I'll Be Dammed

by Mandy Rosko

  Albert damn near knocked over Alyce, the llama trying to get in his way when he tried to follow after his Beverly.

  “Just hang back here. We don’t need to impede the investigation, and you’re injured..”

  “I’m not letting my amnesiac wife run down there on her own.” Albert barely heard a word his boss said because he was suddenly thinking about what consequences he would face for getting his talons out and digging them into another agent’s eyes.

  That would get those bastards out of his way and fast.

  The sound of a baby’s laugh was the thing that stopped him from barreling the agents down and storming after his wife.

  That sound created a snapping effect in his mind.

  He couldn’t see Alyce standing next to him anymore. He barely saw the vans, the agents, or heard the static noise of everyone talking at the same time. There was no one else, nothing but that sound.

  He just looked toward the door where that bubbling laugh burst out.

  Like a flourish of butterflies from a dark pit.

  And then, with slow, steady steps, much calmer than she had run in, Beverly was right there.

  And she had something in her arms.

  Everyone was quiet. It seemed no one even breathed.

  Or maybe it was just him, because he was so focused on the bright watery smile of his wife as she walked over to him with the bundle in her hands.

  He could see the baby before she stood in front of him.

  And without her needing to say a thing, he knew it was theirs.

  He didn’t know the hows or the whys. He only cared about the vision in front of him.

  Albert wrapped his arms around his wife and child.

  This was...the greatest gift he’d ever been given.

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I’m taking it,” he said.

  Beverly didn’t say a word. She just nodded as she got his shirt very, very wet with her tears.

  Sixteen

  The DNA tests were rushed for the sake of the situation.

  It seemed that when FUC personnel had a child stolen from them, and a baby was found in a suspicious underground facility with lab equipment everywhere, the good people of FUC were willing to rush the test to the top of the pile of everything that needed to be done.

  Albert and Beverly got official confirmation that it was their son the very next day.

  Well, Beverly already knew this was her son. She felt it too deeply inside her to not know, but it was still nice to have that little paper with the numbers on it that proved it without a shadow of a doubt so they’d never have to worry about another set of parents trying to claim Aiden.

  Beverly held her child against her chest, humming softly as he burped and spit up on the towel she had over her shoulder.

  He was such a good eater. So healthy and not very fussy with what she put in his mouth.

  Though there was a small pain that she couldn’t breastfeed, because whatever had been done to her had taken away that ability, she was so pleased with having him back with her, of being his mother, that she was able to focus on the simple pleasure of feeding her child at all.

  Throwing the burp cloth into the baby hamper was also its own pleasure, because it reminded her of how her friends had shown up with every baby supply item she could possibly think of.

  Led by Miranda, a bunny mommy and force of nature, Beverly and Albert’s home had been quickly transformed into a place with everything baby Aiden could need from now until he went off to school.

  Miranda had even left Beverly some carrot cake muffins, a show of just how happy she was for them. “I didn’t know where I could get wood muffins, that’s what beavers really like, right? I mean not that kind of wood, but like, the tree kind. Anyway, I kept a dozen in the car for me, but these are for you. Except this one. I’m taking it with me. Love you guys!”

  While they were delivering items, all the agents wanted to see the baby, but Beverly was glad they didn’t ask to hold him. She barely let him go for Albert to hold him. They’d had too much time apart, and she was making up for it.

  “Got something new for me?” Albert stepped into the room, walking immediately over to the laundry basket.

  “You don’t have to wash each item as they’re dirtied.” Beverly laughed. “Miranda brought us enough that we really shouldn’t need to do laundry for a week.”

  “Owls are very good caretakers for their mates. Speaking of which, I brought you Pad Tai to eat.”

  “God, I love you.” She’d seen videos online about how the male owls brought the female food while they cared for the eggs. Albert was definitely an owl. If she had never seen him in his owl form, or watched him do that gross thing with his neck, it would be obvious the owl was his spirit animal.

  Meanwhile, all Beverly wanted to do was care for her baby boy, snuggle him, and go through all the gifts so she could fix up his nursery.

  “You look like you’re thinking pretty hard about something,” Albert said. He had her Pad Tai in hand, and the dirty dish towel was gone.

  “Yeah, I guess I was.” Definitely thinking too hard if she hadn’t noticed him leave for a few minutes, only to come back with her meal.

  Albert pulled up the little stool that was meant for resting her feet, sitting next to her on it. She offered her hand, and he took it.

  “How’ve you been doing?”

  “Great,” she said, absolutely meaning it. “He’s perfect.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Albert said, hesitating just a little. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything else?”

  Everyone at FUC had already asked her. She was going to be interviewed again later just in case there was something she had missed.

  She knew that, and she understood Albert was being protective, but she wished this could wait for later.

  “I remember you and me. My life. Our lives, but as for what happened, and why they took me, I have no idea.”

  She only cared that her baby was healthy, that he had apparently not been with those people long enough that they could do anything to him.

  He would need more monitoring and tests as well, but for the moment, he was safe and sound with her, and that was the only thing Beverly cared about.

  “You know, part of me is so glad you don’t remember.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, sorry if that’s disappointing. I just...I don’t like the idea of you strapped to a table somewhere, all alone, wondering when the hell FUC is going to break down the door and save you. I hate that you had to do it all on your own, but I’m real fucking proud you managed to do it all the same.”

  She leaned back in her rocker. “Yeah, I’m glad, too. You know we’re going to have to learn to tone down our swearing before he gets old enough that he realizes what we’re saying.”

  “Yeah, I’m working on that.” Albert laughed a little, scratching his cheek, and he looked at their son in Beverly’s arms with the sort of affection she loved to see from him.

  He had his son and his wife. If Beverly was beyond happy to have her baby and most of her memories back, then she could only imagine what that felt like for him.

  “I think you’re right,” she said, adjusting the soft, snoozing bundle in her arms. “Part of me really wants to remember, but I don’t think I want to remember what it was like having them take Aiden out of me. That’s assuming they kept me conscious.”

  And all things considered, she wouldn’t be shocked if they had, just to save on the medications.

  Evil sons of bitches.

  “Whether you remember or not, the important thing is that this facility was taken down, and any trace of these people is gone. They knew FUC was on to them, and they got out of town. Official teams will track them down, but they won’t mess with our people again,” Albert promised.

  Beverly swallowed hard, that painful lump forming in her throat at his words.

  “I know.”

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to look
into it anymore,” Albert added. “We have our son back, and if that’s all you need, then I’m all for it.”

  “But that’s not all you need, is it?”

  He shook his head. Beverly knew that Albert wasn’t even close to being done with this. His body had healed, but he walked differently now. Not as carefree, even in his own home. He walked like he expected another intruder at any moment.

  She got the feeling he was itching to get back into the field, to leave behind the library life and become an agent again.

  “If you’re going to support me in what I want, then I’ll support you in this. If you need to go out and hunt down the people who tried taking him from us, then I’ll be right behind you cheering you on.”

  Albert sighed. “Really?”

  “Yeah, and when Aiden is old enough that I can leave him alone with a babysitter without worrying senseless about him, you’d better know that I’ll be right behind you to hunt those dickheads down with you.”

  “Language.”

  “We have a little while before he realizes what we’re saying.” Beverly shrugged and smiled, knowing it would take some getting used to.

  Albert laughed, putting his hands on either side of Beverly’s face, leaning in for a gentle kiss.

  It didn’t warm her quite as much as having her son against her chest, but it was damn close.

  It was worth it for getting the little crying brat out of his hair.

  Smack. Smack. Smack.

  John was losing the feeling in his cheek.

  “You gave up your brother! Why did you do that! You were supposed to go and get him!”

  “They were going to keep looking for the baby until they found him. You don’t see what a good thing this actually—”

  Another hard smack to the face stopped him before he could say another word.

  The rings. The fucking rings.

  A long, feathery finger pointed right under his nose. “That was not for you to decide.”

  “We already got all the bloodwork we need anyway.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “We have a lot. It’s enough, and there would have been nothing if I hadn’t left him behind.”

  “How did they even find the labs?” She was shrieking now. That was not a good thing, considering they were in the middle of the woods, hiding, traveling.

  As if he would tell her that. “It’s FUC. They’ve taken down bigger fish. Of course they found the labs.”

  She looked at him, her eyes narrowed.

  She couldn’t know. There was no way she did, but it was clear she suspected.

  John was going to have to be more careful from now on, a bit more loyal than he normally would be, if he wanted to keep his head.

  “I promise I’ll do everything I can to protect you. We’ll make this work.” He touched her feathery fingers. “We’ll fix you.”

  She yanked her hand out of his, clutching it close to her chest while snapping her beak.

  “Let’s just go. We have a long walk before we make it to the next safe house.”

  “Right. Stay behind me. I’ll lead the way.”

  “Or you’ll lead me to my demise.”

  “No,” he promised. “You’re too important for that. I swear, I’m here for you.”

  “Just go.”

  There was no more talking after that, which was good. John didn’t want to hear anything more from her anyway. His sympathy for her had long since run out.

  He’d done the right thing. He wasn’t a baby snatcher, not even for the work they were doing, because there were times when he stopped caring about his mother’s condition.

  She’d signed herself up for it, after all, and there was only so much he could play into the whole mommy thing.

  He wasn’t the brains behind this operation, but he’d signed on because he knew the good that could come from the research. He knew all the lives that could be saved.

  And if kidnapping for blood samples was a part of creating their life-saving miracle, then so be it.

  One had gotten away. It didn’t matter.

  They had others, in different locations, who would still be very useful to the cause.

  * * *

  The End

  Not quite! There are more FUC Academy books coming. Like Goose and the Ocelot, by Renee Hewett, Bat and the Bone by

  Alexa Gregory

  . And even

  Eve Langlais, the FUC world creator, has a book coming called Panda and the Kitty.

  To find out more about these books and more, please visit Worlds.EveLanglais.com or stay in the loop with our newsletter - sign up here.

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Mandy Rosko is a videogame playing, book loving chick. She loves writing paranormal romances that range from light steamy to erotic, and has some contemporary and historical romances as well. You can find her on all sorts of platforms, including Twitch, where she does writing sprints, crafting, and video gaming!

  Get all the latest news from Mandy by signing up for her newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/mandyrosko