Chapter 28 Hero
HERO
Iwoke up hungover. I hadn’t had a hangover in a long time. Why had I thought that drinking so much was a good idea? Also, why was I awake when the best thing for this blurry, out-of-control headache was to go back to sleep?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Someone was pounding on the gates. I tried to get up, but couldn’t because a pair of legs were draped over mine.
I looked down, and the big, hairy legs that ended in split toe nails looked back at me.
Those weren’t my legs. I followed the legs up nondescript clothing to a vaguely familiar man’s face surrounded by long hair.
I pointed at him as a blurry memory surfaced. Scooby Doo. He was someone from the band who had agreed to play the dog on last night’s post-concert villainous ramble, which was more sleuthing than wicked.
I pushed his legs off me and stumbled around the sunken conversation area in the basement until I’d found the stairs.
No, this wasn’t hungover, mostly still drunk.
I made my way up the hideous main stairs lined with alcohol art into the very bright central space that ended in a drop off the infinity pool outside.
Where was the pounding coming from? It wasn’t just my head, I was almost sure of it.
I went outside on the deck, and walked past the pool, standing near a palm tree so I could look outside the gate.
A very serious Nix and a pissed off Jezebel stared back at me. We studied each other for a long time until my phone rang, and I realized that Nix had one in his hand. I could probably yell at him, but this would be better for my head.
I answered my phone. “Hey.” I hadn’t sounded so bad in ages.
“Are you coming in to work today?”
“Do we have work today?”
“It’s Thursday before the big race, you know, the Three-Hundred. Tomorrow.”
The Three-Hundred was such a big deal, so why was I still drunk? I squinted at him. “Three-Hundred what?”
“Miles.”
Jezebel grabbed his phone and spat into the receiver, “Bullets!”
He took it away, frowned at her and then continued more moderately in his slow southern drawl. “Do you know what happened to Pinkie? Jezebel’s gotten so attached to her, and I admit that I was looking forward to her finishing the paperwork that she’s so good at.”
I stared at them, confused until I looked down at my left hand where a very nice platinum band with embedded diamonds rested on that most telling finger. I raised my hand, finger up like I was flipping them off.
Jezebel snarled, but then she froze. Nix took one look at my hand and then turned and walked off, ending the call as he headed towards whatever helped him get over his own commitment issues.
“You married her? What kind of a low-down yeller hustler do you think you are?” she yelled. “You don’t get married in Vegas unless you left your class at home! That girl’s so classy, she was born with good posture!” That’s when she pulled her gun.
I hit the deck fast. She shot, but everything went over me, because she was just letting off steam, and the deck was in the way.
“I’ll be back, you green-eared yellow-bellied marmot, and I’ll bring my lawyer with me to undo whatever foolishness you’ve done!” After a few more gunshots, she left, taking her gun with her.
Her reaction seemed strong, even for her stage presence. She must actually like Pinkie, and I couldn’t blame her.
Speaking of, where was Princess Pink? I could have tracked her using the beacon I’d embedded when I’d had Roger take out the bullet, but it seemed slightly inappropriate to do that kind of thing with someone you married.
Not that I’d take it out of her. No, we were playing villains.
The ordinary rules of chivalry were out, replaced by strange things like no sex after marriage until she’d had sufficient therapy.
How was I supposed to not be seduced by Daniela if she really thought that’s what she wanted?
No idea, but the rules of villainy insisted.
I searched the house and finally found Daniela sleeping in the tub surrounded by water, cocooned in a very nice down duvet.
That’s right. I’d wrapped her in it because she was going to emerge like a butterfly this morning.
Or something. I carefully eased out of the room without falling in the water.
She needed to rest. She needed a long break where she could let someone else do the difficult things, like find out what kind of fallout our legal, public marriage had caused.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of something nasty that was supposed to detox a person, then headed back out onto the patio to collapse into a chair.
I dialed and let the phone ring a few times before Horse answered.
“You’re up. How’s Pinkie?” He sounded hungover, as well as grumpy.
I smiled at the memory of her wrapped in a pink duvet. “Safe. Sleeping. Any news?”
“Depends on what you’d call news. After you two drove away so gaily, I got in a little scuffle with Clint and lost track of Trixie. She hasn’t shown up today, so who knows what happened to her. Not that I’m worried. She can take care of herself.”
He was definitely worried.
“Clint knows about the marriage?”
“Mm. Philippe Haversham wants me to arrange a fight with you.”
“Good.” I stood up while rage and anticipation warred with the fact that I was married and had agreed to protect Daniela.
I sat back down. “Not good. I can’t fight him.
Even if I take him out, he’ll mess me up too bad to function afterwards.
She needs me healthy. I’m defending her, not getting vengeance. Pity,” I added lightly.
He inhaled sharply. “Really? You’re giving up such an easy way to punch the face off your nemesis?”
I swallowed hard while nausea churned. “Yep. Villains have to prioritize. Vengeance is important, but it can’t trump commitments you make with your spouse.”
“About that…”
I waited for him to continue, but he seemed reluctant. “What about it?”
“What were you thinking? You could protect her without marrying her. It opens you up to her machinations. She has a beautiful soul, which she demonstrated so profoundly last night at the most enjoyable party I’ve ever hosted, but she’s also delicate, precariously perched on the edge of pure madness. ”
I shrugged. “I really don’t care what she does to my family business and name. It’s all baggage I don’t want, particularly my mother.”
“And your heart? You don’t mind if she shreds it as well as she shredded Chopin?
That concert really was too good for Vegas.
Nix is thinking about all the ways he can use her in his show.
She’d be the candy that would attract a different kind of clientele.
Clint Harrison, for one. He was very upset.
Gave me a black eye and cracked a tooth.
He’s not on my list of evil, diabolical men who need to be taken down, so I didn’t.
And now I can’t chew until I get to the dentist.”
“Phillippe will probably try to mess with someone during the Three-Hundred. Trixie would be a good target, but so would Jezebel. Philippe doesn’t mind going for women.”
He snorted. “He’s an idiot if he thinks that Jezebel and Trixie represent the weaker sex. I’d genuinely like to see Philippe try to take Jezebel.”
“Not Trixie?”
He growled and then turned it into a cough, because he knew better than to be possessive or protective about someone who spent so much time hating him. “Trixie is too straightforward to deal with a snake like him.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her before the Three-Hundred and after.”
“If you can find her. Haversham, Philippe, is moving, but the old man is not. I think he’s waiting to see what sweet Daniela does with you. Don’t let her turn you to their side, or I’ll have to kill you.”
“I thought you were a hero. Heroes don’t kill people.”
“Are you kidding me? Heroes are always killing people, you know, the bad guys. I’d personally just have Jezebel do it. She’s not happy about your marrying her favorite new acolyte.”
I sighed. “I have to go in to work, don’t I? She’ll wake up alone. No, I’ll have Tom here offering her breakfast and a phone she can use to call me. Her phone is terrible. It’s a good thing I married her so that I can protect her from cheap pieces of China trash.”
“Have fun at work. If Trix doesn’t show up, give me a call. She might be in trouble.”
I snorted and hung up. He was dying to rescue her from something. I showered and dressed, then let Tom in on my way out. He’d never been to the house before, and he looked around in wide-eyed wonder. All right, wide-eyed horror, but same difference.
Once I’d gotten to the compound, I went to the office to see Nix.
He wasn’t there. I texted him and, after his short response, headed to the menagerie. I’d meant to avoid Jezebel until after the Three-Hundred and some time had passed between my marriage and her wanting to shoot at me, but I needed to see Nix.
She ignored me as she brushed down Mike the camel, muscling it around when it didn’t respond immediately.
She was usually a lot more patient with animals than people, so her impatience with the camel showed that she would definitely shoot me herself after the Three-Hundred if I didn’t clear this up.
I walked over to her, taking my life in my hands.
“Her ex came to the concert last night. That’s why she fell off the platform.
I happened to catch her, and then after she’d finished panicking, she asked me to marry her, to use my name to protect her.
I’m not going to have sex with her until she’s over her issues.
This isn’t about that. If she wants an annulment or a divorce once she’s confident about standing on her own, I’ll give her that. ”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I had no idea you were so selfless.”
Because I wasn’t. But at the same time, being with Daniela always felt right, no matter what the reasons were. “I’m getting what I want out of it.” She was what I wanted, even more than a chance to hurt Philippe.