by AJ Nuest
A woman he would’ve guessed in her mid-forties stood from a chair in the corner, her cream blouse and button-down sweater more rumpled than straight, brown slacks ending at a pair of scuffed brown loafers.
She smiled and Charlie rushed into her open arms for a hug. “Sorry I’m late. I came as soon as I could.”
“It’s okay, hon.” She cupped the back of Charlie’s head, her olive hand dark in comparison to Charlie’s ash-blond hair. “He had a rough night, but he’ll be happy to see you.”
“This is my friend, X-ray.” They parted and Charlie opened her palm toward Xander, his tongue cramped as he struggled to come up with the right thing to say. “He was waiting outside the building when I got home last night and I haven’t been able to shake him since. X, this is Ellis’s mom, Lydia.”
“Nice to meet you.” He nodded a greeting as Lydia sized him up then down.
She glanced at Charlie and spoke from the side of her mouth. “I can see why you were late.”
His hypnotic-eyed addiction scoffed, tossing a shiny curl over her shoulder. “Don’t look at me, but you may have to clothesline about eight nurses we passed on the way in.”
Eight? Hardly. Her inner calculator had a bug.
The blankets stirred, and Ellis blinked. Yawned. His gaze landed on Charlie, and he frowned. “Where’ve you been?”
Though his voice was loaded with enough gravel to fill a dump truck, the whip-snap of his irritation sure came through loud and clear. Xander huffed. At least the kid seemed to have a good grip on his strength. No fat ladies singing here.
“I know, I know.” She clasped Ellis’ hand and gave it a small shake on the bed. “Blame that tall bully in the corner. He wouldn’t let me come alone.”
Ellis’ frown flicked from her to Xander, once then twice before the creases lining his forehead deepened to an outright scowl.
“Here.” She dug around inside her canvas bag and pulled out a stack of comic books, sat on the edge of the bed and slapped them on the bedside rolling table, easing it within reach. “Omega Men issues five through ten. The guy at the store said the set ends in a cliffhanger, and I’m thinking I just may hold the next one hostage until you decide it’s time to check outta this joint.”
The kid grunted, feathering the top few pages with this thumb. His gaze slid back to Xander, and he squinted.
Yep. Xander lowered his chin against a smile. If Ellis wasn’t sick and about twenty years older, it appeared the two of them might have a little competition on their hands.
“Here, Lydia. Take this.” Charlie offered a thick envelope toward Ellis’s mom but she hesitated, fiddling with the top button on her blouse.
“Charlie, I—”
“Just take it and go.” Charlie wagged the bundle and Xander narrowed his eyes as the tucked flap popped open to reveal a pile of cash. Somewhere in the range of three grand, from the looks of it.
He glanced at Lydia and back to the resolve on Charlie’s face. What the hell was going on here?
Ellis’s mom closed her eyes. Her shoulders deflated like a tire with a leaky valve, but she accepted the envelope, fingers trembling. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Charlie jerked her head toward the door. “Now go. I got him until you get back.”
Lydia nodded, shot a smile at Xander that came off more resigned than happy, and rushed past him into the hall.
He refocused on Charlie as the door bumped closed, but her attention stayed glued to the kid in the bed. For a woman who rented from a slum lord, she’d sure handed off that bank roll in a hurry. Add in how Lydia had hightailed it out of the room, and it was pretty damn clear whatever Charlie had paid for was important.
Shrugging his jacket down his arms, Xander settled in, bracing his shoulders against the wall. Seemed as if he’d finally been handed another piece of the puzzle, and until he saw exactly how this played out, he’d be smart to earjack as much as possible during the upcoming conversation.
“What’ve they been sticking you with?” Charlie reached up and tugged on the IV bag so the label faced her.
“Besides the chemo?” Ellis fumbled for the plastic cup on the nightstand, his hand shaking so bad, something dark and angry coiled in Xander’s gut. “Antibiotics, mostly. Painkillers that make me wicked high. I told my mom she should try to smuggle a few out in her purse. Help pay the rent.”
“Stop.” Charlie scolded him with a sidelong smirk. “I already told your mom the only place she needs to be is right here. Until you’re back on your feet, I’m covering the rent.”
Xander grunted. Not alone, she wasn’t. Not anymore.
She rotated her shoulders and the two of them locked on to him from across the room. Ellis’ frown slammed right back in place, and he glanced at Charlie. “Who is that guy, anyway? And what the hell kinda name is X-ray?”
Hot damn, maybe the kid was in his twenties. That chip on his shoulder sure came across way older than ten.
Frustration tightened the tendons in Xander’s neck, and he fisted his hands.
Or maybe, the more obvious. Ellis had grown up at hyper speed because he’d simply been given no other choice. Christ knew, if anyone understood how reality could suck the innocence out of life, slap a person across the face with a super-sized serving of shit-just-got-real, that person was Xander. And he’d learned how bad the sting could hurt way before his age added up to two hands.
“You heard that, huh?” Charlie answered Ellis with a shrewd frown. “What have I told you about faking like you’re asleep? One of these days it’s gonna get you into trouble.” Her bangs skimmed her lashes as she brushed them aside. “He’s my protection detail. I picked up a target and X-ray’s agreed to help me find out who drew it on my back.” Her lips twisted as she scanned his chest, down lower to his hips and thighs. “You should’ve seen him when we first met, Ellis. Believe it or not, X-ray was skinnier than you. Gives a guy hope, huh?” One of her brows rose. “Now he thinks he’s a superhero.”
Ha, ha. Nothing like adding a little levity to a craptastic situation but, hell. Xander was happy to back Charlie’s efforts. Even if they were at his expense.
He bumped his chin toward Ellis, poker-faced, and raked the skull cap off his head. If he’d read the kid right…
Ellis blinked and the tube on his IV slashed the air as he smacked his hand to his forehead. “Holy shit, Charlie. Please tell me it hasn’t come to this.”
Yep. The three of them shared a laugh as the door swung open. Xander had nailed it, all right. The insides of those comic books had to contain any number of weirdos with bi-colored hair.
Ellis’ mom entered, preceding a nurse, her orange scrubs dotted with Thanksgiving Day turkeys sporting black hats with yellow buckles.
The woman strode straight for Ellis’ IV and jabbed a syringe into the port.
Tears filled Lydia’s eyes as the fluid was injected, but Charlie’s smile was so heart-stopping, Xander nearly glanced at the overheads to see if someone had flicked on a second set of lights.
Damn. Not once, in the years they’d spent together, could he remember a time he’d seen her so happy. He rubbed the heel of his palm over the strange ache buffering through his chest. But there was zero doubt that joy belonged on her face. Shit, if the call were his, she’d always glow like that.
So, the money, the back-handsprings that had just waltzed into the room… Xander scratched at the thick bristle under his chin.
This was no normal round of meds.
The nurse checked Ellis’s vitals, and in the fifteen minutes it took her to jot down his temp and blood pressure, adjust the drip on his IV and ask him about his pain levels, the kid’s color got better. He seemed less green around the gills.
It was bizarre how fast the medication kicked in. Soon after, he and Charlie were trading quips, ribbing each other and laughing. Not an hour after that, an orderly showed up and Ellis scarfed down every bit of food the dude had stacked on the tray.
/> Satisfied he’d eaten, Lydia finally decided to take off for a well-deserved nap, heading home to shower and change and so she could check in with Mina.
And, as the afternoon passed, Xander standing on the sidelines while one-upping the conversation with a line here or there, it became crystal clear to him how special a connection Charlie and Ellis shared.
The only thing he couldn’t pin down was why. What it was about this particular kid that had made Charlie go balls to the wall? Not that he was looking to make some shitty judgment call on her motives. She’d always loved fighting for the underdog. That personality trait was only one of many that had helped her advance as far as she had in Malcolm’s competition. Ellis was smart and funny, their sharp-tongued personalities were nearly an identical match. It was no surprise she’d do everything she could to give the kid a second chance.
But she was also cautious. Conservative. Years of scrounging on the streets had taught her to use minimum resources to maximize her efforts. Considering the sketchy area she lived in, there had to be any number of tough breaks who would’ve benefitted from her help.
Xander pursed his lips, studying every move as they played cards, flipped through the comics and watched some TV. And yet she’d shown up here with three grand in cash, had agreed to take on the responsibility of paying Lydia’s rent like it was no big deal.
Why would she do that when the same money could’ve gone a long way toward helping several families instead of just one?
Sighing, he pushed up from the wall and ambled toward the window. There were still too many missing pieces for him to generate an answer, especially if he factored in Charlie’s anxiety over that expensive laptop she’d hidden inside her apartment.
Jamming his hands in his back pockets, he scanned the milling bodies four stories below. The good news was, at least now he knew what came next. How to alleviate some of the pressure so the two of them could concentrate on figuring out who was after her and, more importantly, what it was they wanted.
Hopefully, once he started her down that path, she would open up. Learn to trust him again. And if he was the luckiest son of a bitch alive, he’d eventually rack up enough bonus points, she’d aim one of those knockout smiles at him.
The door swished open, and he pivoted in time to catch Ellis’ mom entering from the hall.
Xander waited for her to get situated and then caught Charlie’s eye, tipping his head toward the darkening sky outside the window. Difficult as it was for him to tell if anyone had tracked their location this high up, their visit was running long. If he wanted to get her home before nightfall, they should go.
Goodbye hugs were exchanged, along with a promise from Charlie to come back as soon as she could. Xander offered Ellis a fist bump and, together, he and Charlie navigated the maze of corridors back to the elevators and rode to the ground floor.
The frigid air bit at his face and the tips of his fingers as they stepped outside. The halogens stationed around the hospital and street lights along Broadway did a fairly decent job of illuminating the area, but still.
Unease tugged at his gut.
Dammit. Head on a swivel, he checked every direction but came up empty. He should’ve insisted they leave a lot sooner. Charlie shivered and he accepted the cue to wrap his arm around her shoulders and plaster her to his side.
Sunday evening meant foot traffic was down to a minimum. Most of the storefronts were already dark and the rest would be closing soon. Catching a cab at this hour was going to be a headache.
“Listen, Xander, I wanted to thank you for taking me today. I’m not sure you understand how much that visit meant to me.” She slowed and pushed at his side, but he hauled her right back under his arm.
“You’re welcome.” Confusion creased her forehead as he settled his palm on her waist, checking both ways at the crosswalk and urging her across the street against the light. “I need at least one of your hands on me at all times. You got that? Do not break contact for any reason.”
“Shit.” She tensed underneath him, heels clacking as she hurried to keep up. Her gaze swept the opposite sidewalk as they approached before she stole a glance at his face. “I don’t see anyone. Where are they?”
He relaxed his arm and pace as if they were just a normal couple out for a weekend stroll. Another survey of the surrounding area, and his jaw firmed. “I’m not sure.”
Was he being paranoid? He could’ve sworn—
“Oh, for God’s sake. I think your spidey sense is malfunctioning.” She stopped and her warmth disappeared as she pivoted to face him. “I was joking about that whole superhero thing. Good grief, you’re gonna have me jumping at every…”
Her focus drifted off to his left and, a second later, she snapped her gaze to his.
Bingo. He cocked a brow. Spidey sense, his ass.
“This guy is different. Not the same one as before.”
Wait, what guy from before? He scowled. “There was someone else besides those pricks in the SUV?” Jesus H. Christ. He fisted his hands against the urge to grab her upper arms and give her a good, hard shake. When the hell was she planning to let him in on that secret?
“Yeah. No. I mean, I don’t know. He had reddish-brown hair. Dressed like a Fed.” Another peek over his shoulder, and she nailed him with her incredible two-toned eyes. “This one’s bald. Black leather trench.” She stepped close. “Put your arms around me.”
No need to ask twice.
He smoothed his hands down her back and yanked her to his hips. Wrapping one arm around her waist and then the other, he trapped her right where she belonged.
Against his chest, stomachs touching, nice and tight.
Up ahead, a black SUV pulled to a stop at the end of the block, idling at the light even though it was green. Shit. He glanced toward the hospital as a suited goon pushed through the revolving door, his light-blond hair glowing under the halogen lamps same as the full moon shone past the buildings. “They got us boxed in. Second target at three o’clock and a black SUV on your six.”
She shivered in his arms, cheeks pale. Her breasts met his chest, and he cinched his arms another degree as she fisted the collar of his leather jacket.
Searching her face, he tried to come up with any clue to what might be going through her head, but with her attention riveted on that same distant point over his shoulder, it was impossible to get a read on what she was thinking.
Lifting on her toes, she urged him down to her lips with a slight tug. “Kiss me.”
O-o-kay…? He frowned. The timing seemed sorta screwy, but he wasn’t about to take a pass. He’d waited forever to taste her. To find out if his attraction was one-sided or he stood any chance at stoking their friendship into something more.
He ate up the remaining distance to her lips.
Waited for her reaction.
But she didn’t so much as flinch and, as a result, the ensuing lip-lock held all the passion of a limp handshake.
What the hell?
Studying her past the fringe of his lashes, he held. The light bulb finally clicked on, and his shoulders gradually sank as realization slid home.
She was using the kiss as a diversion.
Whoever they were, the last time they’d shown up, she’d come home to find him waiting on her doorstep. Everyone had scattered once they’d gotten the drift he was there to see her, and by kissing him in full view, she was hoping for the same result.
And if that didn’t work, there was also the added benefit of drawing everyone else’s attention. Whether positive or negative, their call on this little PDA she’d cooked up wouldn’t matter. As long as their kiss did a decent job of getting as many folks as possible to glance in their direction.
Hell, if that’s what she wanted…
He lifted his hand and her slight gasp cooled his lips as he rammed his fingers into her hair. Exactly the way he’d wanted to so many damn times, he’d lost count. She broke away, but he clasped the sid
e of her throat, easing his thumb around in front to angle her chin.
Uh-uh. Not a chance. Despite her intentions, he wasn’t about to let their first kiss turn into some fumbling, double-blind crack at mouth to mouth resuscitation. This was important, dammit. And whoever was watching could go screw themselves before he let the moment pass without doing everything he could to make sure kissing him was something she never forgot.
“If you’re trying to make it look like we’re a couple, you’re going about it the wrong way.” He swept her lips with his. So soft. So fucking sweet. Swept again and again to get his fill, lightly brushing back and forth until she whimpered and softened in his arms. “There you go, Chuck. Give in to me. Don’t think, just feel.”
“Oh, God.” Her breathy sigh warmed his cheek as she tipped her head back. “This is a really bad idea.”
Screw that noise. He buried his face in her neck, dragged an open-mouthed kiss up her throat. The two of them kissing was the best damn idea the woman had ever gotten in her crazy blond head.
Flicking his tongue over that delicious beauty mark hidden by the edge of her jaw, he fisted her hair, lifted and crushed his lips to hers.
Her faint moan vibrated into his chest as her mouth parted. The tip of her tongue swirled a languid circle around his, and he darted and dipped, her flavor drifting across his taste buds as he feasted.
Jesus, as good as she smelled, she tasted ten times better. An addictive combination of warm, honeyed female and smooth, slick lust. He nibbled the corners of her mouth, the supple curve of full bottom lip. His cock stretched and flexed as the sharp edge of her teeth nipped and her tongue soothed the slight sting.
Fuck, the things he wanted to do her. Her arms slid up his shoulders, circled his neck. All the ways he craved making her come apart in his hands. He inched his palm down to her ass, clamped his fingers on that giving round flesh and shoved.
Her breath caught as their hips collided. She shuddered beneath him, and a violent greed screamed through his head as she sucked his tongue into her mouth.
His thighs jerked, mirroring the motion. The heat of her stomach cradled his cock and his low growl grated through the thick fog of his need.