Be My Hero(66)

I started singing "Kryptonite." He grabbed onto my shirt and buried his  face in my neck. My tears kept flowing as he settled. But he'd been so  upset, little tremors from hyperventilating occasionally shot through  him as he gasped for air. Through it all, he refused to let go of me.  And I refused to let go of him.

"It's okay," I repeated when I could sing no more. I kept my voice calm,  even though the rest of me grew more and more furious. Kissing the side  of his head, I petted his hair, and then rested my cheek against him  before glancing at the cop who'd been holding him. "How could she do  this to him? Where the fuck is she?"

The man's eyes filled with sympathy and regret. "I'm sorry, sir. But your wife overdosed. She didn't make it."



EVA



Pick was gone six hours. He only called once to let me know he had  Julian, and that our son was okay. They were on their way home from the  hospital where the police had demanded a checkup.

The mention of a hospital and the police freaked me out. Pick's voice  had shaken so hard, though, and sounded so frantic, I didn't question  him. If he was on his way home, I figured I'd get my answers soon  enough. And I did as soon as he opened the door. I saw Julian's swollen,  scratched face and lost it.

"Oh my God. My little boy." I snatched him from Pick's arms and moaned  as I pressed him against me, breathing in the unfamiliar smells that  were wafting from him. I held him tight as he buried his face into my  neck, grabbing handfuls of my hair like he always did-which only made me  cry harder.

"How could she do this to him?" I demanded, whirling to face Pick over  Julian's shoulder. "Where the fuck is that crazy bitch?" I was  determined to claw her face off.

Pick stared at me, his expression hollow and eyes red-rimmed from crying. His voice was hoarse when he said, "She's dead."

My mouth fell open. I waited for him to explain, but he just trudged  past me like a tired, old man. He started toward the couch before he  caught sight of Skylar sleeping in the bouncer. Scooping her up, he  pulled her close as he sat down with her and buried his nose in her  hair.

When he finally looked up at me, the dazed expression in his eyes told  me he was in shock. Without a word, I sat next to him, and the four of  us huddled together, just sitting there.



***



Though I was by no means ready to let him go, I knew Julian needed lots  of rest, so at some point, I reluctantly rose and carried him to the  crib. Pick followed me with a still sleeping Skylar and nestled her next  to Julian.

I delicately touched the scrapes on his face and once again felt the  rage welling. Setting my knuckles to my mouth, I wished Tristy were well  on her way to hell.

Pick caught my hand, startling me. When I looked up, the darkness in his  eyes shocked me. He looked savage. Turning away, he started for the  doorway, drawing me out of the nursery with him.

I had no idea what was going through his head. His son had finally been  returned, yet he had to be pissed about what'd been done to Julian. On  the other hand, his oldest friend had just died, even though she  probably wasn't his favorite person at the moment. His head had to be  all over the place.

Touching his back, I asked, "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer, just kept his back to me as he quietly shut the door  so as not to disturb the children. Then he spun to me and pushed me  against the wall. His mouth was on mine and his tongue was inside me  before I even knew what was happening.

Heat lightning exploded out the ends of my toes. Instantly aroused, I  wrapped my arms around him as he lifted me up again the wall. I tried to  follow suit with my legs but he stopped me so he could grapple with my  pants and shove them down, along with my underwear.

Then he grasped my bare thigh and hooked it around his hips. He sank his  teeth into one of my breasts through my blouse, and I squirmed against  him, wanting all my clothes out of the way so he could bite whatever he  wanted.
         

     



 
"I need you so much right now," he panted as he opened his jeans and slid a condom on. I gaped at how hard and hungry he was.

The man was desperate, and he proved it by thrusting into me, rough and  fast. The shock of his ravenous penetration made me cry out. Just as  needy for him, I moved with him, arching into his next deep pump. His  mouth ravished mine as he pinned me to the wall and took me without  mercy.

"Yes," I said, biting his ear and clenching around him when he hit a spot that had my toes curling.

"Eva . . . " He groaned, breaking off to breathe into my mouth as his  hips bucked in a ceaseless rhythm, pounding faster until I was clutching  fistfuls of his hair and we were both crying out. He released into me  hard, using my body to heal himself, and I was honored to alleviate his  pain.

When his entire frame sagged against me and he buried his face in my  neck, I knew he'd just worked through some of whatever was haunting him.

"I love you so much," he murmured, his voice slurred and sleepy.

I kissed his cheek and brushed his hair off his forehead. "I love you too."

"I don't know what I'd do right now without you."

"Well . . . " I bit my lip, wanting to make him smile. "To begin with, you probably would've had to jack off."

His lips fluttered into a half-smile as he lifted his face. "And it wouldn't have felt nearly this good."

He scooped me up into his arms and carried me toward our room. Once we  were nestled under the blankets, he spooned himself behind me and  wrapped his arms around my waist before setting his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm serious, Eva. Without you, I have no idea how my life would've  turned out. If I hadn't had that vision of you and wanted you with every  fiber of my being, I probably would've followed the same path as Tristy  and gotten sucked into drugs. Or I would've done what my other friend  Harvey did, and joined a gang. He was shot and killed in a drive-by when  he was sixteen."

I kissed his jaw. "I'm so sorry for all your loss."

He mumbled something incoherent as if he didn't want to think about  that. Then he began to pet my side. "You know how you keep saying I was  your hero and I saved you when I beat up your ex and your dad? That's  bullshit. You're my hero. Meeting you in those glimpses saved me. It  made me want to be a good person so I could deserve you when I finally  found you. And now that you're here, holding me and letting me love you  when I just want to implode from the inside out . . . " He buried his  face in my hair and inhaled deeply. "You don't even know what your mere  presence does to me. You're my sanity."

I reached around behind me to comb his hair with my fingers. "You're mine too. There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be."

"Don't ever leave me," he demanded in a broken voice.

I smiled, thinking my next words were the easiest promise I'd ever make. "I won't."





Chapter 28


PICK


They buried Tristy on a Saturday morning.

No one attended the graveside service except Tink and me. We brought  Fighter along, so he could pay his last respects to his biological  mother, but the windy day kept taking his breath, so Eva carried him to  the car, and I was left alone to say goodbye to my oldest companion.

I knew I should've mourned her loss, but mostly I just felt relieved.  She didn't have to suffer anymore, and I didn't have to worry about her  anymore.

"That witch was wrong," I told her as I tossed a handful of dirt into  the hole on her casket. "You didn't die alone. You had your beautiful  little boy with you. I can't think of any better company in the world  than that. I swear, Tris, I will bring him up right and teach him to  love the memory of you."

Then I turned away to join my family at the car.

I made love to Eva that night slowly, worshiping every dip and curve of  her body. She held me afterward, stroking her fingers over my heart  tattoo, and I kissed her hair. I knew I should be happy. We were finally  together without breaking any marital vows. But uncertainties continued  to plague me.

What would happen to Julian when the state finally realized I wasn't any  kind of legal guardian to him? How much longer did we have with him?  And what about Eva's father?

She'd expressed her concern about him more than once, but I'd told her  everything would be okay. What could he really do to us? Her uneasiness  made me antsy, though. She knew the douche bag a hell of a lot better  than I did. If she felt certain he'd try to get back at us for the way  I'd kicked his ass, then I couldn't discount the idea either.

Unfortunately, the next day, one of my worry-filled questions was answered.

When the boss's daughter Jessie called all the Forbidden employees in  for a Sunday afternoon meeting while the place was still closed, I hoped  to God she was going to announce that her dad was ready to return to  work and take over running the place again. Gamble had pretty much taken  charge since the owner had been out of commission, and I hated having  Gamble boss me around.