The Last Hero (Villains & Monsters #2)

Chapter 38

- Late March, 2046 - (Two months ago)

"Hey."

Jamie groaned softly and slowly opened his eyes. At first, he thought he felt pain, but then realized he was fine. A dream, maybe?

When his vision cleared, he saw Daija, who was kneeling in front of him with her usual smile. When his eyes started closing again, she snapped her fingers. "C'mon. Wake up."

He felt dizzy, but he did his best to keep his eyes open. "There you are!" Her smile brightened as she stood to her feet. "You've been sleeping for a while."

I have?

Immediately, he looked at the ground to see if there was any blood, then looked at her. The floor was clean, she was clean, but her eyes were a bit too bright-- meaning she used a little too much of her frost.

He guessed that he passed out before she was done with him, then had the room cleaned while she healed him. But he didn't know, and he definitely didn't want to ask.

Her eyes softened as her smile fell, and if he didn't know better, he'd say that she was worried. "Why are you crying?" She asked quietly, and he suddenly became aware of the tears.

Like always, the words just poured out. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

He didn't know. When he was in the cell, he never wasn't afraid.

"Well?" she prompted.

"Of being hurt," he finally said.

Daija sighed, then reached towards him. He flinched and shut his eyes, then shuddered when her hand brushed the tears from his cheeks. "Jamie," she started. "What did I tell you before?"

He knew this game, and he knew that she wanted him to screw up. He remembered what happened every time he did; when he angrily screamed at her and tried his hardest to piss her off so she'd finally kill him; when he sobbed and begged to not make him repeat it, because he hated every second of it.

But it didn't matter anymore. Daija had made sure that pride was the last thing he'd worry about.

His throat bobbed, and he gave her the answer she wanted. "That no one is going to hurt me."

"And why is that?"

He hated this part the most. "Because I'm only yours to hurt."

"Exactly," she said before brushing away the remaining tears. He felt her trail her hand down his face, then slightly tighten on his chin. "Look at me." Her voice remained soft, but was edged with an unforgiving sharpness.

Immediately, he opened his eyes so he was staring up at her. "Isn't this what you wanted?" she asked. "To be only mine?"

Suddenly, he felt a burst of panic, terrified that he angered her. "...Please, I-"

"Jamie, just answer me," she warned. "You're thinking too much about this."

He knew he was.

Jamie shuddered again, and bit the side of his mouth to keep the tears from falling as he nodded, once again giving her the answer "Yes."

Her mouth curled into a vicious grin. "Now, how hard was that?"

----- ----- -----

"Wow, this is a lot," Desmond said as he lowered himself to sit on the floor.

The table was filled with papers. After Jamie had printed out everything at a local library, he got rid of the flash drive. Better safe than sorry. After spending so much time beside Tony and watching how he worked, he was certain that there wasn't anything that he couldn't do.