His words didn’t ease the tension building in me. “People know she left with me today,” I said, which so wasn’t true, but figured it couldn’t hurt. “If she disappears, it’s not going to look good for me.”
Lane shook his head. “Like I said, that girl will go home.”
“She better,” I warned, and left it at that.
He opened his car door with a sigh. “I’m hungry. Let’s go grab something to eat.”
Getting food was the last thing I wanted, but Smoke Hole was closer to home than where we were, so we headed there in each of our cars. Even though it was a Saturday and the waiting area was crowded, I came to Smoke Hole enough that we were seated immediately
And the fact that the waitress was a Luxen and recognized who Lane was helped.
No one was seated near us in the back.
All I ordered was a glass of water, but Lane went all out, picking the meat loaf off the menu, like he always did when we met here. After the waitress rushed off to fulfill the orders, Lane leaned back in the seat, and when he spoke, he kept his voice low. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. What went down on Halloween night?”
I folded my arms across my chest and met his stare. “Why has it taken so long for you all to come around and ask me?”
“I just got my orders on Friday to talk to you,” he replied.
“That doesn’t tell me anything.”
“I don’t need to tell you more than that.” He raised his hands. “I’m not trying to be a dick to you, but I just carry out my orders, and when they change, I know better than to question them. You should learn from that.”
My lips twisted into a wry smirk. “Well, you know me, I’m not real good at learning things.”
Lane laughed drily. “Now, I know that’s not true.” He paused when our drinks arrived. “What happened over Halloween?”
I took a healthy drink of my water before responding. “One of the guys from the colony got a little out of control. He was threatening my sister and… and my friends.”
“Kind of odd to see you with a human friend,” he cut in.
My finger trailed along the cool glass. “Well, it’s kind of hard not to when she lives right next door. That’s not my fault. You all let her and her mother move in. Anyway,” I went on, feigning boredom with the conversation. I went along with what I knew the Elders had told the DOD according to Matthew. “He was out of control. We fought. It was pretty impressive.”
“I’ll say. Took out a satellite.”
I grinned. “Cool.”
Lane’s stare was dry as his plate of food arrived. He cut into the meat loaf with an expression of bliss on his face. “What happened to the one who got out of control?”
Good question. I wasn’t sure what the Elders had told them, but with that kind of display of power, someone died. The Elders would’ve known that. “No longer a problem.”
He paused, a huge chunk of meat loaf dangling from his fork. “You know that’s forbidden.”
I took another drink. “And what would you have had me do? Let him expose us? Expose that the government is well aware of—”
“I get it,” he interrupted, chewing thoughtfully. “Your colony reported the same thing. Officer Husher didn’t seem to have a problem with it, just so you know. Talking with you today is just procedural.”
A little bit of relief set in. “Why did Husher come along? This seems too pedestrian for her.”
He snickered. “Officer Husher likes to do ride-alongs every once in a while. Today was just your lucky day.”
Now it was my turn to snort. My dislike of Husher was no big secret. I glanced out the window. Night had begun to fall. I wished I could trust Lane. I liked him, but I knew that I was just a job to him. One he tolerated. I turned my attention back to him. He looked up, only a small piece of meat loaf remaining on his plate.
“What?” he asked.
I picked up my glass. “Nothing.”
Lane finished off his meat loaf, leaving the mashed potatoes untouched, like always. He placed his fork on the plate and leaned back. “Off the record?”
Yeah, right. I waited.
“You’re being smart, right?”
My fingers stilled on the glass. “About what?”
“The girl. Katy.”
“You sound like a father, Lane.” My tone was nonchalant, but that wasn’t what I was feeling.
Lane’s grin was small. “Sometimes I feel like that. I’m not asking what is going on with you two. You’re both young and the differences don’t matter in the…heat of the moment. She’s a pretty girl. Be smart, Daemon.”
I wasn’t being smart when it came to Kat, and I had all but given up on that.
Pulling into the driveway, I parked my car and opened the door. There wasn’t a light on at Kat’s house, but as I neared my porch, I felt the warm tingle along the back of my neck. I almost hit my knees. She was here. She was okay. I climbed the steps.