It was sin. It was betrayal. It was a cheap passing thing. She tried to feel shame, but she didn’t. Instead, she felt special and empowered. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. He was gentle and passionate, and so damned hot. She was glad she chose him to be her first. That was the thing. She was a woman. She chose him.
Donning a hickey-covering turtleneck (she may be a woman, but she wasn’t ready to answer questions yet), Nile decided to clean up and prepare for later. Yes, she was avoiding everyone. And yes, she hoped Dylan would spend the night.
“DID YOU NOT GET MY text?”
“Agghhh...” Nile jumped. She had been cleaning and didn’t hear her sister come in. “Wow. Scare the crap out of me, why don’t you?”
“I sent you a text.”
Nile checked her phone. Sure enough, there was a message. The guys are getting a game up. We’re going.
While she read, Tigris assessed. “Have you lost your mind?”
“What?”
“Did you sleep with him?”
Nile was caught between a ‘no’ and wondering how she knew.
Tigris pulled the collar of Nile’s sweater back so she could see her bruised neck. “Don’t bother lying. What were you thinking?”
Nile threw her cleaning cloth down. “Thinking was the thing I was not doing.”
“Obviously. You wanted to start with an impossible relationship.”
“We hooked up. What’s the big deal?”
“His imminent death. Your vow to aloofness.”
“Is that what I am?”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. You’re not aloof. But, calling this a complication is an understatement.”
“We didn’t plan it, Tigris. You’ve seen us together. Stuff happens.”
“Plan or not. If you jump in and save him, everyone will know you’re the wonder drug. You might as well paint a target on your forehead.”
“I know. I know. Not to mention the blame I’m going to get for every damned death in the last twenty years.”
“You’re only nineteen.”
“Tell that to the mob. I’ll be blamed for not saving them from the womb. But, what can I do?”
“It’s your blood, Nile. You get to decide who you give it to.”
“Even that. What happens if I save him, but not the others?”
“You can’t save the others...I mean, you shouldn’t save the others. You shouldn’t save him, but that’s a moot point. We have a strict system in place for a reason. Everyone is accountable for their own folly. If we break the rules, Maya has no consequences... again. Jake and Sonny have no consequences. We return to servitude for some Caucasians whose only goal was to hurt us.”
“I know.”
Tigris didn’t care that she knew. “What about whoever is working with Limetech? Do we save them too? Let them do whatever they want to us? Or do we pick and choose? Maya’s boyfriend can get a bye for trying to get us killed, but our neighbors can’t?”
“I know, Tigris. I know. The ramifications have been running through my head since he rode into Rain. But, here I am ignoring the rules, breaking the rules. Sleeping with the enemy...” Nile broke down.
Tigris embraced her, patted her back, and let her cry it out.
“All I can expect is to watch him die for the sake of the family. Or, have him hate me for letting his family die. Or, let him be the cause of us being exposed and possibly dying...I know this, and I still gave him my virginity. I threw it at him... For what?”
“I think you might be in love with him.”
Nile hiccupped. “I hardly know him.”
“Oh, you two covered the knowing part, in the biblical sense.”
That made Nile laugh. She pulled away and wiped her face. “We’re still strangers.”
“I don’t know if the heart can measure time.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jake and Sonny were on Macy’s porch when Dylan arrived.
“Oh, look who joined the team again,” Sonny sneered. “Why is it you’re never around when shit happens?”
Dylan ignored him. “Has anybody talked to Dad? We said we’d be gone about a week. We need to make some plans.”
“I can’t handle him right now,” Jake said. “It’s too much.”
Dylan reached for his phone. “Hey, Mom... We’re good... We wanted to give you and Dad a heads up. This is taking longer than we planned. I don’t know when we’ll be back. Hopefully, sooner rather than later... No, Jake and Maya are fine. There are a lot of details. Logistics and things. Her family wants some time to get to know Jake... Yes, I agree. They could have met your baby boy any time they wanted...we’re taking things slow and making everybody happy. Relationships are a big deal in these parts... Yep...yep... Tell Dad, I’ll have the Miller account updated by Monday... If things get too backed up, we’ll send Sonny home... All right. I love you, too. I’ll tell them. Bye.”
As soon as he hung up, Sonny said, “I’m not going any damned where and you know it.”
“I don’t give a shit what you do, Sonny. Never have. Mom says hi to everybody.” Dylan took a seat. “What do we know?”
Jake stopped pacing long enough to fill him in on Maya’s revelations, with Sonny adding an explicative now and again.
“In essence, they have reasons for not wanting to help us.” More reasons, Dylan thought.
“They do.” Jake resumed his back and forth. “That’s the crazy thing. It’s hard to be mad because I understand. But, these are our lives we’re talking about. Why do they get to control our lives?”
“Because you’re letting them.” Sonny drank the whiskey milkshake Macy made for them. “They aren’t going to give us anything. We need to beat somebody’s ass and take it...that is, if, and that’s a big if, there’s any sickness to worry about, anyway. I’m the one they hate the most and I haven’t had so much as an upset stomach.”
“Maya’s not lying.” Jake got tired of pacing. He plopped down in his seat.
Dylan chose not to dignify Sonny’s rant with a comment. “What happens next?”
Jake said, “Somebody will drop off a pill or something. It’s supposedly one dose of whatever it is to make one of us all better, provided we leave. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“When they get here, beat their ass and make them give us more.” Sonny was serious.
“My brotherly advice is, take it yourself. But, truthfully, give the pill to Sonny.”
Jake and Sonny were surprised at Dylan’s declaration.
“You want to be the selfless martyr?” Sonny asked. “Sacrifice your life while I look like the punk who ran?”
“How many times do I have to call you a moron? Jake isn’t leaving without Maya. Taking the pill himself would be a waste. As for me,” Dylan used his fingers to count off points, “One, I’m not leaving without Jake. Two, I am the only one of the three of us they might consider showing some mercy to. And three, I have a thing for Nile. It might count for something. You’ve got nothing. You’re right, they hate you the most. If you leave, it could work in our favor.”