“I have to borrow clothes from her.”
“She left some for you in my room.” He opened his door and let her go in first.
Ash stopped just inside the door. “This isn’t your room.”
Merc sent a quick look around. “Yeah, it is.”
“No.” Ash walked around the room. “I was here before. I guess, maybe, you painted the room. It was white when I was here. You had a painting there and over the bed.” She pointed to the beautiful seascapes that had hung on the walls. “There was none of this tan decor. Everything was blue and white.”
When she glanced at Merc, he looked pale. “You’re describing the room I had back home. When my wife was alive.”
Ash was dumbfounded.
“How did you see it?”
Her mouth went dry. She crossed her arms. “I walked in here and saw it, months ago. Before I went to Valle de Lágrimas. It was when I first saw you. I lay down on the bed. I thought I slept, because I had a dream of you, standing at a cliff. It was the first time I saw you.”
“It was our beginning. Guerre had me in a coma. I guess I pulled you into my nightmare. I wondered how I’d conjured you. Do you remember seeing the Matchmaker in that vision? I did.”
She nodded. “I didn’t know who that was, though. After that, I kept seeing him, all the way until I met up with you in Valle de Lágrimas.”
A small stack of neatly folded clothes sat on Merc’s big bed. Ash was glad she and Summer were about the same size—they’d been sharing clothes since their college days. Summer’s stuff, as much as anything else, made her feel as if she was safe at last.
Merc pulled her close. It took a long moment for her to relax into him, and when she did, she didn’t want to let go.
He kissed her forehead. “I need to give Liege an update. Feel free to have a rest. Help yourself to anything. If you want another shower, there are towels in the closet.” He stepped back and ran his hands down her arms until he caught her hands. “You’re safe here, Ash.”
When he was gone, Ash moved around his room. It was about the same size as the other bedroom she’d been in. The decor and paint made it virtually indistinguishable from the others. She went out to the wide patio the rooms on the east side of the fort shared. It looked exactly as it had the day she’d started this odyssey, except the weather was much warmer and the sun was just rising.
Ash went back inside and took her toiletries and Summer’s clothes with her into the bathroom. There were no towels there—the sink was on a floating vanity. She went back into the large walk-through closet area and saw towels on a shelf near the bathroom. Merc’s color of choice was seafoam, like the colors in his old bedroom. Ash had to reach for the towel, as it was on an upper shelf. She braced herself against a closed cabinet door to grab what she needed. The cabinet opened, revealing cubbyholes containing things belonging to a woman.
Jealousy slashed through her. There wasn’t much there. A purse, a scarf, a pair of sneakers. And mixed in with those things were some kid things. A doll, a brush, two more pairs of shoes.
Ash realized what she was looking at.
A memorial to Merc’s late wife and daughters. Remorse at her first reaction seared her. She quickly closed the cabinet, realizing it was constructed in such a way that she wouldn’t even have known it opened if she hadn’t happened to lean on it.
Her heart beat hard. Those sneakers were so tiny. How horrible to have lost your wife and babies.
She wondered if she’d feel anything if she touched their things. As she stared at the closed door, her curiosity grew. What would she see? Intimate details of Merc and his first wife together? Not something she was interested in. Merc playing with his girls?
She had no way of knowing what clues would come through. She was not an expert in the art of psychometry—she’d only just begun to accept that the flashes of story she sometimes picked up on were real and not the stuff of her overactive imagination.
She hugged the towel then, shaking her head, she went back to the bathroom. Best not try it. It felt too much like prying. She set her towel near the shower, but went still, trying to resist temptation. Knowing those artifacts were in that cabinet, ready to give up their secrets, was an irresistible draw, like trying to ignore the last piece of cake the night before starting a new diet.
She caved and marched back to the cabinet, opened it, and set a hand on Merc’s wife’s purse.
Energy zapped through her, snapping her out of Merc’s closet and into the car his wife was driving. Tina was crying. She looked at her girls in the back seat. They were sound asleep. The road turned a sharp bend. Ash realized they were driving along a high cliff next to the ocean. Tina was driving too fast.
Ash saw her stomp her foot on the brake, but the car wasn’t responding. Tina fought with the wheel, but she didn’t control that either. The car was running itself. It sped around another turn. Up ahead was a pull-off, but it was so dark that it was almost impossible to see that. The car went straight for it. Fast. It wasn’t going to stop. Tina looked back again as the car went airborne.
Ash felt her own stomach lodge in her throat as they hurtled over the side. Before the car crashed below, Ash was standing back on the pull-off. She wasn’t alone. Flynn was there. He gave her one of his devil’s grins. His lips moved, but she couldn’t make out his words. She stepped closer to him, hearing him when he repeated, “Now you’re mine.”
Ash gasped and dropped the purse. She scrambled backward, bumping into the opposite side of Merc’s closet. She was breathing hard and yet couldn’t seem to get any air into her lungs. Her hands were fisted around the drawer pulls on either side of her, holding on for her life.
A knock sounded on Merc’s door. She didn’t think he would knock before entering his own room. In fact, she was a little surprised her panic hadn’t summoned him.
She left the closet, crossing his room to the door. Summer was there, looking worried, nervous, timid, all weird emotions for her, given their long friendship.
Ash grabbed Summer’s wrist and pulled her inside. She hugged her best friend in an embrace that went a long moment.
When they parted, Summer gave Ash an intense once-over. “Sam said Merc wanted you to have some space, but we’ve never needed space from each other before.” She brushed Ash’s dark hair from her face. “You look like hell.”
“Oh, Summer. I can’t even begin to tell you everything that’s happened.”
“I bet. I was where you are not so long ago. There was no way I could tell you the things I’d seen and experienced—not in a way that wouldn’t give you a lifetime of nightmares.”
“And I laughed at you, like you were punking Kiera and me with an epic Halloween joke.”
“I think Sam may have influenced you to think that.”
They sat on the edge of Merc’s bed. “What am I going to do?”
“Do you love Merc?” Summer asked.
Ash nodded. “I never knew what love was until Merc. And love seems like such a weak word compared to what I feel. I crave him. I need him near me.”
“Have you told him?”
Ash shook her head. “Not really. There hasn’t been the right time. And now I’m going to lose him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to come into the game, Summer. I don’t want to be in his world. It terrifies me.”
Summer looked crushed. She didn’t try to talk Ash out of her decision. She simply nodded and gave her another hug. Her eyes were sad as she rubbed the back of Ash’s hand. “Get some rest. We can talk more in the morning. I’m sure this isn’t a decision that you have to make immediately. You’ve only just become aware of Merc. You two deserve some time to get to know each other.” She squeezed Ash’s hands. “Don’t make a rush decision.”
Ash had to blink tears away as she nodded. When Summer left, Ash headed for the shower. She saw Merc’s secret cabinet open and Tina’s purse on the floor. She grabbed a washcloth to pick it up with, putting it away very carefu
lly so that nothing else would trigger a vision.
Now you’re mine. She shivered. It was as if Flynn had been with her in her vision.
Had he been in control of Tina’s car? Had he forced them to drive off the cliff? Ash sat on the bench that was in the middle of the big closet. Should she tell Merc what she’d seen? Did he know all of this already? He’d said Flynn was an Omni, and that the Omnis had killed his family.
Ash went into the bathroom and closed the door. She allowed herself the indulgence of a long, hot shower. The hot water at the fort seemed in endless supply. No one was banging on the door for her to finish. She’d brought her own shampoo in with her, but opened Merc’s instead, deciding to use his so she’d smell more like him.
Yeah, she was pathetic.
She rubbed the shampoo into her scalp, relieved her bug bite wasn’t as sore as it had been before. She admitted to being vain enough to be glad that the bite was in her hairline and not on her face.
Seriously. Pathetic.
When she finally finished with her shower, she felt like a new person. She dried off and dressed, then went through Merc’s big closet to his room. Something smelled delicious. A bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. She smiled, thankful Summer had sent her a supper tray. Ash was surprised to realize how hungry she was—she couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten. The past two days had all merged together into an awful horror-show mashup that was, unfortunately, real.
She took a bite of one of the sandwich halves just as a knock sounded on the door. Merc stepped inside the room, holding the door half closed. “You decent?”
She nodded.
“I asked Guerre to have a look at your bite.”
“It’s fine. I just checked it.”
“No pain?”
“None.”
“Good.” Merc opened the door, letting Guerre in.
She wanted to tell Merc that she didn’t need Guerre, but she suddenly just didn’t feel like fighting. Something about the team healer was always so calming. It was for her own welfare, anyway.
Guerre stared at her forehead as he approached her, in a way that made it seem he wasn’t looking at her but at something inside of her. Or inside of him. It was a little uncanny.
Be calm, love, Merc said. He does this with all of us and anyone he heals.
Ash shut her eyes, forcing herself to relax. Guerre put a hand up next to her head, hovering inches from her bite. When she felt his energy draw back, she looked at him. He was frowning.
“It’s a minor injury. I’ve enhanced your healing. Shouldn’t bother you much longer.”
“Thanks,” Ash said. “I have to get back to work and would rather not do that with a big lump on my head.”
Guerre looked into her eyes, his gray gaze commanding something from her that she wasn’t aware of, as if he’d made a connection with her body that she had no control over.
He turned and shared a look with Merc, then nodded at her and left the room.
Warily, Merc kept his distance. “Shower feel good?”
“Wonderful.” She sat at the small table where Summer had set her tray. “Want half a sandwich?”
“No, thanks.” He sat opposite her. “So you’re going back to work soon.”
She nodded. “I’m going to check in with my boss tomorrow. I’d like to get back to my old routine as soon as possible.” She paused. “I can do that, right?”
“Sure. Unless or until you become a risk to the regulars around you. Like I said before, now that you know about our secret war, you may become a target. The Omnis care nothing about collateral damage. In fact, I think human suffering feeds them.”
Ash looked at her plate as she set her half-eaten sandwich down. Just when she’d almost had her appetite back, he had to remind her of the nightmare.
“Eat,” Merc said, his eyes lighting up slightly.
Ash dipped a spoon into the soup. Summer’s homemade tomato soup was divine. Light, fragrant, perfectly seasoned. And just like that, Ash was hungry again.
Minutes later, she’d emptied the bowl and finished the sandwich. She’d even guzzled the glass of lemon water. She pushed the tray aside and stood. So did Merc.
She frowned. “You did that. You made me eat.”
“Maybe.” He sighed. “I did. You hadn’t eaten in—I don’t know how long. You want to get back to work, but you can’t do it weakened by hunger.”
“That’s not acceptable, Merc. You don’t get to override my body. I deal with stress in my own way.”
“I’m not going to apologize or feel guilty for taking care of you.”
“Even if I don’t need you to care for me?”
“Maybe you do. What you’ve been thrust into is emotionally and physically crushing. We always partner a newly changed mutant with a seasoned one to make the transition easier.”
“I haven’t been changed yet—have I?”
“Not physically. But you’ve been introduced to our world. That’s stressful to a regular.”
He looked at the bed. Ash felt a rush of heat that wasn’t entirely unwelcome, but at least his eyes weren’t boring into hers.
“Look, get some sleep. We can talk more about this tomorrow.”
“I’m going home tomorrow.”
He gave a nod. “I’ll drive you out in the morning.”
She hurried to get ready for bed. Tomorrow would be an end of it, this panic that was laying siege to her brain. When she came back into the room, Merc was gone. The corner of his big bed was turned down. The lights had been dimmed on the bedside nightstands.
She slipped under the covers, moving to the middle of the bed, and waited for Merc to join her.
Sleep, Ash. We’ll figure out what’s next soon.
Where are you?
Next door. In the guest room. Thought you’d like some space.
She had, of course, until he offered it, and then she didn’t want it at all. She wanted him, next to her, holding her.
I’m lost, Merc. I can’t ever remember being so contrary. In all things. Ever since being around you, it’s like I don’t know myself.
I can understand that. I didn’t like what I’ve become, but I’d gotten used to it. Then all of a sudden I started feeling hope and happiness. Me. You gummed up what was a perfectly miserable life. You’re always on my mind, and I’m fucking giddy all the time. All the time, that is, when I’m not terrified I’m going to lose you.
Ash played his words back in her mind. She chuckled at his grouchy confession. Does that mean you love me?
Fuck yeah. Want me to send you to sleep?
He admitted his love so easily, without doubt, without recrimination, without asking for a reciprocal admission from her. That had the strange effect of putting her at ease.
Yes. After you make love to me.
Her door opened barely a minute later. Merc walked in naked.
29
Ash loved the feel of Merc’s body over hers. He bent his head and nuzzled her neck. She could feel the cool draw of air as he pulled her scent into his nose.
“You smell like me,” he said.
She smiled and nodded. “I’m going to steal your shampoo so that I can have your smell with me when I go home.”
“Or you could just stay here and have me.”
“It would make my commute a very long one each day.”
“Quit.”
“And do what with my time?”
“A job isn’t everything.”
“It is if it pays the bills.”
“I can pay your bills.”
“So you want me to be a kept woman.”
“I want you to be my woman.”
“I can have my job and be your woman too.”
He nodded, but didn’t say more.
“Tell me about the Matchmaker’s Curse, again.”
He shrugged. “It’s simple. When a mutant finds his one true mate, if he brings her into his world, she’s cursed to die. And if the mutant doesn’t bring his love
into his world, he’ll die.”
“But you don’t know anyone who’s met that curse yet, have you?”
“I didn’t think I had, until I talked to Lautaro. It happened to him. He lost his wife.”
“She took the modifications, then died?”
“Yes, but not because of the mods. The Omnis murdered her as well.”
“Was your wife modified?”
Merc rolled them over so they faced each other on their sides. He braced his head on his hand. The dead look in his eyes made her wish she could pull the question back.
He kept his silence for a long moment. “No. It had taken me a long time to get my memories back, and longer still before I could get back to my family. She never gave up hope that I was still alive. She was having a royal fight with my Army unit. She said she kept getting different stories from them, none of which really lined up with one another. When I finally told her what had happened to me, she was shocked. Frightened. She thought it was freaky.”
“It is freaky.”
“I know. She was worried about the girls. I wasn’t advocating changing them, only my wife—and then only if she was on board. We ended up separating over it. I went back to Colombia, to the Legion. She called me one day, a couple of months later, and said she was in. She was willing to take the changes, willing to do anything to put our lives back together. At that point, we didn’t know anyone who could do her modifications. But it was a big relief that she was willing to fight for our family. I got on a flight home that day. She died before I got there. The cops said it was a murder-suicide, that she was distraught over our failed marriage. That was all a lie.”
“I know it was.”
He looked at her again. “What do you mean? How could you know?”
“When I was reaching for a towel earlier, I accidentally pressed on your secret cabinet. I touched her purse. I saw what happened.”
“Jesus.”
“Her brakes weren’t working. She tried to stop the car, but it kept accelerating. She tried to steer it away from the cliff, but she had no control over it at all. The last thing she did was look back at your girls, who were sound asleep in the back.”
O-Men: Liege's Legion - Merc Page 28
