Page 6 of Where He Ended

When we're alone, Kara throws her arms up in the air. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you to stay away from him!”

“I know, I know. I really don't know what happened.” I'm still recovering from the magnetic tug between my core and his. I was ready to give in to him. I'm buzzing, all slick with perspiration and unquenched desire.

She eyeballs me, folding her arms tight. “It's like you didn't hear anything I said to you last night.”

“He just caught me off guard.”

“It was too easy for him to get you alone, Laiken.” Her voice softens, her eyes losing their thunderclouds. “I want to help you,” she says under her breath. I'm nearly reading her lips. “I wish I could be your guard dog to keep him at bay, but no one can realize how much we still love each other. They'll use it against us.”

My brain lights up. “That's why you were so cold to me at the party.”

“Shh,” she says, glancing over her shoulder. “There's probably cameras, audio devices, who knows what else all over this place. Spies, for sure.” Her eyes dart side to side frantically.

A tiny little part of me tingles with worry.Is she right? Or is she just paranoid?“So . . . we can't even act like we're getting along?”

Kara nods. “Avoid me the way you'll be avoiding Dominic.”

I'm sinking down into a swamp of depression as her suggestion hits home. If I do as she says, I'll be living under the same roof as my sister and the man I crave, while acting like neither exists. It's a terribly lonely thought.

Her fingers brush mine, a quick, too brief touch. “I missed you,” she whispers. “I really, really did.”

I well up with tears. My face burns as I force them down. This was what I wanted last night.Thisis what our reunion was lacking. “Please, can you at least tell me how you know Dominic and his cousin? I thought you were staying with Dad and Mom.”

Kara faces away, her short hair glistening in the sun. “I was. And then I wasn't. Not long after we were taken from the cabin, it was decided I should be split away from them the same way you were. Annie's brother offered his home. That's how I met Bernard. And how I learned what kind of a man Dominic really is.” Her shoulders tense up. “Please, just do as I'm asking you, Laiken. Keep your distance from both of us. It's safer. It really is.”

I want to ask more, but I can't. Not while she's walking away from me. She's always been clever, and if she thinks it's safer for us to act like we've grown apart, become strangers, I'll do it.

I just wish it didn't hurt so much.