"Yeah, well, Arati seemed to think so, too. The last time I got up, I got the strong feeling my father was too drunk to have any sense, and that was going to kill me. But I did it anyway, because I'd rather go out fighting than sitting on my ass. When he swung at me again, this crazy light just exploded in that run-down apartment. He was knocked out, and Arati was standing there with Koa."
"So you've actually seen gods," she breathes.
"Kind of. They were glowing so fucking much, it hurt to look at them. Mostly, I remember their voices. Arati called me a valiant fighter and marked me with her blessing. Burned like hell when it first appeared, but it's saved my skin more times than I can count. I don't know if Koa really took a liking to me, or if he just did it to impress his girl, but he made magic manifest in me, too—an atypical caster, just like my mom."
Heidi is quiet for a moment as that all sinks in. Her voice is quiet, laced with dread when she speaks again. "And...what happened? To your mom and your father, I mean."
Ignoring the bitterness that always comes when I think about this, I grab the conditioner next and squirt some onto my fingers. "He killed her."
"Oh my gods," she breathes, a tear escaping as she grips my arm to stop me from tending to her hair. "Asher, I'm so sorry."
I shrug like it doesn't matter when we both know it does.
"If life was a movie, everyone would have seen her death coming from a mile away. I know I did. My father got arrested for a small felony at some point, and I practically fucking beggedher to get a restraining order against him, start a new life, and never see or talk to him again. I got into the hunter training program early, so I was away for a while, but when I came home for a visit, there he was again. I was furious. We fought, and she told me to get lost. That's the last time I saw her before my parents wound up in the news, my dad in custody. Domestic homicide."
She hugs me.
"I was going to kill him," I add. "The second I could get away from my missions, he'd be on the other end of my rifle scope. That godsdamned Crypt DeLune got to him first, though, and that was that. No revenge for me."
After a second, I realize Heidi is crying.
Damn, I'm an idiot. Even if she's not having to feel all of this, it's clearly still affecting her.
I wrap her up in a tight hug as the water continues to pour over us, soothing and clean. "Please don't cry, Shorty. It's an old sob story from someone who moved on a long time ago—and the last thing I want is to upset you, ever. Okay?"
"Okay," she nods.
After a while, she stops sniffling and pulls away, wiping at her face and taking a deep breath before her attention moves to my back again. "That's why I don't sense your emotions and why you can't feel mine when we touch, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Not the biggest fan of that part of it, but it's saved my ass on countless jobs."
Her eyes widen slightly as she looks at me. "Crap. Your job. I know I kept flirting with you, but if all of this gets you in trouble?—"
I hold up a hand to stop her concern. "Don't sweat it. As soon as I get a hold of your brother, I'm resigning as your bodyguard. I refuse to get paid for guarding your precious ass when it's all I can think about now anyway."
That surprises her, but she beams at me. At this point, I'm pretty damn sure the sun can't ever compete with her again.
"Really?"
"Really."
"So then, you'll stay here. And they'll stay here. All of us…together," Heidi says slowly, like she's trying out the concept out loud.
"Yep."
"And… you're good with that?"
"Sweetheart, I'm more than just okay with that. It's what we all want. Don't you?"
She's gazing at me with something between awe and excitement before my phone starts buzzing loudly in my discarded pants on her bathroom floor. Grumbling at the intrusion, I step out of the shower, grab the towel off the counter to wrap it around my waist, and dig out my phone.
I'm fully expecting it to be a bounty hunter friend calling or Everett checking in.
But my breathing halts completely when I see multiple notifications at the top of the screen from my nanny cam.
The call is coming from Jada.
Please,I pray, that one word directed toward Arati.
