Chapter 20 #3
“Fuck.” Scarlett digs a single finger into either of her temples, twisting them like she’s trying to insert a pair of screws to keep her head on straight.
“I know Lem’s mom was a…lady of the night and all that, but Chet Senior?
Goddamn. What a horrible twist of fate.” The shape of her mouth shifts into something desperate and sad.
I wish I hadn’t had to tell her that. “If she was sleeping with Cody…Oh, Lem.”
Scarlett paces down the length of the bus, pausing to look up at the spiderweb in the corner absently.
I stay where I am, slipping my hands into the pockets of my joggers.
My nipples are like icicles at this point, pink and pert and painful.
I should ask Scarlett if she wants to suck on them to warm them up a little.
Only, now is not the right time. Not at all. I keep that thought to myself.
“Do we know why she was killed out there at such a rural property? What’s the game there?
” Scarlett asks, voice cool with anger as she reaches out a single finger, gently brushing it across the abdomen of the orb weaver.
That’s my girl. Nothing scares her. The spider scuttles up to hide in the corner and Scarlett lets it go, turning back to look at me.
“That I don’t know,” I admit, and it is physically fucking painful to admit that I don’t know everything all of the time.
Being human is such a frustrating handicap.
“But we’ll figure it out. Maybe tomorrow, when we torture the chief of police?
” Am I smiling when I say that? Oh yeah.
But Scarlett giggles at the hideousness of my words, putting her fingers over her lips.
“Stop. For real though? Should we skip school tomorrow? See what the bastard knows before we turn him over to the mob.” Her voice gets high and breathy, eyes feverish as she meets mine.
“They killed Lemon, Bohnes. They cajoled my idiot sister to the darkside. They killed poor Evelyn. They’re ruining my neighborhood. ”
I close the distance between us, putting my cold hands on her warm face. Scarlett shudders, and we look at each other like a man and a woman. Perhaps it’s not so bad being human.
“We’ll get them all. Every last one. Whoever you want, my slutty skeleton queen.” I kiss either of her cheeks and she swoons for me, putting her arms around me and defrosting my ice-cold skin with her heat.
“Did you keep the wedding thing a secret because you were giving Alexei a chance to propose? That’s very noble of you, Kellin,” she mumbles, and I chuckle, the sound reverberating through both our bones.
“You know how Mr. Grove-Borisov is. He insists on taking you out and popping the question. Please, if you would, either put him out of his misery or indulge him.” I wrap my arms around her again, deliriously happy but also frighteningly aware that happiness like this is fragile.
It’s glass. One rock—one pebble—and it cracks. It breaks.
I hold her tighter, tighter, tighter, and she doesn’t complain. She returns the favor, using every ounce of her strength to hug me until I can hardly breathe. Ah. I could suffocate under her hands with a garish grin on my rigor’d face.
“You think this wedding thing will help, for real?” Scar asks, her voice tentative in a way she’s never really allowed it to be around me before.
I have her fully now. I have her, just like I wanted.
Body. Soul. Bloody, beating heart. I’ll do right by her.
I’ll prove to her that she made the correct choice by picking me.
“It’ll nullify the threat of the mob and insulate us against the mayor.
” I try to push her back so that I can look into her eyes, but she won’t go.
I squeeze a little harder and she offers me a breathy sigh in reward.
Another bandage to rip off. Grr. “I’m sorry for what happened on the track.
Ash is…strange, I will grant you that. Any other man would’ve revelled in taking over his brother’s role, in the power and the money that came with it. He’s an odd duck, darling.”
“I’m not your charge to care for. I’m your equal, Bohnes. And yes, Ash is odd. You knew there were two of them, even back then, huh? I remember you saying you’d gladly kill Ash Kelly for me.” She snorts, lifting her face to look up at me, peering with big brown eyes and long dark lashes.
“I didn’t like the way Aspen looked at you.
” My voice cools to a frigid blade of ice and my lip curls.
“I followed him and realized there were two of the bastards. I couldn’t tell them apart the way you could, but I knew there was one that liked suits and another that preferred sweaters and sneakers.
” I shrug a single shoulder. “I should’ve told you they were twins as soon as I found out, but I was being selfish. ”
There’s a quiet pause there, the reality of that sinking in. I could’ve gotten Scarlett killed by withholding that information. Another mistake. Apparently, I am not perfect and that disgusts me, too.
“He’ll be an asset, not a liability. I promise.
” Scarlett draws away and sighs, her breath frosting in the air as she looks at me.
“They’ll be helps, not hindrances. All three of them.
We’ll have our own family, Bohnes. Put some trust in me and remember that I’m your Nightmare, too.
I’m never leaving you. I’ll always have your back, okay? ”
She takes my hand as my breath catches and the words I want to say melt into emotions that I’m not used to feeling. I put my other hand up to my forehead, dizziness sweeping over me. Yes. Human. I am human and I do need sleep.
“Come on, big guy.” Scarlett leads me down the steps of the bus and across the grass, into the warehouse where our cars are stored, the bulldozer-tank I’ve been building, the meager furnishings I’ve collected.
She closes and locks the door behind us and then, as we pass by the table, she pauses.
“The dick candle.” Her mouth twitches as she reaches out to touch it with a single finger, her other hand still wrapped around mine.
“Let’s burn it later and I’ll buy you a new one.
I’ll buy you as many as you want with Alexei’s money. ”
Scarlett snorts and I flash a bright grin full of wild teeth.
“Pancakes?” I ask her, but she shakes her head, pulling me toward the bedroom and carefully opening the door. The other three men are still in the bed, but Widow is not asleep. He’s watching us while pretending that he’s not.
Scarlett turns toward me, taking both of my hands in hers.
“You’re going to get in bed, Bohnes. Kellin.
You’re going to go to sleep and let me take a shift.
You said you trust my judgement. You said I have grace and decorum.
You didn’t listen to me about Ash and you were wrong.
Please.” She lifts up on her tiptoes and whispers against my lips.
“I’ll tuck you in if you go without complaint. ”
This is ridiculous. What if something happens while I’m asleep? What if Scarlett is hurt? What if she needs me?
My breathing picks up and my hands tighten on hers. She waits. She watches me through the gloom. Widow sighs and turns away, folding his pillow under his head. He heard her words. If he offers to take watch now, it’ll only upset her. We both know that.
I drag my hands away from hers, kick off my shoes, and then climb back into my bed.
Tucked between Alexei and Widow, with Ash on the far end cuddling a pillow, I crawl under the blankets and Scarlett crawls over me.
“Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she whispers, kissing my cheek and tucking the covers around me.
As lovely as this is, I can’t relax with these vipers in my bed. What if one of them kills me while I dream? This is madness. This is—
I have no memory of falling asleep.