Page 7 of Ashes

I shake my head. “You’re telling me I’m the first super to kill a human? The very first one?”

“Of course not,” Nico replies. “But you’re the first to be caught on camera.” He shrugs and waves his arms at his sides. “The Bureau has no option. They have to arrest you. If they don’t, the FBI will.” Again, Nico catches hold of my arms. Sternly, he adds, “Nova, I don’t know what the deal is with you and these guys, up here in this creepy old house, but it’s pretty clear they can’t protect you.”

I frown at him. Heat rushes to my cheeks.

“You got captured by the League under their watch. They’re not capable of keeping you safe.”

“You fucking asshole—” Tanner lurches forward. Kole puts his arm in front of him.

Nico carries on talking. “Since you’ve been with them,twovideos of you have been leaked to the press. The sheriff and his deputy got themselves fired. The Viking was kidnapped, andyouhad to rescue him. And don’t get me started on Mr. Bondi Beach over there—” He cocks his head in Tanner’s direction.

As Tanner strains against Kole, I jerk my arms free. “That’s enough!” Fury swirls in my gut. Fire prickles my skin. Flames break out, licking my arms and fingers.

Nico falls back onto his ass and scrambles to the wall, as if he thinks I’m about to do to him what I did to Johnny.

I don’t want him to be afraid of me. I don’t want to do anything that will remind him of what I did to our parents. But I can’t let him say these things about the men who’ve risked everything for me.

I stand up, squashing the flames down despite the thundering pulse in my ears. All three guys move forward. Tanner’s fingertips graze the small of my back. “Nico, listen to me carefully…” I hold his gaze and don’t let go. “You don’t speak about them like that. Ever. You got it?”

Nico blinks quickly. “Okay.” He holds up his palms. “Okay. I’m just trying to look out for you.” He pauses and tilts his head to the side, hugging his waist. “I’m sorry, Nova. It’s just… I found you again. I don’t want to lose you.”

I breathe in slowly, close my eyes for a long moment, then help him to his feet with one hand while I continue to hold my sheet with the other. Then I push my fingers through my hair and sigh. He still looks nervous. “Nico, if we had twenty years of memories—birthdays, Christmases, family vacations—if we’d shared a childhood, and learned to fight and bicker and make up again, then maybe you’d be allowed to pass judgement.” Over my shoulder, I can feel Tanner, Mack, and Kole. They’re standing very still, watching me.

Turning back to Nico, I say quietly, “But we don’t have that, and you haven’t been here long enough to know them. You don’t know what brought us together, you don’t know how complicated this situation is, and you don’t know me.” I suck in my cheeks. “I spent years being told what to do, and say, and think.” I close my eyes and allow Johnny’s face to appear in my head. “I will never let that happen again.”

“I wasn’t—” Nico tries to speak, but I cut him off.

Snapping my eyes open, I step forward. “And don’tevertell me that my boyfriends don’t have my best interests at heart because you have no idea what we’ve been through.”

Nico hangs his head. He looks like a wounded puppy. He mumbles something that sounds a little likeI’m sorry.

“I think maybe you should give us some space,” Mack says, stepping around me to put a large, firm hand on Nico’s shoulder. “We’ll let you know when we’ve decided what to do about the video.”

Looking past Mack, Nico seems as if he’s waiting for me to agree.

“I’ll come find you when we’ve talked,” I say firmly, already gravitating toward Tanner and Kole.

Nico presses his lips together in a thin line, nods so that his floppy, jet black hair falls over his face, then turns and leaves the room.”

4

NOVA

When Nico’s gone, I fold myself into Tanner’s arms. He kisses my forehead, but he’s still angry. His muscles are taut, his breath shallow. He strokes my bare back.

As Mack closes the bedroom door, and Tanner holds me tight, Kole sits down hard on the edge of the bed. He winces as he holds his ribs; still sore, despite Tanner’s efforts.

Tanner chooses the armchair and pulls me onto his lap. For a moment, as Mack stands in front of us, his eyes trace the edges of the chair. He swallows forcefully and adjusts his stride as if he’s trying to stop the memory of last night tugging at his crotch.

“Luther was with you when you attacked Johnny?” he asks, skipping straight to business.

I nod, trying to focus on Mack’s salt and pepper hair, and the tiny lines at the corners of his eyes, instead of the image that’s pounding the inside of my head; Johnny’s body exploding from the inside out.

“Then thank the moon he’s not in the video with you.”

“Small mercies,” adds Kole.

I wait for Mack to continue. When he doesn’t, I slot my fingers between Tanner’s and squeeze his hand. “So, what now? Nico was wrong to try and make me leave. But he was right about one thing; this is bad. Very bad. Right?”

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