of it. Her hand fisted in his shirt and she tugged him to her office.
“I’m sterile,” he said curtly before she could speak.
She gaped. Alec was the most virile man she’d ever come across. “W-what?”
“I watched you exchange the soda for orange juice. You’re not pregnant.”
Hurt straightened her spine. He said the words with such finality, his dark gaze cold and remote, his lips thinned.
“God forbid, right?” Her mouth curved in a mocking smile. “You wouldn’t want the complication, I’m sure.”
“Don’t tell me what I want,” he snapped. “There is nothing Heaven or Hell can dish out that is as painful as the loss of a child. Still, I might go through it again for you. But there’s no chance, Eve.”
“Why?”
“I almost lost my mind when the last of my children died. I said things to God that I regret. I couldn’t understand why I had to be punished in that way, too. Why I had to live interminably while my children lived mortal lives.”
Her throat clenched in sympathy. “Alec . . .”
“God did forbid it, angel.” His arms crossed. “The mark sterilizes everyone now. Female Marks don’t menstruate and the males shoot blanks.”
Time froze for a moment, then rushed at Eve in a deluge. Years of dreams and hopes washed over her in a flood of tears that escaped in a hot stream down her face. “Will I get it back?”
“I don’t know. Eve—” His entire frame vibrated. If she breathed deep enough, she could smell the turbulence in him. Alec was a man who felt as if every move he made was the wrong one. Another mistake in a lifetime of mistakes. He was passionate, impulsive, and headstrong.
But could she blame him for what was happening to her? He couldn’t have foreseen how the decisions he made for himself would impact others. Bad shit happened to people. Rapes, beatings, muggings, abuse . . . and countless other horrifying things. Miscarriages, accidents, starvation. But being a victim was a choice one made, and Eve refused to be a victim.
“Angel?” Alec stepped closer, a move that was jerky instead of his usual graceful prowl.
“Give me a minute.” She turned away to wipe her tears and was arrested by the tall, exceptionally dressed figure lounging in the doorway.
“Rough day, babe?” Reed murmured, his gaze examining her closely.
“It keeps getting better.” She swiped impatiently at her cheeks.
“How can I help?”
“Get the fuck out,” Alec snarled. “You’ve done enough damage.”
“You only wish you could toss me out,” Reed retorted.
Eve’s circumstances were what they were. Everything happened for a reason. She didn’t need to be religious to believe that. And it would take more energy to bitch than it would to do something about it. Instead of feeling crushed, her determination was strengthened. One thing at a time.
Figure out the tengu.
Deal with the Nix.
Lose the mark.
It was all doable.
“I’m going to take a shower,” she said, wanting out of her jeans, which were stiffened by the dried water from the Nix. “Then I’m going to do some online sleuthing in regards to Gehenna Masonry. You boys can either kill each other, or help my mom fold laundry.”
They stared.
“Or cook dinner, if you know how. I’m starved.” She waved over her shoulder on the way out the door.
CHAPTER 13
Eve stared at her computer monitor with focused intensity. She had allowed herself a good, hard cry in the shower—a shower that now had an aluminum cross dangling from the showerhead. She, a lifelong agnostic, now had a cross hanging in her shower and the Mark of Cain on her arm.
Laughter at her situation had come first, then the tears that wouldn’t stop. She let it all out, her frustration and anger, her sadness and worry. She was pretty sure she cried more tears than she ever had in her entire life. And then she told herself that was all the self-pity she was going to wallow in. It took too much out of her.
But the aftermath wasn’t pretty. She felt wrung out like a dish towel. Both Reed and Alec watched her with guilt and wariness. She’d finally retreated to her office to save them all the discomfort.
Reed had folded laundry with her mom, while Alec made a thick hearty stew for dinner. Miyoko insisted on cutting vegetables and offering spice suggestions, then she left for home with obvious reluctance. Stubborn to the last. Eve fully expected a phone call tomorrow, asking why Reed—her supervisor—would come over for dinner and fold her clothes. She hoped she