I ground to a halt; my heart caught and then sped up in my chest, mirroring Kat’s. Two Expeditions were parked on either side of my car, blocking me in. Without saying a word, I stepped in front of Kat.

The DOD was here.

Chapter 15

I recognized all of the DOD officers immediately. Officer Lane was the first to step forward, his wary gaze trained on me. “Hello, Mr. Black and Ms. Swartz,” he said.

“Hey, Lane.” I kept my voice calm. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“We got into town a little early and saw your car.” Lane smiled.

Officer Vaughn squinted, as if trying to see through me. For once in her life, Kat was remaining quiet behind me. “What were you guys doing out here?”

“There was a party here last night, and we were looking for her cell phone.” I threw a grin over my shoulder and prayed to whoever may be listening that she didn’t have her cell on her and it didn’t ring. “She lost it and we’re still looking for it. So I can meet you guys later. Once we find the…”

The passenger door of one of the Expeditions opened and an icy blonde-haired woman stepped out. I swallowed a curse, recognizing the sharp features. “Underage drinking?” She smiled, but it was fake. It was wrong.

Every part of me tensed as I stared at Nancy Husher. Dealing with Lane and Vaughn was one thing, but this woman? She was trouble, and not the fun kind. I didn’t see her often, and the fact that she was here did not bode well.

“We weren’t drinking,” Kat spoke up. “He knows better. His parents are like mine. They’d kill him.”

I kept my face blank as a sheet of paper.

“Well, I was hoping to catch up with you, Daemon, and we could get an early…dinner.” Lane motioned toward his Expedition. “We only have a few hours. I hate to cut your cell phone search-and-rescue short.”

Staring at Husher for a moment, I nodded. “It’s okay. I can take her home and meet up with you guys.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Husher said. “We can take her back, and you guys can catch up.”

Oh, I did not like that. Not at all. A muscle thrummed along my jaw, and I was seconds away from telling Husher she could go screw herself, but Kat stepped forward with a bright smile. “That’s cool with me,” she said. “I just hope it’s not going out of your way.”

My right hand clenched and I wanted to shout at Kat. She didn’t know Husher, didn’t know what that woman was capable of. I didn’t want Kat in the same zip code as Husher, let alone in a vehicle with her.

“It’s not out of the way,” Husher replied. “We love the roads back here. Fall colors and all. Ready?”

Kat walked toward the SUV, glancing back at me as Husher opened the back door of the Expedition. I forced my legs to move toward my car, but I didn’t take my eyes off the vehicle. Not when Husher closed the door on Kat. Not when that woman smiled in my direction before climbing into the passenger seat. Not when Vaughn got behind the wheel. Not until the Expedition backed out of the field and pulled out onto the road, disappearing from view.

There was nothing I could do.

Helplessness poured into me, followed by bitter frustration.

Lane stopped by his driver’s door. “They’ll take your friend home, Daemon.”

I met his steady gaze and spoke the damn truth. “I don’t trust a single one of you.”

“That’s a vice versa thing,” he replied. “Always has been. You and I know that, but they will take your friend home.”

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.”