“I’m strong enough, I could’ve killed him.”
“Yes, but being strong doesn’t make it okay to hurt people, even when you think it’s for the right reason. If you do, you’ll be just like him.”
“I don’t want to be like him. The bad guys never win. I want to be the superhero.”
“You will be, Stephen. The best superhero ever.” She smiled her big happy smile. He loved it almost as much as her cookies. Maybe Chelsea would help him make a cape. Not red though. It would have to be blue or silver to match his lightning.
“What’s for lunch?” Marcus kissed Chelsea on the head, grabbed the chair next to Stephen and started to fill his plate. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“Just not hungry.” He looked at Marcus and shrugged.
“Too bad. I was hoping for some racing action after lunch. You can’t beat me with an empty stomach. I bought two new controllers. I’ll be gone for a few weeks. This is my last chance to beat your high score.”
Stephen picked up his fork and started in on the fruit. No way was he going to let Marcus beat his high score. No way. “Wait a minute. Gone? Where are you going?”
“I’m taking a vacation.” Marcus wiggled his eyebrows and then winked.
Oh yeah. He had some stupid crush on a girl. Yuck.
“Did you find out where she went?” Chelsea asked.
“Yeah. Go figure. Her first vacation in years. Great timing, huh? She’s heading to a private island off the coast of Guyana. I swear. The gods are punishing me.”
Chelsea giggled. “So you’re going to follow her.”
“Well, I’m certainly not waiting two more weeks to meet her.”
Stephen finished the fruit and picked up his sandwich. Marcus was acting goofy about this woman, all soft and sweet. So not Marcus. It was weird.
Chelsea sighed and rolled her eyes. “Poor girl. She’ll never know what hit her.”
Nikolas burst through the room. “You’re not going to believe this.” He rushed to Chelsea’s side. Oh no, Stephen thought. They’re going to kiss again. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“What darling?” Chelsea pushed her chair back.
Stephen waited for the yucky kissing sound. It didn’t happen so he peeked out of one eye first.
Nikolas slapped a picture down on the table. “We found another one. She’s six. Her mom brought her in, thought she had a broken arm. It was a fluke that I even saw her. Just happened to be walking by. I knew the moment I looked into her eyes, she’s one of us.” His voice got higher and his eyes looked funny. Stephen perched himself on his knees to get a look. Hey, he knew that girl.
He grabbed the picture. “That’s my friend.”
“What?” The grown-ups said at the same time.
The girl in the picture looked like she was smiling just for Stephen and her eyes seemed a brighter green that what he’d noticed in his dreams. Her curly red hair filled up most of the photo. The color made him smile.
He handed the picture back to Nikolas. “She’s my friend from my dreams.”
“What a looker.” Marcus whistled and patted Stephen on the back. “I can see why you’d dream about her.”
Chelsea gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Nikolas looked like his head was going to explode.
Things sure were getting strange.
* * * *
Zander was angry. But more than that, his heart fucking hurt. He’d spent his whole life searching for her and she didn’t want him. Well, he didn’t give a shit if she wanted him or not.
This was not how their story would end.
“Why, Grayce?” Back turned to her, he forced the emotion down, choked on it. If she saw the fury on his face, she’d shut down. He needed her to explain. Needed to understand.
Voice meek, she whispered, “I can’t love you.”
“I don’t care.” He carried enough love for both of them. His Grayce. God, couldn’t she see how amazing she was? What could he do to help her realize her worth?
“I want you to be happy. Loved. It’s what you deserve.” She paused, and drew a deep breath. “I can’t have children. He made sure of that.” Grayce cringed. “I’ll never be able to give you a family.”
Zander unsuccessfully fought back a shiver. Fuck. What he wouldn’t give to pull Tyr back from the depths of hell and kill him all over again with torturous, painful precision.
No children. He’d never even thought about having kids. His whole adult life had only been about Grayce. Finding, saving and loving Grayce.
“I don’t want children.” He glanced over his shoulder, feet frozen in place. Fighting back the images of what Tyr had done to make her barren, it took several deep breaths before he continued. “Why can’t you see I only want you?”