Page 46 of Lust
She sniffed. “Why do you think they warn away every guy I meet.”
“They know about the vomiting?” he pressed.
She dipped her chin and hugged herself. It broke Joe’s heart to see his strong woman so downcast.
“You’re the first person I’ve told,” she admitted. “It’s a recent development.”
He studied her smooth skin. There were no traces of the yellow residue he’d seen before. The only time he’d seen the yellow mist was when she fought, or was perhaps stressed, like on the fire escape outside his apartment. He didn’t think he was in danger. They’d spent plenty of time together, and he’d never felt ill or incapacitated around her.
And he was the only person she’d never felt lust from. She’d never felt sick from him.
His heart lifted.
He was special to her. He couldn’t explain it, or quantify it, but he knew it in his heart.
“You’re not a monster, Liza.”
“What would you know?”
“I know that every time you walk into a room, it’s like one of those lame 80s movie montages with the music and the drooling men.”
She snorted. But he caught her smiling. So he continued. “It’s true. You know the ones. The girl walks in, a breeze comes from somewhere and lifts her hair. Men everywhere fall apart. They drop cigarettes from their mouths, spill drinks, walk into poles. And all she does is walk in the room, trailing her sweet perfume.”
“Deadly things come in pretty packages.” A sardonic eyebrow raised. “I know how people feel about me. It makes me sick. Literally. Maybe I’m built this way to lure in prey and then kill them.”
“I think that feeling is twisting your reality. You’re the furthest thing from a monster I know.”
She sighed. “That’s the problem, Joe. You don’t really know me. Not the real me, and it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a health risk to anyone around me.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “I’m willing to take that risk. Invite me up. Invite me in. We’ll talk.” He held his breath and waited. He dipped to meet her roving eyes. “Come on. There’s a game on soon. Let’s sit back like old times, have a few dogs and a beer or two, then just chill and talk. Invite me up.”
A tentative smile tilted her lips, and it stole his breath.
“Okay, but not this way. There’s an elevator in the garage.”
“Don’t trust me?” He eyed the door she’d come out of.
She flinched. “It’s not just up to me, and... I don’t know if I’m ready to show you all of me yet. There’s more I need to tell you first.”
“Okay. Lead the way.”
She started walking, but his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to find a message from the director:I expect results tomorrow.
Joe glanced up at Liza, waiting for him.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Just need to answer this for work.”
He thumbed a reply:On it.
14
Despair must have passed out.She remembered being carried and then wheeled into the secret headquarters of the Deadly Seven, but not having the energy to feel triumphant. The pain in her shoulder hurt more than she’d anticipated when stepping in front of the gun aimed at Max.
But she had to do it. It was the only way to gain their trust. And it worked. For now.
From within a cozy bed, she looked around the room. Small, blue, with brown furnishings and golden decor. A nice rug. Nothing fancy.
