Chapter 36

Nyx didn't cry over men and she didn't cry in public, but that damn Case caused her to do both. At least she'd been discreet, and it had one benefit. Her seatmates on both flights had avoided talking to her.

Pushing away from the balcony railing, Nyx went back inside her hotel suite and locked the slider behind her. Archer had gone all out. An enormous suite in one of the most expensive hotels in Lima, Peru. It was too bad she wasn't in the mood to enjoy it. It felt like a waste of space. A waste of money.

The sky was turning to dusk, and after one last look at the view, she closed the drapes. Another hour and she'd order dinner, find something on television to keep her thoughts off Case, and go to sleep. Her flight to LAX left early in the morning, so really she only had a few hours to get through.

And a lifetime once she reached Los Angeles.

Tears welled again and Nyx blinked hard, willing them away. She looked around trying to find a distraction. But the high-end living room furniture and glass dining table didn't do it. Where was the TV remote?

As she bent over to grab it from the oversized ottoman, the necklace fell out of her shirt and swung forward. She curled her hand around the pendant, feeling the bind rune against her palm.

She'd have to return this when she got home. Dylan would know where to mail it. Although asking him for an address would raise all kinds of questions from her brother, questions she didn't want to answer. The last thing she wanted was to cause a problem between Case and Dill.

Dropping the pendant back behind her polo, Nyx reached again for the remote control. She didn't even get a hand on it when there was a knock on the door. For an instant, she froze before she realized it was probably someone from housekeeping with extra towels or wanting to know what time to turn down the bed. They did things like that when someone stayed in a suite this expensive, didn't they? At least they did in the movies.

Still, after what she'd been through the past week, Nyx wasn't taking any chances. She looked out the peephole.

Case.

What was he doing here?

It was tempting to ignore the knock and leave him standing in the hallway, but her dad hadn't raised her to be a coward. Nyx took a few minutes to recenter herself and to stuff her emotions away. He might have gutted her, but she'd be damned if she let him see that.

He knocked again, and squaring her shoulders, she opened the door.

"Did you even check to see who was in the hall?" he demanded with a scowl. Without waiting for an invitation, he walked past her and into the suite.

She'd planned on dealing with him in the corridor, so it aggravated her to be caught flatfooted. His tone also irritated her, but Nyx refused to let him know he got to her. Refused. "Yes, I looked out the peephole." Pleased with how calm she sounded, she closed the door and turned to face him.

"I barely finished knocking, and you were opening the door."

Nyx didn't mention she'd heard the first knock. He might read too much into her hesitation. And what he guessed would probably be correct. She shrugged and stayed quiet.

Why was he here?

He didn't say anything, and Nyx crossed her arms. The bind rune pressed into her through the polo. That's why he'd come. He wanted his necklace. The last gift his mom gave him.

Reaching for the chain, she pulled it over her head and held it out to him. "Here."

"You're giving me back the bind rune?"

"Of course I am."

When he made no move to take it, Nyx stepped forward and slipped it into the unbuttoned chest pocket of his fatigue shirt. Immediately, she returned to her original position. She needed the distance.

She thought he'd leave. Maybe without even a farewell since he got what he'd come for, but Case stayed put. What was he waiting for?

Case wasn't sure what he'd expected when he turned up at Nyx's hotel, but this wasn't it. He'd run scenarios and been prepared to respond to any of them. This was one he hadn't considered. Did her returning the bind rune mean she was done with him?

The metal of the pendant felt warm from her skin, searing him through the T-shirt he had on underneath the fatigue shirt. He'd prepared himself for anger or tears. What he hadn't anticipated was indifference. It cut deeper and more painfully than if she'd yelled at him or told him to go fuck himself.

Maybe the indifference was the message.

Maybe he should apologize for being an asshole and then leave. She clearly was waiting for him to go. It was in her posture, in her polite expression.

Her polite expression.

Nyx had a brave face. Was this her diplomatic face?

His Fireball took care of herself and didn't like to burden others. She'd learned to keep her emotions to herself. Earlier today, she locked down after he brushed off her first few explanations. Her first few defenses. She just let him go without interruption, and she remained silent until she boarded the plane and left him inside the terminal.

"Well, if that's all…" She let her voice trail off, but the hint was obvious. Scram!

She wasn't giving him cues, and he was an idiot for thinking she would.

"I'm sorry."

"Okay. Now—" She turned toward the door.

"I'm sorry for everything I said, everything I implied." Case ran a hand through the top of his hair. "You hit one of my triggers and I reacted without thinking first." She still had her mask in place. "I told you my mother was a drug addict. Living with that…" He shook his head. "The lies were constant. The lies about where she was and what she was doing. The lies about how this time rehab was going to stick. The lies to hide she was using again. I learned not to trust her. Not about anything. Promises were constantly broken. That's why I never make a promise unless I will keep it."

Nyx stood, still polite, but Case felt as if she was listening to him.

"I told you about Hannah, about how she lied by omission and didn't tell me she was married. But there was a long string of liars in between my mom and her."

Nyx didn't respond to that. He glanced down at the floor for a moment and studied the subtle pattern in the carpeting as he tried to figure out what to say next.

"I stopped trusting people, especially women. Then I met you and you knocked me on my ass. I didn't trust you right away either, but as time went on, I stopped questioning the things you said. You were straightforward. You were different. You were the one woman who wouldn't lie to me in any way. Then I found out you knew who I was almost from the start."

She didn't say anything, and fear hit him like a punch to the gut. Had he fucked up so badly there was no coming back from it?

Voice thick, he said, "If I'd kept my mouth shut until I could think things through, I would have realized there was almost no opportunity for you to tell me. The few times we were able to talk openly we discussed other things. But I didn't stop to think. I reacted, and I reacted badly. I am sorry. Truly sorry. I wish—" His voice broke, and he had to clear his throat. "I wish I could go back in time and undo the way I wrecked things."

"Why?" One word, no inflection.

Case had one last piece of ammo. "Because I love you, Nyx. I love you and I want a lifetime with you."

Nyx's mask slipped momentarily, giving him a view of how badly his distrust hurt her. Then, in the blink of an eye, she had it back in place.

Closing the distance between them, Case cupped her cheek in his palm. She didn't pull away. She didn't slug him. He took that as a good sign. "I love you, Fireball, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I still have issues that I haven't managed to work through. If you need me to take my ass to therapy, I'll be on it as soon as I'm back in the States."

"You don't want to go to therapy." It wasn't a question.

"Hell, no." Case managed a small smile, but it felt forced. "If I wanted to deal with my shit, I would have done it before now." He sobered. "But my shit hurt you, and I don't ever want to do that again."

With a sigh, Nyx leaned her cheek into his palm. "You hit a trigger for me, too. You see, my sisters would accuse me of doing something, and my mom would confront me about it. She wouldn't believe I was innocent even though I was telling the truth. I was grounded more than once for things Dylan did or things one of my sisters did to the other sister. So when you just immediately accused me of lying and wouldn't listen—" She shrugged. "It hurt."

The mask was gone now. Case wrapped his arms around Nyx, cuddling her to his chest. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise."

"How can you make that promise?" Her arms went around his waist as she asked the question.

"Because now that I realize it's a hot issue for me, I'll know to stop and think before I react. I have the discipline to do it, too."

"I know you do. You're Special Forces."

Case held Nyx for a while, basking in the feel of her arms around him, her head on his chest. "You probably don't know how you feel about me yet, but I'd like a chance to…" he tried to come up with the right word. "A chance to woo you."

Some of the relaxation left her body, and Nyx leaned back to meet his gaze. "I love you, too, Case. Why else would I make love with you?"

Relief had him grinning. "Yeah, why else? I should have guessed that."

"You should have." Her mock scolding was ruined by her smile. "I do love you, Case. So much it's scary."

"I get that." Did he ever. Finally, he could take a deep breath. "On my way to the hotel, I passed a jewelry store, and they had a window display that made me stop and go inside." Case put Nyx away from him and reached into the pocket of his jeans. "I know it's too soon to propose, but I thought I could make a promise instead." He handed her a small jewelry box. "Open it."

Nyx lifted the lid. "Oh!"

"This bind rune is for love. I'd like it if you'd wear it."

She nodded. "Put it on for me."

Case freed the silver chain, and after shoving the box back in his pocket, placed it around her neck. "I know we're on opposite sides of the country—when I'm even in the US—but we'll make it work."

"We'll make it work," she agreed.

"I love you, Nyx, and I will forever. I promise."