Chapter 9 Rafe #2
“We technically didn’t join the military,” I interjected, but Wyatt continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“He knows I’m powerful, and now he’s looking for my Key. He knows she’ll be powerful, too.”
“Okay…” I dragged out the word, waiting for the big reveal. I snorted. “You’re acting like he’s going to steal her from you.”
Wyatt didn’t laugh. Or speak. He fell silent.
A cold sweat drifted down my spine, and I spun around to face my friend.
“Wyatt,” I said slowly. Wyatt shifted on his feet, not meeting my eye. “You’re scaring me. What happened?”
“Nothing,” he breathed. He pulled out his phone. “He just…sent me some weird messages.”
I took the phone, eyeing him warily before I glanced down.
Dad
We’re all looking forward to meeting her. I saw her picture. She’s stunning
Have you met her parents?
Stop ignoring me, Wyatt. It’s childish
His phone buzzed suddenly, and my lip curled as Carissa’s name flashed across the screen.
Wyatt jumped on me the moment he saw her name, and we both fell to the ground.
“Fuck,” I said, my voice muffled from my mouth full of fucking sand.
Wyatt scrambled away from me, checking the phone in a way that could’ve appeared eager if I didn’t know him as well as I did.
“Ugh,” I groaned, spitting out more sand as I stood. I shook out my legs, shivering because I swear to God, there was sand up my ass somehow.
Wyatt grimaced at whatever Carissa had sent, and oh man, did I really need to see those messages. Before he could react, a shadow snatched Wyatt’s phone, and I moved through the darkness several yards down the beach.
“Rafe!” Wyatt’s voice was tiny since he was now far away, and I began speed-walking away while looking down at his phone.
And fucking hell, I wish I hadn’t.
Carissa
I see you’re in the islands. Would you want to come visit?
You’re still sharing your location with me :)
Mom’s making a roast this weekend. You used to love that :) I can meet you somewhere?
Going down to the beach…you could meet me there?
I froze in disgust at the bikini photo she’d sent.
Carissa wasn’t ugly, exactly, she just had an ugly soul.
She’d had some work done since I’d seen her last. Her boobs were definitely bigger as well as her lips.
She had a full face of makeup on for the beach, which was weird.
Also, she’d sent this all an hour ago as the sun was setting.
Had she really seen Wyatt was here, gotten dressed and made up just to see him for an hour in the fading sunlight?
I hated her so much.
Wyatt caught up to me, and I didn’t fight as he shoved me hard between the shoulder blades. He ripped his phone away from me, glancing down at the bikini photo and freezing.
Okay, so he hadn’t seen it. That was good.
“Jesus,” he whispered with a grimace.
“You should frame it,” I said, though my tone didn’t come out as teasing as I wanted.
“Fuck you,” Wyatt said. With a wave of his hand, he sent a wall of sand at me, and I coughed as my shadows reacted a fraction too late to save me.
I gagged, spitting out the sand that’d made it into my mouth. The shadows had spread out along the sand like a blanket in an attempt to keep more sand from flying at me. It was…sort of cute. But definitely wouldn’t work long-term.
And they didn’t seem able to do anything about the sand already up my ass.
“Wyatt, she’s going to–”
“Don’t say it,” Wyatt groaned. “I know.”
Skye was gonna kill him.
And for the first time in our lives, I didn’t have the urge to defend him.
“I thought you broke it off with her,” I said, nodding at his phone.
Wyatt ran a hand down his face. “I did. She’s just…persistent.”
“Have you responded to bikini pics before?” I asked.
Wyatt threw more sand at me and I jogged a few more feet away. “Dude, stop.” I coughed. “Why else would she be sending that, Wyatt? Obviously it worked before.”
“A lot of things worked before,” Wyatt groaned.
I pitied him. Carissa wasn’t the hottest chick he’d ever been with, especially not now that we knew Skye, but they’d been together a long time. I’d never been supportive of the relationship, but she’d disliked me long before that, so I felt no guilt about it.
Wyatt’s mother didn’t even like her, and she liked everyone.
I didn’t have time for any of this, though. It was time to go get our Key.
What do we do if the boss is here? Wyatt asked.
He probably is here, he lives here, Wyatt. I replied with an eye-roll, even as trepidation snaked through me. We didn’t know anything about this potential lover of Skye’s. What if his affinities were dangerous? And he already didn’t like Wyatt, my surly friend had made sure of that.
We were out in front of the café where Wyatt had first met Skye. There was an apartment attached to the storefront. The front of the apartment was overlooking a canal, so we opted to go in through the café.
I hadn’t considered the fact that Skye’s lover could be here with her. Wyatt was adamant that they lived together, which meant he’d be here.
I wondered how Aiden had faired in meeting him. If my lover showed up out of nowhere with another man in tow…I actually didn’t know how I’d react. My gut-reaction wasn’t murder, surprisingly.
Do we fight him? Wyatt asked. I stared at him for a second, watching how he chewed his lip nervously. God, he was so fucking stupid sometimes.
I told you before, I’m more than happy to add him to the family. I knelt in front of the café door, letting my shadows seep from my hands and into the lock.
There was no way we’d be sneaking around for long. Skye wasn’t stupid, which meant her lover wouldn’t be, either. They’d have security measures, or Skye would at least sense me once we made it inside, if she hadn’t already.
The idea that she was somewhere inside, feeling my presence had my heart speeding up a bit.
The shadows slid into the door lock, and a quick snick signaled that we’d made it in.
I pushed the door open gently, cringing in preparation for a squeaky hinge, but there was only silence. Not even a bell chimed.
Which meant I was right. Only people with security measures were comfortable with silent hinges.
Wyatt strode ahead of me, walking right into the café like he owned the place. I cursed under my breath but followed him quickly, quietly shutting and locking the door behind us before taking in the space before me.
The café was cute.
Several small tables filled the space and a few booths lined the windows and walls. There was a TV on one wall, and a loveseat couch in the corner near a fireplace, which was a little odd considering the constant mild weather.
Wyatt leaned over the counter, observing the many mismatched coffee mugs on a drying rack near a large sink.
I noticed a door marked employees only near the counter and made my way over. This door was also locked. My shadows spilled from my hand once more, sliding into the lock while Wyatt breathed down my neck behind me.
Back off, honeybuns. You’re messing up my focus.
Menace rolled off of Wyatt like a bad stench.
Fuck you, he seethed. Get this shit open.
Sure thing, babycakes.
I grunted when Wyatt grabbed me by the hair and shoved my head down toward the door lock. I bit my tongue to keep from making a dirty joke, then followed him through the door into a short hallway that opened up into a living room.
A wall-mounted television framed a built-in mantle that was covered in books, all health-related, from what I could see in the darkness. Blankets covered the large sectional couch, and a few books rested on the coffee table.
Where should we look first? Wyatt asked, but then a light flicked on overhead, and I was frozen before my shadows could react.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”