Darkest Powers Bonus Pack 2 by Kelley Armstrong Read Free Book Online Page A

step-sister would be one of those “call attention to ourselves” things we need to avoid.
    “So just . . . be cool,” Simon said. “Let me do the talking.”
    When I was within about ten feet, Chloe turned, as if she’d sensed me there. She shot me a huge smile. Then she rolled her eyes toward the guy beside the table and mouthed to me, “Don’t ask.”
    I rolled my eyes back, managing a slight smile that made her eyes fill with relief.
    “Good,” Simon murmured beside me. “Very good.”
    I glowered at him.
    “What?” he said.
    “You sound like you’re going to give me a dog biscuit.”
    “If the shoe fits . . .”
    I shook my head. As we walked over, a wave of scent hit me. A musky, chemical scent, like someone spilled cologne. I had to switch to breathing through my mouth.
    Chloe motioned me to the seat beside her. When I sat, she laid her hand on my arm, “Finally. I thought you guys were never going to show. Tori took off a few minutes ago. Apparently, she didn’t have a belt to match her new shirts.” Another roll of her eyes. Then, with her fingers still lightly resting on my forearm, she turned to the guy. “Carter, this is Derek and Simon. Derek, Simon . . . Carter. He’s shopping with his grandfather.”
    Simon smirked. I tried not to. There was nothing wrong with shopping with your grandfather. It just made flirting with girls in the food court seem a little pathetic.
    And I now knew what smelled so bad. Carter seemed to have showered in aftershave. Which made “hitting on girls while shopping with Gramps” even more pathetic.
    “I bet you’re starving,” Chloe said, jumping up, fingers brushing along my arm. “Let’s go grab you guys some food while Simon holds the table.” She turned to Carter and flashed a bright smile. “It was nice meeting you.”
    I stood.
    “Actually, I’d like to talk to you,” the guy—Carter—said.
    My head whipped around a little faster than I intended. I thought he meant Chloe, but he was looking at me.
    “You go to college here?” Carter asked.
    “High school,” I grunted and took a step after Chloe, who was walking away, glancing back.
    “Oh? I’d have guessed college. I hear they have a good football team. You must be planning to try out for it. I’m enrolling and I’d love any tips.”
    “I don’t play—”
    I stopped as I caught Simon giving me a look that said I was being rude. I wasn’t—I don’t go to college and I don’t know a damned thing about their football team—but I guess I sounded churlish. Which was fine by me. But Simon motioned that he’d go with Chloe instead, and when she didn’t argue, I was stuck.
    I told the guy that I didn’t play football or know much about the college team, but I tried to be nice about it, saying I hadn’t been in town long and I was home-schooled. All that effort to be polite, and the guy seemed to tune me out after the first sentence, impatiently waiting for me to finish.
    When I did, he said, “About Chloe. Has she got a boyfriend?”
    I stiffened and managed to grunt, “Dunno.”
    “She’s cute, huh?” He gazed after her with a look that made my gut twist. Not the normal look a guy gives a cute girl. A hungry one that had my hackles rising.
    “She’s fifteen,” I said, my voice taking on a growl.
    “So?”
    “How old are you?”
    “Seventeen.” He grinned. It was an all-teeth grin that set off something in my brain and I fought the urge to curl my lip in a snarl.
    “Girls her age like older guys,” Carter continued. “We know our way around, if you know what I mean.”
    His grin grew, but his gaze was fixed on me now. His brown eyes glittered as I gripped the edge of the table, temper flaring.
    Baiting me. He knew I was dating Chloe—or at least that I really liked her—and he was being a jerk about it.
    I took a deep breath. No threat here. Chloe was safe. Chloe wasn’t interested. Chloe was with me.
    “Don’t you have someplace to go?” I said. “Your