22. Liar #2
“You don’t need to know anything else about me now that you’ve discovered my secret biological father and my super serum,” I said, grabbing for the tablet, but Horse turned away, leaving me with his big strong back, and then he was scrolling and checking other things, the things my aunt always checked while I crossed my arms and tried not to look delicate.
He turned and faced me, looking comically stunned. “You’re dying. You’re disintegrating. The serum is eating you apart.”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Actually, that’s my genetic disease, but thank you for putting it in an exciting new way so that I can see it in a different light.
Move, if you’d be so kind. I have limited time left.
I’d rather not spend it in the company of miscreants lacking any of the finer sensibilities.
” I pushed past Horse, but he side-stepped quickly, getting out of my way.
I came out in a hallway that looked exactly like my hotel.
I walked down to the elevator, and then got in, pushed the button to my floor, and slumped against the wall.
I’d been only a few floors down that whole time.
I was shaking terribly. Taking my blood wasn’t a small thing because I needed every drop for my own functionality.
When the elevator opened, I got out, walking barefoot through the nice carpet until I got to the apartment.
I wanted to go and lay down, but at the same time, I didn’t want to walk into that place and see the kitchen sink.
I slid down the door and sat on that nice rug.
It was so soft. I could just lay down and take a nap.
I slumped over and closed my eyes, not opening them until Trix’s voice disturbed me right before she grabbed my shoulders and hauled me upright.
“Sunshine, are you okay?”
I felt like dead weight, but she didn’t care. “Sh. I’m sleeping,” I told her without opening my eyes.
When I squinted at her, she was frowning down at me where she was crouched, still holding me up by the shoulders. “Are you drunk?”
“I don’t drink. I’m a virgin virgin. I can’t go inside, because then I’ll see the yellow fridge and be even more confused. Nix is a fighter.”
She nodded at me. “Yep. So am I, although I mostly run races. That’s what I’m best at.”
“He lied to me. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am.”
“If you can’t go into Nix’s place, you’d better come with me.” She picked me up like I weighed nothing and carried me down the hall with the easy gait of someone who was used to hauling engines around.
“I broke the heel off my shoe,” I said, like she needed an explanation for why she was carrying me. “I’m also dehydrated,” I added.
“Okay. I’ll get you fixed up, although my shoes won’t fit. I’ll send for some.”
“Thanks.” I put my head on her shoulder and kind of zoned out until she put me down to open her door, and then we were in the neatest apartment you could imagine, with mellow jazz playing in the background and an engine spread out on the coffee table while the rest of the room was painted in shades of muted blue.
“Sit on the couch,” she said, taking off her boots and setting them on a shelf by the door. “I’ll get you water and then start dinner. What you really need is pasta.”
“With meatballs?”
She smiled, a suddenly fierce grin. “Obviously. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried my mother’s meatballs.
She sends me a package every few months, frozen, so not as good as fresh, but still better than anything you’re going to get out here.
” She walked away towards the kitchen, because her apartment had a kitchen like a normal person, and then I heard her voice talking on the phone, but low so I couldn’t make out the words.
Maybe she was ordering my shoes. Maybe not.
I walked over to the couch and fell over the side, landing in an ungraceful heap. I fell asleep before I had any time to fret, and the next thing I knew, Trixie was helping me up to a sitting position and holding a bottle of water to my lips.
I took the water and drank on my own and then took the plate she handed me that smelled so delicious, rich, herbal.
“Thank you,” I said and then I ate. She ate hers too, and I wasn’t the only one who acted like a starving person once the silky noodles and rich sauce hit my tongue.
Mm. It really was as good as she said it would be.
And to think I’d wanted her to teach me jewelry-making instead of cooking.
“Nix wants to see you,” she said once I’d eaten the very last meatball.
I stared at her, feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap. “Why?”
She raised a brow, the one with a scar through it so it made her look extra edgy. “He was afraid that you got taken by your stalker. Tom lost you, so he told Nix, and Nix basically freaked out, called in the militia, but I’m the one who found you.”
“The militia?”
“His mother has people,” she said with a shrug. Ah. The Crocodile of Alabama. How nice to know that she was not a figment of everyone’s imagination and was now officially involved. Gulp.
“Oh. Nix was worried about me?” I didn’t want him to worry. Was he still the over-empathetic guy who I couldn’t tell all my deep dark secrets too? Mostly that I was dying. Would Beastie tell him? What a colossal mess.
“Yeah. We all were, particularly Jezebel. What’s the name of your stalker?”
“Michael Dupre,” I said without thinking it through then I blinked and focused on her. “But you don’t need to think about him. I know I try not to.”
She patted my head. “I won’t think about him at all. I’m not into vengeance with a twist of malice, but Jezebel, she loves putting bad guys on her personal list.”
“She’s a fighter too?”
“Oh, she’s capable, but she doesn’t perform like that often, only when she’s in the mood. Nix hates it. Doesn’t like to see women get hurt, even women like us.”
“Women like…”
She smiled fiercely. “Scary ones that can take care of more than themselves. So, are you okay seeing Nix so he doesn’t have to worry, or do you want him to stew a little in the juices of his guilt? There’s no wrong answer, just whatever you’re in the mood for.”
“I don’t want to hurt him. Ever.” I knew that much.
“But you don’t want him to hurt you, or worse, talk you into doing something you’re not ready for. Why don’t I let him in here, and you two can have a conversation while I work on my engine, in case you need someone to step in.”
“But he’s your boss. Why would you step in for me?”
She scowled. “Because it’s right. He lied to you, and when you left after you found out, he was worried, but you weren’t wrong to leave, not like it was wrong for him to mislead you, particularly with marriage on the line.”
I stared at the powerful woman who waited patiently for my answer. What did I want? I didn’t put off uncomfortable things. Better to rip the band-aid off quick. “Okay. If you don’t mind being my chaperone, I’d appreciate it.”
She walked over to the door and opened it, but held up her hand, stopping Nix from lunging into the room.
“Hi. I’m the chaperone, so what’s going to happen, is you’re going to sit in the chair across from the couch where Sunshine will stay.
You’re not going to attempt to seduce her, or guilt her, or any other kind of manipulation to get her wherever it is you want.
You’re going to clear the air, establish the rules of your relationship, and I am going to make sure everything is on the level. ”
Nix looked almost hurt, but he nodded slowly while his eyes skipped from her to me. He looked me over, but it didn’t feel sexual, just like he was examining me to make sure I was all in one piece.
“I agree to your terms,” he said in a low voice that was gentle, so gentle, and the timber of it sent a shiver down my spine.