“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.”
Merc put his hands over his face. For the longest moment, it seemed he stopped breathing, but then his lungs erupted in a ragged sob.
Ash moved over, draping her body across his, pushing her head between his arm and face. She felt his tears on her cheek. She wanted to tell him what else she saw, after his wife’s car went over the cliff, but for some reason, she couldn’t make herself tell that part.