“All those women downstairs, they were all single, right? I didn’t see any of the melds there. So this curse of yours at least has some limits. And for some reason I’m immune to your cursed charms.”
A cocky wry smile twisted up the edges of Nico’s lips for a split second. “That kiss took two, Cookie. I wouldn’t exactly call you immune.”
“Please, you were impressed by that pity kiss? You need to get out more.”
“Pity kiss?”
“When a desperate man pleads for a lifeline, it’s only good manners to throw him one.”
For some reason the idea Gigi had allowed him to kiss her so long, so thoroughly, was because she had sensed his desperation and taken pity on him, kind of stung. “What’s going on with the ring throws a definite wrench into my plans.”
“You mean your ridiculously outdated macho plan, where at the first sign of danger I’m supposed to run away and let big strong you deal with the problem?”
Those purple eyes of hers had darkened with strong emotion. For some reason the fact that he’d gotten under Gigi’s DeWitt’s skin made Nico happy. Probably because it was the first crackhe’d seen in that mary sunshine professional mask she wore, and he preferred knowing exactly what she was thinking.
“We’re supposed to be partners on this mission Fate is about to throw in our laps.Partners.”Gigi stressed the last word.
“Yes. And in our case there will be a senior partner, me. And a junior partner, you.”
“Seriously? Who died and made you El Hefe?”
“You make chocolates. You don’t have the skills to face off with whatever Fate has planned for us.”
“You’re a bar owner. How are you any more qualified than me?”
“I’ve spent decades chasing long lost treasures and civilisations, facing off against competitors and bad guys is all part of the deal.”
“And I’ve grown up in the Southern Sanctuary. You know, where an apocalypse is thwarted every other Tuesday.”
“Yeah. But not by you. Tell me, when was the last time an apocalypse was foiled thanks to your Mocha Jaffa Fudge Bars?”
Gigi opened her mouth to deliver a scathing retort. The man was just so insulting, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this angry. His insistence that he would solely deal with any adversity they faced was infuriating. Pidgeon-holing her as a burden. Oh, a sudden thought hitting her. He’d said it twice now, but she was only just registering the meaning of his words – he had a lot on his plate.
Nico Yanez was weighed down by more regrets and responsibilities than any man could possibly bear. Probably from the moment he could walk he would have been told to take care of his brother, Matias. Then kid sister, Copper. Be the big brother, assume responsibility for them.
And he would have taken on that role with gusto. The responsibilities and expectations only piling on as he grew older, more capable. Stepping up eventually into the first materole aboard the family vessel, The Merry Maverick. Ensuring his family and the boat crew, their extended treasure hunting family, were safe and well.
It had to eat at him, to wonder if things might have been different that day, the day his parents and all the crew were viciously murdered, if only Nico had been there. Perhaps things would have turned out differently. Perhaps he could have stopped her, Kristiah, the woman he had thought he would marry, who turned out to be a murderous hybrid jaguar controlled by a human sacrificing power hungry priest.
But Nico hadn’t been there that day. He’d been away, at the nearest Port, collecting mail, and purchasing essential engine parts.
What must it have been like for him to return, to discover not just his parents and the crew dead, but to find his sister and the woman he intended to marry missing? And his younger brother badly hurt, not just physically, but mentally. Matias spending the next ten years resetting every night he slept. Waking each morning, thinking it was the exact moment Matias had just discovered their parents had been murdered.
And all the while Nico was dealing with Matias, he scoured the world for answers. Who had killed their parents? Did a cure exist to fix Matias? Where were Copper and Kristiah?
A decade of his life spent searching.
Had he ever taken a moment to mourn everyone lost?
Probably an impossibility given Matias would have kept the memories fresh with the need to have the events of that day and its fallout explained over and over again, for ten long years.
Neither of them allowed to forget or move on.
And even now. Eleven years later. With Matias mended and married to the love of his life. Kristiah identified as the murderer and killed by Nico’s own hand. And Copper returned to them, setting out on a new path as a deity herself, wrestling withmastering her powers thanks to some mentoring by Maat and Apep.
None of that would lessen the guilt. The eleven years of blame Nico had shouldered, continued to shoulder. He was the oldest. First mate. The responsible one. And he’d taken his eyes off the prize for a brief moment and disaster had struck.
The man was haunted still by the should-haves and the if-onlys.
