I smiled even more. I liked her not wanting strange men for breakfast. “I apologize. I’ll more clearly label things in the future. Did you eat? How are you feeling? I’m sorry I had to run. Do you feel up to coming in to work today? I’d love to see you.”
She was quiet for a few seconds. “You aren’t having second thoughts? But… I knocked out Tom.”
“I’m sure that you did it perfectly. The only second thoughts I had were about quitting the team so I could be there when you woke up, but I’ve got to pay the taxes on that monstrosity somehow. Come in to work. I keep all my good tech at the shop. I don’t have time to label things right this second, but I could point the most stealable options out to you.”
She sighed heavily. “I’ll have to drive Harrison wherever he lives first, and I’ll have to get Tom into the car. He’s even heavier than you. Are you sure that you aren’t reconsidering the, um, being married issue?”
“It’s not an issue; it’s a reality. You are my wife, and I’m your husband. It’s all set until at least Christmas. I’m really looking forward to Christmas with you, chocolate cherries, and Christmas carols, crackling fires and stockings. It’s going to be epic, truly villainous, because red and green are such a villainous color combo, don’t you think?”
“I love you.”
The words caught me unawares. For a long stretch of time, I wasn’t sure which way was up. I walked into a desk before I sat down in the nearest chair and stared at the ceiling, white beams criss-crossing in the most bewildering way.
“Dirk?” She sounded so uncertain.
Right. She’d just said that she loved me. Was this part of her villain plan or was this really her? Did it matter? I opened mymouth to tell her that I loved her too, but she continued before I could get out the words.
“It’s just that love isn’t the best thing for me. I mean, my personality isn’t very subtle, so my loving you might be problematic for you. I could get obsessive, like I am with my cello. I could get jealous and tie you up and keep you under the table. I don’t really know what to do with these feelings, because I don’t usually have them. I mean, they are supposed to stay in the box, but there is no box, just splinters. So I’m glad that you are as dangerous and conniving as me, because otherwise, my love would destroy you.” She laughed, and it was pretty villainous, but there was an undertone of desperation that made my heart ache.
“What I’m hearing,” I said after a moment. “Is that you could use more help working through your feelings. Do you want to make an appointment with Horse for this afternoon?”
She exhaled shakily. “That’s probably a good idea. I want to hold your hand first, if that’s okay.”
“That’s more than okay. Maybe I can hold all of you for a few minutes. Ever since I woke up with Harrison’s toes in my face, I’ve needed a hug. His legs are terrifying.”
“He’s a solid guitarist, though. Do you play any instruments?”
I hesitated. I wasn’t ready to admit that I used to play duets with my sister. “I used to take lessons for a few things.”
“Good. I always wished I could play with someone. You could learn a few Christmas carols on the piano or the guitar. I’d love that so much, but if you’d rather just sing, that would be great too. Or you can just turn the pages. That’s just fine.”
She was so hungry for connection, wanting to play music with me, to make music together. My heart absolutely glowed at the thought of Daniela reaching out to me when it made her sovulnerable to admit that she wanted anything. Love. I’d never had anyone tell me they loved me as a warning before.
“I’m going to sign up for a teacher right away, but you’ll have to be patient with me. I’m more of a support person than a performer, at least as far as music is concerned. How long will it be until I see you?”
“Well, I just got Tom in the backseat, thanks to Harrison, so it should be fifteen minutes or so depending on traffic.”
“Fifteen minutes too long.”
She said goodbye and hung up, leaving me to disinfect my knuckles and go over the plan, for the race and for revenge. It didn’t feel as immediate as it used to, maybe because it was so fun to play villains with Daniela.
29
VILLAIN
Horse couldn’t meet me for therapy until after the Three-Hundred. He was very sorry, but he was going to win the race and prove himself superior to Nix once and for all.
I didn’t really get it. Nix was fine at walking around and making sure everyone was doing whatever they should be doing, but he didn’t meddle, and he didn’t seem to care about the results, whether it was my paperwork or Jezebel’s camel-riding. He didn’t seem to be nearly as much of a leader as Horse was, with his secret men’s club and his show persona, but Nix always won the Three-Hundred, which was the race when the most things could go wrong.
After I pulled into the compound with an unconscious Tom, I didn’t do much paperwork, because Nix smiled at me and sent me to run all the errands Tom would have done if he was on his feet. Was it my fault that he’d stood up with a breakfast tray as soon as I came out of the bathroom and scared me to death? Apparently. I barely got the chance to hold Dirk’s hand, and only then because I was in his shop testing batteries for drones.
Dirk took five whole minutes to wrap his arms around me and bury his face in my shoulder while I checked the batterycharges before he had to get back to work. Everyone was buzzing, all the support crew as well as the stars of the show.
“You should probably stay with Jezebel tonight,” Nix said with Tom behind him while I fed the tiger. Yes, I fed the Bengal tiger in its elaborate pen system that circled the menagerie. There was no sign of Marcus Licinius Crassus.
I glanced nervously at Tom. Was he resentful of my reflexive attack? His face was completely passive, so I had no idea, but he didn’t seem too angry. I refocused on Nix. “Why?”
He raised a brow. “Dirk needs his rest for the race. You should have gotten married afterwards if you had to do that kind of nonsense. Do you have a problem with staying with Jezzie?”
