His shoulders dropped slightly, and I realized he’d been tense, maybe expecting me to hate him now. Or be afraid?
Styx crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at me. “Any more questions?”
Why not bait the tiger? “You still didn’t answer me. What did you do to earn a bride?”
“Coalition spies occasionally ask for our help smuggling illegal Hive technology, weapons, or prisoners. Sometimes they have an issue to deal with that would cause them political problems if they interfered directly. They appreciate our discretion.”
“Is that all you are going to tell me?”
“Yes. To tell you more would put you at risk. You do not need to know.”
Well, shit. Curiosity killed the cat and all that. “Okay.”
Cormac’s dark brow raised in disbelief. “You are satisfied?”
“No.” I reached toward him, struggling to touch him. Thankfully, he lifted his much longer arm and laced his fingers with mine. Everything in me settled with that one simple touch. “I am curious as hell. But I trust you. You’re one of the good ones.”
“I am a killer.”
Why was he arguing with me? “Yeah. That’s what you said.” Something blasted outside the pod, under my feet. It felt like we were on the inside of a rocket that had those thruster things I’d seen in the occasional science fiction movie. I wasn’t really a fan, but two of my old boyfriends had been obsessed with every alien invasion and monster movie they could get their hands on.
Hah! Look who was actually in outer space now, bitches.
“Abby?”
I found my feet, thankful for the harness that had held me in place, and looked up at him. “What?”
“I do not believe you understand what I am.”
My turn to raise an eyebrow. “You kill people who fuck with your family. I’m okay with that. Somebody has to do it. It’s not like you have police or the FBI or anything like that.” I frowned. “Or do you? Have police?”
“I am responsible for dispensing justice for my people.”
“Styx decides, and you are his number one guy. I’m guessing he trusts you the most since you’re his brother.”
“Do you want to know how many people I have killed?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.” Shocked at how true that statement was, I leaned my head back against the wall behind me as nausea grabbed hold of my stomach with iron claws. Traveling in an escape pod sucked. I spoke through gritted teeth, hoping that if I didn’t open my mouth, no vomit could come out of it. “Unless you want to tell me. Do you want me to know?”
“It is my burden to carry.”
“You’re afraid if I know the number, I won’t love you anymore?”
Silence. He stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
Oh, shit. I’d just told him I loved him. Well, damn it, I did. Stupid? Probably. I’d always been one to give my heart away too fast and pay the consequences. I’d had countless people tell me to stop it. To wait. To not get too attached too quickly. You might as well tell my heart to stop beating. I was who I was. All I could do was hope this time I wouldn’t get my heart broken.
The pod rattled and shuddered like a giant infant was shaking his favorite rattle. I closed my eyes and hoped like hell the pod wouldn’t fall apart before we landed wherever we were going.
A loud roar filled the small space while I counted to thirty-two and then…hissing. Like gases coming out of a valve. Nothing moved. No rattling or roaring or shuddering.
“Did we land?” I opened my eyes to find Cormac still staring at me with an odd expression on his face.
“You are too young for me.”
I rolled my eyes as I worked to unbuckle my harness. “Not this again. Tell me the number.”
“I am several decades older than you.”