We buckled up and pulled out of the parking lot. I glanced behind me and watched the man in the suit walk out of the shadows and stand underneath the artificial light of a nearby lamppost.
You can’t ever hide. His voice tickled the flesh around my ear and I flinched.
Andre looked over. A crease had formed between his brows. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” I knew what he meant, but I was not going to give up information easily.
“You’re frightened. I can smell it all over you.”
I should’ve known; we’d just been going over smells. “I thought I saw someone.”
“Who?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. The man in the suit had always been my little secret. While I knew I wasn’t crazy, I also knew that sane people just didn’t see apparitions.
I decided to go for honesty. “I don’t know.”
He raised an eyebrow and looked over at me. “You mean to tell me that you saw someone you don’t know, and you are scared of them?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“I bet. Because right now I don’t believe you.”
I leaned my forehead on my hand. He was reaffirming what I already knew; no one would believe me.
Andre pulled the car over. Nothing but rolling hills and farmland surrounded us. The car idled as he faced me. “You know you can trust me, right? I will never vilify you, and I will never think you’re crazy. Whatever has you worked up is not a burden you have to carry on your own.” His eyes had gone soft again, and he reached over to comfort me.
His words and gaze made my stomach flutter in a way that all his beauty couldn’t. What I felt wasn’t lust … it was something far scarier. Something I wasn’t ready to admit to.
Gently I moved his hand away. “You can’t understand. But more than that, this is not your problem, and you cannot protect me from my own troubles.”
***
The next few days passed uneventfully. Which, for the moment, was a really good thing. I used the time to catch up on my reading assignments. Unfortunately, this also gave me time to think over my close brush with death, my inheritance, and—most distracting—my kiss with Andre.
Friday morning, Leanne got ready next to me, leaning in front of her mirror and putting on mascara.
“So,” she said, “there’s supposed to be a college party tonight off campus. You up for going with me and Oliver? It’s a themed party.”
I fidgeted; I still hadn’t told her about my plans with Caleb. “Actually,” I said with faked nonchalance, “I have a date tonight.”
“No way!” she exclaimed, turning to look at me. “Why didn’t you say anything? Wait—who are you going on a date with?”
“Caleb Jennings,” I said, uncomfortable. “I met him in one of my classes.” I hadn’t mentioned it before because Caleb had been absent for most of the week. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure we were still going out tonight until he sent me a series of texts confirming our date was still on.
“Oh, he’s a hottie for sure,” she said. “It looks like life’s going pretty well for you right now, trapped between two delicious men, a large inheritance, and that beautiful face of yours.” I heard a note of jealousy in her voice, though I could tell she was trying hard to smother it and be a good friend.
I shifted uncomfortably and gave Leanne a tight smile. These moments always made me feel guilty, like I was somehow not appreciating the hand I’d been dealt. But then the guilt always led to sadness. What was money without family? And what were beauty and men without love? Everything Leanne had mentioned was just a means to an end: happiness. And happiness had eluded me.
Leanne hadn’t noticed my inner turmoil, yet she began to look concerned. “But you should know, he’s a shapeshifter.”
“Sorry—who?” I asked, still preoccupied with my own thoughts.
“Caleb.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
She shrugged, but I could tell she was holding back. “Not necessarily.”
I came over to her and touched her on the shoulder. “Seriously Leanne, you should tell me if there’s something I should know about Caleb.”
She put down her makeup and sat on her bed. “Caleb as a person is fine. But shapeshifters are a scary type of supernatural.” She still hadn’t scared me off. After all, technically I was a scary supernatural.
She continued. “Lycanthropes and other were-animals can change into a single form, and their changes are dictated by the lunar cycle. Shapeshifters, however, can shift into various forms on whim. And the type of shapeshifter Caleb is, well, it’s really rare. He can morph into any animal or person he wants.”
I still didn’t understand.
She took in my expression and elaborated. “He could hypothetically be in this room, right now. Literally a fly on the wall.”
Now that was a troubling piece of information to hear.
Leanne continued. “With that kind of ability he’s probably being recruited by the Politia.”