“It’s okay, Low. I deserved it.”
“Low?”
He looked as surprised as I felt before shrugging. “I think it fits you.”
“I’ve had enough of nicknames.”
I would have expected Keiran to have some insult, but he simply studied me as if genuinely curious. Maybe he was looking for an advantage. He was, after all, a cold piece of work. “What does Death’s Kiss do? Why am I not dead?”
“It’s a drug that mimics death but nothing like the stuff everyone’s heard of before. It’s used by junkies to calm the speed of a high and housewives that have trouble sleeping at night. All the symptoms of death but nothing more than a deep sleep.”
“I’ve heard about that on the news. How the fuck did you get your hands on that?”
“I bought it from a dealer at the university. Apparently, Esmerelda is the mystery supplier.”
“This is becoming too fucked up to be real.”
“Tell me about. A one-day routine visit with my mother turned out to be a fight for my life.”
“You were supposed to let me take care of it.”
“Believe me—no part of me wanted anything to do with this. I had been fully ready to let you deal with your own issues until Esmerelda paid me a third surprise visit.”
“When?”
“After we had returned from California after we’d warned you. She showed up at Dash’s apartment and just let herself in.”
His frown deepened at that. “How?”
“The new security guard Dash has been combing the streets for was her inside man.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Anyway, after she was able to get that close by infiltrating the very team meant to keep him safe, I realized no one could keep me safe. She threatened Buddy if I didn’t kill you within one week.”
“How were you supposed to do it?”
“She gave me a vial of poison the day of the wedding. When she kidnapped me a second time, she told me she wanted proof the deed was done.”
“Proof?”
“A piece of you.”
I expected more of a reaction, but he simply shook his head and bit into his pizza. “So you got the idea to drug me and butcher me against my will to fool her rather than confide in me?”
“Precisely.”
“You know that’s fucked up, right?”
“I—”
“But I would have done the same thing. You could have just killed me, but you didn’t. I guess I owe you thanks.”
“I think we’re even,” I replied in a dry tone.
“You came after me, too. You didn’t have to.”
“It was my fault you were taken.”
He nodded and stated, “True.”
I rolled my eyes and then asked a question of my own. “Why did you come tonight?”
“I was guarding you. I followed you to the school and back.”
“So you knew about the drug?”
He shook his head and took another bite. “I thought you were on drugs. I was going to ignore it and told myself I didn’t care, but I found myself coming to stop you anyway.”
“I can’t believe you thought I was on drugs.”
“I can’t believe you were going to chop me up.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. I would have taken a finger, is all.”
He stared at me again in that way he did that said he was reading my every thought. “I found you,” he finally stated after a long silence.
“What?”
“Thirteen months after you disappeared, I tracked you down,” he clarified.
“You looked for me?” I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or call him a liar. He answered first with a single nod and a solemn expression.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I had to.”
“You had to,” I repeated dumbly.
“Do you realize how much your disappearance affected everyone?”
“You all seemed all too happy together.”
“Lake missed you. Dash needed you—”
“Yet you took them both from me.”
“They were never yours.”
“Nor were they yours,” I countered. Air blew from his nose reminding me of a dragon and breaking the temporary peace we had. The vein in his forehead became prominent, and I wondered just how buried below the surface was the old Keiran.
As soon as the thought formed, the vein disappeared and his shoulders slumped.
“You might be right,” he whispered.
“Low?”
He looked as surprised as I felt before shrugging. “I think it fits you.”
“I’ve had enough of nicknames.”
I would have expected Keiran to have some insult, but he simply studied me as if genuinely curious. Maybe he was looking for an advantage. He was, after all, a cold piece of work. “What does Death’s Kiss do? Why am I not dead?”
“It’s a drug that mimics death but nothing like the stuff everyone’s heard of before. It’s used by junkies to calm the speed of a high and housewives that have trouble sleeping at night. All the symptoms of death but nothing more than a deep sleep.”
“I’ve heard about that on the news. How the fuck did you get your hands on that?”
“I bought it from a dealer at the university. Apparently, Esmerelda is the mystery supplier.”
“This is becoming too fucked up to be real.”
“Tell me about. A one-day routine visit with my mother turned out to be a fight for my life.”
“You were supposed to let me take care of it.”
“Believe me—no part of me wanted anything to do with this. I had been fully ready to let you deal with your own issues until Esmerelda paid me a third surprise visit.”
“When?”
“After we had returned from California after we’d warned you. She showed up at Dash’s apartment and just let herself in.”
His frown deepened at that. “How?”
“The new security guard Dash has been combing the streets for was her inside man.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Anyway, after she was able to get that close by infiltrating the very team meant to keep him safe, I realized no one could keep me safe. She threatened Buddy if I didn’t kill you within one week.”
“How were you supposed to do it?”
“She gave me a vial of poison the day of the wedding. When she kidnapped me a second time, she told me she wanted proof the deed was done.”
“Proof?”
“A piece of you.”
I expected more of a reaction, but he simply shook his head and bit into his pizza. “So you got the idea to drug me and butcher me against my will to fool her rather than confide in me?”
“Precisely.”
“You know that’s fucked up, right?”
“I—”
“But I would have done the same thing. You could have just killed me, but you didn’t. I guess I owe you thanks.”
“I think we’re even,” I replied in a dry tone.
“You came after me, too. You didn’t have to.”
“It was my fault you were taken.”
He nodded and stated, “True.”
I rolled my eyes and then asked a question of my own. “Why did you come tonight?”
“I was guarding you. I followed you to the school and back.”
“So you knew about the drug?”
He shook his head and took another bite. “I thought you were on drugs. I was going to ignore it and told myself I didn’t care, but I found myself coming to stop you anyway.”
“I can’t believe you thought I was on drugs.”
“I can’t believe you were going to chop me up.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. I would have taken a finger, is all.”
He stared at me again in that way he did that said he was reading my every thought. “I found you,” he finally stated after a long silence.
“What?”
“Thirteen months after you disappeared, I tracked you down,” he clarified.
“You looked for me?” I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or call him a liar. He answered first with a single nod and a solemn expression.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I had to.”
“You had to,” I repeated dumbly.
“Do you realize how much your disappearance affected everyone?”
“You all seemed all too happy together.”
“Lake missed you. Dash needed you—”
“Yet you took them both from me.”
“They were never yours.”
“Nor were they yours,” I countered. Air blew from his nose reminding me of a dragon and breaking the temporary peace we had. The vein in his forehead became prominent, and I wondered just how buried below the surface was the old Keiran.
As soon as the thought formed, the vein disappeared and his shoulders slumped.
“You might be right,” he whispered.
