by Staci Hart
Kiki rolled over to face him. “I have no idea. She’s not answering my calls. I haven’t seen her since last night, and she definitely wasn’t all right then. She was gone when I woke up, and I found a note telling me to come here. She texted me at least, so I know she’s alive. It’s strange not having her around after she’s been so hell bent on watching out for me. If she’s hiding out, she must be beyond upset. I guess she was right about Dillon being a distraction, except I think it’s not quite in the way she was expecting.”
“Are you sure you’re okay being here with Dillon around after what happened?”
She nodded. “I’m not afraid of Dillon.”
“That’s awfully brave, considering.” He thumbed her cheek. “I know he wouldn’t hurt you, but I know him better than anyone.”
She tucked her hands under her head and looked up at him. “And I trust you.” She scooted into his chest and rested her head under his chin. “I was going to call my dad today, but now I’m afraid to. He’s going to have a lot of questions, and he’s going to want to talk to Kat. If he asks me where she is and if she’s okay, I can’t lie. I’ve never been able to lie to him. And if he knew what Dillon did, that would be very, very bad.”
“Good point. But what about Eric?”
“Eric isn’t coming. It’s over with him, which is what makes it so hard to make the call. What if he really has dropped it? What if he was never planning on really trying to find me? He was asking around, but Kat said she hasn’t heard anything in days, and he’s still in Vegas. I just wish everyone could see it, too.”
Owen said nothing, just combed his fingers through her hair.
Kiki pulled back and looked up at him. “I won’t risk you, though. I won’t. Kat needs a few days to calm down, and once things are back to semi-normal, I’ll make the call.”
Owen leaned to her and kissed her soft lips. “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.”
She touched his face. “I know. I’m sorry. I feel like everyone is so worried about taking care of me. Especially Kat, and especially after what happened last night.” She sighed. “I wish she wouldn’t carry all of this on her own. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to be alone.”
“Well, you two are pretty different, Kiki. But I’m sure she’ll come around. Plus, you’ll see her at work later, yeah?”
Kiki shook her head. “Jerry gave us today off after what happened last night, and we were already both off tomorrow and the next day.”
“Stay here tonight. At least if Kat’s not around, you’re safe here.”
She frowned, and he quickly continued before she shot him down.
“And think of it this way. It’ll earn Dillon bonus points to keep an eye on you while she’s figuring things out. Plus, sharing my bed couldn’t be all bad, could it?”
She turned and smiled at him, grateful for his cheer when she felt like such shit. “Oh, no. That could only be good.”
He leaned forward to touch their foreheads together. “Then it’s settled. You’ll stay here, and we’ll make wild, passionate love all night to celebrate being alive.”
She giggled and touched her nose to his. “I like this plan.”
Dillon barely remembered driving back home after his session, he was so preoccupied with calling Kat. Maybe he could call her. Maybe he could convince her.
He climbed the garage stairs and tossed his keys onto the bar in the kitchen, then threw his jacket over a bar stool, walked into the living room, and flopped down on the couch. Owen stuck his head out of his room, and when he saw the look on Dillon’s face, he walked in and sat on the other side of the L-shaped couch.
“How did therapy go?”
Dillon sighed. “Dr. Lovell thinks that I should talk to Kat. Tell her I go to therapy. Tell her everything about Jimmy and Mom. He thinks it might help convince her that I wouldn’t hurt her, but I’m not so sure.”
“It couldn’t make things any worse than they are.”
Dillon raised an eyebrow. “Do you think she’ll speak to me?”
Owen ran a hand over his mouth. “I don’t know. She’s not talking to anyone. Kiki hasn’t even seen her since last night.”
“I don’t know what to do, Owe.” Dillon sank down in the couch a bit further. “I feel like I need to speak to her face-to-face, but that might be too much to ask of her. I don’t want to corner her at work, where she can’t get away. I wanted to call her last night. I stared at my phone for hours trying to get up the courage, trying to figure out what I would say.” He rubbed his eyes with the pads of his fingers. “I’m too ashamed to make that call. I can’t believe … I just … I can’t believe it. It’s like a nightmare.”
Owen rested his arm on the back of the couch. “Maybe she just needs a little time. Maybe you need a little time, too. Maybe it’ll be okay.”
“I don’t know how. I don’t know how I can even ask her to trust me after what I did. But I know I’d never hurt her. She stopped me, and I know she can do it again.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I want her, Owen. I just don’t know how to get her, or if I deserve her, or if she’ll even want me back after what I did.”
Kiki stuck her head out of Owen’s room, and Dillon shot off the couch.
“Oh, god, Kiki. I’m so sorry.” He held his hands up in surrender.
She grabbed her wrist in front of her as she stepped into the room and sat next to Owen, who wrapped his arm around her.
“I should go.” Dillon turned to leave.
“Dillon, it’s okay,” Kiki said.
“No, it’s not.”
“You didn’t know it was her. I don’t believe you would ever hurt her, not on purpose.”
“But that’s the thing, Kiki. I don’t have any control over myself. What if I lose it again?”
“You said that she stopped you. I saw it. I saw you crazy, and I watched you com back. It happened the minute she touched you. Trust me, I know that look, and I know when someone can’t be stopped.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Give her time, Dillon. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Just let her calm down. I’ll talk to her. You’ll talk to her. And we’ll see what happens.” Her eyes were sad. “It’s all going to work out, one way or another.”
He ran a hand over his mouth, knowing that it would. He just hoped he would have Kat in his arms in the end.
Hours later, Dillon stood in the back room of the warehouse wrapping his wrists and hands, the muffled sound of the crowd humming through the corridor. He had no idea how he was going to get through the fight.
Brian came in. “You ready?”
Dillon nodded.
Brian raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“I’m as ready as I’m going to get.”
Brian sat on a crate next to Dillon. “You didn’t hit her. You stopped.”
“But I lost her.”
Brian shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. What are you going to do about it?”
Dillon ran a hand across his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, man.”
“Can you handle this fight?”
“I don’t know that, either. But I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“No, you really don’t.” Brian stood and extended his hand. “Come on, and try not to get yourself killed.”
Dillon clasped his hand and stood, then followed Brian into the warehouse, up to the ring, under the ropes. His head was all wrong, and for the first time in a very long time, Dillon was nervous.
Eagan stood, pale and lean, his red hair shining under the lights from the far corner, eyeing Dillon as he spit onto the floor of the ring.
The referee waved the men over.
“Okay, boys. No holding, biting, kicking, scratching. No hitting below the belt. Once your opponent is down, you back off. Got it?”
He nodded, and they shook hands.
Eagan brought his fists up and hopped around Dillon, leering. Eagan could sense that he was off and took the window
. His fist flew out and popped Dillon in the nose, and Dillon rebounded, giving his head a little shake. That definitely caught his attention.
Ares stood in the crowd of cheering humans with his hands in his pockets and a cruel smile on his face as he watched Dillon struggle. His plan had worked, and they were apart.
And now, blood will flow.
Before very long, Dillon’s face was bloody, and the skin on his ribs and his kidneys was red and bruising. Fatigue and defeat wafted off of him, and Eagan fed off of it like a starving animal. He connected a hit to Dillon’s jaw that spun him around, and he landed on his back. The crowd roared when he hit the ground.
Dillon lay stunned on the ground for a moment before he rolled over and coughed. Blood dripped onto the ground, and Ares was sure he was done for.
Until Dillon looked up.
Ares could see his eyes burn as he stood, and Eagan approached, ready to put Dillon back down. Only Dillon’s arms and shoulders moved when he swung, the rest of him still and grounded as the viper on his arm struck in time with his fist. He connected with Eagan’s nose, then swung again, catching his opponent in an uppercut that sent him off his feet to land flat on his back.
Eagan was out cold.
The ref grabbed his fist and threw it up into the air. Dillon staggered toward Brian, thankful only that the fight was over as he slung an arm over Brian’s shoulder. Brian helped him out of the ring and to the back room of the warehouse, sitting him down on a stack of pallets.
“You had me worried for a second there, Dillon.”
Dillon wiped the blood from his face. “Yeah, me too.”
“Well, you’ve got to do something. You can’t just keep getting your ass kicked because you’re too chicken shit to face her.”
Dillon snorted. “Wow, you really aren’t going to sugar-coat it for me, are you?”
“Nope.” Brian slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t be a pussy. Just own it.” He turned to walk down the hallway, back to the warehouse.
And Dillon knew that Brian was right. And Owen, and Kiki, and Dr. Lovell. He’d stand up and face her, and she could decide from there.
“Hey, Brian?”
Brian turned around and yelled back, “Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Brian waved him off, smiling. “No problem, asshole.”
Day 12
ARES CRACKED HIS KNUCKLES AND neck as he waited in the elevator on his way down to Dita’s. She’d avoided him the entire day before, and something was up. After the way she’d left the last time that they were together, he knew. He could feel her slipping through his fingers, but he wouldn’t let her go. He would do whatever he had to do to bring her around.
He took a deep breath when the door opened, and he stepped into her foyer. She walked out of her bathroom, twisting her hair into a knot, but she stopped dead when she saw him.
Ares strolled up to her casually and pressed a kiss into her hair. She didn’t move.
“Hey,” he said.” Where’ve you been?”
She stepped away from him and moved toward the couch where she sat and pulled a pillow into her lap. “Around.”
He moved to sit next to her, and she peered at him with wide, blue eyes and her bottom lip between her teeth.
“What’s going on?” Ares was light, nonchalant, but the tension in the room was thick, despite his efforts.
“I’ve just been busy trying to pick up the pieces from the mess you made with Dillon,” she bit at him.
He smiled playfully. “I don’t know if she’s going to come around, Dita. Maybe you should just give up.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. When have I ever given up on anything?”
“Never.” He countered.
“Damn straight.”
“And when have I?” He asked, frankly.
She watched him for a moment, then said her voice level, “Never.”
“And I’m not about to start now.” Ares stood and moved to sit next to her, not missing her shift away from him. “Dita, after all Adonis has put you through, are you going to wait for him?”
“I don’t know.” She hugged the pillow in her lap a little tighter as she looked across the room at the wall.
He pushed the opening. “I’ve always been there for you. I’ve waited for you. For this. I’ve done as you asked. I’ve given you everything.”
She turned to face him, the conflict bright in her eyes.
He reached over and touched her face as he whispered, “Choose me.”
She moved away from him. “I refuse to choose.”
“Why?” He closed his fist, the memory of her skin fresh on his fingertips.
“I haven’t chosen, not for thousands of years. What makes you think I would choose you, now?”
His impatience broke all the way through. “With Adonis gone, I thought you would see. Can’t you see? We belong together, Dita. We could rule the world, you and I.”
Annoyance rolled off of her. “I’m not interested in ruling the world, Ares. We can’t ever truly be together, not with what’s happened. You’ll never have all of me. You know this. Why can’t you admit it to yourself?”
He stiffened, turning on the couch to lean into her face as he raised his voice. “What exactly has happened? Because I only see that I’ve done whatever you’ve asked and tried to prove myself over and over again, and still you throw me away. I don’t wait for anything,” he growled. “But I’ve waited for you. You’re mine.” He reached for her wrist. She jerked away, stood, and then she turned on him.
“No one owns me. You need to leave.”
He stood and glared at her. “You can’t do this. You have to choose.”
The wind began to stir, and her voice dropped. “Don’t tell me what to do, Ares. If you ever want me again, you will drop this, or else I will choose, and you will not like my decision.”
“This isn’t over.” He stepped toward her, and her chin lifted in defiance. “You will choose. He left you. He doesn’t want you, and you’ll always want me. You can’t live without me, no matter what you may think.”
Ares fought the urge to kiss her, to take her right then. He wanted her to want him. To miss him. Maybe being alone would be good for her, and then she’d see.
He didn’t realize that his lips were inches from hers, the pull of her so strong that it was automatic. He broke her spell, looking at her for a moment before he turned and left the room in a huff.
Dita let out her breath. Maybe she couldn’t live without him, because even with everything going on, she still wanted him.
How could she break the hold he had on her? Her hands trembled as she sat on her couch with her face in her palms. If he killed Adonis, she would have to stay away from him — and forever — although she had no idea how she would do it.
But there was one way that she would ever be able to end it. Knowing the truth. When she saw the truth with her own eyes, she knew that her anger would fuel her hate, and she would never go back.
Her blood ran cold. She couldn’t avoid him, and every time that she was near him convinced her even more. She wanted to believe that she had fabricated the entire thing. But Dita knew him, and she knew him well. She knew he killed Adonis.
Dita stood, her breath rattling in her chest as she walked into her library with the vial of memories in her hand. She sank onto the couch, her fate in her hand, and watched the fire rage.
———— New York ————
Dillon pressed his phone to his ear as he paced on his roof. Her voicemail sounded in his ear. He hit end and squeezed his phone, fighting the urge to throw it off the building as he leaned on the rail, looking down at the street below.
He had been trying to call her all day, but she wouldn’t pick up. He couldn’t say what he needed to say on a message, either. So, he’d been calling, and he’d keep calling with the hope that she would come around. He would find a way to talk to her. If she wouldn’t take him after he explained himself, he’d
walk away. But he had to try. He just had to.
Kat’s phone rang in her earbuds again as she sat on the beach under the Brooklyn Bridge. Dillon. Her heart stopped, but she sent it to voicemail and her music faded back in. He had called a half dozen times but hadn’t left any messages. Was he calling to apologize? She couldn’t hear that. There was no way she could listen him say that he was sorry without changing her mind. And she absolutely could not change her mind about him. She would keep avoiding him until Kiki was safe, and then she’d go back to Vegas.
She spoke briefly to her sister the day before, and she had asked Kiki when she planned to call Katsu. Kat wanted to leave the city, leave her memories, and go back to the life that she knew before Eric. But Kiki hadn’t called Katsu, and wasn’t going to until Kat got her shit together.
Kiki was right. If Katsu knew what Dillon had done? That would be bad, and Kat couldn’t live with herself if something happened to him because of her. The whole situation made her see Kiki’s choice to keep Eric alive in a new light.
Eric had quieted down again and was still in Vegas. People were badgering her for details about what was going on, but only five people in the world knew what had gone down, unless Eric had told someone. But he wouldn’t be that stupid. She was sure they had a few days, which was good, because she needed to calm down so she could face her father. She’d have a lot of explaining to do once Kiki made the call.
She stood and zipped up her leather jacket before walking the blocks up to the entrance of the pedestrian walkway to cross the bridge. After she drove up the coast the day before, she came home late, only sleeping for a few hours before leaving again. She had walked around the streets and shops of DUMBO all morning, then made her way down to the river where she sat for hours, watching the water.
Kat climbed the stairs to the pedestrian walkway with her hands stuffed into her pockets. The day was beautiful, the sky clear and blue, but the cold winter wind lifted her hair and whipped it around her face.
She took comfort in the fact that Kiki was staying with Owen. Eric wouldn’t even know to look there, and on the off chance that he did, Dillon would be waiting. And as terrified as she was of Dillon, she was sure that he wouldn’t hurt Kiki. Owen would never let that happen.