Forbidden (40 page)

“I’m having a wonderful time, I was just worried about you.” Neil studied her face intently. “Tell me straight: Are you still thinking about
him
?”

He’d asked so gently that Claire couldn’t lie to him. “A little,” she admitted softly. “But I’m glad to be here with you.”

Neil nodded, not looking particularly surprised or hurt. “Okay. I can accept that.”

Claire smiled up at him. “Has anyone ever told you how great you are?”

“Charming is the word I generally hear,” he joked.

Claire laughed. As they continued to dance, she felt the tension slowly leave her body. It was nice to be in Neil’s arms, to be the center of his attention—and to actually be vision free. She hadn’t felt this relaxed or normal in a long time.
Normal
. That was what Alec and her mom had both wanted for her, wasn’t it? To pick a normal boy, and have a normal life?

And then she saw them—a thin, dark-haired girl clad in a short, clingy white dress and two tough-looking guys whose muscles bulged beneath their tight suits were passing through the balloon archway. Even in the dimly lit gym, Claire recognized them at once, and she stared at them in alarm.

The Fallen.

They glanced about the gym with barely concealed smirks of amusement. Claire knew they were at least four or five years too old to be in high school—not to mention that their appearance didn’t mesh with the college-prep Emerson vibe at all—but no one else seemed to have noticed them yet.

Except Neil, who followed her gaze. “Aren’t they those guys from the mall?”

Claire’s voice was tense. “I think so.”

“What are they doing here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s find out.” Neil took her gloved hand.

“No, Neil, I’d rather—”

He ignored Claire’s protest as he propelled her purposefully across the room through the crowd of dancers. The farther they moved from the DJ and his massive speakers, the quieter the music became, until Claire was actually able to hear herself think again.

The trio had settled in front of the refreshment table, where the tall, ponytailed guy—Claire couldn’t remember his name—was chomping on a cookie. The shorter one was playing with a cell phone, while the girl sipped punch. All three of them surveyed the room intently.
Looking for me
, Claire thought grimly.

As she and Neil strode up, the girl’s eyes lit up with recognition.

“Claire!” the girl cried. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You look gorgeous in that dress! Do you remember me?”

“Celeste, right?” Claire’s lips tightened warily—yet despite herself, she felt a friendly glow emanating from this girl, enveloping her like an invisible cloud.

“What’s up, guys?” Neil said with a curious smile. “What’re you doing here?”

Claire suddenly remembered that Neil had actually liked these people, and had no idea what they were up against. How on earth was she going to get rid of them?

“We came to cheer for you and Claire, handsome,” Celeste replied with a flirty wave of her hand. “We heard you’re up for prince and princess. That is so exciting! You make such a cute couple!”

Claire flushed, and for a moment was at a loss for words. What
else
did Celeste know about her life? And why did Celeste’s smile slink under her defenses and reverberate so warmly, making her feel like a long-lost friend? The answer dawned on her—
she’s using her talent on me
. Claire steeled herself, fighting back against the intrusive feelings.

“How’d you hear about that?” Neil asked, surprised. “How’d you even find out what school we go to?”

“We have a special interest in Claire,” the tall guy responded, “and a high-tech, global spy network at our disposal.” He fixed Neil with a shit-eating grin, and his shorter companion laughed.

Claire’s mouth dropped at this blatantly candid reply. Not surprisingly, Neil took it as a joke.

“Whatever,” Neil said, rolling his eyes.

Celeste oozed sympathy as she set down her plastic cup and moved closer to Claire. “Sweetie, we know things have really sucked for you lately, and it’s so much harder when you’re on your own. You need friends to support you. Friends who know the truth, and really understand what’s going on with you.”

Claire’s heart skittered.
Oh my God
.
Do they know about Alec, too?

“Whatever happens, we’re here for you,” added the shorter guy. He raised his hands. To Claire’s shock, he held her evening bag in one hand and her phone in the other. “I’ve already put Celeste’s number in your phone,” he added, dropping it back into her bag and handing it to her. “You can call us anytime, day or night.”

Claire snatched her purse out of his hands, stunned by his audacity. “Thanks,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Neil looked confused. “What the hell? Claire, this guy just went through your purse and you’re thanking him?”

“I’ll explain later, Neil.” Claire wondered how she would
ever
be able to explain. To the trio, she said, “I think you should leave.”

Celeste looked taken aback. “Claire, we came here in friendship. I don’t think you realize what we’re offering here. We know who you are, what you want, and what you need.” She took Claire’s gloved hand and leaned in close, whispering in her ear. “Money? It’ll never be a problem again. Your mom won’t have to work such long hours anymore, you can get a house, and all the stability you need. And all those other things worrying you? Looking over your shoulder, day in and day out? We can make all that go away. We have friends …
everywhere
.”

No wonder Alec said they were dangerous
, Claire thought, her pulse racing, as perspiration broke out on her brow.
It’s like being tempted by the devil
. Thank God she’d been warned.

Suddenly, a new voice entered the mix. A voice with a Scottish accent.

“Get your hand off her, or I’ll take it off.”

thirty-four

C
laire’s heart almost stopped.

Celeste stepped back.

Alec stood not two feet away, staring at Celeste with icy calm. He was dressed in a sharp three-piece suit and tie and his usual combat boots, his dark blond hair stylishly tousled, his guitar case slung over his shoulder. Claire barely had time to register her joy and relief at the sight of him—he was here,
really here
—when Celeste interjected sullenly, “You never know when to make a graceful exit, do you?”

The two Fallen who were flanking Celeste lumbered toward Alec like attack dogs. “Back off, cowboy, you had your chance,” said the shorter guy.

“Let the filly make her own decision,” the tall one chimed in.

“Cowboy? Filly? What are you talking about?” Neil asked.

“Stay out of this, Neil,” Alec ordered.

“No,
you
stay out of it, MacKenzie. Claire’s with me tonight.”

“I’m not here to steal your date,” Alec reassured him.

“Then why
are
you here?” Neil demanded.

“Alec?” Erica cried, stunned, as she and Brian suddenly appeared at Claire’s elbow. “I thought you left!”

“I did.” Alec’s gaze flicked to Claire’s. Although his lips were pressed together and his eyes were stern and forceful, his cheeks were flushed, and the muscles around his mouth twitched with the apparent effort to control them. “Looks like it’s a good thing I came back.”

Blood raced through Claire’s veins. Had Alec returned on her account? If so, how did he know the Fallen would show up tonight? Or
had
he known? Would he get in trouble for coming back? Was he here for a minute, an hour, or a day? However long it was, Claire was so thrilled to be in his presence again, she could hardly breathe, much less speak.

Alec turned to the Fallen. “I’m going to count to three. By then, you guys are gone.”

“Excuse me! Is there a problem here?” a deep voice bellowed from nearby. Mr. Patterson approached the group, looking surprisingly dashing in a brown suit and burgundy shirt and tie. He stopped in front of the newcomers. “You kids don’t go to this school. Who are you here with?”

“Nobody,” Claire answered, the first word she’d been able to utter since Alec appeared.

“And they were just leaving,” Alec added firmly.

Celeste stared at Mr. Patterson quizzically, as if there was something unusual about the man that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Her gaze then drifted to Alec and back again. Finally, she shook her head and let out a laugh, raising her hands and stepping back in acquiescence. “O-kay. I think we’ve worn out our welcome at this party.
Sayonara
, and best of luck to … all of you.”

Celeste tapped the shoulders of her two compatriots, who joined her as she ambled toward the door. Alec followed close behind, darting a look over his shoulder at Claire that went straight to her heart. His eyes betrayed a silent wealth of emotions: concern, fury, frustration, love, pain, and regret.

Before she was out of earshot, Celeste whirled around and shouted back to Claire, “Call when you need us, Claire. And you
will
need us.”

A shiver ran down Claire’s spine. She couldn’t conceive of a time when she would ever willingly solicit or accept their help, and hoped to never see them again. As Mr. Patterson disappeared into the crowd and the trio and Alec left the gym, Claire exchanged a look with Erica and Brian.

“That was weird,” Neil said.

What was going to happen now? Claire worried. Was there going to be a fight? If so, Alec was outnumbered. She had no idea what kind of talents the other three possessed. Even though Alec was a powerful Grigori, could he successfully counter them all at once? Every instinct told her that she should follow and try to help him.

“Neil—will you excuse me a minute?” Claire’s gaze involuntarily flicked back toward the gym doors. “I—”

Before she could complete her thought, the music stopped and the DJ came over the loudspeakers:

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Let’s gather round the stage for the announcement of this year’s Homecoming Court!”

Erica grabbed Claire’s forearm and spoke fiercely in her ear. “Don’t even think about it, Claire. I’m not letting you go out there.”

“What could you do, anyway?” Brian added vociferously in her other ear. “They’re Alec’s problem now. He can take care of it.”

“Don’t be nervous, Claire,” Neil said with a smile, completely misinterpreting her dilemma. He put his hand on the small of her back and urged her gently toward the crowd gathering around the stage. “Come on. You worked hard for this moment.”

“Keep walking,” Alec directed Celeste and her cohorts, as he accompanied them across the parking lot.

The past week had been the most miserable of his life. Leaving Claire was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He’d gotten as far as Stockholm, where Vincent had ordered him to log on for a mental reprimand by the Elders and the details of his next assignment—but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. He’d remained under the radar, festering, his innards feeling as if they’d been melted away by an acid rain, putting off the inevitable for just a little while longer.

And then a strange message had blazed into his brain, like a radio on an imperfect frequency, alerting him that Claire was in danger and needed him. He could guess who had sent it—Claire had described the experience well enough—and he’d taken the first flight back, arriving just in time, it seemed.