who’s laughing?” He always had to have the last word.
Chapter 8
I hadn’t lost my freakish charisma.
Nope. To my annoyance, I was still some kind of guy-magnet at school, but with a tall, dark, scowling half-demon by my side, I was spared just passing glimpses. It was those rare times that I found myself without him that gave me anxiety.
A crowd would form around me, and they would all be vying for my attention, along with the endless questions and cheesy lines.
Do you want to hang out sometime?
We should totally hook up sometime.
You look so hawt today.
I smacked at a hand that was twirling my hair.
“This is not a petting zoo,” barked a voice behind me. “Scram.” And like the parting sea, the horde of boys moved. Lexi had her hands on her hips and tapped her heel impatiently. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Don’t sweat it. Blake was just asking me to marry him.”
“Wow. Only one marriage proposal?” Her eyes widened playfully. “You’re losing your touch.”
“Don’t make me hit you,” I said while juggling my books.
She giggled. “It is a good thing you’re feeling bitchy.”
“Yeah, why’s that?” I regretted asking the moment the question popped out of my mouth.
We started walking side by side down the hall in mimicking strides. “Today is the day we get my brother back.”
I tripped. “T-today?” I stammered.
She gave me a foxy smile. “You got it, GI Jane.”
Suddenly I was feeling trembly inside. “What’s the plan?” I asked warily.
Her step had a skip to it as if she was looking forward to what we were going to do. “Just follow my lead,” she instructed.
I stopped. “That’s your freaking master plan?” I whispered forcefully.
She gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “You got a better one? And don’t worry. Sierra is going to take care of Chase.”
I pinned her with a sharp look. “I just bet my bony ass she is,” I mumbled, frowning.
We waited until the ninth period bell rang. Normally, I didn’t ditch class, but this was a dire circumstance, which called for drastic measures. Lexi used her demon mojo to get us out of class, a class I had with her and not her cousin. I had to conserve my mystical abilities for the grand finale.
“How do you even know she is going to show up?” I asked as we snuck out the back entrance of school that led toward the football field, which still gave me the heebie-jeebies. I refused to look into the woods bordering the property.
She fixed a candy apple smile on her lips. “Because I slipped her a note she couldn’t resist.”
I rubbed my hands together, wishing I’d had the good sense to have grabbed my sweater. It was freezing out here. I sucked at planning ahead. Demon blood normally ran degrees hotter than human blood, so Lexi wasn’t affected in the least by the biting winds. “Great,” I said sarcastically. “You’re going to get us killed.”
The winter air teased strands of her blonde hair. “Where’s your faith? Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I lost it when I died.” I could feel my cheeks getting wind burned. That was going to be attractive.
She didn’t find that funny. Truthfully, neither did I, but it was a case of my mouth moving before I knew what I was saying. I had that mouth-flapping ailment.
Just as Lexi had predicted, Emma was there, waiting for us with hawk eyes. She was propped against the chain-link fence in her black cargo pants and mean looking shit-kickers.
Deep breaths.
Long deep breaths.
Wouldn’t want to alert the boyfriend, but I think he might be getting used to my neurotic emotions.
We crossed the distance to Emma. Her brows knitted, and a flicker of anticipation crossed her emerald eyes. She was itching to drive a sword through my back. I could feel it vibrating in the atmosphere surrounding her.
It was go time.
She didn’t give us any warning, but then again, I hadn’t really expected her to. Emma immediately launched herself at Lexi who sidestepped the attack easily enough. I scrambled to get out of the way, and just in time. Spinning around, Emma twirled a shiny red dagger between her fingers.
Emma. Brought. A. Weapon. To. School.
Son of a bitch.