Page 18 of Forging Darkness
“Why does it feel so much colder here? The temperature isn’t even as low as it gets in Colorado, but I feel the chill down to my bones.” Ash hunches farther into her puffer jacket. She’s from Arizona and doesn’t know what wet cold feels like.
“It’s the humidity,” I explain. “The dampness in the air makes it feel colder than it actually is. Your clothes are less insulating here as well.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors.” I had a vested interest in learning about weather conditions and the elements since I spent extended periods of time without proper shelter.
“Oh.”
It falls quiet after that. The only sound is the shuffling of our feet as we walk down the sidewalk. Which is weird, because it’s not that late in the evening. It’s as if everyone ran out of this part of town when the sun went down. I can understand why. The buildings around us are creepy. At least half of them have For Rent or For Sale signs taped in the front windows. The ones that don’t are dark inside. A few even have the windows knocked out of them.
I think I hear an engine rev and stop walking. The other four angel-born continue trekking down the street, but I stare down the road on my right. There’s no one there, but a muttered curse echoes off the buildings. The hair on the nape of my neck starts to tingle.
The group is a solid block ahead of me when I turn and start down the street. Another muffled curse has my feet moving faster, and it’s no time before I’m rounding the corner and skidding to a halt.
He’s there.
Chapter Seven
Steel’s hunched over his motorcycle, riffling through the saddlebag. All he has to do is glance up and he’ll see me, but his attention is elsewhere. It’s so much like the last time I laid eyes on him.
But also . . . not.
I take quiet steps forward until a jolt works its way through Steel’s frame. His hands stop moving. His whole body freezes, and I follow suit. The only movement I detect is a muscle twitch along his jawline.
My heart thumps in my chest twice, and then his head hinges up. Slowly.
His face is a stone mask. But his eyes. His eyes contain emotion enough for his entire body.
Steel is furious.
We stand a car length away from each other, but it might as well be mere inches. His anger hits me in the face like the heat from a raging fire. I suspected he wouldn’t be overjoyed to see me, but this reaction is a bit extreme.
In a very Terminator move, Steel stretches to his full height and stomps toward me.
His usual swagger is gone. His moves are stiff, like his muscles won’t contract enough to allow his joints to bend fluidly.
And me. I’m just standing. And staring. Completely mute.
“She’s this way,” Sterling’s voice calls out. The sound of feet beating against the pavement follows his announcement.
I know the instant they round the corner because Steel’s eyes finally leave my face and track over my shoulder. Frustration replaces a measure of fury in his gaze.
“You told them,” he sighs in resignation.
A pang of guilt strikes my heart, but I won’t be sorry for what I did.
Tipping his head to the stars, Steel exposes the full column of his neck. He doesn’t look back down until the rest of the group surrounds me.
“You just had to come, didn’t you?”
“Did you expect any less?” Greyson asks his brother.
“What I expected was for you all to stay out of this.”
“If you really wanted that you wouldn’t have kept making stalker phone calls to your girl, bro.” Sterling lifts both eyebrows. “Seriously, you know how easy it was for me to track you?”
Steel flicks a glare laden with accusation at me. I cross my arms over my chest. This is not the reunion I’ve been hoping for.