“How did you hear about it so fast? No, the paramedics checked us out. We’re all okay. We just got home.” His voice lowered a notch. “She had a small cut on her head, but it’s probably healed by now. A healer? I don’t think that’s necessary.”
My suspicion about the call morphed into anger as Dad spoke, and the anger quickly boiled into fury. Lukas couldn’t talk to me, but he had no problem calling my father to check up on me. Oh, hell no.
I unhooked my seat belt, nearly ripping it out of the seat, and leaned forward to snatch the phone from Dad. “If you want to know how I’m doing or anything else about me, you ask me.”
The only response was silence from the other end of the line, and that got to me more than anything he could have said.
“That’s what I thought.” I hung up and thrust the phone at my father, who watched me with a mix of concern and admiration. Grabbing the two bags of groceries on the seat beside me, I opened the car door. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.”
Mom’s soft laugh cut through some of the tension in the car. “We’ll be up in a few minutes.”
I barely felt the cold as I stalked toward our building. I knew my parents had stayed behind to talk about me, and I didn’t care. I was so over this. Over him.
Letting myself into the apartment, I set the bags on the table and pulled out my phone to text Violet. Let’s go out tomorrow night. Somewhere fun.
Her response was immediate. Who are you, and what are you doing with Jesse’s phone?
Ha, ha. You in?
Her answer was an eyeroll emoji followed by Do you even have to ask?
* * *
“You’re not having fun.” Violet’s mouth turned down in a pout.
“I am.”
Lorelle, Violet’s Fae girlfriend, smiled from across the tall bar table we stood around. “If you don’t like Navi, there are other clubs we can go to.”
“Navi is great. I was just thinking about something.”
Violet leaned in. “Your mom?”
“Is it that obvious?” I let out a sigh. Today, Dad had gotten word that the storm at the cemetery had completely destroyed Caleb’s coffin. We hadn’t told Mom, but we couldn’t keep it from her forever. The news had put a damper on my plan to go out, and I would have canceled if Dad had let me.
“Your mother is one of the toughest people I know,” Violet said. “She’ll be back to kicking ass in no time.”
I straightened my shoulders. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right.” She waved over a waitress and ordered another round of nonalcoholic drinks for our table. Normally, she’d be drinking some fruity cocktail, but she’d passed on that because Lorelle and I didn’t drink alcohol.
After the waitress returned with our drinks, Violet excused herself to go to the restroom, leaving me alone with Lorelle. Lorelle knew about my conversion, and she’d taken me under her wing tonight when I had confessed I hadn’t been out to a club since becoming a faerie. I wished she wasn’t Seelie because it would have been nice to have at least one female friend in Unseelie when I finally went to court.
I studied Lorelle’s face as she watched Violet walk away, and there was no mistaking the tenderness in her expression. She cared for my best friend as much as Violet did for her. I was happy for Violet, but I was also worried. I couldn’t help but think about Jackson Chase and Princess Nerissa’s tragic story. They’d fallen in love, and it had destroyed them.
“She’s crazy about you,” I said quietly.
“She is unlike anyone I’ve met.” Lorelle swung her gaze to me, and her eyes held a sadness I hadn’t seen there before. “I know what you are thinking. You are afraid she will be hurt when we have to part.”
“Violet seems worldly to people who don’t know her well, but she has a big heart, and she feels things deeply.” I turned more to face Lorelle. “I like you, and I can see you care about her. All I’m asking is for you to try not to hurt her.”
She smiled wistfully. “Violet and I have already talked, and we both know this has to end. I am going home to Seelie when she returns to her movie. This is our last week together, and we plan to make the most of the time we have left.”
My throat tightened. “She didn’t tell me.”
“I am not surprised. She loves you and does not want you to worry.” As if sensing Violet’s presence, Lorelle looked in the direction she’d gone. “She is a beautiful person.”
I followed her gaze to Violet, who beamed at us as she made her way back to our table. Tonight, she wore a jade green Fae dress – a gift from Lorelle – that fit her like a second skin and drew admiring looks from everyone she passed. She looked every bit the celebrity she was on the verge of becoming.
Lorelle stepped toward Violet when she reached us and took her hand. Without a word, she led Violet to the dance floor, and they began a slow, sensual dance, completely lost in each other. They looked so perfect together. It was cruel of fate to let them find each other only to tear them apart.
I averted my eyes because it felt like an intrusion to watch them like this. My gaze swept the club and landed on a dark-haired man on the other side of the dance floor who was watching me. He smiled when our eyes met, and I looked away because I didn’t want to encourage him. I was here to spend time with Violet and to try to forget the one male I thought about way too much.
My phone vibrated from my tiny purse. Unlike Va’sha, Navi didn’t prohibit phones or cameras, except on the VIP level. It was one of the reasons I’d chosen this club. Less privacy meant less chance of running into high profile celebrities and certain Fae royals. Cowardly, maybe, but I didn’t think my heart was ready to see Lukas with someone.
Pulling out my phone, I was surprised to see Tennin’s name on the screen. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the day he took photos of Lukas and me. That felt like a lifetime ago. I’d called him weeks ago to tell him I was sorry about what happened to his friend Angela, but his voice mail said he was in Faerie. Why on earth was he calling me at this hour?
“Tennin, hi. It’s so great to hear from you.”
“Jesse, listen to me very carefully,” he said in a voice that was all business. “Go to the VIP section of the club. The stairs are behind you to your left.”
“What are you talking about? Are you here?” I craned my neck to search the crowded club for him.
“Yes. Don’t ask questions. I’ll explain when I meet you up there.”
Something in his tone told me to do as he said. “What about Violet?”
“I’ll bring her to you,” he said. “Go. Now.”
“Okay.” I grabbed my purse and stepped back from the table just as I spotted the man who’d caught my eye approaching. He looked harmless enough, but Tennin’s call had unnerved me. I gave the man a curt smile to discourage him and turned toward the stairs to the VIP section.
“Jesse James?” someone called in a friendly, disarming voice.
Hearing my name made me stop abruptly and frown over my shoulder at the man. Did I know him from somewhere?
His smile broadened. He was a good-looking guy, mid-twenties, nice eyes. There was nothing exceptional about him, but I would have remembered if I’d met him before.