Evanescent - By Addison Moore Page 0,72

Laken and I exchange a quick look.

“So…” Dad relaxes back in his chair. “No particular monsters here. Her DNA has all of the required human markings and then some. She’s definitely one of us—a Nephilim through and through.”

“I guess there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Laken sinks in her seat.

I know for a fact if Wes weren’t in the room, this conversation would be a hell of a lot more animated.

“Nothing to be afraid of,” Dad echoes.

“Not true,” Wes counters. His jaw clenches as he takes us in. “Celestra is always the enemy.” He turns to face Laken in full. “Did she threaten you? Do you think she was trying to hurt you?”

“No. I just thought she was creepy.” Laken touches her hand to her chest. I have a feeling Wes is going to take this down a path I don’t want him to.

“I’ll dig in deep and find out everything I can about this Hattie girl,” he says with a sense of bravado designed to make Laken feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And there it is. Once Wes dives in and discovers two dead Tobias sisters with the same face, it’ll make him wonder what the hell is going on like the rest of us.

“No, please don’t.” She’s quick to stop him. “Flynn is doing that. In fact, when she came to the library tonight, she was looking for him.”

“That’s funny,” I say mostly to myself. “He wasn’t in class today or football practice. He hasn’t missed a practice ever, not even the day after Casper went missing.”

I pluck out my phone and stare at the bizarre text he sent last night.

H me

“He sent this while we were at the restaurant.” I show the phone to the three of them.

“H me?” Laken looks perplexed.

“Help me.” Dad nods up at me. “Sounds like your friend, Flynn, found himself in hot water.”

Shit.

Laken looks up at me and swallows hard because she knows exactly what this means.

We need to find Flynn, like yesterday.

Wes hardens his glare in my direction. He’s observed one too many secret glances between Laken and me. His body language alone clues me in on the fact I might be the next one to disappear.

Wes smirks. “He probably partied too hard and ended up in a different state entirely.”

I give a sober nod at Wesley’s almost plausible explanation.

More like another state of being.

“I wouldn’t be too worried.” Wes pats Laken on the knee. “He probably forgot what day it was. He’s functioning on half a brain.”

If the Spectators have anything to do with it—he won’t have a brain at all.

Laken insists we conduct a manhunt in the woods that line Ephemeral, which I wouldn’t have minded so much if she also hadn’t insisted on dragging Wesley along with us. The fact it’s near thirty degrees, and dark as hell didn’t seem to detour her either. Laken is dead-set on regaining Wesley’s trust. Not that I blame her. We have everything on the line if she loses it.

The woods snarl around us as the ground clouds hiss and swirl with our every step.

“Flynn had taken Hattie out here more than a couple times.” Laken shoots me a look.

I know what she’s thinking—we should keep all mention of our Spectator expeditions close to the vest. Wesley’s orders were to kill them, not resurrect them one by miserable one.

“We should get Hattie.” Wes turns toward Ephemeral without missing a beat.

“No,” I say. “I doubt she had anything to do with this.” Not only that, but I’m worried she might spout off about trying to find the Tobias clan and why. The less Wes knows, the better.

Laken steps over roots that sprout from the ground, thick as dinosaur tails. I wish it were just Laken and me—that it was Wes the Spectators ate for dinner last night and not Flynn. I shake my head at the thought. I don’t really want Wes dead. I just want Laken. But she’s in too deep. Her old life clouds her vision of this new reality, and I may never win her heart, God knows, Wes will never surrender his post.

We head deeper into the maze of the forest, and the path leading back to campus dissolves in a tangle of murky shadows. The cedars and pines interlock sharp as knives until it’s almost impossible to move any further.

“We’re going to get disoriented.” Wes slips his arm around Laken’s waist without thinking about it. The bastard doesn’t even know how lucky he is to have her, to