Smoked - Mari Mancusi Page 0,79
blurted out, bursting into tears.
He stared at her. “What?”
She dropped her gaze to the ground. “He dropped me off here. Told me to wait—that he’d be right back. But that was hours ago, and I haven’t seen him since.” Her expression tightened. She shot a look at Trinity. “I mean, he’s probably just out hunting or something,” she added quickly. A little too quickly. “He’ll be back any minute now, I’m sure.”
But she wasn’t sure, Caleb realized with sickening dread, as he caught the shadow of doubt flickering across her face. She wasn’t sure at all.
“Come with us,” he said gently. “We can find him together.”
“No.” Scarlet shook her head. “He’s coming back. I need to be here when he does.”
Caleb sighed. “Okay,” he said. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do.” He forced himself to calmly walk over to a pile of dead brush, grabbing a few larger pieces and tossing them into a small pile.
“What?” Scarlet cried, looking horrified. “No way. You can’t stay here!”
“Why not?” Caleb forced an innocent shrug. “We’re looking for Zavier. You claim he’s on his way back. Why shouldn’t we stay?”
He felt Trinity’s stare burning a hole into his back but forced himself to ignore it. Instead, he turned to her dragon. “Emmy, do a guy a solid and light us a little fire, won’t you? It’s getting pretty chilly up here, and I forgot my coat.”
Emmy widened her eyes, looking as doubtful as her Fire Kissed beside her, but in the end obliged, blowing a short burst of flame onto Caleb’s makeshift fire pit. Caleb thanked the dragon, then settled onto the ground in front of the blaze, kicking out his legs and propping his head behind his hands. Now both girls—all three if you counted Emmy—were staring at him in disbelief.
“What?” he asked innocently. “Can’t a guy get comfy while waiting for his dragon to return?”
“You can’t be here,” Scarlet repeated. “He’ll kill you if he sees you here.”
“Maybe. But I doubt it,” Caleb replied. “He and I are blood brothers, remember?”
Scarlet scrunched up her face, glaring at Trinity. “Yeah, well, what about her?”
“Admittedly, he’s probably less fond of her,” Caleb agreed. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d enjoy dining on her raw.” He paused, then added, “Or maybe he’d flambé her first. For an old school carnivore, he’s oddly fond of overcooked meat.”
Trinity rolled her eyes.
“Caleb, can I talk to you for a second, please?”
“Of course.” Caleb scrambled back to his feet. “Be right back, Buttercup. Don’t eat all of my imaginary marshmallows while I’m gone.”
Scarlet groaned, shaking her head as she sat in front of the fire. Encouraged, Caleb followed Trinity. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to him.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Caleb?” she demanded.
“I think it’s pretty obvious.”
“No. What’s obvious is that Zavier is gone. And let’s face it, he’s probably not coming back.”
“Maybe so. But she’s not going to just give up that easily. You know Scarlet.”
“I don’t care about Scarlet. She’s made her choice. It’s you I’m concerned about here,” Trin argued, pacing back and forth, raking a hand through her tousled curls. “You can’t just stay here. I mean, you can joke all you want, but you know as well as anyone Zavier could still be dangerous. And he might want to kill you.”
Her voice broke on the words, and he watched as she bit her lower lip, tears welling in her large black eyes.
“Trin…” he tried.
“Don’t you see, Caleb?” she pleaded. “I almost lost you once. I can’t bear to lose you—all over again.”
He met her eyes with his own, a sadness falling over him. It was funny; for so long he had wanted her—had been so desperately in love with her. And now, he realized, with Connor out of the way, he might finally have his chance. The way she looked at him now, he knew she wouldn’t refuse him. He could take her into his arms, tell her how he felt about her once and for all.
Except… He frowned. He wasn’t sure he felt that way anymore. Sure, he loved her. He would always love Trinity Foxx. But it was a different sort of love now—almost a nostalgic love for a time gone by. When he had been a different boy. And she had been a different girl.
“Please, Trin,” he said gently. “Don’t ask me to go with you. Because if you ask, I’m probably going to say yes. After all,