And that’s what he did. He let the mask everyone saw slide intoplace and became the cold, hard steel he was named for. No emotion. No sympathy. No soul.
“I need to go put away my gear. Write up my report. I’ll probably be gone for a while, but you’re welcome to anything that’s here. Cherry has likely ordered you some clothes. I’ll check with her and have them sent up.” He paused. Leaving like this felt so… inadequate. Like he was abandoning her again. “There are menus in a drawer in the kitchen. You can pick what you want, press zero on the phone, and it goes straight to Cherry. She’ll take care of it. Try to get some sleep. I’ll get you up at four a.m. so you’re ready to leave.”
Afraid if he said more, the mask would slip, so he grabbed his bag and headed out the apartment door. He cursed himself the entire way to the armory.
20
AUGUST 22, 2024
Steel
When he walkedinto the armory, TB, Demon, and God were already gone, but Gem was sitting on top of Nemo’s portion of the armory workbench, her legs wrapped around him, engaged in some sort of tickle war. Luckily, that’s all it was. With Nemo’s predisposition to public sex, one never knew where one might catch him. Although, since committing to Gem, there had thankfully been no embarrassing moments.
What he wouldn’t give to have a moment so carefree like that with Daleyza.
Upon hearing the elevator open and seeing Steel, Scheherazade gave a yip of welcome and ran over to the elevator. She stood up, front paws on his chest, to give him several sloppy licks, which he failed to dodge yet still brought a smile to his face.
“Ola, Zade,” hegreeted her.
Nemo called out to him. “What the hell are you doing down here?”
Scheherazade dropped down to all fours, then went back to the boxing glove she was destroying.
“Midas know she’s got his glove again?”
“He’s not up to using it yet. I figure by the time he’s back in the ring, I’ll be gone and safe from a punch to the throat.”
He frowned as he walked over to his portion of the worktable. “I hope you’re going to sanitize that surface. Some of us still work here,” he griped.
“No worries. No need to sanitize. This is just me trying to get my last piece of bubblegum back.”
Looking Gem over, he saw she was wearing leggings and a tank top. No pockets to be had. “Unless she’s hiding it in her bra, where the hell is it?”
She grimaced at Steel, a piece of gum stuck between her teeth.
He winced. “That’s gross.”
With a laugh, she tucked the gum into her cheek. “Not like playboy here and I haven’t swapped spit before. But Nemo’s right.” She hopped down off the table. “Why are you here? We figured we wouldn’t see you until tomorrow, when we had to leave for the plane. Most people are betting on how late you’ll be to takeoff.”
Tossing his bag onto the table, Steel grunted. Methodically, he began to unpack his belongings. “We’ll be on time.”
“Why? I wouldn’t,” Nemo confessed. “Hell, I’m barely on time, even when Gem and I are together every day.”
The sprite-like better half of Nemo considered Steel carefully, her head tilted, eyes squinted, and lips pursed. He tried to ignore her, but she was such a tiny little oddity; his eyes always seemed drawn to her. From her blonde, unruly curls to her multitude of tattoos from her hairline to her toes and the assorted facial and body piercings, there was no one quite like her. Steel often equated her to the fairy version of a train wreck—he just couldn’t look away.
Now that he was unpacked, he began cleaning his weapons. He kept cleaning until the voices in his head stopped shouting.
It was several minutes later before he realized the room was silent of Gem’s giggles and Nemo’s taunting. When he looked up, she was across the way, laying out their kit. It reminded him of how, when Nemo had been taken captive, she had used his method of packing as a way to feel close to him, as well as silence her own troubled thoughts.
She had blue painter’s tape attached to the table in a grid. Inside each grid, she placed two of everything, color coded to show which was hers and which was Nemo’s. Her special screwdriver tool they all now carried. Double-sided tape. Twine. Superglue. Chalk. Climbing gloves. On and on.
Her partner was nowhere to be seen.
Time passed as they worked at their table spaces that were catty-corner from each other.
“How did it feel to see her again?” Gem asked.
He continued to work on the weapon in front of him, showing no sign that he heard her.
