MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Ten: Threats and Discoveries
---
The chaos had settled into something almost organized by mid-morning.
Percy and Ci N had moved from destroying the kitchen to destroying the living room, rearranging furniture for reasons no one understood. Felix was filming everything. Yuri stood in the corner, watching, saying nothing. Aries was on the sofa beside Jay, their shoulders touching, silent as always.
Keifer had given up on breakfast. He stood by the window now, coffee in hand, watching his best friends turn his house into a disaster zone. Cole stood beside him, calm and steady, the only person in the room who wasn't moving.
Care was walking across the living room with a fresh cup of coffee for Jay.
She didn't see Cole.
He stepped back from the window at the same moment she stepped forward. His elbow caught her arm. The coffee cup flew out of her hand. It hit the floor. It shattered. Coffee splashed across Cole's shoes and Care's dress.
The room went quiet.
Care looked at the broken cup. She looked at the coffee on her dress. She looked at Cole.
Cole looked at his shoes. He looked at Care. He smiled.
"You should watch where you're going," he said.
Care's eyes narrowed.
"I was walking in a straight line," she said. "You moved."
"I moved slightly."
"You moved into me."
"I moved into my space. You were in my space."
"Your space?" Care's voice was calm. Too calm. "You were standing by the window. The window doesn't belong to you."
"It does now."
Care stared at him. Cole stared back. He was still smiling. That easy, confident smile that said he had never met a situation he couldn't handle.
"You think this is funny," Care said.
"I think it's interesting."
"Interesting."
"You're very small. But you look like you want to fight me."
Care put down her medical bag. She straightened her dress. She looked Cole in the eye.
"I don't want to fight you," she said. "I want to kill you."
The room went very quiet.
Percy stopped moving furniture. Ci N stopped filming. Felix stopped breathing. Rakki's mouth dropped open. Grace took a step forward, ready to intervene.
Cole's smile didn't waver.
"Kill me?" he said. "You? The one with the medical bag?"
"I'm a doctor," Care said. "I know exactly where to cut."
Cole's smile flickered. Just a little.
"I have a black belt," he said.
"I have a scalpel."
"You don't have a scalpel."
Care reached into her medical bag. She pulled out a small blade. Sterile. Sharp. She held it up so he could see.
"I always have a scalpel," she said.
The room held its breath.
Cole looked at the blade. He looked at Care's face. She was calm. She was steady. She was absolutely serious.
He laughed.
It was a surprised sound, something that escaped before he could stop it. He put his hands up. Slowly. Carefully.
"Okay," he said. "I yield. You win. I'll buy you a new dress. Ten new dresses. Whatever you want."
Care didn't move. "I don't want dresses."
"What do you want?"
"I want you to watch where you're going."
She put the scalpel back in her bag. She picked up the pieces of the broken cup. She stood up, smoothed her dress, and walked to the kitchen without looking back.
Cole watched her go. His hand was over his heart. His face was something between amazement and terror.
"Who is that?" he asked.
Keifer was smiling. "Care. She's with Jay."
"She threatened to kill me."
"I saw."
"She had a scalpel."
"I saw."
Cole looked at the kitchen. Care was making another cup of coffee, her hands steady, her face calm, like nothing had happened.
"I think I'm in love," Cole said.
Percy burst out laughing. Ci N dropped his phone. Rakki fell off the sofa.
Keifer shook his head. "You're an idiot."
"An idiot in love," Cole said.
"An idiot who's going to get stabbed."
Cole was still watching Care. She looked up. She saw him watching. She didn't smile. She didn't look away.
"Worth it," Cole said.
---
The chaos resumed.
Percy was still laughing. Ci N was trying to find his phone. Rakki was on the floor, tears streaming down her face. Grace was standing by the kitchen, arms crossed, watching Cole with the expression of someone who was deciding whether to protect her friend or let her handle it.
Jay leaned her head back against the sofa. Aries was still beside her, still silent, but their hand was on her arm, steady and warm.
"Care just threatened to kill Cole," Jay said.
"I saw."
"He's still smiling."
"He's an idiot."
Jay almost smiled. "Keifer said the same thing."
Aries looked at Keifer. Keifer was watching Cole with the expression of a man who had seen this happen many times before.
"He knows," Aries said. "He's known Cole his whole life."
"Cole doesn't look scared."
"Cole has never been scared of anything. That's the problem."
Jay watched Cole walk toward the kitchen. He was trying to look casual. He was failing. Grace stepped in front of him.
"No," Grace said.
"I just want to talk," Cole said.
"She threatened to kill you."
"She was being dramatic."
"She wasn't being dramatic. She was being honest."
Cole looked at Grace. Grace looked at Cole. Neither of them moved.
"I'll bring her coffee," Cole said.
"She's making her own coffee."
"I'll bring her a pastry."
"She doesn't eat pastries."
"Everyone eats pastries."
Grace crossed her arms. "She doesn't eat your pastries."
Cole stood there for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. He walked back to the window. He didn't look at the kitchen again.
But everyone saw him checking his phone. Everyone saw him typing something. Everyone saw the small smile on his face when his phone buzzed with a reply.
---
The morning wore on.
The house was still full. Still loud. Still chaos. But something had shifted. The edges between Jay's people and Keifer's people were blurring.
Mica and Calix were still arguing. But now they were arguing about something that made Mica laugh. Just once. Just for a second. Calix looked like he had won something.
Erdix and Grace were still by the door. Still watching each other. Still not moving. But someone had brought them coffee. Two cups. Sitting on the table between them.
Rakki and Mayo had formed an alliance. No one knew what they were planning. Everyone was afraid to ask.
David was still eating pastries. He had lost count. He didn't care.
Kit and Care were comparing medical supplies again. But Care kept looking at the window. Kept looking at Cole. Kept looking away before anyone could see.
---
And in the corner, Alex was still standing near Lyra.
He had been there for hours. His suit was wrinkled. His hair was a disaster. His tie was somewhere on the floor. He looked like a man who had been fighting a war and losing.
But he was smiling.
"I found it," he said.
Lyra didn't turn. "You said that yesterday."
"I found it again."
"You lost it again."
"I didn't lose it. I wrote it down. In my phone. This time." He held up his phone. "I have a backup. Three backups. I learned my lesson."
Lyra turned. Just her head. Just her eyes.
"What is it?" she asked.
Alex looked at his phone. He looked at her. His smile was different now. Smaller. Realer.
"Lyra Kulkarni," he said.
The room went quiet.
Lyra's face didn't change. Her hands didn't move. But something shifted behind her eyes. Something that looked like surprise. Something that looked like fear.
"How?" she asked.
"I have resources," Alex said. "I have people. I'm very rich."
"That's not an answer."
He stepped closer. "I called in favors. I asked questions. I followed leads that didn't want to be followed. I found a record. A hospital. A birth certificate. From a city you left a long time ago."
Lyra stared at him. Her voice was quiet.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"I know."
"You shouldn't have looked."
"I know."
"You shouldn't have found it."
"I know." He was close now. Close enough to touch. "But I did."
Lyra looked at him for a long moment. Her face was blank. Her eyes were not.
"Kulkarni," she said. Like she was tasting it. Like she had forgotten what it felt like in her mouth.
"Kulkarni," Alex said again. Softer.
"That's my name."
"I know."
"You said it wrong the first time."
"I know."
She almost smiled. Almost. "You're still an idiot."
"I know."
She turned back to the window. But she didn't move away. And Alex didn't move either.
They stood there together, in the corner that was hers, and for the first time, she let him stay.
---
Ci N was recording.
He had been recording since Alex said Kulkarni. He had the whole thing. The silence. The shift. The almost-smile.
"This is gold," he whispered to Felix. "Pure gold."
Felix was watching too. "What are you going to do with it?"
"Save it. Treasure it. Show it at the wedding."
"What wedding?"
"Jay's wedding. Or Alex's wedding. Whoever gets married first."
Ci N looked at Jay on the sofa. She was watching Keifer. Keifer was watching her. Across the room, through the chaos, through the noise. Like no one else was there.
Felix followed his gaze. "That's a lot of weddings."
Ci N grinned. "I like weddings."
---
The afternoon came.
Jay was still on the sofa. Her ribs ached. Her jaw throbbed. Her lip pulled against stitches. But she was warm. She was safe. She was surrounded by people who loved her.
Keifer sat beside her now. His shoulder was almost touching hers. His hand was on the sofa between them, close enough to hold.
She didn't hold it. But she didn't move away.
"Your house is destroyed," she said.
"I noticed."
"Percy and Ci N are still in the kitchen."
"I noticed."
"Cole is still watching Care."
"I noticed."
"Alex is still in Lyra's corner."
Keifer smiled. "I noticed."
Jay looked at him. His face was tired. His eyes were dark. But he was smiling. Really smiling.
"You're not angry," she said.
"About what?"
"The chaos. The noise. The people. The fact that your house will never be the same."
He looked at the room. At his friends. At her friends. At the lines between them blurring until there was no line at all.
"I've been alone for a long time," he said. "This is better."
Jay looked at him. The enemy. The stranger. The man who had saved her life.
"This is better," she said.
---
Ci N appeared beside them. He was holding his phone. He was grinning.
"Did you see?" he asked. "Did you see Alex? He said her name. He said it right. And she almost smiled. I got it on video. I got all of it."
Jay looked at him. "You've been recording everything."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ci N's grin softened. Something serious flickered behind his eyes. "Because this is the day everything changed. The day you almost died. The day he saved you. The day we all came together." He looked at his phone. "Someone should remember it."
Jay reached out and touched his face. He was still so young. Still so soft. Still the boy who had followed her into every fight.
"You're a good brother," she said.
Ci N's eyes went wet. He blinked quickly. He looked away.
"I know," he said. His voice cracked. "I'm the best brother. The best. Better than Percy. Better than Aries. I'm the favorite."
"I know."
"I'm the favorite," he said again. Like he needed to hear it.
"You're the favorite," Jay said.
Ci N nodded. He wiped his eyes. He walked away. But he was smiling.
---
The sun was setting when Jay finally stood up.
Her ribs screamed. Her legs shook. She held onto Keifer's arm without thinking.
He held her steady.
"You should sit down," he said.
"I've been sitting all day."
"You've been recovering all day."
She looked at the room. At her girls. At his boys. At the chaos that had become something like family.
"Your house is still destroyed," she said.
"I'll clean it tomorrow."
"Percy and Ci N are still in the kitchen."
"I'll evict them tomorrow."
"Alex is still in Lyra's corner."
Keifer looked at the corner. Alex was sitting on the floor now. Lyra was standing above him. They weren't talking. They weren't moving. But Alex was smiling. And Lyra wasn't telling him to leave.
"Leave them," Keifer said. "They're fine."
Jay looked at him. His hand was on her arm. His face was close. His eyes were steady.
"We're fine," she said.
"We're fine," he said.
---
END OF CHAPTER TEN