Page 68 of Locke 2

My face burned, but I held his gaze, my smile wistful. “Right.”

That boyish face was so much better than the lethal mask he wore all the time. In front of me right now was a man who clearly wanted me. That was it. He just wanted me. And that felt achingly simple.

He was capable of more, I reasoned. You don’t stare at someone in this heart stopping way if you planned on keeping them and forcing them inside a cage.

“Locke.”

Our heads shot to the door where Jem stood. The familiar amusement in him was absent. If he heard us, he didn’t show it. He stared solely at Locke. “Are we still heading out?”

Locke turned to look at me. “Yes.”

“Tell me Conor isn’t coming. He’s a buzz killer. He’ll make me feel itchy. I’ve got hives on my arms already.”

Locke shook his head. “He’ll be looking into someone for me.”

“Who?”

Locke’s eyes glimpsed me. “Kali’s roommate.”

Floored, I said, “Are you serious?”

He frowned. “I have to be sure he’s not a suspect.”

“But Hal?”

“He’s not home often, and he’s in your immediate circle. I have to rule him out. Anyone who had access to that little boy is going to be checked out.”

My words died in my throat as I gaped at him. It was true. Hal wasn’t around, but he wasn’t out kidnapping kids. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I thought of Hal’s disappearing trips, and they’d only started in the past month. Maybe…

I forced a nod. “Okay, check into Hal.”

Locke appeared satisfied by my response.

Now Jem looked at me, and I sensed his question before he asked it. Locke did, too. “Kali’s coming.”

Jem’s jaw locked, but he stiffened a nod and disappeared out of sight.

I looked back at Locke. “Is this the date with the landlord?”

He nodded. “Are you ready to go in five?”

“I’m ready now.”

“Then let’s go.”

Thirty-One

Kali

October in this town was more underwhelming than Blackwater. At least Blackwater had a living, bleeding pulse. Black, sure, but it meant there was life everywhere. Pockets of people all over the beast of a town. Crowds of them. The dirty and the clean. The sinful and the innocent. A mix of people, blending their buttoned-up and buttoned-down styles against the backdrop of graffiti-covered walls and the toll of church bells.

Georgewel was the opposite.

It continued to look cute in October. All places should look dreary in October, and there should be a creepy element to it, too. Halloween was around the corner, after all. But Georgewel continued to look cute and wholesome, and it was bothering me.

Because it was a lie.

George wasn’t wholesome.

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