Killing Game (12 page)

“Shh... Cain. You need some sleep.” Lily brushed her fingers through his hair and gave him a concerned look.

“So bloody tired... guess four hours ain’t enough...” Cain mumbled and yawned.

Lily frowned down at him, unsure if he was saying that he only slept four hours a day. She helped him shift around so his head was propped up on the pillows and then sat beside him. Looking down, she watched his hand catch hold of hers, holding it tightly against his chest as he blinked languidly.

“Why? Why get so drunk?” She smoothed his hair with her free hand. Her fingers weaved through the wet strands and she enjoyed the feeling of it against her skin. There was something about playing with his hair that made her want to do it more. It was something comforting, something that felt as though he would know the concern she felt for him from that one tiny act alone and she wouldn’t have to say anything.

Cain stared up at her, his emotions muddling inside him as he saw the worry play out on her features. She had a right to be worried, not that she knew that of course. “I’m a bad man... bad... bad...”

“No, you’re not. You were just trying to help me... it doesn’t make you bad.”

“Bad... bad... man,” Cain repeated.

“He got what he deserved, Cain. If I could have...” Lily trailed off as he cupped her cheek, looking up at her through half closed eyes.

“Hurt my girl,” Cain whispered hoarsely, his face softening with concern.

Lily blinked in disbelief, her stomach heating up and spreading its warmth through her entire body as her cheek hummed under his fingers. Was he calling her his girl, in a boyfriend sense or a protective sense? She looked down at him and sighed when he snored quietly, his eyes closed in slumber.

She tried to peel his fingers from hers and his eyes fluttered open.

“Mmm?
Must’ve drifted off,” he mumbled up at her.

“You get some sleep.” Lily stroked his fingers gently as he gripped her hand tightly.

“Can’t go.”

She considered her options. She could either stay here in relative safety, taking her chances with a drunken Cain, or she could try to get a cab across city at gone two in the morning. Looking down at Cain, she smiled as he snored softly, his face a picture of peace and calm, a far cry from how he’d looked when he’d come to her rescue.

Lily sighed and realized there really wasn’t an option. She was staying here no matter what choices she thought she had. She couldn’t leave him alone in his condition.

As his grip on her hand loosened, she slipped her hand free of his and shook her head as she looked down at him. He made a small noise in his throat and rolled over onto his side, the muscles of his stomach bunching as he brought his legs up and curled up into a fetal position.

She reached across and pulled the other half of the bed covers over him so he was surrounded by blankets. Running her fingers over his hair, she found herself smiling down at him as she idly played with the wet curls. She frowned at her actions and then ran her thumb gently along the curve of his cheekbone.

“Thanks,” she whispered as she trailed her hand off his face and walked towards the door.

Turning as she reached it, she considered closing it, but a part of her said that he wouldn’t like it and that she herself would prefer to be able to hear him in case he woke up and needed her. Curling up on the couch, she pulled a blanket down from the back of it and wrapped it around herself as she flicked the television on.

* * *

Cain moaned as he slowly awoke, his head a riot of pain and his body protesting to every tiny movement he attempted to make. Blinking his eyes open, he shut them again quickly as they ached and pressed his palm against his forehead, drawing it down and covering his face with it.

Lily leaned against the doorframe and shook her head. Even though she’d slept on the couch, it had been the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long time. Being somewhere she felt safe, not being alone in an apartment, had resulted in a heavy sleep that had put a wide smile on her face.

“There you are... the drunken hero.” She walked towards him and watched as he frowned and pulled a sour face, his hand barely moving away from his eyes as he looked at her. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like something died in my mouth and my brain got hit by a freight train.”

She giggled slightly as she handed him a glass of water.
“Drink.
You’ll feel better.”

Cain squinted at the glass and then down at his bare chest, he arched a brow slowly.

“You weren’t thinking of taking advantage of me were you?” A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he took the glass from her.

Lily shook her head as she stared down at the bed sheets, her blush burning her cheeks.

“Just teasing, love.”
Cain frowned and swallowed hard as he tried to sit up in bed.

Drinking the glass of water slowly, his eyes slid to rest on Lily as she played with the sheets. Her eyes were downcast and she was clearly trying to avoid looking at him.

“What smells?” He raised his brows at Lily.

Her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh God!”
Lily dashed from the room and into the kitchen, grabbing the spatula and flipping the pancakes quickly before they burned. Switching off the coffee machine, she poured two cups and added two spoonfuls of sugar to each before placing them down onto a tray. Putting the pancakes onto a plate next to the coffees, she gripped the tray tightly as she walked back towards his bedroom.

“Here... I thought this would make you feel better.” She placed the tray down onto the bed next to him and gave him a nervous look as her eyes met his.

He smiled slightly, clearly aching too much to give her the smile that he’d wanted to.

“Thanks,” Cain mumbled and picked at the food she’d made. Either he was still feeling sick, or she’d somehow embarrassed him by making such a fuss of him. She couldn’t help it. She wanted to look after him.

Lily picked up her coffee and sipped it, giving him time to eat. Her eyes took to wandering over his exposed chest. She tried to stop them from lingering there, but she couldn’t. She was fascinated with the tightly packed muscle that served as a reminder of their time together at the gym, and she fell to thinking about last night and drawing parallels between the two. There had been something about his actions, about the way he’d handled the guy at the bar and the way he’d punched the bag at the gym, that told her there was more to him than met the eye, a part of him that she should treat with caution.

Her feelings had only been compounded this morning when she’d been tidying the mess they had made last night to keep herself occupied and had noticed the sleek black form of his Walther P99 as it stuck out of his coat pocket. She’d found herself drawn to it, her fingers running over the cold metal as her eyes had blankly traced the shape of it. It had felt heavy in her hands, large and unwieldy as she’d pointed it at the far wall and looked down the line of sight, fascinated with holding it.

Cain followed her gaze as it moved to rest on his leather coat where it sat in a pile on the chair in the corner of his room. He knew that she’d seen the gun, but she didn’t look as though she was going to say anything. There just seemed to be a morbid curiosity playing out in her eyes.

Lily’s gaze remained fixed on the weapon. Last night, she’d seen the man who had touched her crying in a puddle of his own piss. Had Cain pulling a gun on him been the reason that he’d pissed himself? She frowned as she tried to push the thoughts out of her head and squash the odd feeling of excitement they inspired in her. She knew she’d been quiet too long. She could feel Cain watching her intently as he made no move to eat. In fact, he wasn’t moving at all.

Bringing her eyes back to rest on the plate, she broke a piece of pancake off and placed it into her mouth, chewing it before drinking more of her coffee. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his and gave him a soft smile, making it clear that she wasn’t going to ask why he had a gun because she really didn’t want to know. She just told herself that this was New York and, just like Los Angeles, some people carried weapons.

She’d just never met one of those people before.

* * *

Placing his empty cup back down on the tray, Cain leaned back against the pillows and watched Lily put her cup down.

“Thanks... for everything,” he mumbled and watched her blush as she picked the tray up and rested it on her knees. “Feel bloody stupid now... and more than a little sore.”

Lily giggled slightly at him. He winced when he tried to smile at her.

“Some painkillers might help,” she said and stood. “I’ll go get you some.”

“No,” Cain said a little too sharply. She frowned questioningly at him. He quickly searched for a reason as to why she couldn’t go for him. “No... I’ll get some myself... when I shower.”

“It’s fine.” Lily started towards the door. “I’ll just get you—”

“No,” he said a little more firmly.

Lily frowned and gave him a small smile as he moved to get out of bed. The adamant tone in his voice had thrown her a little, and she tried to put it down to his hangover. Walking out into the living room, she carried the tray into the kitchen and listened to him walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

Sitting down in front of the television, she sipped her second cup of coffee as she flicked through the channels, unsure of whether she should stay or go now. What were you meant to do in this situation?

Cain locked the door behind him as he entered the bathroom, his head aching over the brightness of the room as the light reflected off the white tiles surrounding him. Opening the mirrored cabinet above the sink, he looked at its contents. Various pills and things covered one shelf. There were bandages, gauze and plasters on the next. On the top shelf was a large knife. He frowned at it and then grabbed a bottle of painkillers. Closing the cabinet door, he stared at his reflection as he popped the lid off the bottle. He looked tired, worn down, like he could see straight through himself—a ghost of
who
he used to be. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the sink and placed the painkillers in his mouth. His thoughts filled with visions of the girl in the next room.

Switching the shower on hot, he stepped in and chewed the pills as he let the water run over him, soothing his aching body and washing away his feelings with it. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the door, wondering what Lily was doing while he was showering. He couldn’t get the image of her staring at his gun out of his head. She’d looked so fascinated with it that it had made his stomach turn. Last night had been one cock up after another. Drinking too much, attacking someone to save the girl but revealing to her the side of him he’d tried to keep hidden by letting her see that he carried a gun, and he was pretty sure he’d said some things to her that should’ve been kept locked inside.

Lily stared blankly at the television as she listened to Cain in the shower, the water falling heavily off his body as he moved. She smiled as she heard him humming, the sound of his muffled voice reaching her over the noise of the television.

Engrossed in a watching a program, she jumped as he appeared next to her, sitting down on the other couch and buttoning up his black shirt as he frowned at the television.

“Better?” Lily looked over at him. He looked as though his shower had done him the world of good. His skin was no longer drained of color and his eyes were a little brighter.

“Feeling as good as can be expected.” He smiled wide and relaxed into the couch.

“I really should go.” She stood up quickly and watched him frown, clearly confused as to why she was suddenly so desperate to leave. She’d told herself repeatedly when he was in the shower that she should probably hang around a while, just to make sure he was okay, but the day was rapidly disappearing and she couldn’t risk being late to work, not after last night. “I’ve um... got to get some sleep. Plus,
there’s
a million things that I need to do that aren’t going to wait... and you seem... okay.”

Cain cocked his head to one side as she stood in front of him, her teeth teasing her lower lip in a way that made her look nervous. Standing slowly, he sighed and stepped towards her, closing the gap that felt as though it was rapidly becoming an ocean as she made her excuses to leave him once more.

“Thanks... again. I know I’ve said it already, but I don’t usually wake up to a beautiful Florence Nightingale when I’ve been out on the lash.” He smiled awkwardly.

Lily felt her nerves disappearing, his sense of calm soothing her as she looked up into his eyes, losing herself in them for the briefest of moments before coming back to reality.

“I should thank you... for being there when I needed you,
again
. God, I bet you’re getting pretty sick of having to look out for me.”

“Never.”
He narrowed his eyes on hers as his head tilted to one side, his expression slipping into tenderness. “Besides, it was nothing, really.”

Images from the night before flooded her mind again, coming back to her as she stared down at the floor. She remembered the way he’d had that man off her in a split second, his arm twisted brutally, his face screwed up in pain. Gathering her stuff, she smiled shakily at Cain, noting the way he was watching her closely with an air of concern.

“Thanks anyway.” She walked to the door and opened it. Looking back into the room, her heart sank as she saw him standing in the middle of it, surrounded by the coldness that his apartment seemed to emanate. Part of her wanted to go back to him, to stay with him a little longer and make sure he really was okay because she’d seen things in his eyes that only confused her. Conflict and affection seemed to reign in them. “Cain?”

He raised his head and took a deep breath as he looked at her.

“Come by again soon, okay?” She furrowed her brows as she backed towards the open door.

Cain nodded solemnly as his eyes dropped to rest on the floor again, the greyness of his world closing back in on him as she moved further and further away.