The Return
Page 61

And then I heard Seth say, “Dammit.”
Lips pursing, I started to strain forward, but an unfamiliar voice froze me. “So it’s true,” a guy said. “Everyone was all like ‘the Apollyon is here,’ and there was a lot of excitement. I didn’t believe that Seth the awesome Apollyon would dare grace our steps again.”
“It’s true,” came another unknown male voice, and my eyes widened as I started to yank the blanket up to my throat. “Everyone is talking about it. We had to see for ourselves.”
“Yeah, I’m here. You’ve seen me,” Seth replied. “Now you can go—”
“But the thing is,” the second guy spoke again. “Solos told us you were in the room across the hall. We knocked. You didn’t answer. So Luke got the key.”
“You got the key?” Seth asked. “Yeah, can I have that key?” There was a pause. “Thanks.”
“Anyway,” the guy I assumed wasn’t Luke said. “We knocked on this door and you answered.”
“Thanks for the blow-by-blow description of what just happened,” Seth replied dryly.
“And we also heard you didn’t show up here alone,” the guy named Luke chimed in. “All the peeps are talking, Seth, saying you brought a mortal here.”
“So, of course, we’re here,” the other guy added. “Because we need to see this.”
What the…?
I started to ninja-jump off the bed and dive into the bathroom, but I heard Seth’s very loud and very exasperated sigh right before he said, “Whatever. This was going to happen sooner or later, so come in.”
Come in?
My eyes nearly popped out of my head, but I had no time to do anything. A second later, two very tall and very good-looking guys steamrolled into the bedroom.
They stared at me.
I stared at them.
One of them had bronze-colored hair that was artfully messy, and he was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans. He was built—huge arms, an obviously toned stomach—and he looked like he knew a thousand ways to kill someone.
The other was more slender, had a head full of blond curls and the most startling gray eyes I’d ever seen. He was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a deep-blue V-neck sweater. He was already grinning, but it spread into a wide smile. “Hey there.”
I glanced over to where Seth looked like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. “Hey.”
The blond continued to smile, while his friend continued to stare at me.
Seth sighed again. “The one grinning like he’s crazy is Deacon, and the other one is Luke.”
“We’re friends of his—of Seth’s,” Deacon threw in, and Seth did not look like they were friends.
“This is Josie,” Seth continued. “Please don’t be weird and scare her.”
“Be weird?” Deacon rolled those gray eyes. “Ha. Whatever, dude. All you need to know about me is that I’m like a dolphin in a sea of less-smart fish,” he announced, spreading his arms with a flourish.
Luke turned to him slowly as his eyebrows inched up his forehead. “What?”
He shrugged. “Just saying I have a lot in common with dolphins. They’re smart. I’m smart.”
Seth rubbed his hand down his face.
There was a beat of silence, and then Luke sighed and shook his head, lips twitching. “It’s a good thing I think you’re fine as hell.”
As unbelievable as it sounded, Deacon’s smile stretched even further as he turned to look at me. “We’re together.”
“Oh,” I said, glancing between the two. “You two make a great couple.”
“We know,” he replied.
Luke folded his arms. A moment passed. “You have awesome hair.”
“Um…” I raised one hand, smoothing it down. This was so weird. “Thanks.”
Deacon’s smile started to slip a little as he eyed me. Then it was like chess pieces moving on a board. He took a step toward the bed, and I locked up, and Seth shifted closer. Luke got between Seth and Deacon, who seemed oblivious to all of them. Then, Deacon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “Your eyes are really familiar.”
Tension eased out of Seth as he sat on the edge of the bed. A slight smile pulled at his lips as he looked up at the two guys. “Oh, this is going to be great once you put it together.” He leaned back, his elbows pressing into my legs, and he chuckled. “I cannot wait.”
I had no idea what was going on, and Luke looked just as confused, but Deacon… His lips were moving, but no words were coming out, and then he drew back, straightening as if someone had dropped a steel rod down his spine.
“Holy shit,” he said, paling.
Seth tipped his head back, laughing deeply—laughing so hard I wanted to knee him in the back.
“What?” demanded Luke.
Deacon shook his head slowly. “It’s not possible.”
“Oh, yes, it is,” replied Seth.
“What?” I repeated.
Luke unfolded his arms, turning a pointed stare on Deacon. “Yeah, you want to let us in on whatever is going on here?”
“Her eyes… I know those eyes. Like, I really know those eyes.” Deacon thrust a hand through those wild curls. “They’re the same as…”
“As Apollo’s,” Seth filled in for him. “When the son of a bitch actually has eyes.”