How Beauty Loved the Beast

by Jax Garren

  Jolie grabbed her hand. “Where are you going?”

  Catrina twisted her hand from Jolie’s grip. “I have to leave now.”

  Brayden blanched and his voice came out a panicked whisper. “It’s the potion. She’s been potioned. They turned it on. Shit.” He patted himself as if searching for some change in his own infected body.

  Jolie grabbed Catrina again. Her suddenly crazy boss pulled back as if to swing at her. Hauk seized her elbow, rooting her to the spot. “I thought she hadn’t been injected,” he said.

  “Unhand me,” Catrina warned in low, growling tones.

  She sounded like a man, not like her normal self. Her posture was stiff and upright, chest thrust forward. No sway to her movements or glimmer in her eyes.

  Jolie shook her head, freaked beyond measure at the change. “At the cemetery. She said she’d lost her sunglasses. I believed her. But I’m a dumbass because she wouldn’t remember if they’d gotten to her.”

  Brayden stood up and backed away, shaking his hands in fear as if to ward it off. “I still test positive. What are they doing to her?”

  “Him,” Catrina announced. She lunged at Brayden, but Hauk held her back.

  “What the fuck are we supposed to do?” Hauk asked.

  The lunch crowd had gathered at the commotion, ringing the five of them in. Somebody called Catrina’s name.

  Catrina dropped down, grabbed at Hauk’s other ankle holster and came up with a gun. “It’s Carlton. Get out of my way. I’m leaving.”

  Hauk caught her wrists and jerked them upward. The gun went off. Chunks of ceiling rained down as people screamed and ran from the common room.

  A twist of his hands, and Hauk had the gun away from her. He swept his foot. Catrina landed face down on the floor. He caught her hands behind her back as she yelled imprecations and flailed her legs.

  Jolie gaped at her boss. Hauk caught her eyes, questions in his. He’d done what he had to for everyone’s safety, but now what?

  Dr. Echelson strode out of the diminished crowd. Despite his graying hair, the fifty-something man usually seemed vigorous and youthful. But the tired lines in his eyes and weary way he dropped to his knees by Catrina showed his age.

  “Carlton,” he said with the steady voice he used to bring errant students back to attention.

  Catrina returned his gaze with an angry but noticeably calmer expression.

  “Where do you need to go?”

  She struggled once, but Hauk held her steady. She glared back at him before turning back to Dr. E. “It’s not any of your business.”

  Dr. E smiled, almost chummy, and cajoled, “Well, now, we can be reasonable. I’m sure you’d like a new outfit to go about in. Something less feminine. We can accommodate that. In exchange, let me know where you’re going.”

  Her outfit wasn’t particularly feminine, not compared to what she normally wore. But at the word, Catrina shuddered and relaxed. Her eyes shifted down, as if she were coming up with a lie, before she smiled innocently back at Dr. E. “Home,” she said. “I’m going home.”

  Dr. E looked past her shoulder and nodded.

  On her other side, LaRoche held a syringe. He dropped to his knees, the whites of his eyes round and startling in his dark face, and injected her.

  She yelled once, struggling futilely against Hauk’s hold until she relaxed into unconsciousness.

  Hauk released her gently. “You didn’t use mine, did you?” At Hauk’s request, LaRoche had designed a sedative capable of dropping him when he’d gone berserk, just in case it was ever needed. They’d only used it once, an occasion Jolie vividly remembered as he’d been fully under Odin’s control and carrying her back to his room.

  LaRoche dropped to a crouch to check Catrina’s vitals. “No. Your sedative would take her out for a week. Or permanently. This is an earlier version I designed that didn’t work. Fast-acting, but too weak for your amped-up metabolism.” He sat back on his heels. “She’s okay.”

  Tally wound her way through the crowd. “They’re clearing out the shop for her.”

  “The shop?” Jolie asked.

  “It’s the only place down here with a lock.” She handed LaRoche a clean syringe. “Here you go.”

  He took it and drew a vial of blood while Tally soothingly stroked his braids.

  “Anything new?” Dr. Echelson asked.

  LaRoche shrugged. “The closest thing I have to compare it to is Hauk’s blood. He’s got that tattoo, and there is something similar in the magic. Please understand, we’re not talking normal chemistry here, so a lot of what I’m going on is hypothesis. I thought maybe the similarities were what made it magical, but after what Catrina just did, I think it’s more than that. I think the formula is a variant of the tattoo.”

  A few gasps sounded from the remaining crowd.

  Jolie said, “Last time I was at their temple, they had these sticks that could break magic. They ended Hauk’s rages and the effects of their tattoo. But it only temporarily worked on the Hands of Atropos because the tattoo would ‘reboot’ it, so to speak. If we got ahold of one of those wands, would it break the, uh, potion or whatever?”

  LaRoche stood up and brushed off as he considered. “It would probably break it temporarily. The formula works virally. It can self-replicate, which is why it doesn’t flush out like normal chemicals would. Unlike that tattoo, though, if we could kill it or completely remove it from somebody’s system, there isn’t anything to make more—like the magic in the tattoo would. But I’m not a magician. I’m a scientist, and I have no idea how to do that.”

  Having seen the results of Tally and LaRoche’s “science,” Jolie had a hard time believing there was no magic in it. For them it seemed inadvertent, though, unlike Ananke’s ritualistic spellcasting.

  “Shop’s ready,” somebody yelled from the hallway.

  With a worried glance back at Jolie, Hauk carried the unconscious Catrina out of the common room.

  Jolie sat back down as she watched them leave. Brayden and Travis joined her. Amidst all the goings on that horrified her, the only thing she could voice was the inconsequential. “She was bringing the bartender tonight. No orgasmic gin gimlets.”

  Brayden’s face was frozen into a panic she’d never seen there before, but his voice was calm. “I can man the bar. Hauk’s a better bartender, but he wouldn’t like that much attention.”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay. My building’s concierge will find somebody.” Her shoulders slumped. She cared more about Hauk than anybody, and yet she’d barely cracked the surface of who he was, what he liked, what he was good at. “Hauk’s a good bartender?”

  “Yeah. He can even do the little curled peels and shit.” He puffed an amused breath. “And he does great flaming drinks. Go figure.”

  “I didn’t know.” There was so much she didn’t know about him. So much she wanted to learn. Jolie wasn’t the praying type, but just in case anyone was listening, she whispered her hope that she and Hauk would have enough future to learn each other right.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bass thumped, drinks flowed and bodies gyrated in the packed living room of Jolie’s sky-high palace. Hauk was unused to being in a crowd. At least the lights were dim, but still he felt uncomfortably exposed in the crush.

  Jolie had him on the living room floor, cleared of furniture to make room for dancing. Her body pressed against his as her tipsy laugh rang out. Not everyone here was from the Underlight, but their hysterical edge had infected the energy of the party. People drank and danced like it might be their last night on Earth.

  His bag was in Jolie’s room. Benoit’s jet wouldn’t be ready until the morning, so they felt safe that nothing would blow tonight and had decided to spend it here, where they could be truly alone. After he made it through this crowded hell of a birthday party, he’d have her to himself in private luxury for the rest of the night. He couldn’t wait.

  Or at least that’s how he’d felt before that asshole Paul, her ex, sho
wed up. The pretty-boy had been hovering the whole party, getting in a dance whenever Hauk left Jolie’s side.

  She tugged at his neck, and he leaned down so her lips could reach his ear. “You okay? Having fun?”

  He nodded a lie then waved at Brayden for another drink. His friend had spent the entire damn party at the bar. Hauk was worried about him.

  “Is he okay?” Jolie asked, noting the direction of his stare.

  Hauk shrugged. Thinking back over the week and a half he’d been out of the hospital, Brayden had been uncharacteristically quiet. “Maybe I should check on him.” To make sure he wasn’t giving himself alcohol poisoning, if nothing else.

  Jolie gave him a squeeze. “I’m heading for the bathroom. When I’m back, flag me down if you want more of an intervention.”

  Hauk kissed her on the top of the head. Even touching her in such a simple way made him feel like he was on camera, as if the whole room must be watching and laughing as the ugliest guy there dared to touch the most beautiful girl.

  But Jolie pulled his face down and planted her lips on his. “You’re mine. I’m yours. Everybody here should know that.” Eyes sympathetic, she traced his jawline with her thumb. “And thanks for lying about having fun.”

  A lump built in his throat, and all he could do was nod. He didn’t like being in public. He didn’t like being stared at, and people did stare. He’d always claimed he was worried about getting caught and hauled off to jail, but deep down he knew that was just an excuse. He hated strangers looking at him.

  But maybe it was okay when he was with Jolie.

  He forced his chin up and shoulders back, military straight as he marched to the bar where Brayden was overindulging. He leaned on the counter where the bar had been set up, encroaching into his friend’s space.

  Brayden handed him a cider. Hauk had made the switch from beer so he could kiss his celiac girlfriend without fear of hurting her.

  “Your girlfriend’s drinking margaritas. Sure you don’t want anything stronger?” Brayden asked.

  The stool next to Brayden emptied and Hauk sat, trying not to contemplate why someone might leave right after he arrived. “Sure you don’t want to stop before I have to carry your ass to a hospital?”

  “Pff.” Brayden waved a hand dismissively, but his bleary eyes wouldn’t focus.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? It’s not this weekend, so don’t give me that bullshit.”

  Brayden glared at him for a moment then finally shrugged. “Got a crush.”

  Mr. Different-Person-Every-Night? Hauk grinned and raised his glass. “Congratulations. Quit drinking and ask him or her out.”

  “She’s not here.”

  “Did you invite her?”

  “No.” Brayden sighed. “Hauk, she’s a horrible bitch. I can’t ask her out. Let’s drop it.”

  He snorted. “You’re a horrible asshole as far as your dates are concerned. You two will be perfect for each other.” He lifted his bottle to his mouth.

  “She’s your ex-fiancée.”

  Hauk shut his lips before he spat his drink everywhere. Slowly and oh-so-carefully he set the cider down on the bar. “Excuse me?”

  Bradyen blew out a stream of air and scooted farther back on the stool. “Never mind.”

  Hauk leaned in, refusing to give him space. “If you touch Ashley, I will remove your balls. Ask me if I’m kidding.”

  “I know! After what she did to you, I couldn’t even consider—”

  “No. That’s not the problem. What Ash did...” He didn’t want to think about the way the first woman he’d ever fallen in love with had come back into his life to deceive and betray him to the Order of Ananke. Nearly got him killed—worse, turned into a drone. At least she felt guilty about it afterward, or so he’d been told. “Ash has a bad habit of trusting the wrong people. Too damn naïve. Which is exactly why you need to keep your dirty hands and mind off of her.”

  Brayden shot back the rest of his drink. His voice wasn’t loud, but there was a weird undercurrent of strength to it. “Did you ever think maybe if she was a little less naïve, she’d make better choices?”

  Anger jerked his shoulders rigid. His asshole best friend really believed that. Hauk launched up and loomed over him, unleashing the full threatening power of his height and face. “Is that what you do? You’re the great teacher of life? Helping people out by fucking them over? Ashley is off limits.” He pounded two fingers into Brayden’s chest. “If we ever see her again, don’t you dare go near her.”

  “Uh...” Brayden shrunk up as tiny as he could and pointed behind him. “Paul’s following your girlfriend out of the room.”

  Pissed as he was at Brayden, Hauk swung around. Sure enough, pretty-boy was heading down the hall after Jolie with a single-minded determination.

  “Fuck.” He turned back to Brayden, unsure if his message had gotten through loud and clear enough yet.

  On the other hand, he didn’t want to let Paul catch up to Jolie. The only reason she’d quit seeing the pretty-boy was because Paul wouldn’t make a commitment. Hauk had watched the way Paul stared at her all night with greedy eyes. Paul was ready to make that commitment if it meant he could have her back.

  Brayden had turned near green with either alcohol or fear, and his hands shot up in surrender. “I don’t even know where Ashley is. I haven’t seen her since you two left the Underlight together. And I’m not going to. I’m not going to go out with a girl that duplicitous.”

  Paul was exiting the room. Hauk gave Brayden a forbidding glare. “Keep it that way.”

  Crossing the damn dance floor was going to take forever. Usually he terrified a crowd into parting, but he didn’t want to do that at Jolie’s birthday party. So he dove in, trying to hide his face as he wound through the mass of dancers.

  As he moved, he felt every glance and point like a bullet in a firefight. He kept going, each stare urging him on to find the one woman he could trust to see him as a man and not a victim.

  When he finally made it to the hallway, Paul had caught up to her. He stood a little too close, and she didn’t seem to mind. He asked her a question that Hauk couldn’t hear, and she led him into her bedroom.

  Hauk felt the blood drain from his face as he watched them go. The music of the party pulsed loudly, amplifying his frustration. Maybe he should go back there, let her do whatever it was she was going to. She’d told him that she was his girlfriend, and in his head, he trusted her. But his heart...his heart couldn’t see how she would pick a metal worker as fucked-up in looks and in the head as he was when she could have a handsome rock star with no mental baggage.

  Hauk hadn’t tried hard enough this week. He’d seen the disappointment in Jolie’s face every time he pulled away from her. He knew it saddened her every time he refused to face her. He hadn’t been the man she needed because he’d been a coward, and he was a lucky son-of-a-bitch if he wasn’t about to pay for it right now.

  One unsteady foot in front of the other, he headed for her door.

  * * *

  Jolie sat on her bed and stared up at Paul. He’d been so serious when he asked if he could talk to her that she couldn’t brush him off. They’d never had the official, “We’re not doing this anymore,” talk, just drifted their separate ways as his band schedule and her activities with the Underlight (not that he knew anything about those) kept them busy. She had a feeling the unspoken was about to be said aloud.

  She despised these talks.

  Paul grinned down at her in that charmer way that had made her stomach flip-flop last summer. She’d thought he was so punk with his tattoo sleeve and rakish curls. But that was a schoolgirl’s punk.

  She had a real rebel now.

  “So,” he started, his smile growing as his footsteps glided toward her.

  Self-consciously, she realized she was on the bed, and that might get taken the wrong way. They’d been in this room many times before and all when they were here to make a little noise. Discomfort tightened her gu
t. She stood up. “Let me start.” Before he could get out whatever proposition was very clearly on his tongue.

  He stilled, his features all coated in confusion. She didn’t buy it.

  She wanted to grimace but forced her expression into something kinder as she walked over to him. “Come on, Paul. You know this is over.”

  His pose deflated. “No. I don’t. I’ve missed you. I’ll give you the relationship you want. No more fan-girls. I promise. And I’ll keep that promise.”

  Sincerity filled his hazel eyes as his gaze shifted to the bed and back with a longing she used to wish for. If he’d bothered to offer her this three months ago, she’d have rejoiced. But then she might not have given Hauk a chance, and that would be a tragedy.

  She took Paul’s hands in hers. It wasn’t like he was a bad guy, and she hated to hurt him. Honesty would be best, though. Rip the bandage off swiftly. “There’s somebody else. We’re serious.” She took a steadying breath, trying to clear the alcohol from her brain so she could say this right. “As in, he might be the one serious.” She bit her lip. “No. As in I’m sure he’s the one. I’m taken. Permanently.”

  Unless it all ended tomorrow.

  Paul grimaced as he stepped out of her reach. “Not the burned guy? Tell me it’s not him.”

  Her anger flared. “Why does it matter what he looks like?”

  He rocked back on his heels and sneered. “He’s past hideous. He’s terrifying. And you’re so much better than that.”

  She straightened up and popped a hip, her voice rising in anger with every word. “Better than what? A military veteran who got burned serving overseas? A man who makes an honest living working with his hands? A good person who treats me with respect and affection? Somebody generous and thoughtful who spends his life doing good for others? I’m too good for him because, what? I’m pretty? I’m rich? Those things have nothing to do with who I am. I didn’t earn either one. If there’s a problem, it’s that Hauk’s too good for me.”