Page 80 of His Puppet

She sighs and turns to me, her shoulders slumped. She shrugs then nods toward the street and goes to step off the porch.

I turn toward the entrance, lift my foot and kick the door in. Someone inside the house yelps and jumps back, their hands behind them feeling for the banister when they back into it. The guy’s wearing eyeliner and has one of those bull rings. A blue streak slices through his jet-black hair, which, judging by his lighter-colored eyebrows, isn’t his natural shade.

“Blade,” Emily grits under her breath.

I look over my shoulder and meet her glare. “You said it was important.”

She shakes her head and pushes past me inside. Her hands go up slowly like she doesn’t want to frighten Bull-ring guy. “Hey, Skyler.”

I step inside after her and swing the door back, but the frame is busted so it doesn’t shut. I look into the living room at three people crouched down in the dark, shaking and staring at me like I’m the Bogeyman.

I smirk and wave.

“We don’t know anything,” Skyler says, his eyes trained on me.

“Come on, Sky, it’s me.”

“You?” he says, his eyes moving back to her and narrowing. “We don’t even know whoyouare! That guy came looking for you, and, and…” He gestures toward me. “Well?”

“Blade is a friend of mine. We just need to talk to Ellison, that’s all.”

“Sorry about the door,” I say, crooking my thumb over my shoulder. Skyler gives me a dirty look that turns fearful as soon as he meets my eyes.

“Nathaniel told him to leave as soon as you left the last time,” Skyler tells Emily. “We haven’t seen him since.”

Sadness crosses Emily’s face, but she quickly recovers. “Do you know if he ever went to the police?”

Skyler shakes his head. “No one has seen him since—”

“No, I mean, the night that guy came. Did Ellison go to the police once he left?”

Skyler’s jaw drops, and his eyes bulge. “Are you kidding me?”

Emily sighs. “Never mind.” She turns and gives me a ‘let’s go’ look before striding through the door and starting down the walkway. I give the foyer one last glance over, wondering how Emily ever fit in with these people, then I hurry to catch up with her.

We walk side by side on the sidewalk toward the car. We parked a ways down because Emily didn’t want her old roommates to see her coming, something that didn’t work.

I nudge her. “Are you okay?”

She glances at me and nods. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, unconvincingly. “Just a little bummed.”

“Your uncle doesn’t know where you are, Emily.”

She sighs. “I know, it’s not just that.”

“What is it then?”

She slows and crosses her arms over her chest, although it’s ninety degrees out. “He’s my best friend, and he’s just … gone. I’m never going to get an explanation of why he lied to me, and I just—I don’t know, I wish I had closure. He was the closest thing to family that I had.”

“You have a new family, now.”

She laughs dryly. “Who, the familia?”

I stop her on the sidewalk and gently grasp both of her shoulders. “Do you not want that?”

Her eyes glisten, and she shrugs. “I mean, I don’t know. Maybe. But up until today, they wanted me out of their lives, so I’m assuming they aren’t exactly embracing me with open arms.”

I frown. “You said you wanted to be a part of my world. Did you mean that?”

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