“You should try it,” I coaxed, closing my eyes. “It gives you perspective.”
There was a pause, and then I felt her lie down beside me. “So I Googled Daedalus.”
“Yeah?” I continued making the sexiest snow angel known to man. “What did you find out?”
“Well, there was no ‘Welcome to Daedalus: Secret Government Organization’ website to be found.”
“No shit?”
She smacked me with her hand. “Did you know Daedalus is tied to Greek mythology? He was the guy who created the labyrinth the Minotaur lived in and he was the father of Icarus. You know, the kid who flew too close to the sun on wings—wings fashioned by Daedalus.”
“Huh.”
“See, the legend says that when Icarus got too happy from flying, it was a form of passive punishment by the gods, and they caused him to lose his wings, which made him fall from the sky and drown, because, you know, that’s how the Greek gods rolled. They didn’t like that Daedalus had created something that gave mortals godlike abilities like flying.”
“I can basically fly,” I told her, and then grinned when she snorted. “What? I’m so fast that my feet don’t even touch the ground.”
“And your arrogance is so vast, it brings me to my next point,” she retorted, and I smirked. “See, Daedalus created things that bettered man. He did so at all costs, just like the government—just like Daedalus we know today. They named themselves after a Greek myth about a man who could give others godlike abilities. Just like this Daedalus. You know they did that on purpose.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me—the ego behind that.”
“You’d know,” she said.
“Hardy har-har.”
Kat grinned as she made another swipe of her arms and legs. “How is this giving me perspective by the way?”
I chuckled. “Wait for a couple more seconds.” When I stopped, I reached over and grasped her hand, pulling her up when I stood. I brushed the snow off her back and my hands lingered a bit on her rear, because of reasons.
Once I was finished, we stared down at our snow angels. Hers was tiny compared to mine, and interestingly top heavy. Kat folded her arms around her waist. “Waiting for the epiphany to happen.”
“There isn’t one.” I curled my arm around her shoulder and leaned down, pressing a kiss against her cool cheek. “But it was fun, wasn’t it? Now…” I steered her back to the snowman. “Let’s finish with your snowman. It can’t be incomplete. Not with me here.”
Chapter 3
Matthew had gotten a glass repairman out to Kat’s house the moment the plows made it to our road. The bedroom window was repaired mere minutes before her mom came home from Winchester on Friday.
Since she hadn’t seen her daughter in days, I slipped out the back door and gave them time to themselves. Her mom’s timing worked out, because keeping track of Dawson and making sure he didn’t get himself captured was pretty damn time-consuming.
Dawson had left the house on foot Friday morning, and of course, I followed him. Using the woods to travel into town, he tried to lose me a couple of times. He roamed the town and the county for hours.
Hours.
He had a purpose, though. Patrolling. Except he wasn’t searching for Arum. Oh no, he was looking for signs of Beth. Maybe even the DOD. He got close to the office he’d been kept at, but backed off. I had a feeling if I hadn’t been right behind him, he would have raided the place.
The sun was setting behind Seneca when Dawson finally stopped moving for longer than a minute. We were deep in the forest a few miles from the colony. A fallen tree separated us, just a couple of feet, but it felt like there were miles between us, a damn continent.
Dawson’s posture was stiff. “I’m not going to stop looking for her.”
Shock clenched my chest. Yesterday had been the first time he’d really spoken to me. I wasn’t expecting him to actually talk. Hell, it robbed me of my ability to put syllables together.
“If it were Katy, you’d do the same thing. I know you would.” Dawson tipped his head back and his shaggy hair brushed the collar of his sweater. “And yet you expect me to just forget about Beth and do what? Move on?”
I shook my head. “I don’t expect you to forget about her.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Slowly, he faced me with a haunted look on his gaunt face. Several moments passed. “Katy was in a cage, wasn’t she?”
My hands curled into fists. “Yes.”
“For a few hours, basically. Yet, her voice…it’s changed, and you know why.”
I did. I would never forget why she sounded raspy or why her voice cracked. The damage had been done from her screaming out in pain. My jaw locked down so hard I swore my teeth would crack.
“I wasn’t…” He swallowed. “Weeks. Maybe even months. That’s how long I was kept in a cage with onyx wrapped around my wrists and ankles.”
“Jesus,” I gritted out, wanting to rip every DOD officer apart.