happy with Rafe. Stupidly, madly, happy.
“I know so.” He patted my knee before getting up. “And that’s why I’m not too concerned about your fight. I know tomorrow you’ll be on the phone with him while I’m struggling to read the map and drive the car at the same time.”
“That’s why I bought you a GPS!”
He raised his brows. “So you could ignore me and talk to your boyfriend?”
“Exactly.” I smiled, feeling infinitely better. Dad was right. I would call Rafe tomorrow, and we would fix things. Wait a week? Was he crazy? There’s no way he could go that long without talking to me. “Thanks, Dad. I feel better now.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” He pointed to the half-empty carton of ice cream. “Can I put this away now?”
I clutched my stomach, making a face. “Yes, please. I ate too much!”
“I hope it doesn’t keep you up tonight,” he called over his shoulder. “Remember, early morning tomorrow!”
“Stop reminding me!”
A few minutes later, Dad went upstairs. Still I sat on the couch, staring into space, waiting for…what, exactly? I wasn’t sleepy, which sucked because tomorrow I was going to be in full pissed off zombie mode. (Seriously Dad, why did we need to get up so early!) Maybe I’d goof off online for a bit before trying to fall asleep.
As soon as I stood up, I heard a quiet knock at t he door. I paused. It was 11:30. No one should be coming here this late. I felt an icy trickle of fear. What if it was a demon? Holy crap, what if it was a demon who had come to get me right after I told Rafe I didn’t need him to protect me?
Or maybe it’s Rafe, you stupid girl. Why do you automatically think demon?
It had to be Rafe! He realized we were both being stupid and had come to apologize. And I’d gratefully accept his apology and tell him I was sorry myself, and then we would do some kissing and—
I ran to the door and threw it open. “I knew you couldn’t stay away!”
But it wasn’t Rafe on the other side—it was Evan. He looked at me sadly as he lifted his bandaged right hand. “I’m really sorry about this, Gabi.”
There was a flash of silver light, and everything went black.
Chapter Seven
Cold, cold, cold. Why was I so freaking cold? Had Dad turned the heat off? Was this his way of getting us out of bed at such an ungodly hour? I groaned, fumbling for my blankets.
“This is the one?” an unfamiliar male voice asked.
My eyes shot open. Who the hell was that ?
No, better question. Where the hell was I?
Instead of my nice, comfy bed, I was sprawled across a hard, ice-cold cement floor. Scrambling to my feet, I discovered I was in the middle of an empty warehouse. There were no windows, but bright, white lights lit the interior , hanging underneath the gray beams that crisscrossed across the ceiling.
Crap. I hugged myself, realizing I was in trouble. Big trouble.
In front of me stood the man who had spoken, flanked by Evan and another unfamiliar guy, probably a few years older than Evan. I ignored him, my gaze homing in on the first man. He was dressed in what appeared to be an expensive black suit, complete with a blood-red silk tie. Thrown over his shoulders was a long, black coat. Well, the guy had good fashion taste, I had to give him that. No manners, though. Here I was, freezing to death in my pajamas, and he hadn’t even offered me his coat. He wore his brown hair short, and his matching brown eyes, currently locked on me, were cold, dangerous. I didn’t like him. He obviously had absolutely no problem with kidnapping a sixteen-year-old girl in the middle of the night, and that scared me.
When Evan took a step toward me, I jerked backwards, crashing into a gray pillar. Pressing my back against the cold steel, I gave him my best death glare as memories of Evan magically knocking me out came flooding back. “Stay the hell away from me, Evan.” I couldn’t believe I had risked my relationship with Rafe by protecting Evan, and