Page 26 of Daughters of Chaos

I turn to face him, noting the now neutral expression he has plastered on his face. "Yeah?"

"How 'bout you take off. Head home and spend the rest of the day with your sister." I notice it isn't a question so much as a command, but with everything that's happened today, I'm not going to argue.

I nod. "Yeah, okay. I'm sure you and the guys have a lot to discuss," I reply pointedly. Viper meets my eyes with a flash of anguish, and I almost feel bad for the guy as I walk away without another word.

I give Jesse and Archie a quick goodbye and grab my things. When I get outside, I'm unsurprised to find Reaper perched on his bike in the spot next to mine—he's back on guard duty. After everything that's happened, I don't have the energy to shoot off some smart-ass comment. To be honest, for once, I'm grateful for his hulking presence.

He fires up his motorcycle when I get to my car and waits for me to pull out. The enforcer stays right on my ass the whole way home, making sure no one gets between us, making sureI make it without being followed—a small comfort given the circumstances.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I pull into the drive and see Raptor's bike outside. He's still here with Nix, keeping her safe.Thank goodness.

Reaper stays outside even after I lock the door behind me, keeping a watchful eye on the neighborhood. I can't help but notice his usual scowl looks angrier, more lethal than I've ever seen. The pit in my stomach—that feeling of dread that formed when Dom said his goodbye—starts to grow. I know in my gut things will only get worse from here.

15

Phoenix

It's been an odd couple of weeks. Everyone has been acting strange, almost as if they're on edge, waiting for the sky to fall. I don't know what to think of it. Raven has been hovering, which is something she never does. Lace has been weird. And Raptor has shown up at the house several times to check on things.

Okay, so maybe that last one doesn't bug me so much, but he's even acting strange, though he does a better job at hiding it than Lace and my sister. I don't know what to make of any of it. The extra time I've been able to spend with Raptor lately because of it—yeah, that's been amazing—but is there a reason behind it other than he wants to spend time with me? I hope not.

He's opened up with me about more—his favorite things, hobbies, and stories from his childhood. That part has been incredible. It's almost incredible enough to make me forget how strange everyone is acting, but not quite.

I decide to shrug it off for now and shift my focus as I head for class.At least I have that to distract me.It feels like this part of my life is finally starting to come together. I've dreamed of getting my degree for so long, and now I'm finally taking the steps to get there.

Mom would be so proud.

I smile at the thought and let myself get lost in academia for the next several hours, not giving another thought to the way everyone has been acting.

By the time my classes end for the day, it's early afternoon. A strange feeling overwhelms me as I walk to my car, an eerie chill that sends shivers down my spine. The kind you get when it feels like someone is watching you.

I look around, checking my surroundings for anything that stands out, and find nothing. I shake my head, laughing at myself.Way to go, Phoenix, freaking yourself out over nothing.But the feeling doesn't go away.

I'm about to jump in my car when I feel it again. Only this time, it's stronger. I look up and see a man around my age staring at me from the next lane over. I've never seen him before, and the look in his eyes makes my skin crawl. In record time, I'm out of the parking lot and heading home, taking a different route than usual, watching behind me to make sure I wasn't followed.

Before heading into my neighborhood, I pull four consecutive right turns, making sure the cars behind me aren't following suit. None do. When I'm certain no one is tailing me, I make my way home. The second I throw my car in park, I let my head fall against the headrest.

This is stupid. No one was following you. The guy in the parking lot was probably just zoning out. You're being paranoid.

I shake my head again, chastising myself for letting something so silly get to me. I mean, really, why would anyone be keeping tabs on me? I just moved here, and it's not like I've met enough people to make enemies. I'm being ridiculous over nothing. Taking a cleansing breath, I head inside.

Raven passes me in the kitchen on her way to work. "Hey, Nix. How were your classes?"

"Great. I'm enjoying them so far," I tell her, tempted to mention the parking lot incident, but decide against it. I'd hate to get her worked up over something so silly.

"I'm glad to hear it. I gotta go, but if you're hungry, there are leftovers in the fridge." I thank her as she heads out the door. After Raven disappears, I settle in to finish my homework.

By the time everything is complete several hours later, my stomach is begging for food. I dig into the fridge and make myself a plate of Raven's chicken carbonara. My mouth is salivating as I punch in the time on the microwave and hit start. As the machine fires up, the lights on the microwave go out with a flash. The buttons stop working, and nothing I do magically fixes the faulty appliance.Crap.

I send a text to my dad, asking if he has the landlord's number. He set everything up for us when we moved in, saying the landlord was a friend of Bear's, but we never got a number to call if things went wrong. It's strange, but I never thought much of it until now. Instead of replying with a number, he tells me someone will be over shortly to take a look.

Okay, that's odd, isn't it?I shrug off the fact that Dad wouldn't just give me the landlord's number and busy myself around the house.

Before I can think much about Dad's strange behavior, a loud knock sounds on the front door.Well, that was fast.When I open the door, I'm stunned. Raptor is standing outside with a toolbox in hand.As if he wasn't hot enough . . .I don't have time to marvel at how fast help arrived because the first glimpse of Raptor in his tight white t-shirt has my brain short-circuiting.

God, he's gorgeous.

"Hey. Did the landlord send you over?" I ask awkwardly when my mouth and brain finally resynch. I stopped short of wiping my mouth for drool, hoping my leering didn't go that far.

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