Chapter 20 #3
That grin no longer reaches his eyes, and his hand moves to casually hold onto the demon skull buckle of his belt. “Despite having enjoyed my time with you the other night immensely, I realize I may have crossed a line.”
“You sure have a knack for antagonizing my husband.”
“At least it was for charity, eh ?”
I fold my arms and purse my lips, not wanting to encourage him with a smile of my own at his admittedly amusing statement.
His grin stretches deviously wider. Somehow, regardless of my effort, he was able to tell. Is he able to read everyone around him so well? Or is it just me…
I let out a shaky breath, uncrossing my arms to rub my hands on my apron, and attempt to avoid deciphering how that makes me feel. I shouldn’t be feeling anything .
He cocks his head to the side, appraising me further. “Are you alright? You seem… flustered .”
“I’m fine.”
“Yes, you are.”
“ Legion .”
“At your service.” He teasingly bows, yet still manages to keep whatever he’s holding concealed behind his back.
“What are you hiding?”
“ If that isn’t a loaded question!”
This time, I sigh in frustration. “I’m very busy today, Legion. So, if you’re just here to mess with me…”
His playful expression shifts to something more serious. “I sent you flowers, yet I get the distinct impression you never received them… Did you?”
“No.”
He nods slowly, as if he expected the answer.
“When did you send me flowers… And why?”
“I sent you a rose for every promise fulfilled.”
I remember his promise, and my heart rate spikes. “I never received any roses.”
“I suspected as much… No matter . I always intended to bring you these ,” Legion says, finally revealing what he’s been holding behind his back. It’s a black box, half the size of a shoebox.
Another pang of anxiety hits me, yet somehow, I find myself descending the porch steps, curiosity drawing me closer. “I don’t know if I want to open that… Boxes from you don’t turn out so well for me.”
His expression is unreadable as he tears the lid off and dumps the contents out. Black patches with white embroidery litter the ground between us. A majority of them are stained with a reddish-brown residue.
Instinctively, I know it’s dried blood.
“There are still two names missing,” he says. “Though you shall have those as well.”
An uneasy feeling begins to percolate, yet my mind actively refuses to comprehend what is right in front of me.
“I’ve kept my promises,” he goes on at my stunned silence. “To keep you safe… To end them all.”
“Oh, God…” the words slip from my lips as I focus on a few of the name patches… Oxy…Creep…Mayhem…
“They can’t hurt you now. I’ve made certain of it.”
I stagger backwards, nearly tripping up two steps, and grab the railing to steady myself. My heart is racing even faster, making my head spin. “ You killed them.. .”
Legion’s expression shifts to something more perplexed, reminding me of the way a cat looks at its owner when they aren’t praised for dropping a dead bird at their feet. “Of course I did. I specifically promised I would.”
“Oh, God…”
“ He had little to do with it, if that eases your mind.”
“W-what?”
“Nothing… I suppose I’m just sick of his undo credit in all things.” Legion lets out an exasperated sigh at my lack of response. “ God .” He gestures toward the sky with a flippant, dismissive wave of his hand. “Nothing but an absentee landlord , if you ask me.”
“ Jesus Christ…”
“Just as useless.” Legion’s eyebrow quirks. “I thought you shed all the old Catholic chains?”
“Old habits die hard, I suppose,” I barely hear myself say.
Another devious half-smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, and he gestures to the blood-crusted patches. “I assure you, they did as well .”
I shake my head, trying to clear my racing thoughts. “H-how many…are there?”
“Thirteen, thus far.”
“W-where… How?”
“Scattered across the continental US,” Legion replies with a sense of pride.
“ How is something I don’t think you’d benefit from knowing.
And why, sweet one… Well, I’d like to think that’s obvious.
” He stares at me, as if willing me to make some connection.
Though the longer our silence stands, the more disappointment I see stirring behind his cold grey eyes.
Yes… I can imagine why… I heard what he confessed to Dean in that warehouse… They aren’t words I can ever acknowledge.
“We should probably burn these… Destroy the evidence,” I finally manage to say.
Legion slowly crouches and collects the dead men’s scattered patches. He puts them back in the box and stands.
“Where would you like to burn them?” he asks, replacing the lid.
“There’s a stone fire-pit on the back patio…
” I begin to say, then immediately think better of it.
I’m not so sure I want to be reminded of this every time Dean and I want to spend time around a cozy fire outside.
“ Actually, no . There’s a spot in the yard.
” A spot where Dean burned the mattress he once shared with Lucinda, where he burned everything that reminded him of her after their divorce.
That should do. A place where memories go to die…
“Shall we?” Legion smiles, offering me his leather-gloved hand. My legs still feel a bit shaky, so I allow him to assist me down the two steps before I pull my hand back and gesture toward the far side of the property.
“A few yards that way, near the tree line.”
“ After you .” His smile broadens into a wolfish grin. I have a feeling he just wants to stare at my ass. I’m too befuddled to care right now and immediately start walking across the yard.
Over the years, long grass has sprouted between the rust-encrusted coils in this small, neglected part of the yard, but the old mattress springs are still visible. A few bent, metal pieces of whatever other furniture Dean burned that night remain as well.
“Right there,” I say, pointing. “I probably should have gone inside and grabbed the charcoal lighter fluid for the grill.”
“Worry not.” Legion pulls off his glove with his teeth, then shoves it in his jeans pocket.
He removes the Zippo I returned to him from the inner pocket of his cut and drops the box on the ground.
It lands with a slight bounce, knocking open the lid.
“This lighter was slightly damaged years ago. It doesn’t take much to extract a little fluid from it without disassembling.
” I watch him flick open the lid and hold the Zippo over the box.
He pushes the side of the flint wheel with his finger and sprinkles some of the leaking fluid onto the patches within.
When his thumb flicks the striker, the flame ignites the patches as well as his thumb and forefinger.
I’m not sure what startled sound I made, but he laughs at me as I stare at the flames dancing on the tips of his fingers.
With a violent jerk of his wrist, the flames go out, and the lighter pings on its hinges and claps shut.
He rises to stand beside me once again while the flames within the box grow, engulfing the patches as well.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
He shows me his unscathed hand. “Perfectly.”
I glance back down at the burning box of patches. “Just, promise me you won’t show that trick to Ace... He’s already impressed by you. I don’t want him influenced into pyromania .”
Legion chuckles. “As you wish… I still have a few other tricks up my sleeve for the boy.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I say softly, staring at the fire as memories of burning the Knight spell with Dean begin to play over in my mind.
“You look contemplative,” Legion says after a moment. “Don’t fret. I’ll get the last two.” He moves to stand closer to me, his fingers brushing lightly against my hand.
I’m not sure what to do when I feel them slip between mine, curling to gently grip my hand in his, palm to palm. I’m afraid to look up at him. Afraid of what I might see in his expression. A familiar tension begins to radiate between us, but I continue to stare at the fire.
“Talk to me,” his tone is soft, yet insistent.
“I…I don’t know what to say,” I stammer.
“Have I pleased you?” he asks, the slightest hint of desperation in his words.
I glance up at him. “What?”
“Have I done… good ?” His hold tightens while his stormy eyes search mine.
“I don’t know how to answer that… These men are…are dead …because of me.”
“These men are dead because of me , sweet one,” Legion insists. “If not for me, you never would have been on their radar to begin with. Let not your conscience be troubled over these wasted souls. I take full credit and responsibility… For everything .” His thumb gently strokes the side of my hand.
“Everything… That’s a lot.”
“More than you know.” His sigh is laced with discernible remorse.
Alarm bells go off inside my racing mind. This feels too intimate. I slip my hand from his to crouch down and grab a stick to prod at the ashy pile of dead men’s patches. I want to make sure they’re all destroyed anyway.
“You’re going to…find the other two?” I ask. The thought of Legion continuing his mission of John Wick-ing his way through our enemies has my anxiety climbing even higher.
“Yes. Though they’ll probably find me.”
“Why?”
“Revenge for all I’ve done.”
“So, they want to hurt you.” I drop the stick in the ashes and stand, wiping my hands off on my apron.
“Perhaps…Does that concern you?”
I look back at Legion incredulously. “Yes. Of course it does.”
Something flickers behind his eyes, as if my answer surprised him. “Because of Axel?”
“Axel doesn’t deserve to be in your crosshairs, but I don’t want you hurt…
or worse. I’m so tired of all the violence…
the threats looming around every corner since I landed in this town.
This never-ending carousel of vengeance.
” I can’t help but expel another sigh in an attempt to ease the heaviness centered in my chest. “Who are they? I should probably know who to look out for.”