Page 43 of Shackled to the World
Edgar was mysteriously absent, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was with Sadie. She didn’t begrudge him his friendship with the girl—okay, maybe she did just a little—she just didn’t trust the other phantom not to try and kidnap him.
When she didn’t see him in the backyard where she met Sadie last night, she turned to survey the rest of the guys. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they’d been on guard duty all night, rotating shifts. She scowled and grabbed a piece of toast off a plate, taking a vicious bite before pointing it at them accusingly. “You could have come and gotten me. I could’ve taken a shift.”
“That would’ve defeated the purpose of keeping you safe.” Xander spoke with a completely straight face, focused on dumping ingredients into a blender for one of his workout drinks that always looked like revolting green sludge.
She stopped chewing for a beat, swallowing her mouthful of food before she choked on it. She wanted to argue with the guys, protest that she was part of the team, but the look in their eyes brooked no argument.
No matter what she said, they wouldn’t budge.
She sat at her place at the table, setting her half-eaten toast on her plate, the mound of food making her stomach churn. Glancing up, she saw the ferret was on the counter, manhandling his feeding dish again. As if sensing she was watching, he straightened and gave her a nod of encouragement.
She lifted her chin, determined not to be swayed from her course. “I have a plan to get Logan tonight.”
She waited for an explosion of protests, but the guys only nodded and took their seats.
“Tell us.” Camden glanced up at her as he took a bite of food, completely calm, as if he’d expected her announcement.
She squinted at Mason, wondering if he’d suspected and told the others, but he appeared just as curious as the others. “You’re not surprised?”
All of them looked up from their food. It was Xander who answered. “Of course not. We’re actually surprised you told us about it first.”
She stifled her huff of annoyance, because she had to admit the thought had crossed her mind. The tension melted out of her spine, and she slumped in her seat. She didn’t like putting them in danger, but if she wanted to get Logan back, she needed their help.
“The only way for us to locate him in time is to enter the afterworld.” Annora waited for them to explode and tell her it was too risky.
“Your phantom isn’t going to like it,” Camden warned, completely unfazed by her announcement.
She narrowed her eyes, studying each one in turn. “How did you know what I was going to say?” She didn’t wait for them to speak because the answer struck her immediately. “You came to the same conclusion.”
She shoved away from the table, glowering at them. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner instead of letting me waste all this time?”
It was Mason who spoke, “It had to be your decision.”
Their absolute calm irritated the snot out of her, and she turned to glare at Mason, feeling her hackles rise at his betrayal. “So this was the real reason you guys decided I need a babysitter at night…so I wouldn’t sneak off on my own? Maybe the real reason why you were patrolling the house?”
Without missing a beat, Mason shook his head. “Actually, that factored very little into it. You’re foolish, not stupid. The best way to get Logan back is if we work together. We knew you’d never put him in danger that way.”
She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, not sure she was completely appeased by his answer, but didn’t want to dig into it any further. “And when my father and his minions arrive? What then?”
“They’re going to come either way. At least this way we’ll know when to expect them.” Camden leaned back in his chair, humor dancing in his vivid green eyes at seeing her riled.
She harrumphed in annoyance, and laughter drained from Camden. She was sad to see it disappear, and her anger evaporated.
“Do you have a plan for what to do once we locate Logan?” Xander tipped back his drink and chugged down the slime as it oozed out of the glass, and she swallowed hard, unable to look away, practically able to feel the sludge slide slowly down her own throat.
Only when he set down the glass was she able to blink and break her gaze. “Once we locate Logan, your job is to get him out.”
“While you do what, exactly?” That Camden didn’t outright say no floored her.
Annora crossed her arms, letting her nails bite into her skin. “I’m going to take my uncle somewhere he’ll never be able to hurt anyone else.”
The afterworld.
And she was going to leave him there to rot…if he survived that long.
She waited for the guys to explode, but they only stared back at her resolutely.
Which meant…fuck.
