Sympathy filled Travis’s expression. His hand reached out to smooth a strand of strawberry blonde hair out of her face. Emma flinched out of his reach, and he dropped his hand looking defeated and hurt.
“I looked for you Emma.” There was just the slightest fraction of emotion in her eyes when Travis spoke her name. “I never stopped looking for you, even when the police called off the search. Even when your parents stopped, I never did. I always knew you were still out there. I could feel you.” He put his hand to his heart. “In here, I knew you were alive.”
My heart wept for him, for his heartache. Poor guy. Travis was one-in-a-million. If Emma didn’t recognize that, then she didn’t deserve him. In my eyes, she deserved less than dirt.
Emma lowered her head. “You shouldn’t have wasted your time.”
Lexi and I both gasped at her harsh rejection. Chase had his own reaction. Leave it to him to spice things up.
Like a beam of lightning, he was suddenly gone from behind me and in Emma’s face. He ignored the growl of protest from Travis. “Let’s speed this up, shall we. I can’t have you running around trying to kill people I care about, now can I?” His eyes got serious as they stared into Emma’s green ones. They went weird opaque silver ringed in gold.
He planned to compel Emma. Intrigued, I took a step closer. I’d never seen Chase use his persuasion. Travis and Lexi yes, but not Chase.
“Chase,” Travis pleaded, realizing what his cousin had planned.
“It’s the only way,” Chase assured.
Emma just smirked, meeting his gaze straight on. If she knew as much about Divisa as she claimed, then she had to know what Chase was going to do. Why didn’t she fight? Turn her head at least? His eyes captured hers and his voice went deep and silky. “You never saw us today. You don’t know who we are or what we are.”
I was on the brink of my feet, gripping the back of the couch.
Emma giggled like a lunatic. “I can’t be compelled. Nice try though tough guy.”
Chase narrowed his eyes. “Well that complicates matters.”
Travis stepped between Chase and Emma before Chase took things into a different direction. I was afraid to find out what that direction might have been. Kidnapping was one thing, but murder… I shuddered.
“What else you got?” Emma asked with an edge.
I pretended I hadn’t heard her. Lexi was next to me and the two of us stared at the guys. “Now what?” I mumbled.
Travis shook his head sullenly. “Nothing. I let her go.”
“You what?” came a unified outrage from everyone in the room.
“What other options do we have?” Travis’s aquamarine eyes begged his cousin to understand his predicament. No matter what had Emma said or done, Travis couldn’t harm a hair on her head, not the girl he had loved, and probably still loved regardless of her hatred. Brainwashing at its finest.
We all waited as Chase weighed Emma’s fate. Thank heavens Devin wasn’t home or this might have been awkward to explain, but something told me that Devin was good with unusual. Chase might not be the oldest, but there was no doubt where the shoulder of authority lay. It went to his head 9.9 times out of 10. I could just hear him saying that it was the price for being a badass.
I snorted. Chase eyed me and cocked a brow at my sudden outburst. I returned the gesture.
“This is going to end badly,” Chase predicted. Then he sighed. “Travis, take her home.”
Chapter 14
The following day at school, chaos broke out through the halls. Cluster of students loitered in the halls in hushed whispers, stunned expressions, and even some tears. I knew something big had happened, and I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Strutting down the tiled hall like she owned the world was my worst nightmare.
Emma Deen.
Her hair, a perfect blend of blond and red, was tossed into a no-nonsense ponytail. She wore no makeup and managed to still look beautiful. Everything about her stood out like a sore thumb. There was just something about the way she carried herself. It wasn’t like most high school girls.
I was almost sure that I hated her more than Sierra and that was saying something. Emma was unpredictable, a threat to my health, and seven different kinds of crazy. We needed to stay clear of each other, or one of us was liable to kill the other. But at Hall High avoiding someone was near impossible. This was the kind of school where running into someone several times a day was a given. Having a class with everyone at least once a day – guaranteed.
This girl was going to my make life a living nightmare.
I slumped hard against the lockers and shut my eyes. Was it too much to hope that I could meld into the metal and disappear? I tried to make myself invisible, but no matter how much I wished she would walk right by me, it didn’t happen. I had danced with the devil and hell was going to take every opportunity to make my life difficult…or so I told myself.