He moved down to my shoulders, pressing a bit harder. “Shavonn’s always been familiar to me. You’re anything but that. Youareme. The best parts of me. You have a sense of dark humor that’s unmatched. You’re smart. Funny. Infuriating. You make black look like the brightest crayon in the fucking box, Sev. You’re unapologetically yourself. You talk to the bodies in that basement like they’re old friends, and you have the kind of respect and a calling for something that nobody else could ever have. I think it’s the reason you’ve dealt with me this long. You don’t see death the way other people do…and IamDeath. You see me. You understand me. You’re a shade of dark that somehow makes the last fucking ember of light in me, shine a bit brighter. You’re bold. Sexy as fuck. You know who you are, and it fuckingshows. Some of my father’s last words to me were that he picked the knight that would fall the hardest, Seven…he’s right. There’s no coming back from how hard I hit for you. No matter what you decide.”
Why couldn’t I just hate you. Goddammit.
He turned me, easing me back and washed the soap out of my hair. His green eyes were glued to what he was doing, but mine were glued tohim. I didn’t think this son of a bitch had a gentle side. Not in the way he acts, and definitely not in the way he fucks…but he did warn me.
“I love just as hard as I fuck.”
I just didn’t think he was capable. And I’m starting to think I’m wrong. But that’s putting up a valiant fight against what I know is the right thing to do. Malek rinsed his hands off, letting me situate myself against the far side of the tub, and then he sat back on the lid to the toilet. I have no idea what to say. No clue what to fucking think anymore. Especially when he reached back into the water, taking my right foot into his hands and started cleaning and massaging that too. What the hell do I do?
“Tell me what happened with your dad.”
He was slow, and thorough, easing the ache from whatever’s plagued the bottom of my feet for twelve hours. I sipped on my beer. “It was all a ploy. He used my temper and my psycho to bait me. He knew I’d rip them apart. He—he was dying. And I didn’t know it. None of us knew it. I went back in and killed Nolan. And then he told me that he planned all of it because he’s eaten up with fuckingcancer.” The bottle paused in front of my lips, and I slowly lowered it until half was underwater.Holy shit…“He said he refused to die that way. Wanted everything to go down with him so that me and Bridget could get outta this life. He tried to blow his brains out and…and I couldn’t let him.”
“A mercy killing.”
Malek nodded, starting on my other foot. “The only one I’ve ever committed.”
“Why didn’t you get him out? I could have—I could have given him better than that. Didn’t you want to see him off with something more fitting than a fireworks show?”
“No.” He flicked his hair over his brow and stared up my body at me. “We don’t really work that way, Viper. That’s why we called you as a cleanin’ lady…not a mortician. And I can’t thank him enough for makin’ that call.” I blinked back bullshit, and Malek’s thumb swept across the arch of my foot. “You’ll never convince me this is a bug.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I snorted, pretending it isn’t obvious that I’m about to crack. He pressed a kiss to the arch of my foot and sank my feet back into the water, standing and grabbing his beer off the corner of the sink. “Relax a while. See you when you get out.” He turned on the Bluetooth speaker, and set my phone on the counter right before he softly shut the door behind him…
…Jaded…this asshole.
The water was well past cold, and all the bubbles completely gone before I had the nerve to move. I showered off and dressed, this time in actual pajamas, and made my way into the living room. There was a Stephen King movie ready to play on the TV, a massive bowl of popcorn in the middle of my coffin, and all the candles around the apartment were lit. Malek was unbagging takeout on the kitchen island and dragging out plates from the cabinet. I tucked my damp hair behind my ear.
“What’s all this?”
“Tacos. Movie. All the elements to a date somebody never let me take her on.” He continued piling our plates with food, and I smiled to myself.
“I never agreed to one.”
He cracked open another beer and set a plate in front of one of my bar chairs. “Too bad. You know I’m a persistent arsethat doesn’t take no for an answer.” Well…that could be slightly problematic. “I know what you’re thinkin’.”
“That you’re in desperate need of a shower?”
The idiot raised his arm, sniffing under it and made a face that I couldn’t help but laugh at. I started towards the barstool, and he raced me to it, outright shocking me when he pulled it out and took my hand to help me sit. “So, maybe that checks out…but, no. That’s not what I meant.” Honestly, I don’t even care right now. He’s making this so difficult. “You’re thinkin’ that I’m going all these lengths to keep you.” My eyes followed him all the way around the island, watching him make his plate. “I’ll respect whatever you decide to do. But I only have one request.”
“And that is?”
“That if you’re gonna cut me loose…you let me have one more night.”
Fair enough…
I raised my beer. “Gimme your best Irish toast, and I’ll consider it.”
“Oh, fuck…”
“Come on,” I smirked, wiggling my bottle over the island. He sighed, raising his beer and took for fuckingeverto come up with one. I saw the moment it hit him, and that stupid smile cracked his face. “Oh, God…here we go.”
“Me luck, I share with you…from me precious pot-a-gold,
From the bright green hills of Ireland, and the place me heart calls home.
We’re far too good for ale, and we’re far too cheap for wine,
But me never got so lucky, as the day I called ‘ye mine.”
