Disgusted at the truth in that statement, he cupped her chin his hand so that he could inspect the damage. “Do people always mistake you for your sister?”
Jayne was stunned by his care. “As I said earlier, it happens.”
“Doesn’t make it right.”
“Sadly, it doesn’t make it lethal, either.”
He scowled at those words. “You have a death wish?”
“Most days.”
That was something he could relate to. And he hated that fact. But this was not how he wanted to live and every time he thought about the future . . .
It was a struggle not to end it all.
After all, what was the point? What did he have to look forward to? He didn’t dare allow anyone to get to know the real him. He’d never be able to have kids. A career.
Not even a home or pet.
Nothing that couldn’t fit in his pockets or backpack.
Gah, he hated what his life had become. What it’d always been. “Guess we need to find someplace a little less crowded.”
Jayne nodded even though she had no idea where to go. She glanced back at her unconscious attacker. Part of her felt like she should be pissed at Hadrian for thinking her unable to tend her own messes. But the other part of her was happy to have someone rise to her defense.
Not that Eve or Jinx wouldn’t have done the same. And just as quickly.
But . . .
This was different. She wasn’t used to a stranger being pissed off on her behalf or jumping in to defend her. Like Hadrian, her life wasn’t conducive to letting others in.
Wasn’t even really conducive to sanity. Nothing ever made any real sense to her. So many bad memories she wished she could purge.
In fact, she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d had a happy memory.
How sad that she woke up each day, praying it would be a normal, uneventful day. Or her last. Just seeking a moment of quiet.
How sad that it never came true. That she just kept living, even though she had no idea why. And she kept getting hammered by a life that seemed to resent her trying to live it.
She was too young to be this tired.
Hadrian paused to stare at her. “Do you know how disturbing it is for me to be around you and have no idea what you’re thinking?”
“Not really. Happens to me all the time.”
Laughing, he shook his head as they left the club.
“Besides, you’re not missing much. My thoughts are usually morose. Honestly, I don’t want to hear them.”
He snorted. “I relate.” Hadrian paused to survey the dark street. “So, where to, my lady?”
“Hell in a handbasket.” She glanced around for cameras or other surveillance. “Failing that, somewhere other than the corner of Pain and Suffering. Should we try for all-out misery?”
He let out a long sigh. “You have the strangest sense of humor.”
“Yet I attract you. Hmmm.”
He didn’t comment. Mostly because it was disturbingly true. And she didn’t need to know just how attracted he was to her. “You hungry?”
