The doors to the hall opened, and Spade moved out of the way to let a tall man through. Well, well. Apparently that picture had showed only a glimmer of our resemblance. Face to face there was no question. I did look just like him.
I pulled my hand free from Bones in a sort of shock. Max went to the edge of the arena and then paused, not coming nearer. I walked the last few steps that separated us.
His hair was crimson, just as bright and thick as my own. God, those eyes, silvery gray and exactly like mine. He had high cheekbones, a full mouth, straight nose, strong jawline... Everything was identical to me but in masculine proportion. Even the way he stood was similar. It was like looking in a weird gender-bending mirror, and for a minute, all I could do was stare.
For his part, Max didn’t say anything. His face flashed defiance and resignation in equal parts as he looked from me to Ian. He didn’t ask for mercy, though. Not from either of us. Was that bravery... or a simple realization that it wouldn’t do him a damn bit of good?
Finally I found my voice. “Do you know what I promised myself when my mother told me what I was, and how it happened?”
I slid as close to him as possible without touching. He held himself stiffly, like one of the statues outside. Only his eyes moved, and they followed me with rapt concentration.
My fingers grazed his shoulders as I circled him. He flinched under their weight, and I laughed low and viciously.
“Oh, Max, I feel your power level, and it’s not that high. I’m much stronger than you are, but you must know that, right? It’s why you tried to have my head blown off, so I couldn’t get to you first. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to kill you?”
Still he said nothing. Ian gave me a questioning glance, but I ignored him. He didn’t know what Max had arranged; it was plain. I paced around my father, getting angrier that he wasn’t talking.
“I first heard about you on my sixteenth birthday. Sweet sixteen, and what did I get? The full knowledge about my nightmare of a heritage. So I swore to myself that one day, I’d find and kill you for her. That you’d pay for raping my mother with your life. Did you hear what Ian just offered me? Your ass, with all the other parts attached!”
The rage leaked out of my pores, and my eyes blasted him with their glow when I faced him again.
“Come on, Max, whatcha think? What a gift, right? Who could say no to that? I mean, I’ve wanted to kill you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole twisted, subnormal, dysfunctional life!”
The knife Bones had given me trembled in my hand with the ache to bury it in his heart. Finally, after another long stare, I chuckled again. Bittersweetly. My need for revenge had almost cost me Bones once tonight. At least I wouldn’t let myself make that same mistake twice.
“You worthless piece of shit, you’re about to do the first, last, and only thing you’ve ever done for me as a father, because there’s someone in my life who means more to me than even killing you. Congratulations, scum. You just gave away the bride.”
Instead of twisting that knife through my father’s heart, I slashed it across my palm and slapped it over the pale hand still outstretched to me.
“Bound together forever, huh? Sounds good to me. By my blood, Bones, you are my husband. Is that what I’m supposed to say? Is that right?”
Bones bent me backward with the force of his kiss, and I assumed that was my answer.
THIRTY-EIGHT
MAX BROKE HIS SILENCE only after bones let me up from his kiss. He raked me with a glance and then smiled. Chillingly.
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Do you believe that, little girl? I do. You and I will have our day, mark my words.”
“Is he threatening her?” Bones asked Ian with a cold pleasantness as I met my father’s steely gaze. “Perhaps you need to remind him that anyone who comes after my wife—or anyone belonging to her, such as her uncle—is in fact declaring war on me as well. Is that your position, Ian? Does he speak for you?”
Ian gave Max a truly menacing glare. “No he does not, and he has nothing else to say on the matter. Do you, Max?”
Max gave a glance around at all of Bones’ people, who were watching him with threat as well.
“No, I have nothing else to say about that,” he replied in a tone that said he’d have plenty to say under other circumstances. “But I do have something to say about her mother.” He fixed his eyes back to me. “You’ve been misinformed. I fucked her, oh yes. But I didn’t rape her.”
Bones tightened his grip on me, sensing I was about to explode. Ian saw it as well.
“You gave up your chance, Cat, and it works both ways. Max is mine and under my protection. If you lay a hand on him, it’s an act of war.”
I got ahold of myself. Another time, another place. Not here where it would turn into a bloodbath between Bones and Ian’s people.