or their pasts. It’s hard to be turned on when you touch a woman and see her being hit by her asshole dad. More often than not, I’d end up in a corner booth while the woman sobbed and told me her life story. Which meant I’d made a lot of friends among the sweet butts, but my romantic list is pathetically short.
“Phoenix?”
Fuck. I’d just been staring. “Are you dangerous?” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Are you dangerous?”
“What makes you ask that?” she asks, sounding offended.
I try to give her my best, I’m an asshole look. “Just answer the question.”
“I’m pretty sure the big motorcycle gang keeping me prisoner is more dangerous,” she snaps.
“So there’s nothing in your past we should be concerned about dropping shit at our door later?”
She rises and points a finger at me. “If you know something, just say it.”
I give a cold look back.
She pokes me in the chest once. “Big man lost his tongue?” Twice. “Has to come threaten a woman alone?” A third time. “Has a tiny dick he needs to—”
I grab her hand, and suddenly images crash into me. Broken fragments. I see a man and Dani. They’re dressed to the t’s. Wealth drips from them. But his smile chills her heart. I see her running. Over and over I see her getting caught. I hear the sound of her bones breaking and her screaming. I hear her sobbing. My gut clenches and my chest aches. I want to reach out and help her. I want to take her pain away.
And then Dani jerks away from me. She stumbles back and collapses on the side of her bed. Tears roll down her face.
My blood runs cold. Did I hurt her hand when I grabbed her and slipped into a vision?
“Dani…”
“Your mom was…awful. You and Dragon… Those strange men. They hurt you. You were so scared.”
“What?” I swear every hair on my body stands on end.
“I didn’t even know kids could be abused like that. I mean, I knew, but I didn’t know what it felt like to be so small. He dragged you out from under your bed. He pushed his cigarette into your chest over and over again, burning your skin—”
I rise and stumble back. “How the hell do you know that?”
“I saw it. When I touched you, I saw pieces of your life.”
My feet are already carrying me to the door when she grabs my arm. This time, no vision crashes into me, and I spin to look back at her. “I’m a man now. You understand me? No one hurts me. No one hurts me. Do you understand me?”
I’m shocked when her arms wrap around me, and then we’re holding each other.
When I can catch my breath, I say, “I saw the man who hurt you. I saw the man who broke you.”
She takes a deep, shuddering breath. “So now you know about my dangerous past.”
We just keep holding each other, and it feels strangely like two broken people trying to heal each other.
22
Striker
When I knock on the door to the Prez's office I don't hesitate before going in, even though I know I probably should have. Dragon is already in there sitting in one of the leather arm chairs that Prez has in the office. There are a couple folding chairs kept in the corner for council meetings but they are uncomfortable as all hell, which makes getting the leather chairs a competition for the council members, and keeps everyone on time for the meeting.
This time there are plenty of chairs to go around, though, since it’s just the three of us. I sink into one that’s the color of old whiskey and we wait for the door to click shut behind me. Once we are safely ensconced in the soundproofed room, Dragon gives me a little side eye and I wonder if he is feeling the same way I am.
"So she has powers?" Prez asks, sounding bored, but there’s a curiosity sparkling in his eyes that says otherwise.
Dragon and I both nod.
"Anything good?" Prez raises an eyebrow and steeples his fingers.
"It appears she can mimic or mirror abilities." Dragon's voice is cold, as though he hadn't almost fucked her in the quarry.
"Explain."
"When I attacked, she mirrored my pain back to me without feeling it herself. When Dragon attacked, she mimicked his abilities and their emotions seemed to feed off one another," I say, trying to avoid mentioning them practically tearing each other's clothes off.
"Seems useful," Prez says