Dark Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 2) by Amanda M. Lee Page A

leg to really make sure he understands?” I was beyond irritated.
    “Don’t be gross,” Aric said, making a face as Rafael snorted. “That’s not what I was doing.”
    “That’s exactly what you were doing,” I countered. “I feel like a chew toy.”
    “I’ll chew on you later,” Aric said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure our reunion wasn’t drawing attention. “Do you remember where my old apartment is?”
    Rafael nodded.
    “Meet us there,” Aric instructed. “I have Paris and Kelsey in my Explorer. We need to talk. Despite what Zoe says, I’m actually happy to see you. Keeping the three of them out of trouble on my own was daunting before I knew you were around to ease the load.”
    “You want me to babysit?” Rafael didn’t look thrilled with the suggestion.
    “I want to know what you know,” Aric clarified. “We can’t do it here, though. Meet us at my apartment. We have a lot to catch up on.”

    “ I DON’T understand how you look exactly the same,” Kelsey said a half hour later, poking Rafael’s cheek. “With all the tanning you do, you should look fifty.”
    Everyone sat around the small kitchen table munching on pizza. Well, except for Rafael. He doesn’t eat. He only drinks the blood of the innocent. What? He does. He generally glamours them before he does it so they don’t know what’s happening, but he’s a total blood sucker. Yeah, it grosses me out, too.
    Rafael leaned back in his chair and fixed Kelsey with a dark look. “You’re exactly the same, too.”
    Kelsey beamed. “Thank you.”
    “It wasn’t a compliment.”
    I snorted as I reached for another slice of pizza. Aric had already wolfed down four slices and wasn’t slowing. He was hungrier than I realized.
    “Have you been here this whole time?” I asked, turning my attention back to Rafael. “I thought you were leaving town.”
    “I did leave town for several years,” Rafael replied. “I was done with this place until I heard a rumor.”
    “Let me guess; you heard a rumor about Mark Doyle showing up on campus,” Aric said, wiping his hands with his napkin. “How long ago was that?”
    “I’ve been back for six months,” Rafael said. “When I first heard the rumor I didn’t believe it. I was under the impression he was dead.”
    My cheeks burned as I lowered my gaze. “I … .”
    “We made a mistake where Mark was concerned,” Aric said, dropping his hand on my shoulder. “We kept him in custody for a year, and he was so pathetic we didn’t think he was a threat. We released him … and then lost track of him.”
    “That’s a mighty big mistake,” Rafael said, his words laced with venom. “Perhaps if you had been locked up and starved for months you wouldn’t have made that mistake.”
    “You’re probably right,” Aric conceded, keeping his gaze even. “It’s too late to undo it. We did it, and we’ve had to pay dearly for it.”
    “What is that supposed to mean?” Rafael asked, his gaze shifting to me.
    “It’s my fault Mark is running free,” I volunteered, earning a disgusted sigh from Aric. “James wanted to kill him that day when we took down Blake and the rest of the Academy. I’m the one who told him to lock Mark up.”
    “I see,” Rafael’s demeanor didn’t slip or shift. “How did you guys find out Mark was here if you lost him?”
    “Someone detonated a bomb at our engagement party,” Aric replied. “Several people were killed. We saw Mark on the security video.”
    Rafael’s expression softened. “I guess you have paid dearly,” he said. “Who died?”
    “The only person you would know is Scott,” Aric answered.
    “The boy who was good with computers?” Rafael asked, knitting his eyebrows. “I never liked him. He had a crush on Zoe.”
    I frowned. “Excuse me?”
    “I wouldn’t go there,” Aric warned. “I was mean to him right before he died and I’m not feeling too good about it. His girlfriend tracked Mark down for us.”
    “Well, I