Ella forced Con's surrender about who would drive, citing his bum knee as the main reason why he shouldn't. He'd submitted with ill grace, reluctantly falling into the passenger seat of her rental.

The hotel sat a few miles from a town Con hadn't paid attention to on his way through it. The drive passed in comfortable silence, Con mostly focusing on keeping his hands relaxed in his lap. Ella didn't seem to mind.

"This town is so cute," Ella murmured, stopping in front of a diner advertising the best burgers in town.

Con forced himself to get slowly out of the car, rather than jumping out and kissing the pavement like a lunatic. "It's pretty much like any other small town. Trust me."

Locking the car, she joined him on the sidewalk. "I wouldn't know," she said with a laugh. "I'm a city kid."

"Seoul?" Con hazarded a guess.

Ella gave a sigh of mock disappointment, shaking her head in disapproval and his stomach dropped. He could have sworn he'd heard the slightest of accents from both siblings.

"You know there are more cities in Korea than Seoul." She threaded her arm through his, pulling him toward the restaurant. "We're from Daegu."

"Oh." Con opened the door, basking for a moment in the delicious, warm smell of coffee and cooking grease as he waved her inside. "Where's that?"

"Way south of Seoul." She nodded to a brisk waitress who told them to grab a seat wherever they wanted. "About an hour north of Busan, assuming you know where that is." She softened her teasing with another sweet smile as Con pulled her chair out for her.

"Only that it's the place to go in the event of a zombie outbreak."

That earned him an outright laugh, the silvery sound pulling a smile from him. Ella leaned forward, eyes bright, but whatever she had been going to say was interrupted when the same waitress from before came over.

She took their drink orders and left them with menus. Neither spoke as they perused their options. Everything sounded delicious and soon Con's stomach began demanding his brain stop screwing around and pick something.

After their orders had been placed, Ella surprised him by saying, "I told Taemin to lay off a little."

"I..." Con blinked. "What?"

"If I overstepped, I'm sorry," she said, winding a strand of hair around her finger. "It's just..." She gave a weary smile. "Tae's a being of pure confidence. So when he wants something...or someone, he goes after it full force. He can't help it anymore than the sun can help being bright. He doesn't always realize when he's pushing too hard."

"Oh." Oddly, Con found himself a bit disappointed by that answer.

"I don't make any promises, though," she said, taking a sip of soda. 

Con managed a smile, strenuously ignoring the flush building beneath his skin. "It's...well, fine's maybe not the word. But...I can handle Taemin."

The thinly veiled look Ella gave him said she doubted that, but Con didn't mind. He'd always been leanly muscled—strong but thin, leading some to believe him an easy target. Taemin wasn't the first aggressive man he'd ever dealt with, and he had the scars on his knuckles to prove it.

"He's really not that bad, all things considered," Con said quietly. "He just wants what he wants and goes after it. You gotta admire him for that."

Ella lifted an eyebrow. "That's generous of you."

Shrugging, Con perked up at the sight of their waitress weaving toward them. When she put their plates down, Con again barely had the grace to say 'thank you' before he proceeded to all but inhale the burger he'd ordered.

When he glanced up to reach for the ketchup, he was surprised to find Ella had wolfed down her own burger and was busy mopping up the french fries. Con grinned, freezing when she met his gaze.

She jabbed toward him with a ranch-drenched fry. "You're not one of those weirdos who doesn't like girls who eat, right? Or..." She frowned. "One of those weirdos who just likes to watch girls eat?"

Con choked on his soda. Ella let out an evil cackle as he lunged for a napkin, the carbonation burning his nose so badly it made his eyes water. When he could breathe again, Con sent her a glare. "No. I just...you"—he grimaced—"you remind me of someone, is all."

Jenna had always been able to hang with him where eating was concerned, too. Even back when they'd been in high school and he'd basically been an empty repository for food.

"Is that good or bad?" Ella asked, drawing his attention back to her.

He couldn't keep his smile from being a little sad. "Good." Desperate to change the subject, he asked the first thing that popped up. "Why do you have an English name and Taemin doesn't?"

Ella's brows drew together as she tilted her head, a little thrown by the change of topic. To his relief, she decided to just go with it.

"We moved here when Tae and I were just starting high school."

Con winced. 

"My Korean name is So-Ri, which sounds just close enough to 'sorry' that it didn't take long for the first idiot to start calling me Sorry Park." She rolled her eyes at the less-than-clever insult.

"So you changed your name?"

"After we changed schools, yeah."

Con sat back, appalled. "Was it that bad?"

"Ha." Ella shook her head. "Tae's the reason we had to move, not me."

Con stirred his drink, intrigued in spite of himself.

Smiling fondly, Ella tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Taemin's always had a big personality. And most people think Asians should just be quiet and polite and good at math. No one knew what to do with this Korean kid whose hair was a different color every semester, who was good at every sport he tried, who stole their girlfriends a week before prom. Needless to say, he was dragged out behind the gym most every week. And that's not even counting the fights he got in on my behalf."

"I take it he won most of those fights?"

Ella grew curiously still. "How'd you know?"

Con tapped the bridge of his own slightly crooked nose. "Doesn't look like it's ever been broken."

Her shoulders relaxed and she laughed. Then she cast a critical eye over him. "What about you?"

Con finished his soda, folding his arms as he lounged back in his chair. "What about me what?"

"Constantine doesn't exactly make the most common names list."

"Oh." He grimaced, suddenly feeling too hot. The restaurant was unbearably loud now. Everything seemed like it had been turned up a few notches. "I...will answer that once we get outside."

He stood abruptly, weaving toward the cashier near the door. He settled the bill and all but bolted outside. The cold hit him with a sharp sting. Con was surprised he didn't steam in the chilly air. He all but ran down to the sidewalk, nausea surging in his throat. Con leaned against Ella's car, head tipped back and eyes closed in an effort to ward off the urge to vomit.

When he opened his eyes, his attention was snagged by a few leaves blowing overhead. They stood out starkly against the sunset sky. Con focused on them, trying to work out what had sent him into a panic.

As he stared at the leaves, he realized they weren't exactly moving with the wind. Dread coiled like a snake in his belly as one dropped toward him. Con didn't move as the black butterfly brushed against the hand he'd subconsciously raised.

Just like before, its wing was velvety soft as it brushed him. He turned, trying to track its progress. A gust of wind made his eyes water and, by the time he'd blinked his vision clear, it was gone.

"Con?" Ella's soft voice made him tremble in relief and he turned, glad for the distraction. Her eyes were solemn as she offered his coat. "Why don't we get back? It's been a long day. A bad day."

He drew in a shaky breath and held out his hand. "Please," he croaked. "Can I please drive?"

Whether she could see his fear or just wanted to humor him, Ella handed over the keys without argument. Con focused on his breathing as he got into the car, methodically adjusting his seat and checking the mirrors.

When they were a few minutes into the drive back, Con said, "He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity."

There was a moment's silence, and Con cringed, waiting for Ella to demand an explanation of his strange behavior. But all she asked was, "What?"

"Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert," he explained. "My family's Catholic. Mom didn't want to go with any of the more standard names—always said there were enough Peters, Pauls and Lukes in her family to man a ship. She wanted something more unique. I'm probably lucky I didn't get called Charlemagne."

Ella let out a soft breath of laughter. "I like it, you know. Your name. Constantine. It sounds..." She waved a hand lazily in the air as she searched for the right word. "Strong," she finally settled on. "Regal."

He didn't dare take his eyes off the road, but a pleasant warmth built in his chest, banishing the last vestiges of panic still clinging to him. "It was a bitch learning how to spell it."

Ella rewarded him with a full-throated laugh at that. When he couldn't resist the pull any longer, he asked, "You told me about Taemin, but what about you?"

"What about me what?" she said, copying him.

He smiled. "What kind of kid were you?"

She was quiet for so long, he thought he might have overstepped. 

"The kind who desperately wanted to fit in," she murmured. From the corner of his eye, he could see as she turned to face him. "The kind that wanted desperately to be liked. I've never been as likable as my brother."

"I like you better than I like him," Con said, then bit his lip.

Ella scoffed. "Yeah. It sure looked it this afternoon."

Pulling into the hotel's parking lot, he stopped the car and killed the engine. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face her. "I'm serious." He ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever's between me and your brother, it's...complicated. And infuriating. But you...you're just easy to be around, which is so nice. I can't even explain to you how amazing it is."

Ella was still frowning, her expression guarded. The sunset turned the brown of her eyes a reddish color. Unbidden, his hand reached out, his thumb ghosting over the silky skin of her cheek.

"It's been a while since I've spent time with someone like this. Since I've just been comfortable talking to someone. And...I am with you," he whispered. "I couldn't tell you why, but..."

His words trailed off as his gaze dipped to her mouth. Her lip gloss was gone—a victim of their meal—but her lips still looked soft and pink and...

Con leaned forward, sinking his fingers in her silky hair as he kissed her. Ella gasped against his mouth, growing ridged. Just as he was about to pull away, certain she didn't want him kissing her, she leaned into him, lips moving with his.

The kiss was soft, slow. The exact opposite of the hectic, hard kiss he'd shared with Taemin.

When she pulled away, he opened his eyes, feeling groggy. His mouth buzzed, his heart pounding unevenly and he reached for her again. Ella put a hand on his chest. Her eyes were huge, the pupils dilated and a flush made her skin rosy.

Con cupped her chin, trying to draw her into another kiss.

"Stop," she said, a confused expression crossing her face. "Con, just...stop for a second."

The sun had fallen farther, casting blue shadows. He inhaled, fighting to claw his way out of the fog in his head. Mostly, all he wanted to do was bury his face against her neck and taste the soft skin there.

"Do you hear that?"

Con's mouth said the first stupid thing his brain came up with. "I don't think the Wolfman lives this far north."

Ella slapped his shoulder. "It's not a horror movie, Constantine. I meant..." Her eyes unfocused. "Shit," she breathed, just moments before Con heard the telltale wail of a siren.

They both watched, horrified, as the lights turned down the long driveway leading to the hotel.

"You're bleeding," Ella said quietly. "Con, your hand is bleeding."