Page 26 of Gluttony
“Hey.” Liza touched his arm, bringing his attention back to her. “You didn’t do anything different to what Evan, Griff, Wyatt or Sloan did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, they all had a moment when their powers came in. It just so happens that your moment was a little more… extravagant.” She smirked at her brother with fond eyes. “I guess we should have expected that from a showman like you, right?”
“True.” Tony shrugged. “I always do things in style.”
“You realize what this means, don’t you?”
“What?”
“You’re an actual star.”
“You’re hilarious. Kill me now.” He yanked the IV out of his arm, ripped off the electrodes sticking to his bare chest and temples, and sat up.
“Cool your jets. Lay back down.”
“I feel fine.”
“But you weren’t a few hours ago.”
With a sigh of capitulation, he leaned back to rest. “Seriously. I’m fine.”
“You thirsty?”
He arched a brow at her. “When am I not?”
“Sorry. Stupid question.” Liza sidestepped the operating table and lights in the center of the room to retrieve a glass of water from the sink against the wall. She handed it to him.
He took the glass and gulped water down his parched throat. It was almost as though the burning energy he’d released had scorched the inside.
“Easy there, tiger,” Liza said. “You don’t want to edge toward being unbalanced.”
Tony paused with the glass still to his lips. She was right. Unless he was within a certain radius of his mate, he couldn’t indulge in his sin, that meant a simple guzzled drink of water could edge him the wrong way. The fact that he’d gone to rehab was even more prudent now. It had given him the tools to temper his urges. He had to remember them because if he couldn’t keep his appetites in check, lives were at stake. Entering an unbalanced berserker rage now would mean certain death for anyone in his radius, not just the target sinner. He wiped his mouth and handed her the glass.
Liza took it and studied it with a furrowed brow. “You want to talk about it, about her?”
Not particularly, no. But he couldn’t bottle things up again. For all he knew, that was the cause of the power explosion.
“Her name is Bailey Haze.” His voice came out way too gruff, so he cleared his throat.
“I know.”
He shot her narrowed eyes. “Did I tell you?”
“Dude, I’m a detective.”
“Right. Sloan told you.”
“Yep.”
He snorted. “Well, did she also tell you that Bailey used to work for the CIA? Maybe still does.”Yeah, right, buddy. Let’s go with the CIA schtick.That’s definitely the reason he’s in this state. “She knows how to fight. She must have been an operative. I don’t trust her.”
Liza sat back in her chair, a thoughtful look on her face. “You think she’s investigating us?”
“Maybe.”
“Nah.”
