Read The Flash of a Firefly for Free Online

years of ‘Kaden this’ and ‘Kaden that.’ There isn’t a single member of the family that doesn’t resent you in one way or another. You have what we all want. Stop acting like a spoiled child.”
    “You can tell everyone I’m not that Kaden any longer, and they can stop being jealous. Tell Phoenix to pick someone to replace me and move on.”
    Francesca stepped around Davis and poked me in the chest. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to get her point across. She was fighting with herself not to rip my heart out on the spot. Well, ditto, I thought.
    Davis pulled her back gently. “We could use a little vacation time, but expect to hear from us again soon. And don’t worry; we will live by the current city rules while we’re here.”
    Francesca gasped and pushed Davis’s arm away. “What is that? A human girl? I heard you had given up fresh blood.”
    Davis sighed. “It’s time to go.”
    “She’s very pretty, Kaden.” Her eyes flitted back to me. A big smile spread across her face as she peeked back around my shoulder. “Do you intend to let her survive?”
    “Leave her out of this.” I moved to my right to block Lyn from her line of sight. I had a promise to Tom to keep. Nothing was going to happen to Lyn, even if it killed me.
    Francesca giggled and licked her lips. “If you don’t kill her, maybe I’ll have a taste another night.”
    “Get her out of here,” I growled at Davis. “Now.”
    Francesca tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder and spun around. “You never did share very well.” She sauntered away, swinging her hips.
    “Sorry about this,” Davis said. “It’s too bad we’re on opposite sides now. We really will be seeing you soon. Think about it. She was serious when she said we came prepared for you to say no.”
    I nodded. We had been on opposite sides for a while. The only difference was that we were just getting around to doing something about it. It wasn’t my choice. It wasn’t his choice. It was coming from above both of us. That very fact reminded me just how much I hadn’t missed my old life.
    “You knew my answer before you asked it.” I sighed.
    “Unfortunately.” He cracked his neck and took off to catch up with Francesca.
    I stood there alone listening to the waves break in the distance before turning back to Lyn. It was too dark for her human eyes to have noticed the quick movement, but she could tell that someone was there one second and gone the next. Don’t ask questions, I thought. Just don’t ask questions.
    As I plodded back through the sand to her, she cocked her head. She held her hair back into a ponytail with her hands, but the crisp ocean air was still blowing strands of it across her face. “What happened?”
    “Nothing,” I lied. I wouldn’t have known where to begin even if I wanted to. And I definitely didn’t want to.
    “It didn’t seem like nothing.” She hurried after me as I led the way back to the sidewalk. “Is everything okay?”
    My head was spinning. I needed two minutes of silence to wrap my head around everything. I really had been convinced that I was seeing things the other night. It was what I wanted to believe, but I should have trusted my instincts. There was no denying it anymore.
    “I’ll walk you home,” I told her. “Which way do you live?”
    She narrowed her eyes suspiciously but didn’t comment. “This way.”
    It was better that she didn’t know, even if she didn’t think so. I obviously couldn’t tell her the truth, and I didn’t want to create a believable lie. Lying wasn’t exactly something I enjoyed doing, and I didn’t want to lie to her specifically.
    Ridiculous, but true. I glared down at her walking quietly on the sidewalk. I wondered what she had that was so appealing. It wasn’t that she was attractive or that she smelled wonderful. Those things just made me want to bite her; they had nothing to do with wanting to be closer to her. She seemed extremely fragile next to me, like she