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“Well, boys, what’s the story?” His lazy tone held no hint that he worried we might go to the police. He was supremely confident.
“It’s a dangerous cliff and the fence is broken…it’s a hazard. Anyone could fall from there,” Asher said coolly after a moment.
“I can’t believe it takes a tragedy like this, a local man slipping to his death, to bring attention to this safety hazard.” Beckett’s voice was forceful. Decided.
I glanced between them.
Nikolai chuckled. “Maladetz.I’m impressed.” He nodded toward an unconscious Josh. “You want to chuck him over while we’re here?”
“No. Not him… Just Jack. Jack deserved it,” I added quickly.
Nikolai nodded and then jerked his head to me. “Walk with me, kid.”
I complied, because I had never met anyone who would say no to a request from this guy. We headed away from the edge.
I walked stiffly. The place where Jack had stabbed me ached, but the cuts on my forearm that I’d done myself were worse. Nikolai cast a glance at my arm.
“You okay?”
A dry chuckle left me. “Not even remotely.”
“You will be. You know, I see a lot of myself in you, kid. Fucked up, angry, aggressive. I know what’s inside you. I know how it growls.”
We stopped a little way from the cliff edge, and I tried my best not to look down and imagine Jack’s broken body somewhere below.
“What you have to do now is decide if you’ll let it control you, or you tame it.”
“I want to tame it, but I don’t know how,” I replied immediately.
Nikolai stared out over the dark sea. He’d just killed a man. I’d never seen someone so laid-back about anything.
“You can’t tame something you’re afraid of. Take lion tamers, for instance—they show fear, that’s it, they’re breakfast. You need to look those animals in the eye and master your fear.”
“You’re telling me to face my fears. I hate to break it to you, but I think that slogan is trademarked at this point.”
Nikolai smiled and turned an approving grin on me. “Humor is good. Facing your demons is good. They can’t control you if you don’t let them. There is a girl out there who deserves a whole man, not a husk.”
Lily. Lily had been hurt because of me and by me.
“She deserves more than me, even if I was a whole person.”
Nikolai nodded, allowing me that. “Maybe so, but she wants you. Believe me, I know women who have a weakness for monsters. It’s too late for her.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and brought out the black business card from earlier. “The only thing you can do now is be a better monster. You’re young. You have time.”
I swallowed hard as he held out the card to me. “Who are you?”
“Your art teacher’s husband and a new resident of Hade Harbor,” Nikolai said lightly.
“I mean, who are youreally?”
He smirked. “A fellow monster.” He tapped the card in my hand. “You need something, you come to me. Now, I’ll be seeing you around town, kid. Don’t hit on my wife if you want to enjoy a long life expectancy.”
He saluted before he turned and walked away. I stared at the business card. It was matte black, with black letters, only visible when you turned it just right, a shine rippling across the word, and a number below.
Palach.
I made my way back to the guys.
“I don’t want you to have to lie for me,” I started and stopped when Beckett snorted.
