A powerful urgency swept through Nox, pulling him through the door of the containment room.
Pain blossomed in Nox’s throat, and tears burned the corners of his eyes. He’d been honest when he’d told Luca he loved his brother. And equally honest when he said he had no choice. They’d all loved him. Now he was gone. Taken by….
He open and closed his hands.
Guilt beat with the rhythm of his heart.
Luca shifted his weight and became a windmill of limbs, punching, kicking, clawing at Nox. “Let go of me.” His broken voice barely carried.
But Nox still covered his mouth and pinned him against his chest. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
A shiver ran down Luca’s body. His breath shuddered. Warm droplets hit Nox’s skin. Fear soaked Luca’s scent.
“I would never hurt you.” The last thing he needed was for Luca to be heard. But Nox needed him to know he meant what he’d said. He’d never hurt him. Nox took his hand from over Luca’s mouth.
“You’re one of them.” Luca’s whisper crumbled.
A punch to the chest would have hurt less than how Luca looked at Nox. “I told you I was.”
Luca nodded, then shook his head. “I didn’t…” He inhaled another choppy breath.
“You didn’t believe me.”
“I did but…”
“It’s impossible.” He loosened his grip more. “I’m sorry you’re afraid of me.”
Some tension left Luca’s body. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You are.” And that killed something inside Nox.
“No. Not of you. Of them. I couldn’t see you in the dark, and I didn’t know it was you. I thought…”
Nox was so used to not relying on the light to see, he hadn’t registered how the color had faded, leaving behind the black and white of his night vision.
Luca trembled against Nox’s chest. He started to pet Luca down his back but caught himself.
Luca lifted his head. His dark eyes reflected the ambient light. Nox’s night vision might have stripped away color, but it left behind the rest in startling detail.
The scratches marking Luca’s cheeks. Mud and rainwater clumping his hair together. The tiny scar over his left eyebrow. The fullness of his lips.
All Nox had to do was tilt up Luca’s head, and he could taste him again just like in the motel room.
“I left him.” New tears spilled down Luca’s cheeks. “I left him, Nox. I left him in there to die.”
“He’s okay. I promise….”
“I ran like a coward.”
Nox tugged Luca back down, and he didn’t resist
“Oh, god.” Luca moved to sit up but misplaced his hand and almost tumbled into the floorboard. Nox caught him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Vic. I left him in the ice room I—”
“He’s fine.”