“Hmm,” Ash murmured.
I was so going to duct tape her mouth shut. “Thanks,” I said to Lesa and then shot Ash a look that warned her not to follow.
It was Lesa this time who stopped me at the back door. She placed her hand on my upper arm, and when I glanced down at her, sincerity was etched into her expression. “God, she’s going to kill me for saying this,” she said. “But Katy does like you. She really does. Just remember that.”
The corner of my lips twitched. “I know.”
Cool night air washed over me. The door swung shut, muting some of the sounds. Walking off the deck, I cut between the houses. It didn’t look like she was at her place. Stopping near the porch, I scanned the endless stream of cars. It went all the way down to the empty house at the end of the street.
I glanced back at Kat’s house. Good thing her mom was working tonight.
Would her mom also be working for her birthday—tomorrow? From what I could gather, her mom usually worked Saturday nights. The idea of Kat spending her birthday alone didn’t sit well with me. But that wasn’t the issue at hand. Where in the world could she have—?
The distant sound of glass shattering stopped me. My eyes narrowed. A couple of car doors slammed shut, but the sound was farther away. I walked past the cars and about halfway down the driveway, the back of my neck starting to tingle.
Bingo.
Kat was near the empty house.
I cut over to the wooded area and then picked up speed, coming up around the back of the house. I slowed down as I spotted her walking back. Pushing a low-hanging branch aside, I stepped out of the woods. “What are you doing out here, Kat?”
Her shoulders were hunched. “I just blew up a bunch of windows.”
“What?” I moved closer. “You’re bleeding. What happened?” I paused. “Where are your shoes?”
She glanced down at her feet. “I took them off.”
I shot to her side, seeing tiny pieces of glass clinging to the sweater. I began picking them off.
“Kat, what happened?”
Lifting her head, she sucked in a sharp breath. “I was walking and I ran into Simon—”
“Did he do this to you?” My hands stilled, and I swear to all the stars in the sky, someone was going to be dead by the end of the night.
“No. No! I ran into him, and he was upset about you.” Her eyes met mine. “He said you beat him up?”
“Yeah, I did.” And I had a feeling I was going to do it again.
“Daemon, you can’t beat up guys because they talk bad about me.”
“Actually, I can.” Getting all the glass I could see, I lowered my hands to my sides. “He deserved it. I’m not going to lie. I did it because of what he was saying. It was bullshit. He knows what he did—what he tried to do—and to spin that around on you?” My hands curled into fists as my gaze flickered to the woods. “I’m not going to let some punk-ass human talk about you like that, especially him or his friends.”
“Wow,” she murmured. “I don’t think I’m supposed to say thank you, because that seems wrong, but, um, thanks.”
“Anyway, that’s not important. What happened?”
She drew in several deep breaths, and then it came out in a rush. “I just needed fresh air, so I came out here and I started walking. I don’t know. I was just angry and feeling…I just was so angry, and I’m frustrated, because I don’t know what is going on with me.” Her voice started to rise. “And the next thing I know, the window back there blew up, and I know it was me. I did that somehow, and Simon—oh my God, he was outside. I don’t even really know what he was doing. He was really drunk, but he saw me do it. I freaked out and another window shattered. I didn’t mean to do it on purpose. I really didn’t, Daemon. I—”
Chest aching, I wrapped my arms around her and tugged her against my chest. She didn’t resist, burrowing her face into me. I lowered my chin to the top of her head and held her tight. Her heart was pounding. So was mine, which explained why it had started doing that in the kitchen.
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose, Kitten.” I pressed my hand against her back, rubbing in a circle as my mind raced around yet another new problem. “Simon was drunk, so there’s a good chance he won’t even remember. And if he does, no one will believe him.”
“You think?” she whispered.
“Yes.” I pulled back, lowering my head so we were eye to eye. “People will think he’s crazy. No one will believe him, okay? And if he starts to talk, I’ll—”
“You’ll do nothing.” She tugged herself free, drawing in another heavy breath. “I think you’ve already scarred the boy for life.”
“Obviously not,” I muttered. “What were you thinking back there? You were upset. Why?”
Kat stared at me a moment and then spun around. She started walking back, through the woods.