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grinned at me, and I knew we were going to have a nice long chat tomorrow, full of juicy stuff, and, this time, I would have something to add.
    “Ready?” Alec asked when I found him waiting at the mouth of the trail that led to the parking lot. It was a narrow poorly lit path, bordered by a tall rock wall on one side, a flimsy wooden fence on the other. It wouldn’t do much to prevent someone from stumbling off the side of the cliff that got freakishly high as the path ascended to the parking lot. Being as afraid of heights as I was, I secretly hated this trail. 
    I jutted a thumb over my shoulder. “Didn’t you come with friends?”
    “No, I met them here. I drove myself.”
    “Ah, I get to ride in style tonight.”
    Alec had a silver Mustang with black accents, a black leather interior, and a big engine. It was much nicer than Callie’s Civic or the junker Gran let me borrow from time to time. I loved it, loved riding in it, and wanted one just like it, though I knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Or never. I had given up trying to figure out how Alec managed to afford it. Won the lottery? Rich family? Drug dealer? Hit man? I was afraid to ask.
    “You want to ride in style with me tomorrow night, too? Maybe go to dinner?”
    My foot scraped against a rock protruding out of the ground. I hadn’t seen it, with the trail not being lit, and stumbled. Or was it Alec’s question that had rendered my feet useless? I slanted my eyes to him, but I could only see the shadow of his outline beside me. Even if I couldn’t see his face, I had a crystal clear mental image of him trying not to laugh at me.
    “I don’t know if I should take your silence as a yes or a no,” he said.
    “Not a no.” I didn’t trust my voice to manage more than a whisper, and was surprised he heard me.
    I swear I heard him grin. “It’s a date, then.” He slipped an arm around my shoulders and hugged me to his side as we continued up the path.
    So...my first real date, aside from ridiculous group dates to dances with a mix of your boy and girl friends in someone’s mom’s minivan. This would be a real date, alone, with Alec. Hell, he’d already kissed me. I didn’t know what I was so nervous about, but I was.
    So much so that I didn’t notice the figure standing in the shadows at the end of the trail until Alec froze in his tracks beside me. Blocking our path to the parking lot was the large ominous shape of a man. The dim lighting prevented me from seeing him clearly, but I would recognize him anywhere, just like I knew, without seeing them, that his eyes were blue.
     
     

     

CHAPTER 4
     
    “Shit,” Alec muttered under his breath as his arm dropped from around my shoulders.
    It was him—my mystery guy, my secret, my whatever-he-was. He stepped forward, into the eerie glow cast by the parking lot’s lone street light, and I saw his face. In faded jeans, a grey long sleeved thermal shirt, and a tattered blue baseball cap, he didn’t appear threatening. Yet, he had Alec on edge...
    And me confused. Aside from his unexpected presence at the school a few weeks ago, that I still think he hadn’t meant for me to know about, he only showed up when I was in some sort of trouble. Surely, he didn’t think I was in danger now. 
    His eyes moved from me to Alec, shifted from curious to menacing. From the way he stared at Alec, and the way Alec glared in return, it almost seemed as if they knew each other. From the tension radiating off both of them, it was clear they were not friends.
    “Hey, Kris,” Alec said without looking at me. “Why don’t you go wait in the car?” 
    He held out his car keys to me, but I didn’t take them, hesitant to leave the two of them alone on a dark empty trail. It didn’t seem like a good idea with the way they were sizing each other up. Anyone with half a brain could smell the fight brewing.
    “She’s not going anywhere. I know your buddies are lurking around here