“Not until now.”
Executioner
Just when I thought my story had scared her off completely, Angel clambered over me and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
“I’m sorry,” she said. And that was it.
I gave a gruff nod.
She crawled onto my lap, and curled up there. Perhaps she thought pressing herself close would somehow comfort me. My dick begged to differ. There was nothing comfortable about this at the moment.
Angel moved against me, and I bit back a groan.
She did it again, turning her head so that her nose brushed mine. “I’m tired,” she said, her voice husky.
Was she hinting at sleep or sex?
She leaned in, her lips meeting mine.
Sex, definitely, sex.
Seal the deal. Make her yours. For the love of God, at least touch her.
My arms went around her. But while her fingertips smoothed down my chest, feeling everything, mine stayed in place.
What if I’m reading this wrong?
I broke off the kiss. “I’ll show you your room.”
I let out a sigh of relief when Angel untangled herself from my lap, despite missing the physical contact.
I was terrified of myself around her.
Because she already ran from me, just like everyone else. And why wouldn’t she? I’d treated her like I did my hits. And in order to get her back, I threatened death on her friends.
But she also cried in my arms and took comfort from my touch.
I stopped in front of the bedroom door, anger replacing sadness. I could dismember a man without feeling a thing, but the mere thought of crossing boundaries I’d never crossed made me break out into a sweat. I needed to get a fucking grip.
As Angel shuffled into the room, she yawned once, then twice, her entire body shaking with the force of it. “I never thought your bed would look so good.” She fell forward onto it, throwing her arms out as she hit the mattress like she was hugging it.
I remembered the sign above her bed at Madcap Mansion and my hard-on became downright painful. It didn’t help that Angel looked cute as fuck with that dreamy smile on her face.
I hung back by the door. This strange, strange creature. Originally I found her antics annoying, but the longer I was around her, the more they grew on me.
Because she’s mine. Mine.
Angel rolled over, her eyes flicking to my stance. I had one foot in the bedroom and one foot out. “You’re not staying?” she asked, sitting up.
I paused. “Do you want me to stay?”
In response, a sly smile blossomed on her face. She reached her arm out for me.
Oh the temptation.
She was still torn up about her sister. And she’d cried on me. Took comfort from me. Don’t be the man that takes advantage of that.
I dragged in a deep breath. “I need to make a call, but I’ll be back.”
She furrowed her brow at that, but nodded.
I left her there, heading back for the kitchen, where I poured myself another glass of Jack. I knocked it back and rubbed my eyes. Being halfway decent was harder than it looked.
I shifted my weight and groaned at my tight pants.
Definitely harder.
By the time I re-entered Angel’s room, she was fast asleep.
I watched her slumbering form for a minute, her lips puckered. Without thinking, I headed over to her side, wanting to see an up close version of this Angel.
Rare to see her this quiet.
After a moment, I brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. She made a soft noise and leaned into the touch, her lips tilting up into a smile.
She couldn’t be too much younger than I was, and yet I felt like I’d weathered lifetimes in whatever age gap separated us. Had she killed before? Even if she had, it wouldn’t be like how it was for me—a necessary part of my life.
I moved to the couch and stretched out. She began to snore softly, dragging an unwilling smile to my lips.
I folded my arms over my chest and closed my eyes. I’d have to leave soon, but maybe, just maybe I could squeeze in a few hours of sleep near my Angel.
Chapter 20
Angel
I woke with a start, not aware of what had jolted me out of sleep. Outside, the soft glow of lamps trickled into my room.
Not my room—the Executioner’s room. I was in Miami, staying with one of the world’s most wanted criminals, and somehow, together, we were going to take down the Cruel Countess.
Across from me on the couch, the man himself lay stretched out, his arms and legs crossed, and his chin tucked against his chest. His eyes were closed. While most people looked calmer in sleep, he wore a frown.
Silly man, taking the couch when he could’ve joined me.
Out in the hall, a floorboard creaked. It could be the house settling … or it could be something else. I threw my covers off, thankful that I hadn’t taken the time to remove my suit before I knocked out.
I padded to the door, leaned my back against the wall next to it.
Another creak, this one closer.
“X,” I whispered.
His eyes snapped open, focusing on me immediately. There was no in-between with this man—one moment he was asleep, the next he was alert.
I tapped a finger to my ear, then to my mouth.
His gaze flicked to the door as he pushed off the couch. He headed towards the other side of it, his footsteps silent.
I grabbed the gun still holstered to my suit, bringing it up to my chest and glanced over at him.
He gave me a nod, and I breathed in, readying myself.
I stared at the brass doorknob, tensing when it began to turn. It stilled, and then the door edged open, allowing me to see out into the hallway beyond. In the darkness I made out a figure.
Reacting off training, my leg snapped out, landing solidly on a chest.
The figure stumbled back, and I followed him out into the hallway, cocking the gun and aiming it at his heart.
Shoot to kill. That was what my trainer had told me when I learned to use firearms. If you aren’t prepared to take someone out, then the gun shouldn’t be in your hand in the first place.
The gun shouldn’t be in my hand. I wasn’t prepared.
I began lowering the gun.
I don’t want to kill this man.
X pushed past me and grabbed the man by the neck, hauling him to his feet as he began to scream. “Angel, keep the damn gun pointed,” X said. “The Gambler here is not alone.”
“The Gambler?” I’d heard of him because of how he’d earned his name, gaming casinos out of their money. He could persuade people to do things.
“He’s one of the Cruel Countess’s men,” X said, studying the man with cool detachment.
Choking noises were replacing the man’s screams. My aim drooped, and I watched in horror as something ate the man up from the inside out. His skin began to smoke, and the smell of burned flesh stung my nostrils.
Never had I witnessed the Executioner in action, and it was … terrifying.
“Keep your gun up,” X reminded me.
The Grambler’s struggles slowed. X would kill him, right in front of me.
Making a decision, I dropped the gun to my side and touched the Gambler’s bare skin. The man stopped struggling, and I could hear him catching his breath, as though he caught a brief respite from the pain. His skin was a mass of angry blisters and red, raw flesh.
“Angel, let go,” the Executioner stated calmly.
“You’re the one worried about a sneak attack. You let go.”
X worked his jaw. “Woman, you drive me insane,” he said, but he relented, releasing the man and backing away.
Gambler gasped as he collapsed onto the floor. I followed him down, keeping skin-on-skin contact. His flesh went from red to a dull pink, the exposed flesh healing over.
The Executioner snatched my hand away. “That’s enough.”
“Hey!”
“Heal him too much and he’ll attack you all over again.”
It was sound logic. I followed the same rule when healing a violent perpetrator who might otherwise die.
“But the damage …” The Gambler’s injuries were far too extensive.
The Executioner put a boot to the man’s chest and stared him down. “If you so much as try to persuade Angel to help you, I’ll finish what I started, and this time I’ll take it real slow.” He shoved his heel harder into the Gambler’s chest before he stepped away.
He swiveled to me. “If you so much as think Gambler’s trying to persuade you, shoot him.” X glanced down the hall. “Other than that, don’t do anything stupid and don’t move. I’ll be back.” He pulled his own gun out of its holster and headed down the dark corridor.
Awesome. He’d determined that I was the rookie here, and he was my knight in shining armor.
“It’s not like I’ve never done this before!” I yelled after X.
“So dumb,” I whispered under my breath.
I leaned back against the wall. The smell of sizzled flesh still tinged the air.
“Can you even talk?” I asked the man at my feet.
“Uggggg,” he moaned.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I wouldn’t be able to get any information out of him like this. My hands twitched with the need to heal him.
Do that and you might miss your chance to save your sister.
Thoughts like that were the reason heroes cut ties with their family. Loved ones always had a little more currency than regular civilians.
I squatted down and reached a hand into the man’s pockets. He moaned again as I jostled his sensitive skin.
“Would you quit being a baby?” I said. “If you behave, I’ll heal you.” Eventually.
He curbed his cries, and I began flipping through his pockets, looking for anything of use.
From one pocket I pulled out a wallet. Inside were a series of fake driver’s licenses.
I clucked my tongue. “Identity theft is a mean crime.”
I continued my search, whistling when I saw the amount of cash he carried. “Lot of hundreds in here. Still have that nasty gambling habit?”
The man whimpered. I set the wallet aside and finished patting him down. He wasn’t even carrying a gun on him. Awfully optimistic to think he wouldn’t need it.
I heard the squeak of a floorboard, and I began to look up.
Did I check the pockets on the Gambler’s jacket? The thought drew my attention back down to the man.
I frowned. Of course I did—
A hand covered my mouth, and I felt the cool press of a gun barrel against my temple. “Cooperate and you’ll be fine,” the man whispered into my ear.
I should cooperate, shouldn’t I?
I glared at the Gambler, fighting his compulsion.
Meanwhile, the man behind me let out a groan and rolled his shoulders. “Thanks,” he whispered, tugging me backwards. “Old injury.”
Well shit on a stick, I hated it when bad guys did that—used me to heal themselves against my will.
“Drop the gun,” he ordered.
I bit my cheek, unwilling to do as he told me.
He shook me. “Drop it.”
Reluctantly I let it go. The gun thumped loudly on the ground. The only thing I hated worse than being considered a rookie was actually feeling like one.
“Good girl. Let’s go,” he whispered.
He gave me a yank, and I stumbled forward, thoroughly pissed off. I might actually consider taking a bullet to the brain just to fight this guy.
A shadow appeared at the end of the hall.
X.
The man behind me must’ve seen him as well because he paused, giving me the opening I needed.
Using my right forearm, I knocked the gun away from my face.
Thwump. The bullet missed me by a hair, embedding itself into the hallway wall. The man had a silencer attached to the gun, making the whole thing sound much more harmless than it was.
Motherfucker tried to shoot me!
Down the hall, X roared, accompanying my rage.
I slammed my elbow back into the man’s gut. As he folded over, I swiveled, planting a roundhouse kick to his temple. He went down, and I followed him to the ground. Arm cocked, swift follow-through. My fist crashed into his face, packing all my energy behind it.
Beneath my hand his nose crunched.
I pulled my fist back.
I didn’t think this man was even a supervillain.
The Cruel Countess sent a regular criminal to bring me in. The gall.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, than my body levitated off the ground.
Telekinetic. I stared down at the man, surprised and a little impressed.
The Executioner brushed past me. My attacker lifted a hand, presumably to levitate the Executioner, but he moved a second too slow.
X’s hands wrapped around the man’s throat. Almost instantaneously the telekinetic began screaming.
His concentration broken, I fell, my teeth clicking together as my head thwacked the hardwood floor.
I moaned, pushing myself up. The Gambler had crawled down the hall, and like me, dude was taking a breather. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, clenching my teeth against the god-awful shrieking.
Him or my sister, I reminded myself.
By the time I stood up, X had dropped the smoldering remains of the man. I went to touch him.
“I wouldn’t do that,” the Executioner warned.
I did it anyway. Searing heat burned my flesh, and reflexively, my hand jerked back.
Dead.
X drew a knife from his pants’ holster. “It was you or him, Angel,” he said, his words closely aligning with my earlier thoughts. “I picked you.”
My gaze locked on the knife. “What are you doing?”
“Are you ready to heal the Gambler?” X asked, heading past me.
I narrowed my eyes. “Only if you don’t kill him.”
“Oh, I won’t do that,” X said, and I could hear the ominous smile in his voice as he stared down at the man. The Gambler must’ve heard it as well, because he whimpered.
I sighed. “No wonder you suck at making friends. You’re going about this all wrong.” I headed after him.
“And Angel plays the good cop—big surprise there.”
I rolled my eyes. “You so needed more hugs when you were a kid.”
X grunted, not arguing. It reminded me that whatever tormented childhood he had, it had shaped him just as much as his power.
He crouched in front of the Gambler. “We’re going to play a little game called ‘I ask and you tell.’ Every time I ask you a question, you answer honestly. Every time you do otherwise—and I’ll know when you lie—I take off a finger.
“Simple rules. Got it?”
The Gambler nodded, then winced like the movement hurt him.
X leaned back on his haunches. “Okay, I’ll start you off easy.” He flipped the knife in his hand. “Who sent you here?”
The Gambler tracked X’s movements. “The Cruel Countess,” he croaked.
“Good.” The Executioner stopped flipping the knife. “What were her orders?”
The supervillain wheezed. “To capture Angel and bring her in.”
X nodded. “And me? What orders did she give you about me?”
“She said she’d deal with your herself,” he wheezed.
That knife flipped in the Executioner’s hand, and he leaned forward. “Where is Angel’s sister?”
My heart beat a little faster, and I inched closer, my legs nearly brushing against X’s back.
“Who?”
“Mortal girl. Young. Captured within the last couple days. Insurance so that this one”—he hiked his knife back at me—“comes quietly.”
“I have no idea, man—”
X grabbed the Gambler’s shirt, which had partially fused to his skin and yanked him closer. An agonized scream ripped fr
om the Gambler.
“You’re lying.” X shook his head. “You know the rules.” He began reaching for the man’s hand.
“No—no, please. I take it back—she’s on the prison block. Last I heard the Countess hasn’t torn into her.”
I glanced away at that, breathing through my nose to control my rising emotions. Torn into her?
From my peripherals I saw X halt. “And?” he said.
“And what? That’s all I know.”
The Executioner reached for the Gambler’s hand.
“Wait—wait man!” Fear threaded through his voice. “I thought I answered your questions!”
“You did, but you still lied.”
The man’s panicked eyes locked on the Executioner. “Please!”
“X,” I said. We had what we needed.
He stiffened, his grip tightening on the knife. Faster than my eyes could follow, X swiveled, the knife glinting as he turned it on me. The sharpened edge ripped through fabric and the skin of my abdomen.
I staggered backwards as a line of blood welled across my stomach.
X jerked his head back at the sight and dropped the knife. In the next second his hands were on me. “Angel,” he said, horrified, as though he hadn’t meant to turn the weapon on me in the first place. He probably hadn’t. Gambler must’ve compelled him to do so.
A steady stream of blood still trickled out of my wound. “It should’ve healed by now,” I said, staring down at it. It continued to bleed.
X angled the cut towards himself to get a better look, and I honed in on the action. Most of his hand pressed against the fabric of my suit, but his thumb, his thumb touched bare skin.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, as a thought hit me.
“What?” X’s grip tightened.
“Let go of me.”
Immediately he released me. As soon as he did so, the skin resumed healing. I watched it until the seam of skin sealed itself completely over, leaving behind only a mess of blood. Only then did I tear my eyes away to look at him. “We really do cancel out each other’s powers.”
Chapter 21