14. The Villain
THE VILLAIN
I was standing in Violet’s apartment. I couldn’t remember how I got here or why I was here.
It didn’t matter. I felt like I should leave.
I started to but I heard her voice coming from my left.
The water was running and she was singing along to “You Put a Spell on Me” by Austin Giorgio (fitting).
It pulled me down the hall to where the bathroom door was cracked open slightly.
The room was already filling with steam, but I could still see her through the mirror.
She had her back to the water; her opaque shower door only covered to the middle of her shoulders.
Her eyes were closed while she used a shampoo bottle as a microphone, belting out the lyrics of the song blasting through her speaker.
All I could do was stand there and watch the water droplets cascading over her skin, wishing it was my hands instead. I should leave. She didn’t know—
“Are you just going to stand there?”
When had the song ended? She’d put her shampoo bottle down and turned, catching my eye in the mirror. She looked amused, which was surprising, considering how creepy I was being.
“I— Sorry, I was just leaving and— I shouldn’t be— Sorry.”
“I could use some help. There’s this spot on my shoulder I can never get to. Unless you just want to stand there and ogle me.”
“I— You’re— What?”
“It’s like you’ve never seen a naked woman before. That can’t possibly be true, can it? I mean someone that looks like you must have women lining up out the door for a chance.” She smiled. “So, are you just going to stand there or are you going to join me?”
The next thing I knew, I was standing in the water still fully clothed.
“Seriously, Aus, I could have waited the extra thirty seconds it would take to get undressed.”
That was the moment I knew I was dreaming, because she couldn’t possibly know what my name was, let alone my middle name—which I preferred but no one ever used.
I didn’t think about it too much, I was too busy taking in every detail.
Every curve, every freckle, every tattoo.
Well, one tattoo in particular. The one I’d only caught a glimpse of earlier.
It was another dragon. The one I’d made for her.
The tail was up her breastbone, the wings were in a soaring position under her breasts.
The detail was incredible, every scale, every spike, even the claws at the end of the wings and the club at the end of the tail.
It looked fairly new, like it was still healing.
“Do you like it?”
I met her eye, she was smiling.
“What?”
“The tattoo you can’t stop staring at. Do you like it?”
I had no words. My brain tried to remind me again that this wasn’t real, that all of this was in my head. Because of course this was in my head. Why would she get a tattoo of something I made her? Something that was a part of me?
“It’s beautiful.”
Her grin grew before she turned her back to me.
“If you’re done staring, I invited you in here to do a job. The soap is to your right.”
“Right. Got it.” I grabbed the bar and stepped closer to her. “I… um… Can you move your—”
She spun her hair around her finger three times and pulled it above her head.
“Is that good?”
I nodded, moving the bar over her shoulders.
“Did you— Should I— Was it just your shoulders?”
“You can continue, if you want. I’ve always wondered what your hands feel like.”
It was just a dream. I could enjoy myself a little more…
I spun the soap in my hands until they were sudsy then placed it back on the holder. I started at her neck, forward over her collarbone, along her arms, down her sides.
“Turn around.”
She did while I re-soaped my hands. I dropped to my knee, moving over her hips and ass, down one leg then the other. She squirmed a little while my hands were at the top of her thigh.
You’re dreaming, I kept reminding myself.
I worked back up over her abdomen and chest. She was breathing heavy by the time I met her eye again.
“Do you feel clean?”
She nodded. “Would you like me to do you next?”
“I— What?”
“Soap. Would you like me to soap you?”
“Um…” I looked down at myself still fully clothed, soaking wet. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
She stepped closer, hands sliding under my shirt. My skin scorched under her touch, even dreaming.
“I don’t mind.”
Her hands kept moving up my chest, bringing my shirt up with her. I lifted my arms so she could pull it over my head. She hummed, popping up on her toes so her face was closer to mine.
“In fact, I might just insist.”
I found myself leaning in, hands going to her hips. Her lips were so close I could just—
“This isn’t real.”
“All the more reason to enjoy myself a little longer.”
My grip tightened.
“I can’t.”
“I can.”
Then she was kissing me and any will I had to stop this evaporated under her touch. Her hands were tangled in my hair while she urged my lips to part. I slid my hands over her ass and down to her thighs so I could pick her up. Her legs went right around my waist.
I was so fucked. I should be trying to wake myself up. This wasn’t real. Maybe that was why I was letting it continue. This was the closest I would get to her hands on me, her body pressed against mine, her tongue working with mine. The closest I would get to having her in my arms.
As close as I would let myself get for now.
I could—
“Matt. Matt! Dude, wake up!”
I shot out of bed breathing heavy and super dazed. I was in my apartment, a block from Violet’s. Eva was standing on the other side of bed, laughing her ass off.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Good dream?” She was still laughing as her eyes drifted…
Oh thank god, I was just hard. The way she said that made me think I’d come in my pants like some prepubescent teenager. I grabbed a pillow and covered myself, putting on my best scowl.
“What are you doing here?” I asked again.
“We were supposed to meet the others twenty minutes ago. Since when do you sleep through three alarms?”
Since I was having a really nice dream.
“Give me a minute to get dressed.”
“They’re pissed, Matt. You better hurry up.”
I rolled my eyes, turning to the dresser behind me.
“I’ve never been late to a meeting before. Everyone else has missed at least two. Tell them to cool their jets. I know what’s at stake.”
“No, you don’t,” Eva said quietly.
“What?” I turned back; she was picking at her fingernails. She only did that when she was nervous. “Eva. What do you mean?”
“Get dressed. They’ll explain.”
Twenty minutes later, we were walking into the back of Eva’s shop. Three of the most elusive men in the city were huddled around the well in the centre of the room with their heads bent together whispering.
I was in full gear; just because we were working together on this, didn’t mean I was willing to share my real identity. Eva and Violet were the only ones who knew what I usually looked like and no one knew about my shadows.
Harold Jasper was the first to notice me.
He was the lead scientist on the project that caused the incident.
He’d tried to blow the whistle on the whole thing but was nearly killed and decided to fake his own death.
He was young for a lead scientist on a project like that—early thirties.
Despite being so young, he was already starting to get hints of grey in his brown hair.
Wrinkles were forming around his eyes and the crease between his eyebrows looked like it was becoming permanent.
Next was Vance Copperfield. He was the oldest of the three—late fifties to early sixties, I wasn’t exactly sure.
Black skin, bald head, unforgiving eyes.
He was next in line for chief of police until one of his old CIs came to him with a rumour about contaminated water.
His investigation was shut down twice, then he was blamed for not figuring it out sooner. He lost everything.
Finally, there was Adam Chang. He was the only one who still had his job.
He was a member of the Senate. When the news of the incident broke, he had led the charge for answers.
Every question was deflected or outright avoided.
There was an attempt on his life, so he stopped asking so openly.
Instead, he turned his efforts toward secretly taking down everyone involved.
The only one missing was the benefactor. It was supposedly too dangerous for them to be spotted in the city.
“You’re late.”
“For the first time ever. How many times have you been late, Harold?” I strolled past them to lean on the wall by the furnace. “In fact, everyone but me has fully missed at least one of these meetings, so why don’t you enlighten me as to why I’m being scolded right now?”
“Our benefactor is…concerned about the volunteer,” Vance said. “That she’s been taking up too much of your focus. That she’s distracting you from your mission. And we’re starting to share those concerns.”
My eyes flickered over to Eva. She was standing by the door with a neutral expression, but I could tell from here that she was still picking at her nails.
“You haven’t gone after a single person on the list since the judge two and a half months ago.
Nor have you dug up any additional information on the supposed missing criminals.
But you’ve been parading around the hospitals in Milky Way, taking pictures with children and making ice sculptures. ” Adam added.
“Literally none of that is true. I met one kid, one time. And I’ve always paraded around Milky Way, stopping to take pictures and make ice sculptures. Remember that was your plan? Because it was supposed to make me endearing to the public?”