She kicked her chin up a notch. “All work is honorable.”
That was a fact that she had missed before everything had changed. Dearest Virgin Scribe, she’d been a spoiled, overpampered, entitled brat. And the shedding of those ugly, jeweled robes of self-inflation had been the only good thing that had come out of it all.
“Not maintaining to the contrary.” He tilted his head, as if he were imagining her in a different place, with different clothes. Or maybe he just had a stiff neck; who knew. “I understand you’re Xhex’s mom.”
“I am the female who birthed her, yes.”
“I heard that Darius and Tohr put her up for adoption after she was born.”
“They did. They sheltered me through my convalescence.” She skipped the part about her taking the latter’s dagger and putting it to use upon her own flesh: she had already spoken o’er much to this male.
“You know, Tohrment, son of Hharm, spends a lot of time looking in your direction at meals.”
No’One recoiled. “I am certain you are wrong.”
“My eyes work just fine. As do his, apparently.”
Now she laughed, the hard, short burst breaking out of her throat. “I can assure you, it is not because he fancies me.”
The male shrugged “Well, friends can disagree.”
“With all due respect, we are not friends. I do not know you—”
Abruptly, the room was infused with a golden glow, the light so buttery and delicious, she felt her skin prickle with warmth.
No’One took a further step back as she realized it was not an optical illusion courtesy of all the jewelry he wore. The male was the source of the illumination, his body, his face, his aura like a banked fire.
As he smiled at her, his expression was that of a holy man. “My name’s Lassiter, and I’ll tell you all you need to know about me. I’m an angel first and a sinner second, and I’m not here for long. I’ll never hurt you, but I’m prepared to make you pretty goddamn uncomfortable if I have to, to get my job done. I like sunsets and long walks on the beach, but my perfect female no longer exists. Oh, and my favorite hobby is annoying the shit out of people. Guess I’m just bred to want to get a rise out of folks—probably the whole resurrection thing.”
No’One’s hand crept up and held her robe together in a tight grip. “Why ever are you here?”
“If I told you now, you’d just fight it tooth and nail, but let’s just say I believe in full circles—I simply didn’t see the one we’re in until you came along.” He gave her a little bow. “Take care of yourself—and that beautiful dress.”
With that, he was gone, drifting away, taking the warmth and the light with him.
Slumping back against the counter, it took her a while to realize her hand hurt. Looking down, she observed it from a distance, seeing the white knuckles and the rigid flesh against the robe’s lapels as if it were someone else’s appendage.
It was always thus when she regarded any part of her body.
But at least she could command her flesh: Her brain ordered the hand attached to the arm that plugged into the torso to release and relax.
As it obeyed, she glanced back over to where the male had stood. The doors were closed. Except… he hadn’t shut them, had he?
Had he even been here?
She rushed over and looked out into the hall. In all directions… there was no one.
FIVE
After nearly two hundred years of having been mated, Tohr was pretty familiar with the way arguments between pigheaded fighters and hot-tempered females went. And how ridiculous was it to have a case of the nostalgias over the way John and Xhex were hairy-eyeballing each other.
God, he and his Wellsie had gone a few good rounds during their day.
Just one more thing to mourn.
Dragging his exhausted brain back on track, he stepped in between the pair, figuring the situation needed a reality injection. If it had been any other two, he wouldn’t have wasted his breath. Romance was not his business —whether it was going well or badly—but this was John. This was… the son he’d once hoped to have.
“Time to go back to the compound,” he said. “You both need treatment.”
“Stay out of this—”
Tohr reached over and clamped a hold on the nape of John Matthew’s neck, squeezing those tendons until the male was forced to look at him. “Don’t be an asshole about this.”
“You got it, kid. That’s the privilege of age. Now shut up and get in the fucking car.”
John frowned as if he’d just noticed Butch had rolled up in the Escalade.
“And you,” Tohr said in a softer tone. “Do everyone a favor and get that shoulder dealt with. Afterward, you can call him a fuck-twit, an ass-hat, and any other thing that strikes you—but right now, that injury of yours is reknitting in three or four different bad ways. You need to see our surgeons fast, and as you are a reasonable female, I know you see the merits of what I’m saying—”
Tohr took his forefinger and shoved it in John’s face. “Shut. Up. And no, she’s going to get herself back to the compound. Aren’t you, Xhex. She’s not getting in that SUV with you.”
John’s hands started going, but they stopped when Xhex said, “Okay. I’ll head north now.”
“Good. Come on, son.” Tohr shoved John in the direction of the SUV, prepared to pick him up by the short hairs if he had to. “Time to have a little ride.”
Man, John was so pissed off, you could have fried an egg on his forehead.
Tough. Shit. Tohr whipped open the passenger-side door and packed the fighter into the front seat like he would have an overnight duffel, or a set of golf clubs, or maybe a bag of groceries.
“Can you do the seat belt yourself like a big boy—or should I work it for you?”
John’s lip curled up, his fangs making a reveal.
Tohr just shook his head and propped an arm on the SUV’s black body paint. Man, he was fucking tired. “Listen to me—as a male who’s been in your boots with this kind of thing a million times, you two have to have some space right now. Separate corners, a little calm-down—then you can talk shit through and…” His voice got gruff. “Well, makeup sex is fantastic, if memory serves.”
John Matthew’s mouth formed a couple variations on
Mental note: Have Fritz check for structural damage to the seat.
“Trust me, son. The pair of you are going to do this from time to time, and you might as well start to deal with it rationally now. Took me a good fifty years of making shit worse till I figured out a better way to handle arguments. Learn from my mistakes.”
John’s head cranked over, and he started to mouth,
When he stopped short, Tohr took a deep breath through the pain in his chest. “I know. Trust me… I know.”
Shutting the door with a clap, he went around to Butch’s side. When the window was put down, he said quietly, “Drive slow and take the long route. Let’s try to have her in and out of surgery before he gets there. Last thing we need is him riding Manny’s ass in the OR.”
The cop nodded. “Hey, you want a ride back? You don’t look so hot.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you know what those two words mean?”
“Yup. Later.”
When he turned away, he saw that Xhex was gone, and knew there was a good probability she had done what she’d said she was going to. Even though she was as pissed off as John, it was doubtful she’d be stupid about
