In that moment, it felt as if several things came crashing down around me at once. 

What the hell was going on? 

I had the immediate urge to smash my fist into the guy's face and get him the hell away from my cousin. I didn't like the possessive way he was staring at her, and I certainly didn't like the way she was returning the gaze with nothing short of adoration.

 "Archer," Lauren repeated, moving forward to hug me. "How are you?"

 I couldn't muster up a response and I barely had enough movement in my limbs to return the hug.

 "And Hadley!" Lauren threw her arms around Hadley next, squeezing her tightly. "Congratulations!"

 "Thank you," Hadley said coolly.

 We both had our eyes fixed firmly on Havoc, like we both were expecting him to make some sudden move and attack.

 Havoc smiled back, a glint in his eye that made my arm tighten around Hadley and pull her closer to me.

"Oh," Lauren said, as if realizing there was someone standing beside her. "This is Henry."

Henry, was it? That was a nice change from the name Havoc.

"Pleasure," Havoc said, smiling at the two of us. "I've heard a lot about you from Lauren."

 "Is that so?" I said, finally finding my voice.

"All good things, of course," Lauren assured us, laughing.

 Oh, I really did not believe that.

"Well, it's good of you to come and visit!" aunt Karin said, coming over to thrown an arm around Lauren and squeeze her tightly. "It's about time Lauren found a nice young man to settle down with."

 Hadley's fingers locked around my arm in a tight grip, holding me in place, and then I realized I had been moving towards Havoc. To strangle him or throw him out the door, I wasn't sure. I just knew I had the urge to cause this man as most pain as possible. Just like he was doing to us.

Havoc caught my eye with his unnatural, creepy mismatched eyes and smiled, making me think he knew exactly what was going through my mind at the moment. 

"So you two have been together for a while, then," Hadley said, making her voice sound pleasant and politely curious. 

 How was she doing that?

"Only about a month, I think," Lauren said, glancing up at Havoc.

 "Sounds about right," he agreed with a nod. "But I have to say, it feels a lot longer than that."

Lauren flushed bright red and everyone laughed.

 Of course they'd be laughing. Who wouldn't be charmed by this guy? His posh appearance, slick backed hair and British accent probably made him seem all the more appealing. 

 "Be that as it may," Sophia said loudly, shooting Lauren and Havoc a smile. "We all need to get moving. Mass starts in an hour, but if we want seats we need to leave now."

I pulled Hadley down the last few steps, brushed past Lauren and Havoc without a second glance, into the thankfully empty kitchen.

 I rounded on Hadley, positively shaking with rage now, but before I could say anything, she grabbed my face in her hands and forced me to look her in the eye.

 "Calm down, okay? We can't do anything about this right now, not with the family here."

"Did you see how he - he had his hands on her, Hadley! He was touching her!" 

"Archer, I know."

I clutched at her hands, resting my forehead against hers, trying to get a grip on myself. It wasn't proving to be easy. 

"Havoc's not stupid enough to pull something in front of everyone," Hadley muttered, doing her best to reassure me. "Not if he's trying to worm his way in with us."

"I don't think we can go on any assumptions." I sighed harshly, squeezing my eyes shut. "He's not exactly proving to be the most predictable, is he?"

 "No," she agreed after a moment. "Maybe not. But what else can we do, Archer?"

And that was one question I was not prepared to answer.

 "We just have to make it through four days, and when we get back to the city, you've got to - " 

"Face my fears, I know," I groaned. "I know."

 "Hadley? Archer?" Mom stuck her head round the corner into the kitchen. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yes," Hadley said, pulling away from me. "Sorry. We're coming."

 I grabbed my jacket off the back of a chair in the dining room and filed out the door after the family. Mom, the girls, Hadley and I piled into the SUV while everyone else got into their respective cars. 

 Mom and the girls kept up a string of conversation on the way to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Talking was honestly the last thing I felt like doing at the moment. 

 Hadley curled up against my side and I laced my fingers through hers, doing my best not to have a complete and total breakdown. I really hoped what Hadley said was right, that Havoc wouldn't try anything while we were here. Because I wasn't so sure what I'd do if anything happened to Lauren or any of us at his hands. 

The church parking lot was half full as Mom swung the SUV into an empty spot. I hadn't been here in a few years, but the cathedral was just as looming and impressive as I remembered it to be. 

 Aunt Karin and John and their brood of children had already arrived, and Carlo was waiting for us in the marble-tiled narthex to show us to our seats. 

 I fell behind Sophia and Marc, their kids, and Mom and the girls, to talk to Hadley.

"I thought Havoc was some type of evil demon or something," I muttered. "And aren't churches supposed to be hallowed ground? How can he - "

 "He's not a demon," Hadley said, smirking slightly. "At least I don't think he is. Death said he was an underling, a sort of minion halfway in between."

"That doesn't even make any sense," I said after a moment of thought.

 "Nothing in this world ever makes sense."

 "I can agree with that."

 Hadley and I were the last to walk in, and we ended up at the very end of the pew somewhere in the middle of the church.

 The cathedral did look pretty fantastic, decorated for Christmas with lights and trees and garland, but I was a little more focused on Havoc halfway down the pew, holding hands with Lauren during the entire mass.

 I wasn't so sure if I was about to punch the next person that happened to say the wrong thing to me.

 Christmas Eve service was a little longer than normal and by the time we left the church it was nearing eight in the evening. We hadn't really done that much today, but Hadley was dead on her feet, practically asleep by the time we made it back to the SUV. 

I had no idea how I was going to be able to sleep tonight, not with knowing that Havoc was in the house. 

"So, what now?" I asked Mom as she pulled the SUV into Sophia's circular driveway.

 Mom glanced back at me and grinned, noticing Hadley asleep on my shoulder.

"Well, I heard we were going to open presents, but maybe bed just sounds better."

 I wasn't so sure about that.

"Hadley," I murmured, brushing back her hair. "C'mon, wake up."

 She stirred slightly, groaning. "What?"

"We're home."

 It took a little effort, but I finally managed to get Hadley out of the car and into the house.

 All of the younger kids were already crowded around the Christmas tree, shaking presents and begging the adults to open them.

 "Do you want to go to bed?" I asked Hadley, sitting on the arm of the couch as she stood beside me.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

 "Then what do you want?"

Her eyes flickered over to Havoc, who leaning against the stair railing, Lauren at his side.

"I can think of a number of things," she muttered, her lips tightening into a thin line.

Havoc looked around at us and gave us a wide smile that had my grip on Hadley tightening.

 "I'm going to make something to drink," Hadley said, stepping out of my grasp.

 I followed after her, an irrational urge to keep her in my line of sight at all times taking over.

How could I be positive that nothing was going to happen to Hadley?

I couldn't, that was the thing. 

I leaned against the counter in the kitchen, arms crossed, watching as Hadley bustled about the kitchen, boiling water and pulling out a box of tea bags from the cupboard. I could hear laughter and squeals coming from the living room, growing louder by the minute. Well, at least everybody was enjoying opening their presents for Christmas. Sadly, I couldn't say the same.

But then a sudden, deathly still silence fell.

The teabags slipped from Hadley's hands and scattered across the floor as we both turned to the kitchen doorway. Sure enough, Havoc was standing there, arms crossed, cool as you please.

 Hadley broke the tense silence first, her voice firm and confident.

"See you haven't changed much," she said. "Still freezing time?”

"Why, that's how I operate," Havoc said with an eerie smile. "It's one of many tricks up my sleeve."

"Oh, I'm sure."

 "And how have things been going for you, little Hadley?" Havoc asked, taking a step forward. "I heard you're expecting a baby."

 I moved forward without thinking, pulling Hadley behind me, blocking her from view. Maybe she'd think I was overreacting, but I didn't see it that way. I didn't even like the guy looking at her the way he did.

 Havoc threw back his head and laughed, so loud I'm sure someone out walking their dog outside could've heard him. 

 "Oh, you don't need to look like that, mister Morales," he said, still chuckling. "I won't hurt little Hadley."

 "And why should I believe you?" I demanded angrily.

 "Well." He rubbed a hand across his jaw, a thoughtful look on his face. "It's more along the lines that I can't hurt Hadley."

 "What?" 

Havoc couldn't hurt Hadley? Then what the hell had we been doing this past month?

 "I think you heard me," he said. "But don't let that stop you. I can still hurt you."