Free Dark Descent (Vampire Hunter Book 5) by S.C. Reynolds

turned back around. “Yes?” I asked.
    “How are you
getting there? I could drop you off on the way to the grocery store. Then I
could meet Lucas’ parents.”
    “No,” I said, a
little too forcefully. “That won’t work. Lucas is already en route.”
    “Then he can come
in and say hello,” Mom said lightly.
    I wanted to
scream. I was almost an adult, yet I was being treated like a child. A child
incapable of selecting her own friends, unable to be trusted.
    “Fine,” I managed
to say through gritted teeth.
    It was just a moment
later that I heard a text on my phone – my new secure one – from
Lucas. I turned away from my mother and glanced at the display, praying she
hadn’t seen the phone.
    Here the
message read.
    You have to
come say hello to my mom I quickly typed. I shoved the phone into my pocket
and turned back around to face my mother.
     “Is Lucas
here to pick you up?” Mom asked me.
    “Yes. He’s coming
in, per your request,” I said, hoping the sarcasm in my voice wasn’t too
obvious.
    I walked to the
front door and pulled it open just as Lucas was about to knock. “Come on in,” I
said. I’m inviting a vampire into my house. I stifled a laugh. Lucas
gave me a faint smile and stepped into the room.
    “Lucas, it’s nice
to see you again,” Mom said.
    “Yes, nice to see
you, too, Audrey,” Lucas replied. He stood there awkwardly, his hands jammed
into the pockets of his black trench coat. His eyes looked heavy. But of course
they would be; he hadn’t slept in over a day.
    “Are you feeling
alright?” Mom asked him. “It’s awfully hot out for such a heavy coat.”
    “Oh, it’s a lot lighter
than it looks,” Lucas replied.
    “So, Lucas,” Mom
started, “Aurora says you and Henry play basketball together? Are you on the
team at your school?”
    “Yes, I am,” Lucas
said smoothly.
    My mom nodded,
apparently satisfied with that lie. “What do your parents do? For such a close
friend of Aurora’s, she hasn’t told us much about you.”
    Lucas didn’t
hesitate. “My dad’s an accountant and my mother is a real estate agent,” he
replied.
    “Well, I’d love to
meet them sometime,” Mom said.
    “Of course. I’m
sure they would love to meet you as well,” Lucas said politely.
    “Can we go, Mom?”
I asked impatiently. “Henry’s waiting for us.”
    “Yes, go ahead,
honey. When you’re ready to come home, call me. If you want, I can pick you up.
You know, save Lucas a trip.”
    “Thanks for the
offer,” I said.
    “Sorry about
that,” I told Lucas when we got into his car.
    “I take it she
noticed your little excursion this morning.”
    “Yeah,” I said
morosely. “I thought I was already on lock down. But now they’re one step away
from grounding me. And sending me to therapy.” I groaned. “This is the last
thing I need to deal with right now!”
    “Well, sounds like
you’ve got a couple of hours. No time to waste. What was the catch with
Emmett’s plan? The part that Henry can’t know about,” Lucas asked.
    “Guess,” I
muttered. “It involves his dad, as usual.”
    I filled Lucas in
on the other stuff that Emmett had told us, how Mr. Matthews intended to double
cross Tobias.
    “That’s why I need
to act fast – arrange the meeting with Tobias as soon as possible,” I
explained. “Before Henry’s dad tries to make a power move.”
    “I can find out
where Tobias is, but I’m still dead against you going alone.”
    “Well, you can’t
pose as my bodyguard for every meeting!” I said in exasperation. “Besides,
Tobias needs me. He’s not trying to kill me.”
    We arrived at
Lucas’ apartment. “Do you think Henry can handle hearing about the plan?” I
asked worriedly. “I don’t want to overload him, if he’s still weak.”
    “You’ll be able to
decide for yourself in a minute,” Lucas said, unlocking the door.
    Henry was sitting
on the couch, watching TV. He clicked the mute button as we walked into the
room.
    “I’m so