Col: His Destined Mate

by Georgette St. Clair

  And he had been filled with even greater disgust upon learning of its growing use by the young and innocent, with the eager encouragement by those greedy for coin.

  He also remembered now, the use of some drug on him, as Simon’s friend Dr. Chuck had confirmed, on that day he woke up bound in an underground chamber. The scent of the man responsible had been all over that place last night where she had been, and so to Col, her involvement with that man was clear.

  As was the proof of the drugs, spilling out of the toy’s belly. He could see it once more in his mind’s eye, that initial time he had laid eyes upon the totem. It had been kept close by where she had slept. To where they had lain together for the first time.

  Mayhap her effect on him were the result of a similar misuse of drugs. A potion or powder that she had used to befuddle his very senses. No, he shook off that idea. She had been around the others as well. They would have well spotted it if she had been targeting him with some type of brew or concoction.

  Yet she was cunning. The betrayal seared through him — though he knew not if it was from the failure of his senses or from her duplicity. Had she been lying to him from the beginning? Was she lying to him last night? Nothing made sense to him any more, it was as if his senses were once more in open rebellion, and he could not even trust the ground upon which he moved.

  Faster and faster he ran, until the fingers of dawn stretched across the sky. He knew he had to head back, at least to be within mind-messaging range of his War Pack, even if he could not yet endure seeing her.

  He needed to attend to his duty as a Waryeor.

  It was all he had left.

  The alarm went off, as it had been set the past few days, early enough for her to get the children and herself ready to the Childcare Center. Lily had fallen asleep in her tee shirt and cotton skirt, and it only took a few minutes to jam her feet into her sneakers and splash some water on her face.

  She looked like hell.

  Her face was drawn, haggard, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot.

  She looked better than she felt.

  She wiped her face, did what she needed to do in the bathroom, and then shuffled to the kids’ room next door. Life went on, even if she felt half dead.

  She was stunned to see the two preschoolers already dressed. Miller and Simon were both in there, and while she guessed that Miller was the one that actually got them into clean clothes, she was still astounded by the progress that Simon had made, from the time he had backed away from the kids in the Childcare Center.

  He didn’t look at all like he was in a pen with snarling Dobermans. In fact, he looked almost….comfortable. He had changed so much since Lily had met him. But then, they all had.

  “Katie! Katie!” The twins swarmed about her, and she allowed herself to sink into their lighthearted giggles and affection. She made sure that she spent equal time greeting Clover as she did Brady. Maybe later she’d get around to telling them to call her Lily.

  “We figured that after what you’ve been through, you might need a day off,” Simon said, and Miller nodded in agreement. As usual, he was already on top of things.

  “I’ll take them in, get things squared with TraceyAnn and Rika, and pick the kids up after. I’ve already transferred their car seats into the Range Rover so they can ride with the boys going in. I’ll find out from Tybalt who’s on patrol at the Faire today.”

  Lily was touched by their thoughtfulness. But she really couldn’t spend a whole day in the house by herself. She knew already that if she weren’t sleeping, she’d be watching for Col. She couldn’t go through that again so soon. She needed to stay busy, distract herself. After a century of sleep.

  She yawned. “That is so incredibly thoughtful of you both. How about just the morning off? Honestly, after I get a few more hours of sleep, nothing would relax me more than being around kids.”

  Simon nodded with approval. “Okay, we can compromise on that.”

  “Look at what I’m wearing!” Clover tugged at Lily’s arm. “Miller let me choosed it all by myself.”

  “You don’t need the d, honey.” Lily smiled at her. “I like what you chose. That’s a pretty pink t-shirt, what’s it a picture of?”

  Clover stuck out her belly while she looked at the image.”It’s a pft-pft-Terry Dackle!”

  “Close enough,” Lily laughed. “And what about you, Brady? Did you choose what you’re wearing as well?”

  Brady grinned widely while pulling the ends of his green t-shirt. “Yah!!” He shouted. “Mine’s a T-Rex! RAWR!”

  He pretended to chomp at Clover, who promptly shrieked and threw a stuffed octopus at him. Miller stopped the hijinks from getting out of hand by swooping both up with a promise of dinosaur shaped pancakes for breakfast.

  They left for the kitchen in a flurry of shrieks and giggles.

  “He’s so good with kids,” Lily observed. She felt better about taking the morning off. While the kids had been enjoying their stay here at the mansion, it seemed that the guys here really relished their presence too.

  Even Simon.

  He answered in a quiet voice. “Yes, he is. Miller was the one that raised me, after all.”

  Lily’s brow furrowed. Simon had never shared anything so private with her before. Miller had only hinted at it.

  “Well, he did a great job from what I see.” She smiled at him warmly. She was just going to let him share more if he wanted to, but she wasn’t going to pry. After last night, she was just grateful that he gave her the chance to finally come clean about everything. And he was still as generous and welcoming as ever. As were Miller, and Tybalt. Although she still couldn’t allow herself to take it for granted.

  She still had to see the others, and speak with them directly. For the first time, she was starting to believe that she had formed true friendships here. No more secrets.

  Even if she had lost the one relationship that had changed her forever.

  “Well, I’ve got to get some work done,” Simon pushed his glasses up. “So remember, you’re taking the morning off! And if I can convince you to also take the afternoon off, just remember two words.”

  “Oh?” Lily raised her eyebrows. Two words? Get out? Fuck off? Her mind raced with the possibilities. All of them bad.

  Simon smiled and ended the torture.

  “Chocolate. Chip.”

  Lily burst out with relieved laughter, and just like that, the tension between them was gone.

  “Use the house phone if you need anything,” Simon added. “We’re setting you up today with your own mobile, and I’ll leave it for you by the kitchen phone when it’s ready.”

  Lily was overwhelmed, so she merely nodded. And a few minutes later, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

  Sometime later, she had woken up, still somewhat groggy. The two or three hours of solid nap time wasn’t nearly enough to make up for an all-nighter on Col-alert, or even to fully rebound from a pretty traumatic evening.

  Holy hell. Rey was dead. She was free. She didn’t have to run any more. It wasn’t a dream.

  She punched her pillow and placed her head back down, closed her eyes. But all she could think about was that bunch of Calla lilies that were on the floor of the lingerie shop, right near where Col had been standing.

  The little she had seen of him from where she’d been sitting — when he had filled up the doorway, all dressed up for their dinner date, carrying that large bouquet. He looked good. He was already handsome in anything he wore—or wasn’t wearing—but in a dark suit and tie, he was positively devastating. And that hunk of handsome had rushed there to be with her.

  But then had probably run away, just as fast.

  Nope. She definitely was wide awake now. It was probably a good thing that Simon had given her the option to take the afternoon off. Feeling the way she did, she might as well take him up on it. Maybe Miller had a quart of Ben and Jerry’s downstairs, or at this rate, a full tub of it was probably needed to blunt the edg
e of pain. Or two.

  Sounded like a plan. She’d go downstairs, use the housephone to call up Rika’s office and confirm that she was taking the afternoon off, then self-medicate with ice cream and lots of baking.

  And then go into hibernation for the rest of the evening. Or the rest of her life. Yep, it was a good plan.

  Nobody else seemed to be in the house as she went downstairs, but then again, she wouldn’t really be able to hear Simon in his office, or any of the boys in their wing of the house.

  She had the kitchen all to herself, and she wandered over to the industrial sized Sub-Zero, worthy of a five star restaurant. All she cared about was its contents, and yes! Thank you, Miller. Cartons of ice cream from a local dairy farm, in various flavors. She wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Simon also made a point of supporting local businesses, and she fixed herself a large bowl with scoops of each flavor. Doing her bit for the local economy. It wasn’t exactly her original plan of just eating out the quart, but she wasn’t opposed to raising standards for wallowing in self-pity.

  Standards. Oops. She forgot she should make a call first. She used her hip to close the freezer door shut, and walked over to where the house phone was, with the bowl in one hand, spoon in the other. She was ready to make some damage. To her waistline.

  But first, she’d talk to Rika.

  And whatdyaknow. Right by the house phone, there was a pretty cell phone plugged in and charging, with a little sticky note on it proclaiming it hers. It was the phone that Simon had promised, a model that put anything that she had before to shame. Images of the phone that Rey had smashed flashed through her mind. She shook off the thought of Rey, because it made her anxious and queasy. A new phone, for a new start. It was fitting.

  She’d have to put some time in learning to use it, since it probably had more features than the basic model that she had been accustomed to. And she couldn’t wait to call Lucie, and learn how to take photos, and use the web browser, and--- it was another point in favor of taking the afternoon off, after calling Rika and then demolishing her body weight in frozen dairy products.

  Just as she set down the bowl of ice cream on the counter, the house phone rang, startling her.

  Surprisingly, for all the high tech in the house, Simon had a very standard phone and receiver unit in the kitchen, probably as backup, or maybe that was Miller’s doing. Well, she wasn’t going to worry about IT mysteries, not when there was an actual phone that was ringing insistently.

  Maybe it was for her, anyway. She’d pick it up, and if it wasn’t, she could just ask them to call back and leave a message on voicemail. She was full of such good ideas today!

  She lifted it up, and to her surprise, Rika’s voice came clearly over the phone.

  “Rika! I was just about to call you!”

  The HR Director was calm. Maybe too controlled. “I was calling to see if there was any chance that you had someone else pick up Brady and Clover around noon?”

  Lily’s heart plummeted. “They’re gone?” Way to state the obvious, Lil.

  “It’s only been a few minutes. Luna was by herself minding the kids, while TraceyAnn took a short break to go to the Staff Caff. When TraceyAnn came back, that’s when they noticed that Brady and Clover were gone.”

  “Oh, good Lord.” Lily’s mind raced. “Brady and Clover have been playing hide and seek lately so I’m praying that it’s something like that.”

  “Yes, apparently this isn’t the first time they’ve done this. However, we’ve got to find them fast, or I’ll need to call the police.”

  “I’ll help you guys look for them. I’m going to leave the house right now, I’m at Simon’s.” Well, duh. Rika just called her there on the house phone. “Oh, sorry. Of course, you already knew that. I’ll head there as fast as I can. Call me on my cell phone if you find the kids before then, okay? Do you have the number?”

  “It’ll be in the system, since it’s a staff-issued phone. Simon’s already entered it. In the meantime I’ll get ahold of Puma and make sure he’s aware of the situation. If the kids are hiding on the Fairegrounds, he’ll need to let his people know so they can be on the lookout. If we don’t find the kids very soon, I’ll call the police.”

  “Understood,” Lily put the phone down in the receiver. There wasn’t a moment to waste. She had to get her wallet and car keys and get moving, fast.

  Damn it. If only she didn’t allow Barric and Merek to play hide and seek with them, no doubt spurring them to possibly more dangerous areas to lodge their little bodies into.

  She left behind the large bowl of ice cream scoops melting on the kitchen counter, as she jumped into her red Subaru and sped off in the direction of the Faire.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  She probably broke a number of traffic laws racing to the Fairegrounds. The whole way there, she kept praying that her cell phone would ring and Rika would tell her that the twins had been found. The phone stayed silent. Rika would be calling the cops any minute now, if she hadn’t already.

  She parked with a screech of tires at the first spot she found, and began jogging towards Staff Childcare.

  The cell phone started ringing, and her heart leapt with relief. Oh, thank God. It must be Rika. The phone said “No Caller ID”, which was odd, but she answered quickly.

  “Rika?” she said hopefully.

  A man’s voice answered, oozing with menace and glee. “Hello, Katie. Or should I say Lily?”

  She sucked in a horrified breath. It was him. The older man from the lingerie shop. How the hell did he have her number? How did he know her name? Well, that was the least of her problems right now.

  “Missing something?” the man continued. “Or, a couple of somethings? A matching set?”

  “You have the kids? You son of a bitch, my friends will end you!” she cried out, her hands trembling with fury.

  “Katie? I’m scared!” She heard a child cry out in the background. Oh, God. That revolting, sadistic psychopath had the twins.

  “If you want to see them again in one piece, you will shut up and listen to me.”

  Tears welled in her eyes as he recited his terms. She would exchange herself for the children, and she had to meet him at 2 p.m. He described the location where she would meet him. Every minute that she was late, the children would lose a body part.

  She had to come alone, and tell no one.

  Or else.

  And then he hung up.

  She looked at the watch on her wrist. She had forty-two minutes left to get there. She guessed she would need every single minute of them.

  And then the phone started to heat in her fingers. Suddenly it was so hot that she couldn’t hold it any more, and as she dropped it, it burst into flames.

  That phone would have been her lifeline! She could have used it to call for help, they could have used it to track her!

  “Damn it!” she screamed out loud, pushing all the How is this even possible questions to the bottom of her to-do list. She couldn’t afford that brainpower right now.

  Forty one minutes left.

  She turned and ran. Her rubbery legs were going like they were on a cartoon spinning wheel, and it still wasn’t fast enough even to close the distance to the car. How was she going to get to where the kids were by 2pm? She’d be gunning the motor on that little red Subaru as fast as it could go — Too bad it wasn’t a racing car—

  Racing car. Like the ones in the “Steeds Through the Ages” display. Simon’s collection of sports cars alongside models of horses dressed for jousting or warfare.

  And who should she see walking towards her now but the head of Ops. Puma. The very one that Simon had promised would give her any car help she needed.

  “Please,” Lily said. “The sports cars on display. Are they already gassed up?”

  Puma looked at her. “Yes. We keep them fully maintained in case Simon wants to take any of them out for a spin.”

  “Give me the keys to whichever can get out the quickest.” Lily was a
ware she was shouting, and lowered her voice. “Please. It’s life and death.”

  She could tell Puma had tons of questions, but the note was very clear. Tell No One. Or Else. She wasn’t going to argue with anything that could make itself disappear. Or if kids were involved.

  Shit. The clock was ticking.

  Thirty nine minutes. It felt longer. But Puma silently reached for the massive key ring hanging off his left hip, detaching a set that had a very recognizable logo on it. He was probably moving with his usual efficiency, but to Lily it was like slow motion.

  “Thanks. I’ll explain later, Puma.” If there was a later. But she wasn’t going to think about that now.

  Thirty eight minutes.

  She had the keys in hand. And she was already racing to the sports car that was going to take her to the kids.

  At over 200 mph.

  She only prayed that would be fast enough. And no matter how fast it went, it still wouldn’t take away the fear that she might never see Col once more, never get the chance to explain.

  Never feel his arms wrapped around her ever again.

  Even with all the traumatic events that had gone down in the lingerie shop the night before, Lily had never felt so scared.

  Or so alone.

  “Puma’s calling for you, Simon,” Jemima Danes’ voice came over the speakers. Puma and Rika were the two calls that always got put through, because if they were calling, it wasn’t to chat about what they had just chained on Netflix.

  “Hey Puma.” Simon leaned back in his ergonomic chair, lifting his glasses in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. He really should take more breaks from staring at the computer screen, he thought to himself. Maybe he’d program Jemima Danes to prompt him more frequently.

  “Thought you’d want to know. I was on my way to Staff Childcare to talk to Rika about the twins going missing. I saw Katie, and she asked for the keys to a racing car, so I gave her the yellow Lamborghini. Wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do, but she seemed really frantic.”