"It'll be okay, Alexion."
He felt Danger's hand on his hot face. That she was helping him… It went through him like a bullet, shattering something deep inside. No one had ever helped him like this. Not even Acheron. Of course he had never been ill like this since he'd died.
As a man, he'd only had his wife to care for him, and she'd had no use for him whenever he was ill. Having taken care of her ill parents for years before their deaths, Liora had only sought to escape him whenever he needed her.
And though Kyros would render aid in battle, he wasn't tender with it which was probably a good thing.
Yet Danger didn't shy away. She was kind and soothing. And in this moment that meant everything to him.
Danger didn't know what to do to ease Alexion's pain. She raced back to Tupelo as fast as she could, trying to think of something, anything, that might help end this.
Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything other than finding Stryker and beating him senseless.
She pulled into her garage and quickly got out and ran to Alexion's side of the car. He looked even worse now than he had when they'd left Kyros's house.
She brushed the damp blond hair back from his forehead and wiped the sweat off his brow.
"C'mon, sweetie, we need to get you in the house."
He nodded before he pushed himself out of the car, then doubled over as if in severe pain.
She hissed in sympathetic pain for him. "I know you hurt, sweetie, but please don't hurl on my new Manolo Blahnik boots, okay? Give me a little warning first."
His groan turned into a pain-filled half-laugh that was very short-lived. He leaned against her heavily and together they made their way into her house. But it wasn't easy. He seemed unbalanced and kept staggering as they went.
They met Keller in the kitchen who was busy making what appeared to be a vat of chili. He looked at them with a stern frown. "What happened?"
"Long story," she said as she started for the hallway. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you to stay home."
"Yeah, I know, but I just stopped by and there was this really hot woman watching QVC. I didn't know you had friends like that who weren't DarkHunters."
If it wasn't the middle of an emergency, she'd have corrected him.
"Why are you making chili?"
"Xirena was hungry. She wanted something spicy."
Alexion hissed as she accidentally bumped him into the wall. "Sorry," she said.
He didn't answer.
Keller followed them through the house, up to the guest room, where she laid Alexion down on the bed.
"He doesn't look good. He gonna puke or something?"
"I hope not." But she moved the small plastic trash can over to the bed just in case.
Keller was totally bemused. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's hearing a voice in his head."
"Is this like the one that I never listen to because it's usually telling me that getting naked with women I don't know is a bad thing?"
Danger snorted at him in disgust. "TMI, Keller. I don't want to know that much about your depraved private life."
He took her words in stride. "In that case, I have a hot babe waiting for me."
"Do yourself a favor, Keller," she called after him as he left, "and don't get too close to her."
He paused in the doorway. "Why?"
"She's not human."
"Yeah, well, neither are you and I'm around you all the time."
"No, Keller," she said, stressing the words, "she's seriously not human. Never was, never will be."
He frowned at that.
"Just keep her fed and happy," Alexion said from between clenched teeth, "and make sure you both keep your clothes on and that she doesn't leave the house."
Keller nodded, then left.
Danger turned back to Alexion who was squirming from pain. "Can I get you anything?"
"I need to be still and quiet."
She didn't think pointing out that he was being far from still would be good at this moment.
"Okay." Danger left the room to get a cold compress for him. When she returned, Alexion was still lying prone on the bed. It had been a long time since she'd ached like this for someone else. She hated the pain he was in and she wanted to kill Stryker and Kyros for it.
She touched his strong shoulder, feeling the muscles there, before she brushed the hair back from his face and placed the cloth to his forehead.
Alexion opened his eyes as soon as he felt the cold cloth on his brow. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight. She was exquisite.
Her dark eyes showed him more care and concern than he'd ever seen before and yet after tonight…
He dared not trust anyone. How many times in his life did he have to be betrayed before he learned his lesson? No wonder Acheron kept him away from people.
After all this time, he was still naive.
He had to be one of the worst judges of character ever born. When would he learn?