Beneath the Stars (Falling Stars 4)

“I don’t even know, Royce. It happened so fast. I went inside to get diapers…”

Her throat trembled when she swallowed. “I came back out and went to climb back into my car and…and…”

Her head shook and she blinked like she was trying to make sense of what happened.

Now that I believed.

The girl had been blindsided.

“Someone just…came up behind me and slashed me.”

Her hand went to her chest that was covered by the dressing gown.

Shit.

I staked the fingers of both hands through my hair and held on to keep from going to her.

“Someone cut you? Out of the blue?” Royce growled it.

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t buying that, either.

“What did this person say?”

“Nothing. I think…I think maybe he thought I was someone else or something. I don’t know. It was a blur and happened so fast. He was already gone before I’d even realized he’d cut me.”

Uneasily, I shifted on my feet.

Left in the chains of her fear. The stark terror I could feel coming off her, even though she was doin’ her best to play it off.

But I knew, it was a big freakin’ thing.

Maggie was scared and lying and clinging to some sort of resolution that I saw shining in the depths of her eyes.

And I’d do whatever it took to protect her from whatever she was hiding from.

Dinner had been a somber affair.

Everyone had fretted over Maggie when we’d first walked through the door after she’d been discharged, while the girl had faked the fakest smile ever faked and tried to play it off like it was just another day.

Conversation had been stilted.

Forced.

Awkward as all hell.

I’d twitched, knee bobbing at warp speed under the table while I’d picked at the pizza we’d ordered since it’d been so late when we’d gotten home.

Whole time, Royce had silently raged.

Dude a fuckin’ monstrous dark cloud that had gathered at the horizon.

His landfall promised the obliteration of anything that got in his way.

Or maybe what had really been goin’ down was the guy had just been feeding off mine.

This fury I could feel growing in strength.

Taking over.

This girl who was wrecking everything I thought I knew.

Everything I’d held fast to for so long.

About thirty minutes before, Maggie had excused herself, claiming she was tired and wanted to get some rest, while Leif and his family packed up to go to their house outside the city for the night.

Violet and Richard took Daisy to their room, same as Royce and Emily took Amelia to theirs.

Mel hovered.

Shootin’ daggers at me like maybe I was the one who was responsible for this.

For the first time ever, I wasn’t.

Trying to divert the coming questions, I moved into the kitchen to clean up. Mel backed me into the corner the second we were alone.

“What the hell do you think you’re doin’, Rhys?”

“Nothing.”

“That girl—”

I flew into her face.

I loved Mel. Respected the hell out of her. Appreciated every-fucking-thing she’d done for me.

But she needed to know this was different.

“That girl is special. I know. I fucking know. But please, stay out of it.”

“Rhys.”

“Please.”

I didn’t confess that I’d been with Maggie last night.

Figured Mel knew me well enough to see through any bullshit I’d feed her anyway.

What I wanted to confess was that I cherished Maggie.

That I would take care of her.

Protect her.

That I’d give anything to be able to keep her when I knew that was an impossibility.

Instead, I simply asked Mel for space. “Just drop it. Not tonight.”

“Rhys,” she protested.

“Serious.”

Warily, she backed away, seeing that I was close to my end. My nerves frazzled.

I finished cleaning up and then climbed the stairs.

Both anxious and drained.

Needing to get to the girl.

I was turning the knob to my bedroom door, the hushed sounds behind closed doors echoing like omens, not one of us immune to it, when I felt that dark cloud descend.

Royce was there.

His black eyes flares in the shadows that crawled the hallway walls.

Stilling, I shifted to look back at him.

The tat on his throat bobbed when he swallowed. “Need you to do me a favor.”

My chin lifted in question. “What’s that?”

“See if you can find out what’s going on with her. Know you two are friends, and whatever it is, she doesn’t trust me with it.”

Guilt blazed. Thing was, the protectiveness and care I felt for this girl doused it to ash. More powerful than anything. “If she won’t tell you somethin’, I hardly think she’ll confide in me.”

He roughed a hand through his hair. “Just try, Rhys. For me. For her. Know she’s lying, and I can’t stand aside and pretend like this isn’t happening.”

“Yeah. Sure. Of course. Anything.” This time it was my turn to lie. “Not hopeful, though.”

“All I’m asking is for you to listen out for anything that might be amiss. If she says something or you hear anything.”

“Of course, man.” I turned the knob to my door. “Try to get some rest, yeah?”