Chapter 28 #2
“I…” my voice trails off, horrified. I did my research.
Arson and Ever found Kiara in a hidden mimic village and brought her back with them, so I knew there’d be some culture shock, but I spoke with one of the gargoyles myself.
He assured me they had people assigned to give the mimics that followed Ever out here a crash course on modern life and how to survive as a mystic in a human-dominated world.
That the wards were the best of any safe haven city thanks to Arson’s little brother, a tech mage prodigy.
That the entire city was built around the idea of helping people start over and she was in good hands.
But I had Roman scare off anyone from approaching her. Including the mentor she was supposed to have, apparently. Fuck.
“I’ve been dropping off money every month.
And letters.” My defense sounds weak even to my ears, and all of my confidence that I was doing the right thing by keeping my distance has gone up in smoke.
And if the vitriol in my mate’s gaze is anything to go off of?
I’m watching Kiara slip away from me right before my eyes.
“Then where are they, Havoc? Because I sure as hell never saw them.” I start to accuse the bastard at her back, but she cuts me off.
“Even if you did, that doesn’t erase the fact that you refused to look at me when you told Arson to bring me here.
” Every word out of her mouth drives the point home just how misguided my efforts to protect her were.
“Even if there was a justifiable reason you had to stay away physically, there’s no goddamn reason you couldn’t have taken two minutes to call me in the last six months.
You didn’t think to send a single text in all that time to check in when you hadn’t heard back from me? ”
“I left my number in every letter, asking for you to send me yours as soon as you got a phone, but you never did. I thought you were upset and was trying to respect your desire for space. Either that it was taking me so long to eliminate the threats keeping us apart, or because of it being, well… me.”
She cocks her head, face scrunched in confusion, and I run a hand through my silver hair with a grunt, exhaling heavily.
“Finding out your fated mate was a murderer for hire? Not most people’s first choice.
Throw in the fact I’m a good sixteen years older than you with a child damn near your own age, and let’s just say I wasn’t surprised you didn’t call me. ”
With a rough swallow, now that I know she hasn’t been receiving my letters, I explain, “I’m an assassin, Kiara.
I’ve made an ungodly amount of enemies over the years that wouldn’t hesitate to use you against me in retaliation.
That’s why I had to keep my distance and send you here to wait for me to tie up loose ends.
My men and I have spent the last six months hunting down every single person that carried a grudge against me so you wouldn’t be in danger.
From the very first day I found out you were my mate, I’ve done everything in my power to make it safe enough to bring you home. ”
Mouth parted, she stares at me in stunned silence. After a few moments to process, she slowly nods. “Okay. Then why didn’t you tell me that before you sent me away? That you were only doing it temporarily to keep me from being murdered while you handled shit?”
What the hell? “I did, remember? I told you you couldn’t stay at the guild hall, not to be so loud when announcing you were my mate in case anyone overheard before I could ensure there weren’t any prying eyes or ears, since potential clients come to post job requests occasionally.
You said you understood, and I promised to take care of everything. What else was there to clarify?”
The muscle beneath her left eye twitches. “No, you didn’t explain any of that. I thought you were trying to keep me a secret from whoever you lived with and already had a mate! How the fuck would I know why you wanted to keep me a secret or why I couldn’t stay with you?”
Shock renders me mute for an embarrassingly long time. “Ever never explained?”
She glares daggers into my soul. “Of course she did. After you fucking ghosted me. She and Arson had nothing but great things to say about you, you jackass. But when you never came back for me, what the hell was I supposed to think?”
“I explained everything in my letters. I saw the videos showing them being delivered, so I know they arrived,” I defend, at a loss and so frustrated I could tear my hair out.
“Yeah? Well, I never got them,” she says with a shrug, the shifter glued to her back grumbling at being jostled and burying his face in her hair again.
Fucking hell. No wonder she’s spent the last six months picturing my head on a spike.
My phone chirps, and I almost don’t answer it. But a sense of foreboding convinces me to check, and I damn near crush it as I open the email, white-knuckling my phone.
A ghost and a wraith walk into a bar, but only one walks out. Tik tok, Knight, you’re not the only havoc in Mercy Ridge anymore, and I don’t have time to waste. The future Mrs. Carnage is waiting for me to make a dishonest woman out of her.
My heart stops beating at the thinly veiled threat. He doesn’t just know that my mate is here, he plans to use her as a pawn to utterly destroy me. If he were to get his hands on her…
No. I’ll never let that happen.
“I’m so sorry, Kiara, I’ll explain later, but we have to go.
You’re not safe here. So while you pack a bag, since I can only mist one person at a time, I’ll get your…
friend, moved to the guild hall and situated first, then return for you.
Once you’re safe, we’ll hash everything out. No more miscommunications.
Her eyes flash. “Let me make myself perfectly clear. I’m not leaving Mercy Ridge.”
My nostrils flare. Patience, Vic. “There’s one man I haven’t been able to eliminate, and he’s the biggest threat of all.
There have been rumors he’s infiltrated the town’s wards, which means he knows about you.
He’s targeting you because you’re my mate, Kiara.
Do you have any idea what the hell this man would do if he got his hands on you?
This is the same psycho that torched a man alive and locked him in a room with fifty pounds of popcorn kernels to see how many would pop before the fire department could break through the door he welded shut. ”
“What’d the guy do?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The guy he set on fire,” she clarifies. “Because honestly, that sounds like something Arson would do. And he may be crazy, but he only goes after people that deserve it.”
I pause, mulling it over. I remember being pissed off because I was an hour too late; Carnage stole my target first and made sure it’d hit the news with a splash. Everyone knows that chaos isn’t my M.O. and that I had my target stolen out from under me.
“He…” I sift through the memory, grimacing as I remember, “assaulted a woman in a movie theater. Her brother was the one that put the bounty on his head for revenge.”
Kiara raises an eyebrow in a silent, ‘see?’
I grind my teeth. “Point made. Regardless, he’s clearly unhinged, and his interest is currently on you, so we need to move you until I can deal with him.”
“You’ve been trying to track this guy down for longer than you’ve known me.
If we run, it’s only going to start the chase all over again, and I refuse to spend the rest of my life trapped in a game of cat and mouse, unable to build a life because I’m always moving around.
You’re a professional assassin, right? You know he’s after me and that he’s close by, use that to your advantage to kill him first and be done with it. ”
“I’m not using you as bait,” I snarl.
“And I’m not going to throw away everything I’ve built for a man that couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye.
Miscommunications are one thing, basic consideration and respect are another.
All I’ve heard is, ‘I’ll take care of everything,’ ‘you need to do this,’ ‘get a bag, I’ve decided we’re fleeing town.
’ Not once have you asked what I want or my opinion on the situation. ”
“That’s not-”
“A wise man once told me the key to a happy relationship is being a team against the problem, not each other. And right now, I’m not sure I want you on my team.”
My heart plummets to my stomach. “You’re my mate, of course we’re a team.”
“Not when you’re treating me like an asset that needs protecting more than your mate that’s in danger.
I’m not a job, Havoc. I’ll take precautions now that I know someone’s out there looking for me, but handle your shit and leave me out of it.
You have an entire guild of assassins under your command, right?
If that’s not enough to take this guy out, then no amount of running is going to help anyway. ”
I clench my fists in frustration. Not against the situation, but with myself. Because she drove a spike right into the heart of what I’ve always feared.
No matter how strong I become or the alliances I forge, when push comes to shove, it won’t be enough to protect the people I love.
“I fucked up, I’m not denying that, but like hell am I leaving you. Hate me if that’s what you need right now; I can take it. But I’m not going anywhere, darling.”
“You are tonight,” she says firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Ready to commit murder, I shove down every one of my domineering impulses and reluctantly agree.
For now. But I’ll be back tomorrow, even if she slams the door in my face.
And I’ll be here the day after that. I’ll show up every single day until she realizes that I’m not going anywhere; not without her.
One day, she’ll understand that my desire for control isn’t to hinder her, it’s because she’s the most important person in my life and I covet her surrender.
That ultimate level of trust that she knows I’ll take care of everything, so she’s free to do whatever makes her happy.
All sunshine and smiles, because I can keep the darkness and cruelty in the world from ever touching her.
But that trust has to be earned, and thus far?
The only gift I’ve given her has been disappointment.
Never again.
Leaving the box on the couch, I mist out of her house without waiting for her to open it.
It’s not good enough; I know that. But hopefully, it’ll be enough for her to see that I think about her whenever we’re apart and give her a chance to realize I’m serious about us. About her. Because starting tomorrow?
I’m done holding back.