Silverthorn by Sydney Bristow Page B

But I realized that he’d distanced himself from others. He’d used his personality to remain friendly but not intimate with others.
    Did he have a girlfriend? I hadn’t asked. Why would I have? We were band members. Besides, he didn’t have a wedding band on his finger, and since we hadn’t even gotten closer than an almost-kiss…a few days ago, I figured that he must have been single. The way he’d let his guard down and the way he’d looked so natural and carefree, while still maintaining his nonchalance made me gravitate toward him.
    Kendall glanced from me to Brandon and Nolan…and back to me again. “No way. I’ve got vampire blood in me. Besides, everything about your family really creeps me out.”
    “Even me?” I asked.
    “Especially you,” she answered with zest. “Besides, what’s next? Ghosts? Angels? No way. I’m out.”
    “Of the closet?” Brandon asked. “Because I could have sworn you were—”
    “More woman than you could possibly handle.”
    “Well, only because you’ve been sipping on vampire blood.”
    “Witches? And now vampires?” She scoffed. “What’s next? Ghosts? Angels? I’d rather not.”
    Brandon looked at her, disappointment souring the excitement on his face. But after a few seconds of deep contemplation, he slanted his head to the side while looking at Kendall. “Yeah, there’s not really much upside to dealing with a master vampire, is there?”
    I had no doubt that Brandon could handle himself with a human, but a vampire? Never! He might be able to steal one power, but vampires had multiple abilities Brandon couldn’t elude.
    “That makes sense,” I said, frightened by the uncertainties of allowing them to accompany me. Then I realized that I’d accepted Nolan’s help. “Let’s go.” I hurried to the door, cracked it open, and looked out.
    Darius had vanished from the area he’d inhabited.
    I searched the street…and saw him standing behind my vehicle, sliding his fingertips along my trunk.
    My heart raced. My mind spun. And I wish I hadn’t been so dimwitted.
    Darius hadn’t followed me to end my life, although if I became an obstacle to his plan, he would no doubt try to do just that. But at Alexis’s home, he’d seen me standing by the trunk moments before he recovered from his knee injury. Unless he thought I tossed some wooden stakes in my trunk, he’d assume that I’d gone to the trunk to retrieve the Soul Sword so I could decapitate him.
    I shut the door. I only had a few seconds before he ripped the door of the trunk and recovered the Soul Sword. Sweat broke out on my brow. Nervous energy made my toes twitch.
    “He’s out there, isn’t he?” asked Nolan.
    I nodded. Then a perfect idea formed in my mind. I hurried over to the window, withdrew my car keys, and hit the alarm button on my key.
    The alarm split through the silent night.
    I didn’t dare glance out the window. Darius would surely scan each house, looking for the person who set off the alarm. I couldn't risk him seeing me. While he couldn’t enter Nolan’s house without an invitation, he might set it on fire. Therefore, I waited about seven or eight seconds before looking out the blinds.
    Lights lit five other houses on the block, where various homeowners looked out their windows, checking on the disturbance, all eyes directed at my vehicle.
    Few would have noticed Darius race back to his car anyway: his speed would have made each individual think their mind hadn’t really seen someone move that fast. By the time they glanced in that area, he would have disappeared.
    Now that Darius hunched low behind the driver’s seat and couldn’t scan the street for the person who had set off the alarm, I disarmed the alarm. He would surely wait until each homeowner left their window and shut off their lights before starting the car and driving off, so I stood off to the side of the window, which allowed me to see if Nolan’s neighbors flicked off their lights. When the last one