Solana
Hunter maintains physical contact with me all the way down the stairs and pulls me into his lap once we join everyone in the living room. All eyes are on me and I'm not sure if it's the bites and bruises or the way I'm sitting on Hunter or maybe just the fact that I'm here. I wouldn't blame them for thinking I'd take off.
Dean takes a seat next to Hunter and me and lifts my feet into his lap. Slowly and methodically he massages my legs from my knees down to my toes. He grins victoriously when he manages to extract a moan from me as his fingers work magic against my flesh. "Good morning, Sunshine. How are you feeling?"
"Better than yesterday," I answer honestly. Physically I was and am fine — Ace made sure of that. The blush that stains my skin tells Dean everything he needs to know about how I'm feeling.
Ace and Eli sit across from us, each in their own armchairs. Ace's eyes follow the movements of Dean's fingers as they continue to knead my muscles. Tate's lean frame leans against the wall behind Ace and Eli, his inky black hair hanging low enough to cover his icy blue eyes, regarding me just as studiously as Ace.
"We have a few things we need to address," Ace says with no preamble.
"Like why Sunshine looks like she got mauled by a bear?" Eli teases Ace but one sharp look from Ace has Eli swallowing his tongue and Hunter placing fresh kisses on each and every bruise and bite of mine.
"A wolf would be more accurate," I mutter cheekily, unable to prevent my body from responding to Ace's dilating eyes when he throws his focus to me. His lips lift with a ghost of a smile which he quickly smothers into a thin, flat line.
"With our other contracts closed out we only have two jobs to focus on, protecting Sol and finding Nightshade." Ace pauses to scan the room, lingering a fraction longer on me and Hunter. Any concern I had about staying with him and Hunter under the same roof vanishes when he sends me a quick wink and devastatingly handsome grin.
"Then we'll have to go back to the city, we can't hunt and hide," Dean says. His fingertips gently trace the tattoos and scars on my legs.
"Right now this is the only place where we can guarantee Sol's safety. It's still unclear who the poison was meant for — her or us. If it was us, then the city house isn't safe. If it was her, then nowhere is safe. Nowhere but here."
"She had to have been the target. No one knew we'd be staying in her room until they showed up at her door," Hunter posits.
"And now that they know, each of you will have a target on your back," my voice sounds small, even to me. I'm used to protecting people, finding them justice, revenge, or both. I've worked hard and built enough walls to make sure no one gets close enough to me to be used against me, to be a casualty in my enemy's efforts to hurt me.
I don't want that kind of blood on my hands. The blood of people who I care about, suffering for no reason other than because they're important to me.
Eli hums thoughtfully from his chair, "we can handle the heat. But it will make hunting Nightshade more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult."
"Maybe we don't have to hunt him," Dean says. "Tate named Hunter, isn't Nightshade honor bound to kill him? Maybe we can use this to our advantage, lure him here where we have the home field advantage."
"As appealing as it is to dangle myself as bait, he's already had his opportunity to take me out. Instead he left us love notes and flowers." Hunter scoffs, dismissing Nightshade as an illegitimate threat.
"Nightshade is smarter and more resourceful than that. For now, we're not going to pursue him." Ace says and it's not so much a suggestion as it is a command. While the other guys look around at each other in surprise, Ace looks directly at me with that same ghost of a smirk.
"The clients will be calling any day expecting an update, what are we supposed to tell them?" Hunter asks.
"If this is about her safety we can do both. We can track him through Caligo and the Underdark and send out our best guys to intercept. If we know his next target just tail them and Nightshade is bound to show up." Eli suggests easily.
"We're not pursuing him," Ace says with more bite.
"Why the hell not?" Eli pushes.
I feel Tate's eyes on me like shade on a sunny day. One moment I'm basking in the warmth of the sun and the next my skin is chilled and breaking out in goose flesh.
"Because," Tate's whiskey smooth voice washes over the group. "We already found him."
Eli, Dean, and Hunter look around the room at each other like bewildered cartoon characters. "Okay, I'll bite. Where is he?" Dean speaks as though he's just humoring his little brother.
Tate pushes himself off of the wall and stalks slowly towards me with every grace of a panther, his gaze never straying from mine. He squats down in front of me so our eyes are level. Although his eyes are glacial in color, there's no hardness or malice in them.
Out of the five of them I'd say Tate is the most mysterious of them, as unknowable as the ocean and just as deceptively powerful. One moment it's calm seas and smooth sailing and the next I'm capsizing over a rogue wave.
The Tate before me now is the tranquil, silent one. But I'm prepared to defend myself against whatever lurks beneath the glassy surface.
"Solanaceae, a family of plants famous for its Atropa Belladonna. Anyone want to guess what its common name is?" Tate grins as he says it, addressing the group but still holding my eyes captive.
One by one the remaining three guys put the pieces together, working out Tate's riddle.
"Sunshine, is he right?" Eli asks with mild disbelief.
"About what?" I ask innocently. If they want their answers they're going to have to ask for them explicitly.
"Are you Nightshade?" This voice belongs to Hunter, both questioning and — dare I say hopeful.
"Yes." I answer simply.
— — —
Hunter
"Are you Nightshade?" I ask, feeling like I'm in some crazy warped reality. I'm supposed to believe that Solana, my Solana, the girl who only killed for cause, the one who wanted to reach further and do as much good to offset the bad, is the most feared assassin in the northern hemisphere?
"Yes," she says with no hesitation. The hint of purple in her naturally pearlescent hair darkens until her whole head is a brilliant shade of purple with eyes to match.
I begin to ask myself 'when did this happen?' but there's only one obvious answer. This is what she became after I left her. This sobering fact has me feeling conflicted.
On one hand, the thought of how lethal she's become is overwhelmingly hot. Nightshade is regarded as a ghost, the Grim Reaper himself, and I'm able to bring her to her knees.
But on the other hand, I'm the asshole who broke her heart and caused her to turn into the cold, ruthless killer she is today.
"All those mornings you'd sneak back into the house," Tate says, still crouched down in front of her, "you were out as Nightshade?"
Solana nods her head, unashamed of her truth.
"You've been lying to us from day one," Eli nearly snarls.
"No. I didn't know you were hired to kill Nightshade until the night Ace brought me to the office after we got home from Mitch's club. And I told Ace the truth, I told him it was a waste of your time to go after Nightshade."
"A lie by omission is still a lie," Eli grumbles.
"You led us to believe Nightshade was a man —" Tate begins but he's cut off by Sol.
"You assumed Nightshade was a man. I simply adopted the pronouns you used when discussing him."
"And when you told me you had no contact with him?" Tate presses.
"I believe my exact words were 'I can honestly say that I don't talk to him,' which is true. I don't make a habit of talking to myself."
"Semantics!" Eli bellows. "You led us down a rabbit hole knowing it was a dead end."
"I didn't lead you anywhere. I never hindered your pursuit. Tate even submitted a name to me."
"Is Nightshade going to complete the job I requested? Isn't he — aren't you — honor bound, no matter what?" Tate asks with a wickedly low voice.
Solana tips her head to the side in such a way that could be interpreted as condescending. "I fulfilled your wishes. You never wanted Hunter dead, you wanted to lure me out. My note to you was proof of services rendered."
"And my alleged price?" He asks her with a cocksure grin but Solana remains steadfast.
"You've already paid it."
Tate's smile flatlines and his brow furrows in confusion. Solana gives him a moment to think before she leans down into him and whispers, "are you sure you want me to tell them?"
Tate stands and takes a step back from her but doesn't tell her to stop. "You're so hell bent on doing things on your own that you caused your pack to question not only your methods, but also your loyalty and trustworthiness as well."
Solana might as well have slapped Tate across the face, that's how dumbstruck he looks. His usually pale face is now downright ashen, and his mouth is pressed into an angry red slash across his face.
Tate disappears into the shadows, proving Solana's point about him constantly hiding himself and trying to do everything on his own.
"I wasn't trying to lie to you all. Besides me, my mother is the only person alive who knows my identity. Not even my siblings or fathers know. But now you all do, so I'm forced to trust that in exchange for my transparency you will protect my secret."
Solana slips out of my lap and walks over to Ace, who takes her hand in his and plants a tender kiss against her knuckles. "I'm going to go talk to him. Let me know if you have any more questions, I'll answer anything you ask."
Ace nods at her and gives her hand one more reassuring squeeze before letting her go off on her task of talking to Tate.