Ethereal

7 - Poisoned Pizza

My attempt at escape — the barest scraps of a plan to get away from Logan no matter what — shattered into pieces at the thud of approaching footsteps.

I whipped round to face the archway into the lounge, alert with razor-edged nerves. Frozen in place. Halfway between the kitchen and freedom.

Dominic was leading the way, but instead of approaching me, he stayed back and rested against the archway with his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry about last night. Honestly, we didn't mean to scare you," he said rather softly. Remorse flickered across his features— the uncomfortable twist to his lips, the pinch between his brows, the unwavering focus of his gaze.

I only realised I'd been staring too late.

Scare me? I think I was pretty fucking traumatised.

"But now you're awake," he continued, making me frown, "would you like some pizza?"

If this was his attempt at an olive branch, it was in very poor taste.

Hope flickered behind his eyes; a candle's flame in the smothering darkness of regret. And, for some odd reason, I was almost tempted to nod if only to watch that light chase off the shadows.

Unbidden, my gaze slid down his form, wandering off on a little road trip and admiring the show of elegant masculinity residing in the power in his shoulders and narrow hips, in the graceful way he held himself.

Sharply, I dragged my eyes back up to his face, scolding myself. Do not check him out, Kieran, for fuck's sake. Or at least make it subtle.

His father, Alarik, strode past him looking aggrieved, as though the thought of having pizza was a sacrilege. To be fair, he definitely looked like the type of person who frowned distastefully at fast food restaurants and would rather spend three hours in the kitchen than three minutes ordering something in. My dad would've liked him, as long as he didn't know about the whole kidnapped thing.

I went rigid, expecting him to approach with all the certainty with which he'd cornered me in the alley, but instead he went straight to the front door and leant against it with crossed arms. The glint of warning in his eyes when he met my gaze made it obvious that he was aware of my last-minute plan. Fuck.

I glared at him before meeting Dominic's gaze, and my expression went soft with confusion. He'd helped bring me here, and now he was talking about food as if we were close friends. We, most definitely, were not.

He looked at me imploringly — desperately, even — waiting for my answer.

Olivia came up beside Dominic, frowning lightly at me, looking increasingly concerned. She had her hands clasped before her, and she looked as though she was from a bygone age, waiting for news of a lost lover at sea, or something equally damning and tragic.

In other words, waiting for disaster before it struck.

"Come to think of it, you really should eat something," Logan mused, wandering to my side.

If I had been rigid before, now I all but turned to stone. Even my features, twisted with distrust, went slack. There was nowhere I could go to get away from him without also getting closer to the others. I was trapped in their close attention.

Spite, tinged with the fire of fear, had me taking a step away from him. I didn't bother making it subtle, nor did I bother to stop the words tumbling out in a harsh reminder. "I said don't come near me."

With a gratifying wince, Logan retreated to lean idly against the archway— still too close for comfort, but at least he wasn't in arm's reach anymore. "I'm sorry. Are you hungry?"