“I haven’t seen him since the day you guys showed up to do your check-in and you all wanted to eat at the disgusting Chinese buffet,” Daemon responded, his voice so convincing that I almost believed him. “I still haven’t recovered from that.”
Lane gave a reluctant grin. “Yes, the food was terrible.” He scribbled something down and then slid his notebook back into his pocket. “So you haven’t seen Vaughn at all?”
“Nope,” he said.
The other man nodded. “I know you two weren’t big fans of each other. I didn’t figure he’d make any unauthorized visits, but we have to check every avenue at this point.”
“Understandable.” Daemon’s gaze landed on the trees we were hidden behind. “Why were you checking out the neighbor’s house?”
“I was checking out all the houses,” he replied. “You still friends with the girl we saw you with?”
Oh, no.
Daemon said nothing, but even from my prone position, I could see the way his eyes narrowed on the Officer.
Lane laughed. “Daemon, when are you ever going to loosen up?” He clapped him on the shoulder as he headed past him. “I don’t care who you…spend your time with. I’m just doing my job.”
Daemon followed the Officer’s movements, twisting toward him. “So, if I decided to exclusively date humans and settle down with one, you wouldn’t report me?”
“As long as I don’t see undeniable evidence, I don’t care. This is just a job with a good retirement, and I hope to make it to that point.” He started for his vehicle but stopped, facing Daemon. “There’s a difference between evidence and my gut. For example, my gut told me that your brother was in a serious relationship with the human he disappeared with, but there wasn’t any evidence.”
And of course, we knew how the DOD found out about Beth and Dawson: Will. But was this guy insinuating that he knew nothing about Dawson?
Daemon leaned against Lane’s SUV. “Did you see my brother’s body when they found him?”
A tense moment followed, and Lane lowered his chin. “I wasn’t there when they said they found his body along with the girl’s. I was only told what happened. I’m just an Officer.” He raised his head. “And I haven’t been told any differently. I’m nothing in the big scheme of things, but I’m not blind.”
I held my breath. I felt Blake do the same.
“What are you saying?” Daemon asked.
Lane smiled tightly. “I know who’s in your house, Daemon. I know that I was lied to—a lot of us have been lied to and have no idea what’s really going on. We just have jobs. We do them, and we keep our heads down.”
Daemon nodded. “And you’re keeping your head down now?”
“I was told to check on Vaughn’s possible whereabouts and that was about it.” He motioned at his car door, and Daemon stepped away from it. “I know not to address anything unless told so. I really want that retirement plan.” He climbed in, closing the car door. “You take care.”
Daemon moved back. “See you around, Lane.”
Tires wheeled and kicked up gravel as the Expedition pulled back onto the road, puffing out exhaust.
What the heck just happened? Better yet, why was Blake still on top of me?
Throwing my elbow back, it connected with his stomach and a grunt followed. “Get off me.”
He rolled to his feet, eyes sparkling. “You like to hit.”
I scrambled up, glaring. “You need to get out of here. Right now, we don’t need to deal with you.”
“Good point.” He backed off, his grin fading. “See you later tonight.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, turning back to where Daemon was walking up the driveway. I trotted out of the woods and over to his side. “Is everything okay?”
Daemon nodded. “Did you hear any of that?”
“Yeah, I was heading back when I saw him.” I figured if Daemon didn’t know about Blake being all Creepy McCreepsters before we raided Mount Weather, it was a good thing. “Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know.” He dropped his arm over my shoulders, steering me toward his house. “Lane has always been a decent guy, but this doesn’t sit well with me.”
I wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him. “Which part?”
“All of it—this whole scenario,” he said, sitting down on the step one from the top. He tugged me into his lap, keeping his arms around me. “The fact that the DOD—even Lane—knows damn well that Dawson’s back, and that they have to realize we know they lied. And they’re doing nothing.” He closed his eyes as I pressed my cheek to his. “And what we’re doing tonight—it can work, but it’s so insane. Part of me wonders if they already know we’re coming.”
Smoothing my thumb along his jaw, I pressed a kiss against his cheek, wishing there was something I could do. “Do you think we’re walking into a trap?”
“I think we’ve been inside the trap the entire time and we’re just waiting for it to spring closed.” He captured my dirty hand in his and held on.
A breath shuddered through me. “And we’re going to still do this?”
The determined set of his shoulders was answer enough. “You don’t have to.”
“Neither do you,” I reasoned softly. “But we both are.”
Daemon tilted his head back, eyes meeting mine. “That we are.”