Chapter 10
DENVER
I have issues. I know this. My stalking abilities are terrible, but I have invested in a few things. Well, not so much invested as much as I found some old binoculars in a thrift shop and bought them so I can look at Arhe from a distance.
I debated getting a ghillie suit.
I may have bought that as well, just in case…
not that I’d ever put it on because it smells like a dead animal, but it’s something, right?
Not like I want to be a legit stalker. Being on the receiving end of one gave me a hefty dose of C-PTSD that still rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times.
Especially since that fucking fuck might still be in town.
This—what I’m doing here—it’s different. Right? It has to be, because Arhe likes me. He’s touched me. He’s kissed me. He’s made me come and practically see god, so me sitting in his driveway doesn’t count as actual stalking.
And okay, maybe I’m trying to convince myself, but I think it’s working.
Or maybe I’ve lost my marbles. Hopefully, someone finds them soon.
Shoveling some popcorn into my mouth, I chew as I fiddle with the knob on the binoculars and press them to my eyes. I followed Arhe here, and the property’s been dark and quiet since I turned off the car and started watching.
He lives on the outskirts of town, near Leaf, which is fitting since the family seems to be a bit murdery, and Leaf comes from a family with real, actual serial killers in it. Or, well, one serial killer, but one is plenty.
I wonder if Arhe and Leaf have met. I’m not sure that would be a good thing or not, but I could see Arhe’s quiet presence and Leaf’s absolute chaos getting along like a house on fire.
I huff a small laugh at the thought, as a popcorn kernel gets stuck in my tooth. I pick it out and flick it out the window, grimacing because that was kind of gross, and I’m glad Arhe wasn’t here to see me be the opposite of sexy.
Uhg, I probably should have gotten something a little easier to eat, but I was in a hurry to leave campus. This was the one thing I had in my office besides a few things of stale beef jerky, and I’m not really into chewing leather.
I shove another handful into my mouth and turn my attention to the back windows.
The house sits eerily quiet despite the fact that I know they’re there. A van pulled up behind the house a few minutes ago, but I saw nothing once it turned the corner behind the shed.
And that was two hours ago.
Part of me wonders if Arhe knows I’m here. I parked my car off the road, and I’m being very discreet, but he seems to know things he shouldn’t. If he were anyone else, there wouldn’t be a chance. I’m very fucking sneaky.
The CIA should hire me. Maybe I’ll ask Thorne how he got recruited to the FBI, and—
My thoughts cut off as I fall into a violent coughing fit, choking on a popcorn kernel.
I need to stop eating this before I die out here.
If I do, Michael will find me and drag me into one of his little groundhog holes to live with the other bones on Leaf’s property, and Arhe would spend the rest of his life wondering what happened to me.
I pull the binoculars away from my eyes and rub at them. Yeah, I think I might actually be losing it.
I need a reality check. Or maybe I could be a responsible stalker and turn my hotspot on and do some grading.
Students have been submitting their videos, and watching them makes my eyeballs cross, but my students take it very seriously—and then at least I could feel like I accomplished something besides watching a house for three hours in the middle of the night.
Pulling out my laptop, I’m about to get started when there’s a knock at the window.
I’d forgotten I put my CIs in and nearly jump out of my skin at the noise I wasn’t expecting to hear.
The tapping on glass vibrates against my chest as I attempt to calm my heart, and I peer over to find Arhe leaning his arm on the car, his brows up.
After a second, his eyes crinkle in the corners, almost like he’s smiling, but not quite. I can tell he’s amused though.
I pull my hand away from my thumping chest and offer something that’s supposed to be a smile but feels a lot more like a grimace. ‘Hi,’ I mouth.
Arhe’s eyes flick down to the binoculars in my lap, and his eyes flash to mine. ‘Out.’
I blink at him owlishly. I shouldn’t get out. I’m on a stakeout. Although my stakeout has been ruined by the man I was supposed to be spying on.
Damn it, I should have put on the ghillie suit.
‘Sorry, can’t. I’m busy,’ I tell him.
He reaches down and pulls the door open, and a soft breeze rushes into the car. He leans in closer, his gaze flickering down toward my lap, then to the seat beside me, and then to my face.
I follow the path his gaze took, and my entire body erupts in a humiliated blush. There’s popcorn all over my pants, the bag half-spilled on the seat, and I probably have crumbs all over my mouth.
Yep, just like I thought before, the opposite of sexy. I very much doubt he’s going to bend me over any graves after this.
He pulls the door open farther and signs again, ‘Out.’
I guess I should obey him. I mean, really, who did I think I was? Mata Hari? I step out, crumbs falling to the ground, and I brush at my legs for good measure before glancing around. He’s staring at my chin intently, and I can tell he wants me to look back at him.
‘What?’ I finally ask, and his lips curl up.
‘Come. You’re hungry.’
I frown as I realize my stomach has been growling this entire time. The popcorn did nothing to fuel me, and considering I haven’t eaten since lunch today, my blood sugar is probably through the floor.
He gives me a smirk, then turns and marches off, and I sigh, following him as he makes his way toward his house. I keep several feet of distance between us so I can indulge my need to stare at him. My eyes slide from the back of his neck to his wide shoulders, down to his ass.
It’s a very, very nice one, and I lick my lips, feeling a hunger that has nothing to do with the fact that I haven’t eaten in hours.
As though he senses it, he peers over his shoulder and catches me looking. My cheeks flame, but I straighten my back and purse my lips.
‘You want to fuck me,’ he says, and I roll my eyes.
Of course I do. I wouldn’t be out here, in the middle of farm country, if I didn’t. But he doesn’t need me to say it out loud.
‘Know-that,’ he adds and then turns back around and jogs up the rickety porch steps.
They’re mismatched and feel unstable beneath my feet as I follow him up.
The entire house is old, with worn paint adorning the outside and wood rot that desperately needs to be replaced.
But it has good bones. It’s sturdy, and when my eyes catch on some blue tarp stapled to the side of the roof, I can tell they’re in the process of renovating it.
I wonder if that means they’re planning to stay a while. The thought makes my stomach clench, and it sends a zinging sensation up my spine.
Before I can dig too deeply into what that means, Arhe swings the front door open and holds it as I step past him.
The room opens up immediately to a spacious living area with taped-up moving boxes lining the wall on the far side.
In front of the window is a floral couch, and across from that is a TV stand, but it’s missing the TV.
The rest of the house is full of furniture that looks like it came straight out of a 1980s Sears catalog.
I don’t think any of it belongs to them, considering the layers of dust on everything, but then again, what do I know?
Most of my furniture came from IKEA delivery and bribing my friends with pizza and beer to put those Swedish, adult LEGO together in a way that will keep it all from falling apart in three months.
Arhe hovers beside me, so I look down at my shoes and point at them. ‘Off?’
‘Don’t care.’ He shrugs and then steps forward, leaving me to follow him once more.
The floor’s kind of a mess, so I leave them on as I trot after him, and we move into a spacious kitchen that looks a lot more put together than the living room.
It has a large chipped farmhouse sink and mismatched cabinets, which give the place charm.
It looks a lot more like a granny’s house than a place that belongs to three probably-not-vampire murderer brothers, but hey, maybe that’s their aesthetic.
Either way, it’s not perfect, but it looks functional, and that’s probably all not-quite-vampires need.
Arhe regards me for another long moment, then opens the fridge and bends down, grabbing what looks like three grocery store packs of lunch meat, some lettuce, and a jar of Dijon.
‘Sit,’ he orders, and I try not to think about how easy it is to obey his commands. I set my ass on a wobbly stool at the peninsula and rest my elbows on the laminate countertop as I watch him grab the cheap bread and begin to assemble what’ll be my dinner for the night.
It’s simple—turkey, cheese, and mustard—but my stomach rumbles all the same, and he must hear it because he glances back over at me, the right corner of his lips tilted up in amusement.
He hesitates before turning away, but when he crosses the room with the plate, his shoulders are more relaxed as he slides it toward me.
I stare at his hand, his hoodie sleeve resting at the base of his wrist, and there’s a brown stain on the cuff. Blood?
I try not to think about it as I pull the sandwich closer, though I don’t pick it up right away.
Arhe pushes it closer and with an annoyed huff signs, ‘Eat.’
I manage not to roll my eyes. He doesn’t look scary now. He looks a little pouty and adorable, his curls flopping over his forehead, his lips set in a tiny frown. His eyes don’t leave mine, and it’s not until the tension returns to his shoulders that I finally pick it up and take a massive bite.
‘Wine?’ he asks.