Page 43 of Violence and Vice

“You don’t…” I hesitate, unsure what to ask or how to ask it. I have to be so damn careful from here on out. “Are you bothered by Harry or Sysco right now?”

He takes a moment to answer, confused by my question. “I… Sorry, Vengeance, but what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

My eyes flick over to Sysco first and then Harry. They’re both taking my lead right now.

“If I open this door, are you going to do something violent?” My voice breaks on the words again.

Ares is quiet for a moment again. On the monitor, I see his eyes shift to the door. He takes in the streaks of dried and fresh blood there. He looks at his split knuckles. He rotates hisshoulder, wincing. He’s healing already, his vampire blood fixing what he broke.

But I see it, as he takes in the violence around him.

He goes paler.

“What the hell did I do?” he finally asks, his voice hoarse. “Lana, why can’t I remember how I got here?”

I glance at Sysco. I see it in his eyes. He doesn’t want Ares to know either. He knows how much this is going to hurt him. The guilt he’s going to carry. But there’s no avoiding it.

Sysco nods his head. Harry crosses to the scanner and places his palm on it.

There’s a loud clicking sound as the lock disengages.

The door swings open.

And thank the dark, Ares does not rush at Sysco or Harry. He stays kneeling on the floor of that prison cell, looking up at the three of us with a look of anticipation and absolute dread.

Chapter 11

Istep inside slowly. I don’t know why. I’m not worried he’s going to hurt me. But it feels a little like approaching a feral animal you aren’t sure will accept your help. "You're safe. You're at Harry’s vault. Do you remember how you got here?"

He squints, and his brow furrows. "No."

I kneel in front of him, close but not touching. He studies me like he's trying to determine if I'm real.

"Fuck, Vengeance, the way you’re looking at me,” he says, his expression tortured. “Did I..."

"You didn't hurt me,” I assure him as I reach out and take his hand in mine. “Not once."

Some of the tension drains from his shoulders. He lifts a trembling hand and brushes it against my cheek. His fingers are healing, but the blood still clings beneath his nails. "You look different."

I smile, faintly. "A lot has happened."

He nods slowly. "I feel like my brain's been torn in half."

"That might be the toxin. I had to drug you. And, everything else, you…" Shit, I don’t even know where to start. How do I tell the man I love what happened?

Ares must sense my hesitance because he doesn’t immediately ask for me to explain. “You don’t have to hide, Sysco and Harry.”

At the invitation, they both step inside the vault. They look ready, in case Ares is still under Ophelia’s influence, but not scared. Thankfully, Ares doesn’t move from his place on the floor as they enter.

"Hey, Ares," Harry says evenly. "You're alright. You're safe."

"That's what she said," Ares murmurs, glancing at me.

A long pause stretches. Ares shifts his weight and grimaces. His healing is slower than usual, but steady.

"What the hell happened to me?"

I glance at Harry, then Sysco. Fuck, I really don’t want to have to be the one to explain it. But I am his fiancée; they’re just his friends.