“So, we all good here?” I smiled, and Leon looked like he was going to puke. I wanted to hurry up and take care of him.
Phillip looked around the room at everyone else, seeing if there was anything they wanted to ask me.
“Give me your hand?” The blonde with the sexy birthmark walked over and held her hand out to me.
“Lilith Sage. Pleasure to meet ya.” I placed mine in hers for a quick shake, but then she held on for a few beats longer than what felt appropriate. Her eyes stared at me with curiosity, and it made me a little uncomfortable.
“Honey, you know I’m married, right?” I gestured toward Leon, and she seemed to have snapped out of it. The look in her eyes now though was not what I was expecting, and one I didn’t want to see. Ever.
Pity.
“Someone went digging and found some skeletons, didn’t they?” I probed.
“I’m an empath, and can feel emotions,” she said softly, and more than anything I wanted her to stop giving me the sad eyes.
“Well, I bet you can tell how much I want to talk to my honey bun over there, so if that’s all you need from me, I think we are done here.” I rose, and the tall one that had cut off his man bun stepped closer to the empath, ready to interfere should I attack. As if. Retired spy goddess divine, remember?
“I do have something else to ask you.” Phillip stood as well, and looked at me with complete confidence in his eyes. Interesting.
“I want to offer you a spot in the Hero Society. Not to be used, but to help people of your own free will.” I laughed and looked at him with a big smile on my face. The rest of the crew looked at him in surprise, but none opposed his decision. They trusted him completely.
“Of course, silly, as soon as husband dear comes around, we would love to be a part of your team. Saving the world and all. Sounds like such an adventure.” I clapped my hands together in celebration. I wasn’t expecting this, but it was nice to be in such a nice, warm, family environment. If I was being honest with myself, I had been missing the excitement of work. At least I would be doing this with Leon by my side and for the good of mankind, instead of evil.
“Problem. I’m not fucking joining, and I don’t wanna fucking be married to you, crazy woman. I don’t want any of this shit,” Leon cursed. Everyone turned toward him now.
“He’s got some issues going on. But don’t worry. My Leon is a very good man. I know he’ll be on board soon.” Of that I was one hundred percent sure. Eventually his poor-me attitude would drain away from his soul, and he would really help the world. He was meant for this. As soon as I’d found out about the Hero Society, I knew this was where he belonged—with these people, and doing good. He was special; I’d seen it from the beginning, and I was going to help him see it too.
“Jesus Christ. You’re all mad if you let her in this, let alone think I want any part of it. I’m out of here.” He threw his hands up and jerked the door open so hard it broke free from the jamb.
“Dammit!” He set the door down and stormed off.
I was about to go get him when Phillip stopped me.
“Here.” He handed me a little card.
“Your card to get in without the theatrics.”
I tilted my head to the side; he knew I was going to join?
“I can see the future. Not all of it is set in stone, but I knew you’d come, and you would be good for us. Plus, my sister would have spoken up by now if you had any intentions to harm us.” He looked at Rose, and she nodded with a half-smile. I really wished she would have stayed out of my emotions. Too many were always running around in my head, and it wasn’t a nice place to be for my own self most of the time, let alone someone else trespassing.
“Awesome. We are all going to be best friends.” I grinned and went to walk after my man.
“He’s heading toward the bay. Give him about a ten-minute start, then he’s going to need you,” Phillip told me and I nodded. Nice to have a little future insight, could be handy here and there. Like where my phone was when I lost it. Happens all the time.
Chapter Eleven
Leon
Everyone had lost their damn mind.
I thought Phillip had given me a safe place to hide out, but instead he invited the wolf right into the club with him. I didn’t care if my boat was fixed or not; I was taking her out and getting the hell away from everyone.
I shot a text to Charles, letting him know I would be at sea for a bit, and he just replied to hit him up when I got back.
He was lucky he didn’t have to deal with all of this stuff. He was normal. Paralyzed, but still normal.
As I neared Lily Blue, I noticed a figure walking on my boat that shouldn’t be there.
“Hey! Get the fuck off my boat!” I called out, and he turned to look at me calmly. My blood was already burning from everything that happened just before so he picked a bad time to be calm around me.
“Leon,” he said like he knew me, which was not the case. The closer I got, I noticed he looked just like the guy who was staring at me from the parking lot of Charles’s complex. Had I been put on some stalkers’ website? First the Society, then my wife, and now this guy.
“Look, whatever you’re here for, I’m not interested in. Now get off my boat before you take a swim in the cold water.” I hopped on Lily Blue after giving him the easy way out, glaring.
His tall form did not seem intimated by me at all. His brown eyes looked almost amused at my threats.
“Not a people person, are you, Mr. Daniels?” he asked while leaning against the metal rails that prevented him from going over.
“Seriously? I’m not up for a chat. If you don’t get off my boat, I’m going to knock you off it.” I was losing every bit of my patience that was left.
He shook his head and started talking, despite my threat. I looked at him like he was nuts. Dark brown skin, no hair on his head, and a brown, trimmed beard grew on his jaw. He was wearing a proper suit. Not a fighter, or anyone that could face me and have a chance.
“You’ve got a gift, one you should stop trying to hide to the world. Your powers were meant for so much more. I want to help you let the man you were born to be free.”
Great. Someone else wanting me for my powers. I was done with that. No one was getting me on their team.
I walked over to him, my fists clenched.
Without another word, I lifted my arm and cocked it back with inhuman speed before letting it go toward his face.
But he wasn’t there. Nor was he in the water.
“I’d hoped we could talk about this in a pleasant manner. But I guess you need things to be more direct. Join me, or I will take your powers, and you will die. It’s quite simple. I won’t let them have you. So it’s be with me, or it’s the end of you.” He stood just on the bow of the boat, eight feet in front of me. Fuck, he must have powers, too.
I watched him as he waited for my answer. Join him or die.
“You must be Emanuel,” I guessed. His lip curled at the name, and he shook his head, making the vertebra crack in his neck.
“Time to decide.”He was now the one giving me the ultimatum. I wasn’t worried. I was fast, and strong. While I wasn’t completely in control of my powers, they were mostly instinctual. No true need for thought.
I saw his eyes look behind me, and I turned to see one big man stepping onto my boat. Great.
“You know what. This may be just what I need to work off my frustrations.” I suddenly didn’t feel annoyed by a fight. I could kick someone’s ass for therapy right now.
“Your answer,” Emanuel demanded.
“Fuck off, you Raven shit. I’m not joining you or them.” The man descended on me just as I finished giving him my answer.
I was ready for him.
Until he came at me with electricity sparking from his fingers. Electricity and water were a big no-no.
Fuck. To run away fast? Or break them and get a little shock treatment in the process.
I looked back at Emanuel
and he was rolling up his sleeves, readying himself for battle. Shit. They weren’t messing around here.
My gaze moved back and forth, waiting for someone to make a move, and it looked like electric boy was going to make his first. Just then something black blurred into my vision, hitting him on the back of his head. A shoe? His eyes narrowed in pure hatred, then he turned around. I followed his eyes and let out a sigh.
Lilith was walking on the dock with a shoe in her hand, and the other was now lying behind bad guy number two.
She didn’t have a look of anger, or malice. She was smiling, which was somehow scarier. Especially knowing part of her history.
“Afternoon, boys!” She hopped onto the boat and strutted over to the man who was ready to zap her. He looked back at Emanuel, who nodded as if to say go for it.
She was maybe about a foot away from him when he reached over to touch her, not expecting her to put up a fight. Boy was he wrong. Even I didn’t expect Lilith to duck away from his hand, spin around, then jam the heel of her shoe into his shoulder like a freaking weapon.
Both Emanuel and I were standing there with our mouths hanging open in shock.
The man let out a guttural scream and fell to the ground, pulling out her spiked heel.
Holy shit.
“No one messes with my Star.” She walked toward me, her eyes on Emanuel, daring him to make a move.
Star. The word was so simple, but it stirred something inside of me that shouldn’t be present in the current situation.
Warmness. I felt warm, in a good way. Like happiness was wrapping itself around me. All from her calling me Star. Weird. She’d used it that first morning when she woke up in my bed, too.
“Well, my dear. You are quite the surprise. I will give you the same offer I gave Mr. Daniels and the same consequence if you choose his answer. We could use a woman of your talents. Join me, or die with your Star.” He stood his ground and watched Lilith with an intense stare. He really wanted her on his side, maybe even enjoying the look of her more than his admiration for her quick reflex to maim.
She wrapped her arms around me, and I stood still.
“I go where my husband goes. So fuck off, Emanuel.” I smirked at her and to both bad guys that shook their heads. Electric man was bleeding very badly, but it didn’t stop him from coming at us just as Emanuel did too.
“I’m going to take your powers. Not a complete waste,” he growled, and I was just about to push Lilith into the water so she wouldn’t get hurt when Emanuel was on me quicker than I could have reacted. Fine, I’ll fight speed with speed.
I threw a punch, and he dodged it, throwing one back at me and while I was quick enough to move away, it was clear he had training that I did not.
Lilith was fairing fine with her attacker, and he was getting more pissed by the second to be losing.
“Aw, come on, Sparky. Can’t defeat a sweet little woman like me?” she taunted him, and he roared in rage, amping the internal current he was channeling. The hairs on my arms were starting to rise, and I felt the vibrations of static in the air. Things were going down a bad path.
Emanuel tightly gripped my hair and slammed my face against the railing. Shit, he was fast. I came back swinging, but this was a very unmatched fight. I was no killer. I could fight like any other guy, but this man was trained to defeat his enemy. Blood swam in my mouth, and I realized my arrogance was going to be the literal end of me. Shit.
I caught Lilith’s eyes and saw the shock in her face, then she kicked her man in the chest hard, knocking him back a few feet, just enough to get back over to me.
Emanuel gripped my neck, and I felt the power in the air shake. He was going to take my powers from me.
For a moment I thought good riddance, but then reality sat in, and I knew I would die.
Instead of knocking Emanuel back like I thought she would have, Lilith wrapped her arms around me in a tackle and over the edge of the boat we went.
A searing pain ripped through my arm as we hit the water.
My eyes opened, adjusting to the salty water, Lilith was doing the same and having more difficulty than I was. I looked up and saw bullets being shot into the water. Shit. Lilith was trying hard not to go up for air and get shot, but she was starting to thrash around with her arms around me holding her down.
Lacing my fingers around her tightly, I swam us far away in seconds. Both of us gasped for air as soon as I took us above the surf, our lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.
I heard an explosion and even before I looked in the direction of my boat, I knew Lily Blue was gone.
“You okay?” I looked at the woman floating in my arms. She was oddly calm, despite everything we had been through.
“Yep. You’ve got a bullet in your arm, though. We should probably get that out. Your face looks like shit, but hopefully the salt water will clear that up in no time.” She looked at me, and I realized that in that moment, I didn’t feel the need to run from her.
“You saved my life.” My hand lifted up to push her long black hair away from her eyes.
“Not letting you get out of our marriage that easy. Just because he said ‘till death do us part’ didn’t mean you get to run right into death’s arms to get away from me.” She grinned in jest.
I didn’t have anything to say after that. Honestly, I felt like I’d gotten smacked upside the head in a very violent way for being so damn stubborn.
I couldn’t run anymore from the shit going on around me. That was for sure.
Chapter Twelve
Lilith
My husband was a trooper.
Soaking wet, we walked together back to the headquarters. It was the only place to go right now that had what we needed: a medical facility that wouldn’t ask questions, and a safe space for Leon to stay. I would offer up my home, but I doubt he would be up for that. I still had to break down his walls he had up against me before sleepovers at my place.
Phillip was waiting for us with a stack of dry clothes. The water had been a bit chilly since it was almost the beginning of winter here, so those bags were super appreciated.
“We’ve got to get the bullet out,” I told Phillip, and he led us to the medical room I knew they had. With all the work they were doing, how could they not? He set the bags in the room and left, closing the door behind him, showing not one bit concerned for Leon. He probably knew I was very capable of taking care of this.
“Sit.” Leon did as I said, not fighting me one bit.
I grabbed what I needed and looked him in the eyes.
“Sorry, baby, this isn’t going to be anything like sliding into a wet pussy. It’s going to hurt like hell.” I felt bad he was going to be in pain, but it had to come out. He nodded and clenched his jaw in preparation.
I used the tongs and went into his skin. It was maybe a few seconds before I had what I needed.
The ting of the bullet hitting the metal pan let him know it was over. He didn’t even flinch. The cut on his face from hitting the railing would heal over time, nothing I could do about that.
I went about giving him a few stitches then wrapping it up as best as I could.
His eyes were on my face, and I felt his mind moving a mile a minute in there.
“Thinking mighty hard over there, aren’t you?” I turned and moved to the bag. Dry clothes sounded really good right now.
There was a set of men’s clothing, obviously for him, and a smaller pair of sweatpants and a shirt meant for me. There were also two towels inside as well. Easy enough.
My hands went to my shirt, and I lifted it up and over, dropping it to the floor with a loud plop.
“What made you want to marry me?” he asked on a heavy breath. Either the pain or my body was wrecking his brain a little. I didn’t turn around to answer him; instead I pushed down my skinny jeans and began toweling off.
I finished my task and grabbed his towel before finally shifting in his direction. His eyes were not on my body but locked onto my face and my eye
s.
“Here.” I handed him the towel to dry, and went back to the bag to get dressed. He liked my body, everyone did, and even though he didn’t remember it, he was still more enamored by the actual me than my physical form.
“I saw you. I saw past the anger and resentment of the cards you were given and chose you from the deck. You are special, Leon, and I knew I wanted to lose myself in you.” I answered him honestly; maybe it would help jog his memories some.
My words resonated somewhere inside him—I could see it. But pure recognition never occurred. Our night together was still lost to him.
I waited to see if he was going to run, or fight against me like he’d been.
Instead, he began undressing before me. My eyes were glued to his body that I’d never gotten a good look at. Good Lord, was he magnificent—his muscles moved and flexed as he peeled off his wet clothes. His body was certainly godlike. My mouth ached to smother his skin with my lips.
It wasn’t until he lost his boxers that my brain short-wired. I’d seen plenty of men in my day, and majority of them didn’t do much for me, but Leon…he made my insides weep for his touch. I needed him like I needed to dance.
“I’m sorry I don’t remember us.” He finished drying off and walked over to the bag to grab his clothes. His body was so close I could feel his heat caressing me. I wanted so badly to jump on him, like a hungry monkey finding a banana. A very sexy, long, and oh-so-thick banana.
“I’m all for reminding you, any time you want.” I was staring at his cock with hungry eyes, right up to the moment he pulled some sweatpants up his legs, covering himself from my gaze.
“I think a do-over would be good.” His words confused me. A do-over? He must have guessed what I was thinking because he answered my internal questions.
“I can’t promise you anything. I still don’t think I am meant to be with anyone. But it doesn’t look like I will be able to run from anything anymore, including you. So might as well start over.” He looked at me, and that complete sincerity I saw in him when we met was shining through. He was done running. Still didn’t wanna be married to me, as far as he could remember, but he was willing to talk to me, and not hide out until his time was up. This I could work with.
Day (Hero Society Book 2) Page 5
