The Nullifier

by Erin M. Leaf

  “So, Nick said something about you saving him from a robbery?” Jenna gestured at Felix. The pizza in her hand flopped down, so she folded the piece over itself before taking another large bite. When she’d finished chewing, she looked expectantly at Felix.

  Felix turned to Nick. “Did you tell her about your arm?”

  Really? That’s the direction he goes? We could be talking about the weather right now. Nick scowled at Felix. “No, I did not. Thank you very much.” He glanced at his sister. Sure enough, she’d dumped her pizza on her plate and was standing up, eyes haunted. Clearly, her control over her emotions wasn’t as stable as he’d hoped.

  “Your arm? What happened to your arm?” Jenna grabbed for him, and of course, her fingers closed around the bandage on his left bicep.

  Nick winced slightly, and unwound her grip. No way was he going to show her how much her fingers hurt. “Easy. It’s just a graze, and I’m fine. No worries.”

  “No worries? Jesus, Nick.” Jenna began shoving at his sleeve. “Let me see.”

  “Jenna, I’m fine. Seriously. I carried all your boxes out of the house for you, remember?” Nick battled her hands down. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I’d been hurt bad.”

  Jenna gripped his fingers. “I hate you. Let me go.”

  Nick rolled his eyes at her, but he released her hands. “Go eat your pizza.”

  “It’s true. He’s fine. He didn’t even faint,” Felix said, openly laughing now.

  Nick gave him his best death-glare as his sister tried again to shove up his sleeve, ignoring his plea to sit down. “Jenna, Jenna! I’m fine. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He pushed up his sleeve. “See? It’s nothing.” He peeled back the gauze.” I could’ve fallen down and done the same thing. The bullet skimmed me. That’s it.”

  “Someone shot at you?” Jenna grabbed his forearm as her expression crumpled.

  Nick pressed the bandage back over the wound and pulled her into his arms. “I’m fine.” Over her head, he glared at Felix. The man didn’t even have the decency to look sorry. You’re going to pay for this, he mouthed at the man.

  Jenna reared back and smacked Nick on his uninjured arm. “You jerk! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

  “Ow.” Nick frowned at her. “I didn’t want to worry you. And stop with the hitting.” He caught her hands again.

  “I’m your sister! Of course, I’ll worry.” Jenna hugged him tightly. Nick hugged her back, and then urged her to sit back down.

  “Chill out, sis. I keep forgetting it’s even there. It barely hurts.”

  “Geez, Nick,” she said, looking as if she was going to start freaking out again. Nick hurriedly cut her off.

  “I’m fine, Jenna.” He looked at Felix. “Thanks a lot, man.”

  Felix was watching Jenna the way a man looks at a particularly complicated puzzle, and for a moment, Nick thought maybe he’d misread the man’s inherent decency, but then Felix glanced up. “Sorry.” His expression smoothed into a rueful smile.

  “No, you’re not,” Nick muttered, taking another bite of his pizza. You’re a damned idiot, Nick, he thought, wondering why the hell he’d imagined exposing his sister to a new person today of all days would be a good idea. Clearly her emotions were on a rollercoaster, not that he could blame her for it.

  “My brother’s gay,” Jenna abruptly said.

  Nick choked on the bite he’d just swallowed. After a minute of coughing, he managed to wipe his eyes. “Jenna, my God. I can’t take you anywhere.” He glared at her. From the corner of his eye, he could see Felix’s perplexed expression.

  “You didn’t take me anywhere. We’re eating in tonight,” she replied, too seriously for him to believe she wasn’t trolling him.

  Ignoring her, Nick rubbed a hand across his face, willing himself towards calm, because what the hell? People didn’t just blurt shit like that out. “My sister likes dudes, too, not that that information matters one freaking bit.” He scowled at her. She smirked at him.

  Unexpectedly, Felix smiled. “I know.”

  Nick transferred his stare from his sister to his neighbor. “Um, what?” Felix already knew he was gay? It wasn’t like anyone could tell just by looking at him. He didn’t prance around in rainbow leggings, for Christ’s sake. Maybe he meant he already knew Jenna was straight? I mentioned her ex-boyfriend to Felix, didn’t I?

  “I’m a good judge of character,” Felix said, biting into the crust of his pizza.

  Nick watched him chew for a hot second. Felix’s lips were full and pouty, and fuck. Nick couldn’t seem to keep his mind out of the damned gutter. “Sexuality and character are two entirely separate things,” he finally said, wondering when the conversation had veered off into the woods, and how quickly he could steer it back onto a nice, paved road.

  “That’s true,” Jenna said, her voice quieter now. “And I would know.”

  Nick frowned, knowing she was thinking about that asshole Quincy. “Hey, no worries.” He touched her arm. She gave him a crooked smile. “You’re done with him, remember?”

  “Ex trouble?” Felix asked.

  “Ugh.” Jenna hopped off her stool and headed to the kitchen. “Is it that obvious?” She tossed her pizza crust into the trash. “My former boyfriend is a supreme asshole.” She glanced at Nick, then nodded and added. “That’s why I moved in with Nick. I had to get away from him.”

  “How long were you together?” Felix asked, finishing off his slice of pizza and sliding another onto his plate.

  “Too long,” Nick muttered, finding Felix’s calm unnerving. What kind of guy could calmly eat pizza while throwing metaphorical bombs into a conversation like that?

  “About a year,” Jenna said, starting to pace. “I didn’t realize at first what a manipulative bastard he really was. Things got weird after a while.”

  “What did he do for a living?” Felix took a sip of his drink, then continued. “Was he gone a lot, for work?”

  Jenna snorted. “I wish.” She paced into the kitchen and began compulsively loading Nick’s dirty dishes into the dishwasher. “No, actually, he was around more than most guys. He worked from home, doing some kind of buying and selling or something for his father. I don’t know exactly. He had a lot of friends who were really business partners in disguise.” She shuddered. “I didn’t like most of them. His father was really creepy, too.”

  Felix frowned. “Sounds like a bad situation.”

  “Yeah, kind of.” Jenna lifted a shoulder. “Thank God, he mostly kept his business away from me. He was the problem, not the people stopping by all the time.” She slammed the dishwasher door shut a little too recklessly. Glass rattled.

  “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it, Jenna,” Nick said, glancing at Felix. He wouldn’t want to listen to her troubles, would he? Except, Felix’s face showed nothing but compassion. Nick pursed his lips.

  “It’s okay, Nick,” Jenna said.

  “Was your ex abusive?” Felix put down his drink, frowning slightly as he watched Jenna.

  Nick sat up. He did not expect Felix to ask that. “Hey,” he said again, this time to Felix. When the man glanced at him, Nick shook his head at him. Don’t interrogate my sister, he thought at him, hoping the guy would get his meaning.

  Felix nodded minutely, but before Nick could change the subject, Jenna let out an explosive breath.

  “Yeah, he hit me. But I hated the emotional abuse more than the physical stuff. He wouldn’t let me go out; he monitored my cell phone and my email. He told me everything he did was my fault.” She crossed her arms, hair flying. “Not fucking likely. He was the one with the weird business meetings in the middle of the night, and the drugs, and the asshole gangsters in my kitchen at four AM.”

  Jesus. It was worse than I thought. Nick sucked in a harsh breath. “Jenna, it’s done, I promise. He’s old news.” He glanced at Felix again, but the man’s expression wasn’t giving him any clues about why he’d steered the conversation in this d
irection. “You don’t have to talk about this,” he reassured his sister. He’d never expected her to just blow up like that. Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited Felix over.

  “No.” Jenna made a cutting motion with her arm. “I’m okay. I’m good, actually. Maybe I can finally see it all better, now that I’m out of that damned house.” She ran a hand over her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. “I’m never going back to him, Nick,” she said, anger snapping in her gaze.

  Nick shook his head. “Well, of course, you’re not.” While he was happy to see her finally remember that she was a strong woman, and not some pushover, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was heading for a cliff. She’d been exhausted when he picked her up. The stress of Quincy shoving his way in to grab her, and then quickly packing, and then meeting Felix had to mean she was at the end of her rope, or very nearly there.

  “No man has a right to dictate a damned thing to me,” she said, voice hard and low.

  “That is true,” Felix said quietly. “Man or woman. Abuse is never right.”

  Jenna looked at him for a long moment while Nick held his breath, and then her shoulders drooped. “Shit. I’m really tired.” She glanced at her brother.

  Nick nodded, getting up and going around the bar. “Hey, it’s okay. You can rest now.” He put an arm around her shoulders. She felt so fragile, he almost worried he’d break her if he squeezed too hard.

  “If I see some asshole coming into the neighborhood, you can be damn sure I’m not going to stand by and let him barge in,” Felix said, unexpectedly.

  Nick raised his eyebrows at him. I did not expect that. Felix doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to butt into someone else’s business, he thought, but then he remembered him taking down the two losers at the gas station. Huh.

  Felix shrugged. “No man should ever treat a woman with that kind of disrespect.” He pushed his plate away. “And I’m not without a few resources of my own.”

  Nick didn’t know what the hell Felix meant by that, but he appreciated the sentiment. “Thanks, man.”

  Felix nodded.

  Jenna sighed, hugging Nick tightly, and then she pushed away. “Okay.” She fussed with her ponytail, winding it into a loose knot. “I’m going to bed, Nick. And I’m never going to put up with Q again. If he comes near me, I’ll bash him with a frying pan or something.” She squared her shoulders.

  Nick smiled. “A frying pan can do a lot of damage.” He made a mental note to purchase a cast iron pan immediately.

  “Yeah.” Jenna glanced at Felix. “Sorry I ruined dinner with my crazy meltdown.” She rubbed her eyes.

  Felix shook his head. “It’s understandable.”

  “Thanks,” Jenna said, yawning. “You should stay. Hang out with Nick. God knows he needs someone normal to talk to after helping me today.” She smiled crookedly at Felix, then hugged Nick. “Good night.” She slipped out from under Nick’s arm.

  “Sleep well,” Felix offered.

  “Good night, Jenna,” Nick said. She nodded, and he watched Felix watch his sister as she headed toward her bedroom. When her door shut behind her, he rounded on his neighbor. “What the hell, man?” He wanted to know just what Felix thought he was doing, steering the conversation towards Jenna’s breakup. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know. She did not need to talk about that. What are you after?”

  “Nothing.” Felix sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. She looked like she was about to fall apart, and I just wanted to help. Sometimes it helps to talk about it.” He twisted his lips. “I’ve had some experience with trauma.”

  “Yeah, and sometimes it doesn’t help. It’s too fucking soon.” Nick wanted to smack the guy, or maybe kiss him, and for a second, he couldn’t decide which one to choose, but then he let out a breath and sat down. “Shit.” He massaged the back of his neck. “You’re lucky I like you.” He rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted. He knew that Jenna’s ex was going to show up again, and he knew the bastard would probably be nursing a grudge. He shouldn’t have punched him, but at the time, it was all Nick could think of to do to keep Quincy from attacking his sister. And Felix had no idea what he’d walked into, just by coming over. He needed to go home, and get far away from the mess Nick was here to extricate his sister from. “Fuck.” I don’t want him to leave.

  “I’m sorry,” Felix said again.

  “No, no. It’s fine.” Nick opened his eyes. Felix sat on the stool, looking completely at ease. Nick frowned, but then he caught the barest flicker of regret flash over Felix’s expression. Damn. The man has an insane amount of self-control.

  “I should go,” Felix said, jerking a thumb at the front door.

  “No.” Nick said, even as he wondered what the hell he was doing. He did not need to feed this damn crush. And Felix did not need to get caught up in his drama. He walked back over and sat down again.

  “No?” Felix raised an eyebrow, looking impossibly sexy.

  Dammit. I’m so fucking screwed. “No.” Nick nodded towards Felix’s plate as if he wasn’t at war with himself. He knew he should check on Jenna, but instead, he sat there, looking at Felix like some lovesick puppy. Nick wanted him to stay. Hell, he just plain wanted the man. Felix leaned his elbows on the counter, and muscles flexed in his biceps. Nick swallowed, eyes riveted. “Finish your pizza,” he forced out, too distracted to say more. When Felix pushed the plate away from him, Nick exhaled, focusing on relaxing the muscles that the conversation with his sister had tightened.

  “She’s going to be okay, you know.” Felix’s light hazel eyes steadily watched him.

  Is he comforting me? What the hell? Nick took a moment before replying. He didn’t want his voice to display his uncertainty. “You don’t know that.” Nick stared him down. His erection throbbed against the front of his pants. He liked the contradiction: arousal and frustration made for an interesting sensation.

  Felix shrugged, breaking their stare-down. “Just saying.”

  Nick tilted his head. “Do you have a sister?”

  “No.” Felix stood up.

  Nick didn’t stop him this time. “A brother?”

  “No.”

  Nick sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest as frustration slowly won out over arousal. What the hell did Felix know about his situation? Absolutely nothing. “Then you don’t know dick about my sister and her ex.”

  Felix stepped closer to him, making Nick crane his neck to keep eye contact. “I know that men like Quincy Edwards have a lot of enemies.” He put a hand on the table and leaned in. “And men with enemies tend to die young.”

  Nick froze as Felix’s soft tone went right to his cock, chasing his anger away with an irrational surge of heat. Felix stood close enough that Nick could feel Felix’s body heat on his skin. He stood close enough to kiss. All Nick had to do was lean up and—

  Felix straightened up. “I’ll be seeing you around,” he said, and then he headed to the front door.

  “Shit,” Nick muttered, watching him go. He couldn’t think straight. His cock pushed against his jeans again, thick and annoying. The scent of pizza lingered in the air. It wasn’t until Felix closed the door behind him that Nick realized what bothered him about what the man had said.

  I never told him the name of Jenna’s ex-boyfriend.

  Chapter Five

  “Fuck.” Felix pushed into his house. He’d realized almost immediately that he’d screwed up. Nick had never told him Quincy’s full name. Felix shouldn’t know it. He shouldn’t have said it out loud. “Fuck!” He threw his keys down on the chair near the front door, and leaned back against the thick wood. He felt hot. Uncomfortable. To add to his anger, his dick had been half-hard the entire time he’d been at Nick’s house, and it wasn’t because he was attracted to Jenna. No. It was Nick. He couldn’t forget the way the man had taken down Edwards with one punch.

  “Fuck,” he said again, more quietly this time. He liked the guy. And he might have to kill him to cover his tracks. And
what was with the arousal? He’d been straight his entire life, and had no intention of changing sexual orientation now. He pressed his fist against his cock, hard, hoping the pain would help. It didn’t. All it did was fucking hurt.

  Felix cursed again, scrubbing a hand across his face. He headed to the window that faced Nick’s place, and looked out. Another SUV had pulled into the driveway. He frowned, and then froze when Quincy Edwards got out of the driver’s seat. When four more goons exited the vehicle, he knew he had a bigger fucking problem than his persistent hard-on. The moment Edwards kicked in Nick’s front door, Felix headed for the cabinet next to the sofa. Crouching down, he grabbed his go-bag and the duffel with his emergency weapons. Felix shouldered the bag, unzipped the duffel, and grabbed his shotgun. He set it down with extra shells on the coffee table in his living room. Hurrying outside before he could question his motives, he stuffed the rest of his equipment in the truck he’d parked in front of the garage. When he glanced over at Nick’s place, he saw no sign of Edwards or his men.

  “Shit. They’re inside.” Felix retrieved his shotgun, and then headed for the back door. When he stepped out into his back yard, faint gunshots sounded across the property border. “This is a bad idea,” he murmured, even as he slipped between the forsythia hedges that grew along the perimeter of Nick’s rental. He crouched down, grateful that it was nearly full dark. He slowly made his way to the back door, then eased it open. One of Edwards’s thugs stood in the kitchen with his back to the door like a fucking idiot. Felix didn’t hesitate. He rushed in and punched his favorite knife between the man’s ribs several times. The guy choked as he fell, but Felix was already moving past him.

  He ran into Jenna in the hallway. She had blood on her face. “Get behind me,” he rasped, grabbing her arm. She stared at him, eyes wild, and he growled. “Get a hold of yourself. There’s no time for hysterics.” He pushed her behind his back as he slid his blade back into its sheath at his waist. “Where’s Nick?”