Page 72 of A Worthy Opponent
“Don’t take this on, beautiful girl.” He sounds hoarse and almost sorry. “It’s not your burden to bear.”
It’s one he fully intends to take for himself so no one else has to. Even with the mess inside my chest right now, I don’t think I’ve ever loved him more. I hold him tighter. “I need to see, Jameson. I need this to be over once and for all.” When he still hesitates, I say the words I’m suddenly certain he needs to here. “I love you. There isn’t a single thing that’s happened today to make me love you less. Do you understand me, Jameson? I love you and he doesn’t get to take that from either of us.”
Finally, a small eternity later, he loosens his grip enough for me to twist in his arms. Peter lies on the floor of the kitchen, three gunshot wounds in his chest, his blue eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. I take it in with a single sweep, waiting for reality to sink in. He’s gone. Really, truly gone. Then I see the pan beside him, the spilled grease. “He was going after me.” The grease might not kill me, but a blow or two from that pan would.
“Yes,” he sounds firmer, more centered.
I turn back and bury my face in Hook’s chest. “I love you, Jameson Hook. Take me home. Please.”
Chapter 28
Hook
It takes longer than I’d like to get things sorted out. Fighting a pounding headache and bone-deep exhaustion makes dealing with Peter’s people surprisingly easy. Exile, rather than a full purge. I don’t care where they go, but they are no longer welcome in my territory. I know all too well what a charismatic and compelling asshole Peter could be. They don’t deserve death for following him, but they can’t be trusted to followme, either. They’ll figure it out. Or they won’t. Either way, they’re no longer my problem.
I send Nigel back home to get checked out, which he only agrees to on the condition that I follow shortly. Colin handles the sweep of the surrounding area for any further problems.
Then, and only then, do I take Tink’s hand and go home. She’s been silent since we left the apartment, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve damaged something beyond repair. She knows what I’m capable of now. It’s not a new trait, but seeing it firsthand is something entirely different than knowing it in theory.
I killed Peter.
He might be an abusive asshole, a monster, but he was still a person. A person no longer drawing breath because of me. If she can’t handle that, if she needs to leave… I won’t stop her. I refuse to be a chain around her ankle, no matter how much I selfishly want her to stay.
I have every intention of going straight to our bedroom and washing off the blood coating my skin, but when we walk into the building it’s to the sound of raised female voices. Tink curses under her breath and I give her a mild look. “Is that Aurora I hear?”
“Um.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard her yell before.” She’s normally such a sweet little submissive, but admittedly I’ve never interacted with her outside of the Underworld.
Tink actually blushes. “I, uh, we should take care of this.”
“By all means.” I motion for her to precede me and follow her to the front entryway.
The scene we find there has me simultaneously wanting to laugh and also find a shield to protect myself. Meg, Allecto, and Aurora are in my home. At the same time. Meg has her arms crossed over her chest and watches things play out as if deciding whether to step in or not. Allecto is caressing the gun in her holster the way children soothe themselves with blankies. And Aurora? She’s in Edgar’s face, which is a feat since she’s barely an inch or two taller than Tink. I don’t see a weapon on her, but appearances can be deceiving. Aurora shakes a fist in his face. “Tell us where she isright fucking now, or I’m going to burn this place to the ground.”
Holy shit.
I give Tink a nudge. “Your friends means you deal with it.”
“Coward,” she snarls.
“Guilty.”
She straightens, throws back her shoulders, and marches into the fray. “I’m here.”
“Tink!” Aurora stops menacing Edgar and rushes her friend. I don’t miss the way the big man slumps back against the wall, and I make a mental note to give him a raise and maybe a change of position. He’s dealt with more than his fair share of confrontations in the last couple days.
Aurora nearly takes Tink off her feet with her hug. “Your text messages freaked us all out and then you didn’t respond and I thought the worst.”
Meg and Allecto follow, though they don’t mob Tink the same way. Meg glances at me. “I trust we can keep this from being considered an infringement of territory.”
I hold up my hands and wince a little when the move pulls at my shoulder. “I’m going to assume you came to ensure Aurora didn’t literally burn my building to the ground.”
She gives me a knife-sharp smile. “She was packing containers of gasoline into the trunk when I found her.”
I really don’t know how to process this new information. I turn to look to where Aurora is whispering fiercely to Tink. “I always thought she was such a nice girl.”
“Sheisa nice girl.” Meg starts to turn away. “There’s also no lengths she won’t go for the people she cares about. You’ll do well to remember that in the future, Hook.”
