Page 87 of Under a Wicked Moon
“Did you kill him?” Vivi opened and closed her fists, unable to dispel the need to hurt this lycan who’d messed up her life. This anger was new. She didn’t like violence, but when someone hurt everyone in her family, she wanted him to hurt back.
She peeked inside the room, finding herself trapped in Ky’s gaze. He looked a mess.
Colin was in the background hovering over Simon.
“Gave him the same amnesia injectable as you. It’s called Blackout. Dom procured it for us,” Roman said. “We’ll throw him on the streets, and he can fend for himself.”
“Is the amnesia permanent?” Vivi asked. “You never answered me when I asked before.”
Everyone around her seemed to stop moving, even breathing.
Roman said, “We don’t know. No one knows. It’s designed for humans, but in studies it’s been too powerful for most humans to handle.”
“What’d you find out from Simon?” Nova asked. “Did he know who’s behind the facilities?”
“He was paid several million to get the two of you for the humans. To get to you, he had to get your parents out of the way. Once they were executed by the Council for magic use, he sent Vivi a message saying he wanted to get the two of you safely out of Scotland. His human contact was a German. The human hemet in person sounds like Slate. We got the phone number for the German.”
“That’s not very specific.” Nova’s lips thinned.
“It’s one step further.”
“Do you feel love for him like he said?” Ky asked.
Vivi jumped, not having heard him move so close.
Roman groaned. She could’ve sworn she heard him mutter, “Seriously?”
“Why does it matter? He screwed me over.” Vivi swallowed hard against the powerful emotion coming off Ky. It didn’t scare her, but it called to her need to soothe.
Ky took a step forward, his body vibrating with something. Probably jealousy.
“He’s a jerk.” She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip. “You have no right to be angry about anything that might or might not have been. I’m the one who gets to be angry that he screwed me over. And that you won’t tell me what the hell this is between us. It’s something. Whatever went on between that man and me was nothing, based on my reaction to him versus my reaction to you.”
“Whatexactlydo you remember?” Ky asked low.
“You two inside the apartment. Everyone else out,” Roman said. “We’ll give you a minute while we get rid of Simon and send Colin on his way.” He hauled Simon’s limp body onto his shoulder and marched to the elevator.
Vivi barely noticed everyone leaving. Ky’s intensity sucked her in. Her chest felt light, and her pulse raced with a sense of being energized. “Why are you even here, Ky? It’s obvious you don’t want to be around me. Then you go all crazy and paint a neon sign over our heads to Simon that there’s something going on that isn’t.”
“I want to make sure you’re safe.”
Hewasthe one who reassured her in her dreams. This washis thing. Her safety was critical to him. “Are you truly worried about me?” she asked. “Because you keep going hot and cold on me. You made it crystal clear that you weren’t interested in clarifying our past or letting me know what happened, even though I feel like whatever it was isn’t over.”
He moved close. She backed up until her back collided with the wall, but he kept moving in until his bulk swallowed her. His forehead fell forward against hers. “I can’t do this. Any of this.”
“Any of what?” she asked, barely able to breathe. Each inhale dragged the smell of him deep inside. It felt familiar. Needles of sensation danced across her skin where his breaths hit her. Her throat closed, and her eyes stung.
“I can’t be near you like this and do what I need to do, which is protect you. It’s too hard. I don’t know if I can keep you safe. What if I kiss you and it opens a part of your mind that should remain blank? What if it’s the part that contains those triggers that the humans can use to pull you back in?” His hand wrapped her waist. “I saw you go robotic when they said a few basic German phrases. Nothing would break you out of it. Not me. Not references to things that should’ve gotten through. I can’t see you like that again. I can’t be the cause of it happening.”
“What about Nova and Roman? They’re doing fine together without concern about triggers.”
“Oh, Roman’s concerned. Big time. Why do you think he works so hard to keep her hidden until we can destroy everything that has to do with those facilities?”
“Why do I feel like this around you? Why am I crushed by you saying this?”
“This energy between us won’t go away. It’s going to get worse, at least for me. I need to stay away from you. Because I’m going to cave.” He leaned in and pressed his nose to her neck. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him.
He whispered, “What I feel for you is too much for me to fight.I resisted it for a long time the last time. It was the right thing to do.”
