I bit the side of my cheek and slid my gaze away from her.
She sighed, pushing up to a sitting position. “Look, I know what happened to yer mom was hard. Hell, it was pretty hard for all of us. She was the best in our family. Of our kind.”
I turned my head to hide the tears threatening to spill. “I doubt Aunt Dahlia feels that way. Once Mom was out of the way, she jumped to become the new Pyrrha.”
Aunt Jo sighed. “Ya gotta understand. This don’t stop. Dahlia was doin’ what she thought was right. She mourns yer mom in her own way.”
Two days after I’d lost my mother, Aunt Dahlia had moved her family into our house. I’d been forced into a smaller bedroom, while her twin daughters, Hadley and Lacey, had taken over mine. I understood the logic of all of now, but back then I’d felt a little like Cinderella. That, along with her cold bitch attitude, made sure that neither of us saw eye to eye.
I stood up. “We should get going.”
I lifted Aunt Jo back in her chair and pushed her out of the dojo. Her face remained pinched with disappointment during the ride back to her hotel. She wanted me to open up to her, but that wasn’t happening today. I’d already scraped at the old wounds enough. Dawn hadn’t broken the horizon, and already I wanted the day to be over. I pulled into the handicap parking space and helped her out. She gave me one last frown as she wheeled toward the sliding doors of the lobby.
“Same time tomorrow?” It would really rock if she had a meeting or something.
She glanced back with a raised eyebrow and pinched mouth.
“See you tomorrow then.” I hunched my shoulders and climbed back into my car.
I drove home humming one of those catchy tunes I didn’t know the name of and tried to push the last two hours from my mind. The whole day lay ahead of me with classes and friends. And maybe chance meeting with Mercer.
I sighed. I hadn’t seen him since my fight with Serenity last weekend. Of course, I still hadn’t seen much of Serenity, either. I needed to talk to her, to apologize, but she’d kept a locked door between us since the argument. I would be patient. She couldn’t avoid me forever.
I parked my car in front of my apartment and hopped out. The first rays of the sun pierced the sky, turning it to a mix of orange and purple. A shower and a cup of coffee would help wash the remnants of the morning away.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up on end. Someone was watching me. Again. I scanned the parking lot with narrowed eyes. Had that creepy janitor found out where I lived?
The bushes in front of the dumpster shook with a violent rattling. I reached in my backseat and pulled out a metal baseball bat. Even though I excelled at hand to hand combat, it was always a good back up plan to have a weapon. After all, dogs were harder to fight with bare hands.
I crept to the bushes with the bat raised. The stench that surrounded the trash clogged up my nose. This went beyond the sickly sweet smell of rotten food. Death and decay permeated the air. I took a step back and gagged, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth. The bushes shuddered again, followed by a metal bang as something hit the trashcan. I crashed through the shrubbery with a warrior princess cry, only to find … nothing.
I scowled. What the hell?
A movement beyond the chain-link fence flashed in the corner of my eyes. Someone had disappeared behind the alley. The morning light shone down at something clumped among the bushes. I squatted down for a closer look.
Auburn hair lay caught in the branches along with a bit of rotten scalp.
Chapter 11
“Why are you crouched in the bushes?”
I jumped up and spun around with my bat raised. Serenity stood a few feet away with a trash bag in one hand. She took a couple steps back with her arms and eyebrows raised. I lowered my bat and let out a long breath.
“Don’t scare me like that,” I said.
“Have you decided to start a one-woman neighborhood watch or something?” she asked.
“No, I thought I heard someone hiding.” I scanned the alley behind the fence again.
She walked to the dumpster and tossed the bag in, keeping her sanity-questioning gaze on me. “Right. Why would anyone be hiding in the bushes at dawn?”
“I—” I bit my lip. Would she even believe me? “I thought someone was watching me.”
She smirked. “You know the world doesn’t revolve around you.”
“This isn’t a joke,” I snapped. “First there was this creepy janitor at school. And someone was here.”
She frowned as she studied my face. “You think he found out where you live?”
I glanced down at the hair, its auburn strands gleaming in the morning light. “No, I don’t think it was him this time.”
She crossed her arms. “You have two people stalking you?”