Jennifer Armentrout - Onyx

Not even a minute later, I felt the rush of warmth on my neck. Stomach tumbling and twisting, I answered the door. “Daemon…” My words died off and my eyes widened. I must’ve woken him up, because…

No shirt. Again.

It had to be below thirty degrees outside, but he was standing in front of me in flannel pajama bottoms and nothing else but glorious, perfectly formed skin stretched taut over hard muscle. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d looked like shirtless, but my memory had not served him one bit of justice.

Daemon stepped inside, eyes wide and luminous. “What about Dawson?”

I shut the door, heart racing. What if telling him was a mistake? What if Dawson was dead? I’d just be screwing up Daemon’s life even more. Maybe I should’ve listened to Blake.

“Kat,” Daemon snapped, impatient.

“Sorry.” I moved past him, careful not to touch any of his exposed skin, and went into the living room. Popping in front of me, he planted his hands on his hips. I took a deep breath. “I saw Bethany today.”

Daemon’s head jerked to the side and he blinked once, then twice. “What?”

“Dawson’s girl—”

“I know what you said,” he interrupted me, dragging both hands through his tousled hair. For a moment I was a bit distracted by the way the muscles in his arms and shoulders rippled. Focus . “How can you be sure it was her, Kat? You’ve never seen her.”

“I’ve seen her missing person’s flyer. It’s a face I can’t forget.” I sat down, rubbing my hands over my knees. “It was her.”

“Holy shit...” Daemon sat beside me on the couch, dropping his hands between his legs. “Where did you see her?”

I watched the confusion lining his face and I wanted nothing more than to comfort him somehow. “At the post office after school.”

“And you waited until now to tell me?” Before I could answer, he laughed under his breath. “Because you were training with Bilbo Baggins and you had to wait until he left to talk to me?”

Squeezing my knees, I jerked my chin. Daemon should’ve been the first person I went to. Being shocked by what I saw and the training sessions weren’t nearly as important or a good enough excuse. “I’m sorry, but I’m telling you now.”

He nodded curtly and returned to staring at the Christmas tree. It seemed like forever ago that we’d put it up. “Man, I don’t…I don’t even know what to say. Beth’s alive?”

I nodded, pressing my lips together. “Daemon, I saw her with Brian Vaughn. She’s with the DOD. They’d pulled over on the side of the road and the car door had opened. That’s how I saw them. He was closing the door and he looked angry.”

Daemon slowly twisted his head toward me, and our gazes locked. Time stretched. An array of emotions went through his eyes, turning them from a bright green to a dark, stormy color. I saw the moment he knew what I was getting at—the second that his entire world came crumbling down and was rebuilt within seconds.

Suspecting that Dawson had healed Bethany, and then jumping to Dawson and Bethany disappearing because of the DOD rather than the Arum wasn’t a hard leap to make. Not after discovering that by healing me, Daemon had also changed me. Then you throw Blake into the mix, plus everything he’d told us about the DOD and their search for mutated humans.

Daemon was smart.

He shot to his feet and within seconds, he was out of his human form and blinding me. His light flared a shade of red-white as he pinged across the room. Wind picked up, stirring the bulbs on the Christmas tree. She was with the DOD? His voice whispered to me, tight with fury. The DOD is responsible for this?

Hearing Daemon’s voice in my head always took me a few seconds to get accustomed to, and out of habit I answered verbally. “I don’t know, Daemon, but that’s not the worst part of this. How would the DOD know what happened between Dawson and Bethany unless…?”

Unless someone told them? His light pulsed and a blast of heat filled the room. But Dawson didn’t even tell me he’d healed her or that anything happened. How would anyone know? Unless someone had seen them other than me, suspected what happened, and betrayed us…

I nodded, not even sure if he was looking at me or not. All I could see was his form, no features, no eyes. “That’s what I’ve been thinking. It had to be someone who knew, and that probably really limits the pool of suspects.”

Several moments passed and the temperature in the room continued to rise. I need to know who betrayed us. Then I’ll make them wish they’d never landed on this planet.

Eyes wide, I stood and pushed up the sleeves of my sweater. Swallowing, I took a chance. Daemon?

His light flickered. I hear you.

More proof that our connection hadn’t gone anywhere. I know you’re hell-bent on revenge, but most importantly, what if Dawson is still alive?

Daemon drifted over to me, and tiny beads of sweat broke out on my forehead. Then I don’t know if I should be happy or sad. He’d be alive, but where? The DOD has him, and if that’s the case, what kind of life has he had? For two years? His next words sounded choked, even within my mind. What have they been doing to him?

Tears filled my eyes, blurring his light. I’m sorry, Daemon. I’m really sorry. But if he’s alive, then he’s alive. I reached out, placing my hand through the light, touching his chest. The light pulsed erratically then calmed. My fingers hummed. That’s got to mean something, right?

Yes, yes it does. Then he stepped back, and a second later he was in his human form. “I need to find out if my brother is alive—and if he’s not…” He looked away, jaw working. “I need to know how and why he died. It’s obvious why they would want Beth, but my brother?”

I sat back down, wiping my palm over my forehead. “I don’t know—” Daemon grasped my hand so quickly, I gasped. “What are you doing?”

He turned my hand over, his brows furrowing. “What is this?”

“Huh?” I glanced down, and my heart stuttered. A deep, purplish bruise circled my wrist, right where Blake had grabbed me earlier. “It’s nothing,” I said quickly. “I banged my arm into the counter earlier.”

His eyes lifted, piercing mine. “Are you sure that’s what happened, because I swear if it’s not, you tell me and that problem will be solved.”

I forced a laugh and an eye roll for extra benefit. There was no doubt in my mind that Daemon would do something terrible to Blake even though it was an accident. There were no shades of gray with him. “Yes, Daemon, that’s all that happened. Geez.”

Studying me, he backed up and sat on the couch. Several moments passed. “Don’t tell Dee about this, okay? Not until we get some leads or something. I don’t want her knowing anything until we know for sure.”

Great. One more lie, but I could understand why. “How are you going to get leads?”

“You said you saw Bethany with Vaughn, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, I happen to know where he lives. And he probably knows where Beth is and what happened to Dawson.”

“How do you know where he lives?”

He smiled, a bit evilly. “I have my ways.”

A new panic dug in with icy fingers. “Wait. Oh no, you can’t go after him. That’s insane and dangerous!”

Daemon arched a coal-black brow. “As if you care what happens to me, Kitten.”

My mouth dropped open. “I do care, jerk-face! Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

Watching me a few seconds, his smile turned sad. “I won’t make promises I know I’ll break.”

“Argh! You’re so freaking frustrating. I didn’t tell you so you’d go off and do something stupid.”