Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 2) Read Online Free Page B

Ashley glared at our table. I’d momentarily forgotten about her.
    I nodded in Ashley’s direction. “Christine is so dropping you.”
    “Yeah,” Dante said with a shrug. “Probably.”
     

    3
You’re Invited
     
    Back inside the Jeep, Dante had his iPod blasting George Michael’s “Outside.” He swayed side-to-side while driving, singing, and tapping on the steering wheel. Dante joined George, singing about how he was done with the sofa, hall, and kitchen table.
    I rolled m y eyes when he leaned towards me while singing about taking things outside.
    I cleared my throat. “Speaking of outside ...mind keeping your eyes on the road?”
    Dante sang back in return.
    God, I swear he had a playlist titled “Songs for Annoying Aurora.”
    “Wann a come over?”
    It took me a moment to register that Dante was asking a real question, not si nging lyrics. I looked sideways at him, momentarily speechless.
    “ I’ll let you touch my claw.” Dante glanced down.
    I burst out laughing. “You are such a dork.”
    A dangerous dork. The whole ‘naked skin against mine’ comment still concerned me.
    “ I should get home before my mom starts to worry.”
    Doubtful.  Every day after school she ran a little later than the previous one. Yesterday she forgot to pick me up entirely. Well, not exactly forgot so much as slept through the afternoon until my phone call woke her up.
    While I’d gotten over my car phobia for the most part, I hadn’t overcome my driving phobia. Too bad I didn’t live in a city with a cool underground metro system.
    “Oh, right,” Dante said, turning down the music. “How is Mrs. Sky? Still making those delicious cookies?”
    More like eating them straight from the manufacturer’s b ox.
    “She’s okay. She just misses my dad. He’s not around much.”
    Or ever. I had confided in Fane, but I didn’t feel like telling Dante my dad had taken off. Dante wasn’t capable of taking anything seriously. It went against his nature.
    “At least she’s got you for company.”
    “Not for long.”
    Dante glanced sideways at me. “No?”
    “As soon as I graduate I’m moving into my own place.”
    “Yep, yep,” he said, nodding. “That’s the way to go. I know your mom will miss you, but it’s not like you’re leaving the state.”
    Not anymore. Before my car wreck, I’d actually made it into Notre Dame, my college of choice. Paradise lost.
    The traffic light ahead turned yellow. Dante punched the gas and flew through the intersection.
    I bit my tongue. If I screamed it would only encourage him.
    “ A place of your own is a great idea,” he said, easing up on the gas pedal. “In our line of work we get home at all times of the night. Your mom’s going to have gray hair before she’s fifty if she’s always staying up waiting for you to get home safely.”
    And maybe dad would return if I wasn’t there. He and Mom could work things out, get back to normal. She needed someone and that someone wasn’t me. Even with Notre Dame out of the picture, I craved my own life and privacy.
    “Get some rest, Sky,” Dante said when he pulled up to my house.
    “Good luck on your term paper,” I said.
    As soon as I shut the passenger door, Dante backed out of the driveway and roared down the street.
    I crossed the road to our mailbox to collect the mail.
    There was a red padded envelope and a grocery bag stuffed inside the mailbox. I opened the bag first and breathed deep. Inside, folded neatly, was my red scarf—the one Renard had claimed as a trophy after kidnapping me.
    It had to be from Fane. He’d been the one to dispose of Renard’s body at the dump. I pulled it out slowly and let it unravel. In the dark the scarf looked crimson.
    What did this mean?
    It had to be a message of some sort. Most likely Fane’s way of saying we were finished for good.
    My fingers tightened into a fist around the scarf. I looked up the hill toward the woods. Without thinking, I headed toward the path leading into