Chapter 7 #2
“Death-Hammer,” me and Nix said at the same time. We exchanged looks before returning our attention to the blonde man.
His smile was even warmer as he took his seat. “I do apologize for stabbing you,” he said to Nix. “Perhaps next time, you can let me know what you need and we can avoid any unpleasantness. You’re still a bit pale.”
Nix grunted.
Flowers said, “Shouldn’t the two of you go home and rest? Son, you need to recuperate before you go to the next target. Which is it, DuPre, or the King of Macao?”
Nix choked on air and grabbed a butter knife. “You did not just call me ‘Son.’”
“No? Are you sure?” Flowers said mildly, but with a gleam of sadistic pleasure in his eyes as he looked at Nix.
“But you’ve married my daughter. How delightful.
Now I have a son and a daughter. I take it your mother does not know the origins of your precious love. I doubt she would approve the match.”
I sputtered suddenly panicked. “What? Why not? I’m from Alabama. What else does she want? Wouldn’t she approve of me?” I asked, turning to question Nix.
He gave me a soft smile immediately. “Of course she would, honey. You’re perfect.”
I frowned at him. “Because if not, we could end the marriage now, and you could find someone who wasn’t dying.”
His eyes hardened slightly. He was still stubborn about this. “Or we could find you a cure. Your daddy just offered his assistance. You’d feel much better about wasting his money on a cure, right? He doesn’t mind funding it, not at all.”
I scowled at him before turning to my…dad? “He’s joking. We don’t want your money.”
He offered a mild smile. “I already own all the equipment, technicians, and scientists you could want. I would be delighted to offer my resources to my dear son and daughter.”
Nix flinched again. He really hated being called this guy’s son. Maybe it’s because of the stabbing.
I stood up, dragging Nix with me. “No, thank you. Nix feels like he has to do something so he’s not guilty after I kick it, but I’m not interested in more treatments. I just want to live quietly for the rest of my short life.”
My dad nodded and stood with me. “Of course. If there’s any way I can help, don’t hesitate to call. If you call first, I’ll be much less likely to stab you.” He aimed that last bit at Nix with a smile that was gleaming and diabolical.
I didn’t wait for Nix to respond, just dragged him to the door.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” my aunt said coolly.
I didn’t look at her, just walked out and almost ran over the waiter who was there with a tray of extremely delicious smelling stuff.
“Pardon!”
“It’s fine,” I said, dodging around him, still dragging Nix. He let me because there’s no way I’d really be able to move all that muscle. He was being agreeable. So agreeable, but why?
I didn’t say anything until we were in his big fancy truck. I turned to frown at him. “DuPre or the King of Macao? Doesn’t it freak you out that he knows exactly what you’re going to do?”
Nix shrugged and started the engine. “Flowers is more than slightly bright.”
“And diabolical.” I shivered. “There is no way he isn’t a supervillain. Whoever was in charge of the definitions got them all mixed up. You’re the hero, the champion, the good guy, and everyone else is evil.”
“Aren’t you tempted at all?” he asked quietly as he pulled out into traffic, which wasn’t terrible in that part of town at that time of night.
“To kiss you in public? All the time, but I have a great deal of restraint.”
He took my hand and held it gently in his while he seemed to focus on driving. “He offered you his resources.”
“You offered me his resources. He was just being polite. Except when he called you, ‘son.’ I don’t think he likes you. Nix, do you think that it counts as kidnapping to raise someone else’s kid and claim that they’re yours, even if the birth parent doesn’t know you exist?”
“It depends if they thought they were protecting you.”
“Why are you so stubborn about not finding an undying wife for your six months?”
“Why are you so stubborn about not getting treatments?”
“Because they hurt.”
“Exactly so. Other women hurt.”
I snorted. “There are women who aren’t like Trix and Jezebel.”
“They all hurt because they aren’t you. You are the only woman I would have married.”
“Because I’m some kind of super villain who takes after my evil father who goes around stabbing people?”
“That’s probably what it is. Like you said, we were made for each other.”
I frowned at him. “Is it real?”
“The serum? It seems like there’s no other possible explanation. You’re supernaturally adorable.”
“But it’s not like a real super power, like being able to fly or turn invisible, it’s just a talent that people have, an intelligence. What does that have to do with being good or evil?”
He cleared his throat. “Adrenaline does some crazy things to people.”
“I guess. So you’ve seen really super weird stuff?”
“Mm.”
“Mm?” I poked his ribs. “What’s Flower’s super power?”
“Intelligence is first, of course. He can read people, their motives as well as their future actions, and cultivates loyalty from his crew. He used to be a great fighter, but mostly keeps to himself these days.”
“A fighter? He’s not really an artist?”
“No, he’s a great painter. Truly great.”
“Can he cook? Because if he can’t cook, is he really that special?”
He flashed me a smile before refocusing on his driving. “He’s special enough that my mother wasn’t ever able to crush him.”
“What’s her super power?”
He sighed. “Do we have to talk about this?”
“You don’t want to talk about your mother? Is she a super villainess?”
“She’s evil, but she lacks the flair of a true super villain. She wears suits. Usually blue. Sometimes pastel.”
“And her super power is…”
He frowned then shrugged. “She can manipulate anyone into doing anything. Except for me.”
“Like mind control?”
“It seems like it.”
“Why not you?”
“Because I have the same talent.” His voice was low, gruff.
I frowned at him. “What are you manipulating me into doing?”
“Being happy.”
I studied his profile for a long time. Was it true?
Could he actually control other people that well?
Like a hypnotist? A con artist? I mean, I didn’t date, and I’d told him that I didn’t date, but I’d ended up married to him, living in a hotel in Las Vegas.
That was weird come to think of it. Really weird.
But he didn’t want to get married and only agreed to it because he wanted to protect me from DuPre.
And the deal with his mom. I was the one who manipulated him into marrying me because of my death issue.
Death issue? Seriously? Death is now an issue?
He flashed me a smile. “Don’t take it so seriously.
A long time ago, some rich, egotistical world-makers made a club and it included messing with their genetics in ways that made them more psychopathic.
But their minds were already messed up or they wouldn’t have done that.
How much of it is influence, training, conditioning and how much some little vial of chemicals?
Villains? Heroes? Everyone makes their own choices in life. ”
“So you chose to marry me against your will and better judgment?”
“I chose to protect you. That’s my better side, which I’ve been cultivating.”
“But why…”
An enormous vehicle came out of nowhere, slamming against my side of the truck and sending us rolling across the oncoming traffic.
The scream of metal against metal and the scrape against pavement was a dizzying blur as I hung from my seatbelt.
His truck had excellent seatbelts, but I’d be bruised after this. Obviously.
A pair of enormous headlights came towards us, a semi, so fast. And then the truck flipped sideways, blocking the rest of the traffic and hitting the front of our truck, knocking us back upright.
That’s when I realized I was screaming. I closed my mouth and the sound cut off, leaving us in a weird bubble of silence.
I looked over at Nix and he was staring at me, his eyes alien, not empty, blank, but full to the brim with feeling.
Rage. He would destroy the entire world with that one look.
And he said that feelings weren’t real. That rage was more real than anything.
“Nix?” I whispered.
He reached out and touched my cheek, pulling back bloody fingers. “You’re cut,” he said in an icy voice that thrummed at me, pulling at my skin in the weirdest way.
I blinked rapidly and spoke in a shaky voice. “It’s fine. I’m dying anyway. Are you okay?”
He wasn’t okay. The ice in his eyes grew harder, growing over the rage he held inside of him so he looked cold, but it wasn’t true. He was devastation. “You aren’t dying.”
I choked on the beginnings of a hysterical laugh.
“Not at the moment, thank goodness. Did you see that semi flip over? I hope no one got hurt.” I undid my seatbelt and grabbed the latch, but Nix’s hand was over mine, pressure that hurt.
I winced and looked at him, shocked that he’d finally hurt me.
The pressure melted away as he held my hand.
“It’s not safe outside the truck. You’re still bleeding.”
I touched my face and winced. “I didn’t feel it.”
“How does the rest of you feel? Actually, you’d better not tell me.” He pulled his hand away, and I could see it shaking. Badly.
“Nix, how is your shoulder?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re shaking.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, trying to give him some comfort, to find the person beneath the shock, the fear. He didn’t like being out of control. Of course he didn’t. No one did, but he wasn’t used to it.
“Adrenaline. It does crazy things to people.”
Sirens came from the distance while we sat there, surrounded by chaos and wreckage.
“Nix, you’re scaring me.”
“Kitten, you’re scaring me,” he said, staring out the cracked windshield while the muscle in his jaw pulsed.
I pulled down the visor and took a look at my face.
Yep, that was a lot of blood caking my hair and running down the side of my face, but it didn’t hurt very much.
“That is scary.” I grabbed my bag, pulled out some tissues and started cleaning up.
He was so tense, I was worried that he’d explode if I touched him.
Was it the way we’d been hit? Had that been intentional?
It had come out of nowhere. It was like Michael back in Alabama.
He’d promised I’d be safe with him here. Was that was bothering him? No question he was bothered.
After I’d gotten the bleeding stopped with a band-aid and a powerful ointment, I slid over and put my head on his lap.
“What are you doing, Kitten?” he growled.
I sighed and turned to look up at him. He looked so fiercely beautiful, hard, cold, statuesque. I really had to learn sculpture. It was his natural medium. “Looking at my beautiful husband. The flashing lights really bring out your eyes.”
He frowned down at me. “You have a smiley face band-aid? You’re trying to condition yourself to smile when you’re in pain.
That’s why you drew a smiley face on your hand, so you’d remember to smile when you hurt so much.
Are you really afraid of treatment because of pain?
Or is because you’re not allowed to act like you’re in pain? ”
I blinked up at him, trying to get rid of the sudden moisture in my eyes.
I was in shock from the accident, and he was acting so weird.
I wanted the warm, soft, sweet version that would snuggle me to sleep.
Or the passionate one that would kiss me until I forgot my fear.
“That’s a deep question for someone with a head injury. ”
His brows furrowed and I was looking at an angry god who could strike me down with lightning.
“I was talking about you. My head’s fine.” I touched his nose. “I think it’s both. My dad didn’t like seeing me hurt, so I tried not to show it. But it did hurt. So much. The ones that worked best seemed to hurt the worst. Listen to me being honest. Your turn. Why are you so upset?”
“You’re dying.”
“Not from the car accident.”
“No, not from the car accident. I could save you from the car accident, but can I save you from your own genetics? I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing.”
I frowned up at him while my heart beat painfully fast. I was cold, shaky, and probably needed to stab myself with something.
“It was an accident. You can’t control it.
Nix, you have to be okay with me dying, because that’s reality.
I get that you wanted to understand my disease and see if there are options, but I’ve already exhausted all of them.
My dad did research my whole life and never found a cure.
Life’s short and brutal. That’s your philosophy. ”
“I have to be okay with you dying? And if that’s not possible for me?” His voice was low, but there was a jagged undercurrent that threatened to rip me apart.
“Then it’s time for me to fly solo. I don’t want to carry the burden of someone else’s disappointments when I can barely hold my own.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’d walk away? That’s funny. You want a psychopath who doesn’t care about you. That’s ironic, because I can’t be that for you. You make me care more than I thought was humanly possible. I love you.” He said it cold, hard, like a dagger shoving deep in my chest.
I slowly sat up, dizzy, the world reeling around me. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you asked for truth, and that’s what I want from you. Can you walk away from me so easily? Do you care about me so little?” He smiled slowly, a terrible, terrifying smile. “Maybe you’re the psychopath incapable of love.”
I stared at him while my heart ached. It felt like it was exploding, erupting into pools of horrible pain that would never end. I needed to take something before I started vomiting up blood. “I love you too much to ruin you,” I whispered.
His smile softened and he leaned over to press his forehead against mine as he closed his eyes, looking like a sleeping angel.
“It’s already done, Kitten. You’ve ruined me for any life other than one with you.
I’m yours. No matter where you go, that’s not going to change.
I love you.” The words pierced me differently that time, making my heart sing from happiness.
He loved me? But it would hurt him. It had already gotten him stabbed and shot and whatever this was.
My door opened and Nix straightened while I whirled to see Beastie standing there, his face the polite mask of a psychopath.
“Everyone okay? No missing limbs, I see.”
“Take her home. Tom will deal with the accident,” Nix said coldly.
“And you? Where are you going?” Beastie asked.
I turned to stare at Nix who gave me a slight, apologetic smile. “To see the King of Macao.”
So he was the one flying away? He was officially annoying.