“But the killer is dead.”
“Yes.”
Her mind spun as she tried to put the pieces together. She’d worked so hard on a case that could never be solved, and that angered her a bit. But at the same time, a bit of peace settled over her. Her sister’s killer had been found. “Why didn’t you tell the police? Why are you letting them spend money and resources on a case they’ll never be able to solve?”
He gazed at her, confusion crossing his face. “What are we supposed to say? That a horrible, awful entity called a Colonist from another planet was responsible for all that death, but we took care of him? That the reason that there isn’t a body is because a Colonist disintegrates into a pile of ash when he’s killed?”
She lay back on the pillows, seeing his point. Logically, it made sense, but as a profiler, it bothered her that others would spend their energies on something that they could never answer.
“So, you were there when your people found the bodies?”
He nodded. “It was horrific. I had nightmares.”
“What … how did he kill them? The medical examiner said they’d all been beaten.”
He nodded. “The females who came face-to-face with him said he wanted them to fight for their lives.”
“With their hands?”
“Yes.”
She scoffed as the tears started again. She tried to imagine sweet Vicky taking a swing at anyone, and she couldn’t. The girl never stood a chance, and anger tensed her shoulder muscles. “That’s pretty cowardly.”
“I agree.”
“Really not such a tough guy when he fights women.”
“Nope.”
They laid in silence for a long while as she considered what she’d learned. Her sister had most likely suffered horribly, but now lay at rest. At some point, she’d have to resolve her own fury about the situation, but she wasn’t quite ready to let it go.
He turned to her. “Olivia, what are your plans for the future?”
It took her a moment to answer, surprised by the change in the conversation. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m kind of screwed.”
“You were screwed just a couple of hours ago, and I’m going to screw you again, right now.”
She laughed as he rolled on top of her and kissed her deeply.
“Remind me we have to have that conversation a bit later,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
When his mouth found her breast, she sighed and closed her eyes, all thoughts of death, her future, and any type of conversation fading from her mind.
Chapter 46
The next afternoon, Roman rode back to the silo with Beverly. She’d insisted on driving, and he didn’t have any problem letting her take the wheel. As far as he was concerned, arguing with Beverly would be an exercise in futility. He had no issues admitting the female was far more intelligent than he would ever be.
When Beverly announced she would be returning back to the silo, he’d made up a story of needing to get him and Olivia more clothing. In reality, he really wanted to talk to Noah.
They’d left Olivia at the safe house, and the farther they drove away from her, the more uncomfortable he became. He didn’t like leaving her there by herself, and a small part of him worried that she’d be gone when he returned.
As the three of them had shared breakfast this morning, they’d chatted easily, and he could tell Olivia matched Beverly in the brains department. The female was everything he’d been searching for—intelligent, beautiful, with a good sense of humor, and she liked to have fun. He grinned as he recalled them sneaking out to the hot tub last night and having sex on the pool deck. If Beverly had woken and heard them, she would have seen quite a show. Thankfully, the hot tub sat in a little cove where the neighbors couldn’t see it. He imagined their exhibition would have been twice as exciting if they’d noticed his eyes glowing.
At breakfast, he’d made a firm decision that Olivia belonged in his life—in all their lives. He wanted to talk to Noah about it, to see if he’d be willing to allow her to live with them, because it seemed that his and Olivia’s paths had crossed for a reason. He hoped her knowing that her sister’s murderer had been killed brought her a bit of peace. As for him, when he was with her, he felt sated, like he didn’t need anything else. That hadn’t been the case a week ago with his almost daily treks to the Black Cuff. Back then, he’d been searching for something, but he hadn’t known what it was. Now, he felt certain he’d found it.
They pulled into the drive leading to the silo and waited for the gate to open. As it slid to the side, Beverly sighed when she hit the gas, and he glanced over at her. Worry creased her pretty face.
Reaching over, he took his hand in hers. “Everything’s going to work out fine, Bev. Benedict and Eden seem like good people. They’re naïve, so they are like children in a way, and they’re going to need you.”
She looked over at him and smiled. “Thanks, Roman. We’ll get through this, just as we get through everything that comes our way.”
The second gate opened before she reached it, which usually indicated someone was watching the cameras pretty closely.
“It seems someone is excited to see you.”
“I feel like I’m walking into a situation I don’t understand, nor do I even want to understand it. I just want my old life back when it was just me, Hudson, and Killian.”
“Don’t forget Abby. She’s Hudson’s daughter, as well.”
Beverly smiled. “I oftentimes do forget that. She’s just my friend.”
“I think everything will work out fine for you. Hudson was a different person back then. Now, I see his dedication to you and Killian, and to all of us. I see it every day, Bev. Your mate is a good male.”
She nodded and took the keys from the ignition. “Thanks, Roman. I appreciate you being here with me.”
The silo door opened, and Killian ran out. “Mommy!”
Hudson followed him, looking apprehensive as Beverly stepped out of the car and picked up her son.
Roman exited the vehicle and climbed the stairs to the silo as Hudson took Bev and Killian into his arms.
Waving at Abby and Sophia in the kitchen, he headed straight for the War Room. It seemed even more Christmas decorations had been put up, and the place looked very festive. Honestly, he couldn’t wait to experience this thing called Christmas with his people, and he loved that they had adapted to the culture and traditions around them. While living in the bunker, they’d never celebrated any holidays, so joining up with the Saviors had turned out to be a good education on human practices.
When he reached the War Room, he found Noah sitting at the large table by himself going over some paperwork.
“Hey, Noah. Do you have a minute?”
Noah stood and grinned, looking tired despite the smile. “Roman! It’s good to see you, my man!”
They shook hands and embraced quickly, then Noah pointed to a chair. “Have a seat.”
He lowered himself onto the creaking leather, his nerves humming a bit.
“You had quite a scare there, Roman. I can’t wait to hear the story of how exactly you ended up in a government facility. Thank goodness for Holly, right?”
“Yeah, it’s a good one, but I’d rather tell you about it later, if that’s okay. I have something more important to talk to you about.”
Noah sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sure, man. What’s up?”
He took a deep breath. “I assume you’ve heard about Olivia?”
“Yeah, I have. Damn brave female breaking you all out like that. And she’s got SR44 DNA in there … wow. I don’t think it’s one of us, unless it was Hudson. He seems to have been spraying his seed all around for centuries.”
He chuckled. “How are they? Benedict and Eden?”
“They’re okay. Pretty shaken up, and scared, and naïve as shit. It’s going to take a lot to get them up to speed. I hope you brought Bev back with you because Hudson’s a miserable son of a bitch without her. Last night,
he threatened to kill Axel again. There was a huge fistfight. Thankfully, Hudson was drunk and we were able to pry him off of Axel before he jammed a pool cue down the male’s throat.”
Roman grimaced. It could never turn out well when two assassins went at each other. “What a mess.”
“Yeah. So, Beverly’s back, right?”
“Yes.”
They sat in silence for a moment, then Noah spoke. “So, what’s up?”
“Well, getting back to Olivia—I like her, Noah. I like her a lot. I think she’d make a good addition here at the silo.”
Noah stared at him a beat, then looked around the room, then back at Roman. “Tell me about it.”
He knew that if he were to get what he wanted, he would need to be one hundred percent honest with Noah, and he would be okay with that. “When I was going to the Black Cuff every night, I was looking for something, but I didn’t know what it was.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “You were looking to get laid, Roman.”
“Well, yes and no. It was more than that, but I didn’t know how to explain it. Yes, sex is good and all, but it was more than that. It seemed like I was looking for … for completion.”
“That’s what orgasms are for.”
He smiled, realized his innuendo. “No, not that type of completion, but I felt like part of me was missing. Like I need to find the piece of me that wasn’t there.”
“And?”
“And, I found it in Olivia. I became attracted to her from the moment I saw her, and it’s only intensified. There’s this … I don’t know how to describe it except to say I have this deep connection with her. I don’t understand it, but it’s there, and I can’t deny it.”
Noah nodded, which surprised him. He’d almost expected the male to get upset with him for even suggesting such a thing.
“I get it, Roman. I was the same way with Abby. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay away.”
A surge of excitement washed through him. Noah understood his frame of mind! “And that’s exactly how I feel. Her life is ruined because of what she did to help Eden, Benedict, and me and she can’t merge back into society unless we give her a new identity and some cash. It’s either that, or she comes to live with us.”
“What does she want to do? Go on her merry way, or be with you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to discuss what I wanted with you first.”
Noah smirked. “Finally, someone who respects me enough to come to me first before bringing a female into this home.”
He stared at Noah, who seemed to be processing what Roman had shared.
“She was an FBI profiler, right?”
“Yes. In fact, Daniel killed her sister. She was one of the ones in the mass grave out behind the house.”
Noah rubbed his hand over his face, then slammed his fist down on the table. “Aw, fuck. Really? Damn, that kind of brings everything full circle. One of ours killed one of hers.”
He nodded. “I told her everything about that. She used to live in Virginia and the FBI offered her the case. She knew she shouldn’t have accepted it because of the huge conflict of interest, but it was her half-sister, so they had different last names. After she took it, they eventually found out and immediately dismissed her, then the military scooped her up. But, she worked the hell out of the case.”
Noah went through some papers on the table, then pulled out a stack clipped together. He tossed it in front of Roman. “Phoenix PD asked me to look over these profile notes that had already been done. I bet this is it.”
He only scanned it but noticed the words ‘elusive,’ ‘secretive,’ ‘loner,’ and ‘egomaniac’ a few times.
“In a nutshell, Roman, she nailed the Colonist tendencies. If she’s willing to disappear from society, she’d be very valuable here, and a big help to me.”
Roman exhaled loudly and grinned. ‘That’s what I thought.”
Noah stood. “Is she still at the safe house?”
Roman got to his feet. “I hope so.”
“Then go get your female, Roman. Just don’t have any kids right away. It’s like having a semi filled with dynamite packed with baby shit plowed in between you and your mate, then blow up.”
He laughed, feeling very light-hearted and excited for his future. “We aren’t anywhere near that.”
“You will be soon.”
He started out of the War Room, then remembered something else—some loose ends he needed to tie up. “Noah, I would like Blake and Kade to look into the location of a Major Sherlock Holmes. I want to know where he lives when he’s not at the facility, where he goes, who he fucks, and what type of toilet paper he uses.”
Noah grinned. “Funny, Hudson said almost the exact same thing, except he didn’t know the prick’s name. We had to get that from Holly. Consider it done.”
As he walked out the silo, he felt much better about his relationship with the Major, and he couldn’t wait to see Olivia again.
Chapter 47
Olivia stared out the window at the pool, wondering if she’d been left by herself in this big, beautiful house. Beverly and Roman had departed a few hours ago, and the sun had set. She sat in the Solarium gazing out at the city below her, sipping some wine she’d found in a cupboard.
This silence seemed deafening, and she wanted to cry. However, even if Roman had lied and had no intention of returning, she needed to remain calm and come up with a plan.
She almost expected the front door to open and a flood of cops to come in and arrest her for her crime, as well as trespassing. She couldn’t imagine Roman or Beverly being responsible for anything like that, but it was something she needed to consider.
When Beverly had left, she’d embraced the woman. They seemed to be a lot alike—both young, intelligent, and at the top of their professional games, until they became derailed. She wished Bev would have stayed longer, but understood she had issues at home that she needed to deal with.
Home.
As a teen, she’d looked up the definition: A place where one lives permanently.
She’d never really had one to call her own. Her mother hadn’t provided anything close to it, and she didn’t consider foster care an actual home. The word meant more to her than the definition provided.
To her, it meant a place where love was shared, where hugs were given freely, where laughter was abundant. She had planted herself in a townhouse in Virginia, but it had been a place to lay her head, not a home. Roman and the others seemed to have come together to build a family. Granted, no family could be perfect, and she assumed there would always be drama, but Roman had described it as a place of love, laughter, and mutual respect. How she longed to be a part of something like that.
The front door opened, and she stood, her knees a little shaky as she waited for the police to scream at her to get down on the floor.
“Olivia?”
She smiled in relief. “In the Solarium, Roman!”
He walked toward her, and that sexy half-grin played on his lips. As his shoulders rolled with each step, her cheeks heated. The man practically breathed sexuality.
“Hey, you.” Taking her into his arms, he pulled her close and kissed her gently. “I’m so happy to see you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you, now?”
“Yes, I am.”
Glancing around, she didn’t see a suitcase. “Where are the clothes?”
“Well, I guess I forgot them in my desperate need to get back to you.”
She laughed. “You forgot them? That was the whole reason you went back!”
With a shrug, he answered. “Well, then I suppose you’ll need to walk around naked.”
“I’m sure you’d rather not have that.”
“Absolutely not. I can’t even imagine the torture of looking at your naked body all day long. It would be cruel to watch your breast sway and bob with each step on those long legs. ”
She giggled as he kissed her.
He gaze
d down at her, and his smile faded. “Seriously, though, we need to talk.”
Nodding, she prepared herself for the big separation. She knew he’d been lying about the clothes. He’d probably gone back looking for a way to get rid of her.
“Let’s sit.”
She sat on the sofa and glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows again. It would be a nice place to be dismissed.
Taking a large sip of wine, she prepared herself.
“I want you to come live with me. With us.”
Well, she certainly hadn’t been expecting that, and surprise had her tongue-tied as she turned to him.
“SR44ian males are a strange bunch, Olivia. We fall in love quickly and very hard, and I think that’s where I am with you.”
She gasped, still unsure of what to say.
“I went back to talk to Noah, our leader. I told him about our situation and my desire to have you live with us, with me. He said you could be an asset to our cause of finding Colonists and their offspring. In fact, he has the profile you did for Daniel, the Colonist who killed your sister, and he was very impressed.”
She sat in stunned silence. He wanted her to live with him? They wanted her to work with them?
“You don’t need to give me an answer right now. You can think about it, but really consider it.”
“Roman, we’ve known each other for such a short time.”
He sat back against the couch and laced his hand in hers. “I know. Like I said, us SR44ian males are much different than human males. When we find our mate, we know it within our whole beings. I feel it everywhere, Olivia, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and everywhere in between.” He chuckled. “Especially in between.”
She laughed and stared at their hands, her ebony skin seeming even darker when intertwined with his light shade and set against a white couch. “What if things don’t work out between us?”
“That would be terrible, but it’s not like I’m going to hold you hostage. Well, I might for a bit, but eventually, I’ll come to my senses.”
She gazed up at him, his dark eyes looking hopeful. She hated that he needed to wear the contacts at night, and wished he could just be accepted by general society for what he was—a good man.
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