He stifled a groan when that visual turned into something else as well.
What the hell was it about Eli that had him acting like some damn caveman? He knew better.
The same ride in the elevator, and Daniel quickly texted Talon. When Daniel walked in, the first thing he did was go to one of the kitchen drawers and get a spare key. He turned and held it out to Eli, who had followed him in. Eli looked at it in surprise but reached out and cautiously took it. “At least you know I told you the truth.”
“When?” Eli asked.
“About my skeletons. You’ve touched me a few times.”
Eli shrugged. “I’m not sure it works like that, but I believe you,” he added.
“Are you hungry? You barely ate.”
“Nah. I’m beat.” He took a step toward his room. So they weren’t gonna talk? Just pretend like it never happened?
“What happened?”
Eli shrugged but turned back. “They only saw the scar. It didn’t matter what came out of my mouth after that.”
“I’ve never seen you as just the scar.” Eli looked up at him but didn’t reply, and Daniel took a step closer. “Ever.”
“Most people don’t see me at all.”
I see you. Daniel reached out and drew a finger over the scar and along Eli’s cheekbone. “I will stop the second you tell me.” He didn’t want to be the best of two bad choices and dropped his hand. “How did that happen?” Daniel gestured to Eli’s lip.
“They thought they could manhandle me instead of asking politely. I moved a little too quickly for them, and they didn’t like it.”
He had things he needed to say. It didn’t make it better, but he needed to say them. “I was right when I said I left the job because of Sarah, but in a way it wasn’t just about her.”
Eli didn’t move. He looked like he was listening.
“Dealing with…filth every day, we became immune. No”—Daniel shook his head—“that’s not the right word. More numb, I think. There was an agent who had worked the case with us every day, then one morning he just didn’t show up for work. He’d taken all his mom’s sleeping pills, and they found him dead when they broke in after two days.” Daniel looked at Eli, convinced his gaze would show the raw pain in them. “Everyone thought my boss was an unfeeling bastard,” Daniel continued. “But he distanced himself to survive. He wasn’t any better or any worse than the rest of us.”
Eli didn’t say anything for a long time, and Daniel was too lost in the horror to notice.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Eli said eventually, turned, and went into his bedroom, closing the door.
Daniel stared after Eli. He wanted to say something, say anything to lift some of the sadness in his eyes, but he didn’t know how. Especially as after tonight he was responsible for putting some more in there.
Daniel wasn’t sure what woke him up some time later. He reached over for his phone and peered at the screen. A little after two. He heard the toilet flush in the other bathroom and knew Eli was awake. Had he even gone to sleep? Had he had a nightmare? He breathed slowly and tried to fall back asleep, but he couldn’t get rid of the image of Eli tucked up in his arms in bed.
After another moment Daniel got up. He reached for a pair of shorts to pull on and then opened his door. He could see a dim light under Eli’s and knocked gently on his door.
There was no answer, but Daniel was torn. Maybe Eli was in the bathroom and couldn’t hear him? He pushed the door open quietly. If Eli was asleep, he’d go back to bed.
Or not.
Eli lifted his gaze as Daniel walked in, and the desolation in his eyes made him rush forward. “Eli?”
Eli didn’t move, and he didn’t flinch when Daniel sat on the edge of the bed next to him. He sat hugging his knees to his chest, but his T-shirt he’d slept in was soaked with sweat. The sheets were all rumpled like he’d tossed and turned for hours.
“Sorry.” Eli’s too-thin arms shook as he tightened them around his legs. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No worries.” Eli shivered. “Would you drink hot chocolate if I made it?” Eli blinked at what he must think was a completely random question, but he shrugged. It wasn’t a no. Daniel stood. Practicalities first. “Go get in the shower. You’re soaked.”
Eli studied his face and Daniel didn’t glance away, letting him look his fill, then walked to the bathroom and turned on the spray in case Eli was in any doubt he meant it. Daniel went to the kitchen to heat some milk. For a second he was tempted to add some brandy like his dad would have done, but with how Eli felt about anything added to drinks, he knew it was a really bad idea, and now he thought about it, he had no idea if Eli drank alcohol at all. Something told him not. He shot back to the bedroom and quickly stripped the bed, making it fresh, then went to get the hot chocolate as he heard the shower turn off.
The second time he came, Eli was just putting a clean T-shirt on. He waited for Eli to get in, then passed him the drink. “It’s just chocolate, milk, and a little cream.” He frowned. “I’ve seen you drinking coffee at the office.”
“Have you?” Eli asked, “Or have you seen me get it and leave it?”
Daniel tilted his head in acknowledgement.
“I do, just depends where I am.” And how much he trusted whoever made it. Eli flushed a little, but he looked a hundred percent better. His hair was damp and curling at the edges. His brown eyes were hooded, the dark shadows under them stark. Daniel ached to give him a little rest. Had this been what Ryker had meant when he had called him a caretaker? Or was it guilt?
Eli gripped the cup, then looked at the empty side of the bed, and then back at Daniel. The invitation was clear, but he knew Eli wouldn’t say it out loud. Daniel sat down and put his cup on the nightstand next to him. Eli didn’t look up. “Your ability is going to make things even harder.” Eli glanced up at Daniel, desperation and acceptance in his expression. “Is there anything you can think of that I can do to make it easier?”
Eli’s gaze turned puzzled. “Are you for real?”
“You mean was that a genuine question?” Daniel asked cautiously, wondering what Eli meant.
“I guess,” Eli whispered.
“Then yes. You’re my partner. That’s how it works.” Daniel hesitated. He’d spent a while on Google tonight as well as watching the clock. “I did a little research tonight. Vance told me Doc Natalie thinks all the enhanced abilities are simply evolution on steroids, and I met Christopher on your last case and I understand how your DNA is altering. There’s nothing mystical or otherworldly about it, and Talon told me about your speed and how you absorb fire.”
Eli sipped his chocolate. He didn’t respond, but Daniel knew he was listening. “I’m no scientist, but I would think it plausible that the two are linked.” He chuckled. “Then I fell down a rabbit hole about spontaneous human combustion.”
He saw the small smile on Eli, then suddenly yawned. It had the same effect on Eli.
“It also occurred to me if in some way you were picking up heat signatures from objects? Like thermal imagery but on a near nuclear scale. Heat is created when atoms collide, so it seems to me—coming from a happy state of ignorance—that the whole heat signature, speed, fire thing could well be linked.”