Page 170 of Bonds of Hercules
“Alexis.” I traced my thumb across the cicatrix, wishing I could make the history behind it disappear. “What… happened to you?”
Kharon sat up and looked down at where I was touching.
His gaze hardened as he came to the same realization I had. He gently brushed her curls off her forehead, his fingers trembling.
From the way Alexis stiffened, she understood exactly what I was asking.
With careful slowness, she pulled down the shirt, covering her midsection and the heinous scar, but she didn’t pull away from either of us.
Long seconds passed, and finally, she whispered, “I can’t talk about it—notyet.”
The angst in her voice made my heart ache.
Suddenly, I was glad I hadn’t yet killed the fucker who raised her—the one currently rotting in our villa’s dungeon. Ifhewas responsible for this, he would know a torment the likes of which man had never faced before.
Unable to speak, without demanding she tell meexactlywhat happened and when, I forced myself to nod at her calmly. Instead of shouting at the top of my lungs, I opened my arms.
Alexis moved into my embrace, and I tucked her under my chin.
She sighed heavily and I squeezed her three times in a row, communicating with my body the words I wasn’t quite yet ready to admit out loud.
Kharon remained sitting against the headboard, his face frozen in a scowl. Blue veins stood out across his neck as he ground his teeth together, all while his hand tenderly stroked locks of Alexis’s hair, gentle so she wouldn’t know he was losing it next to her.
His eyes flashed down to mine—our gazes locked.
I nodded at him as Alexis sighed again, shifting to get comfortable as she snuggled deeper into my embrace.
Kharon and I were on the same page.
Blood would be shed and the wrongs perpetrated against our wife would be avenged,eventually. For now, just holding her was enough.
When I finally calmed down enough to sleep, darkness pulled me under swiftly. As my eyes closed, a single stray thought lingered—How did she know I was creating a mental hit list?
31
THE GAMES BEGIN
ALEXIS: SGC DAY1
Istared at my fingers and imagined light coming from the tips.
Nothing happened.
“What are you doing?” Kharon asked, his eyes narrowing. “Why do you keep staring at your fingers?”
“No reason,” I said hastily.
His lips pursed with suspicion.
I clapped loudly.
Nothing happened.
Darn it, so much for the clapper light theory.It was worth a shot.
“What the hell was that?” Kharon asked.
I leaned against his shoulder instead of answering. His arm wrapped around me like a steel vise, his grip a littletoo tight.
