hit her because she’d embarrassed him with her continued refusal of his romantic pursuit, choosing an “animal” over him.
You should have blamed Solo. There was now a pout in Dr. E’s voice. He would have felt guilty and would have done anything you asked.
“Will you just shut up already,” she snapped. “I’m sick of you.” She didn’t want anyone feeling guilty on her behalf. Guilt was a terrible thing, a consuming thing, and Solo had enough to worry about.
The crackle in the air instantly vanished.
Solo scooted away from her. “I will do what you wish.”
“Not you,” she said, sitting up to reach for him. She managed to wrap her fingers around his wrist. A wrist so big her fingers weren’t even close to touching. He was strong, amazingly so, and that should have scared her, would have scared her, until she’d woken up and discovered everything he’d done for her. “You are—” Dizziness had her swaying, moaning.
Solo returned in an instant, pulling from her grip to cradle the back of her head. He eased her down, and she battled an urge to snuggle into the warmth of his body, to know she was safe and protected for once in her life and maybe even . . . cherished.
He didn’t cherish her, though, did he. He liked kissing her, she was sure, and had wanted more, but sex had never been and would never be proof of someone’s affection.
“You sat up too quickly, after lying down too long.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” she assured him. “Before, I mean.”
“Then to whom were you talking?” He paused to shake his head, perhaps recalling the other time they’d had this conversation, when the question had been directed at him. “And why were you beaten? You never told me.”
She licked her lips. “You once told me you talked to invisible men.”
He sucked in a breath and moved away from her. “No, I didn’t say I did. Only that I might be.”
Fine. “Do you believe there’s another world at work around us?”
“Very much so.”
Her eyes widened. He’d admitted that so easily, as if he had no fear of her reaction. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Me too.”
“And?”
“And, I . . . was talking to someone in that realm,” she said, and waited for him to admit to knowing Dr. E and X.
A minute passed.
Another.
“So, why were you beaten?” he finally prompted, no hint of his emotions revealed.
Maybe he didn’t know the pair kept tabs on him. If not, she didn’t want to be the one to tell him. “Matas is twisted, warped, and on a power trip. That’s why.”
Solo reached out to smooth the hair from her brow. He caught himself just before contact and dropped his arm to his side. “I know you aren’t a fan of violence, but when you were delivered to me I broke his arm in a way that it can never be put back together. He won’t be hitting you again.”
Another deed to protect her. “Thank you,” she said, fighting a sickening deluge of dread. Clearly he was done touching her, even in the smallest way, and he might even regret kissing her. Why else would he want to maintain such a great distance between them?
But . . . but . . . she wasn’t done with him, and didn’t want him to be done with her.
He looked at her, thought for a moment. His shoulders bunched with tension. “How long has the circus been in operation?”
I can do this. I can chat as if nothing’s wrong. “Jecis’s great-great-grandfather opened it, and the oldest son has always taken over.”
“How has he not been shut down?”
“He not only uses lookouts to prevent cops from making it into the circus, but when he can, he pays the higher-ups to ignore him.”
“You’ve seen these higher-ups?”
“Oh, yes.” Jecis loved to entertain, and though Audra was the candy on his arm, the one he kept at his side during any such events, Vika had watched from the shadows whenever possible.
“And you could point them out if I showed you photographs?”
Hold everything. “Are you a cop?” she asked, the idea not surprising her. It did concern her, however. After she freed him, he might try and arrest her.
A pause. A flicker of guilt in his eyes. Then, “Let’s just say I have a vested interest in closing the circus once and for all.”
Relieved that she wouldn’t have to worry about being tossed into another prison cell, she said, “Yeah, me too.”