Tremaine chuckled. “Anytime, Preston, anytime. Just try not to tell me what’s going on over there. I was fine until I saw the way they were kissing. It was a sight I didn’t need to see.”
He still wasn’t sure she was old enough to be with a man. He’d never really considered her a woman until he saw her meet Robert’s kiss with her own passion. If Robert wasn’t so perfect for her, he might have had an argument.
Liz would always be his girl to protect, to keep safe. Seeing her that way, made him realize she was all grown up and needed to find her own way. She was in love with Robert, and Robert would never let anything happen to her.
It didn’t mean Tremaine wouldn’t watch from the sidelines to keep her safe. He would always put her first.
Preston scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, well I got an eyeful I never intended to get when she woke up screaming.”
Tremaine sat up. “Nightmares?”
Preston nodded. “Yeah, you could hear the terror in her voice. I thought something had happened, but Robert was rocking her as he tried to calm her down. Neither of them had a stitch of clothing on.”
Tremaine shook his head, trying not to think about that. “There’s an image I can live without.”
Preston snorted. “Yeah, me too, because if they weren’t so perfect together, I might want her as my own. That would screw with my reputation, because I’m not ready to settle down with anyone.”
Tremaine nodded. He never once had the desire to settle down with anyone. “You and me both, kid.”
Chapter 10
Twenty-one years ago.
Sixty good years had come and gone. They had their rocky moments but Robert wouldn’t change a single one for the world. He was curled around Liz who was asleep in their bed. He traced a pattern on her skin as he stared down at her. It was time, he felt it deep in his soul. Over sixty years together and all of her excuses were gone.
He was ready to walk away from it all. The council, his screwed up family, and all the things that couldn’t manage to tear them apart. Liz and Robert were stronger than ever, and he knew she would finally say yes.
The phone rang, and he rolled to snatch it up with a groan. “Hello?” He asked quietly.
“Oh, thank God,” Emily said, her voice pained. “I need your help. The baby’s coming, and I can’t do this on my own. Please, I’m begging you. Just you, no one can know.”
Robert turned back to Liz. His eyes closed, but he asked, “How long?”
Emily screamed and then her breath came in great pants. “It’s bad. I need you soon.”
“I’ll be there.” He hung up and brushed Liz’s hair from her face. “Love, wake up,” he murmured against her ear.
She stretched her long body, looking up at him with a sleepy smile. “Good morning, baby.”
“I wish.” He sighed and glanced at the clock. It was already eight in the morning. If this baby was fast, he could be back by evening. “I have to help my sister with something today.”
“You haven’t seen her in months. I’m glad you’re going to go hang out with her.”
He nodded, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer that. It was the only secret he’d kept from Liz over the years. Eventually he did tell her about the Council forcing him to keep an eye on her. He didn’t know how to tell her that his own brother had raped their sister and got her pregnant.
“I’ll be back tonight, as soon as possible.”
She rolled into him, her smile brightening. “She’s your sister. If she needs you, then stay with her as long as you need. Promise you’ll call me to let me know. That’s all I ask.”
“Done. I should be back by five tonight.”
She shoved him. “Go be with your sister. I’ll make dinner, but I can always do that later if you let me know.”
Robert leaned in and gave her kiss before climbing from the bed. He got dressed and translocated to Emily who was hiding out in Switzerland.
* * * *
Liz watched him go. It was good that he was finally talking to Emily. Robert had hardly spoken to his sister since their father passed away. Robert needed the connection to his family.
James, well that piece of shit wasn’t it, but Emily was. Even if Emily wasn’t her biggest fan, they were still family, and Liz didn’t want to take that away from him.
She sat up and her stomach heaved. She shot off the bed and dashed into the bathroom. There wasn’t anything to throw up as she knelt at the toilet, trying to calm herself.
This was the third morning in a row and her period was a week late. “Shit,” she whispered before another wave of nausea hit her hard.
Once she could stand, she made her way back to the bedroom and picked up the phone. She dialed the one person she trusted with everything.
Tremaine answered on the second ring. “Morning. Its morning, right?” he grumbled.
“Trem, I need a huge favor.”
“Liz? What is it?” He sounded a little more coherent.
She pushed her hair from her face. “Can you pick up a pregnancy test for me? Please.”
“Really? Liz, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m ready if I am.” She felt tears stinging her eyes. “Please, don’t tell anyone. In case I’m wrong.”
“I’ll be there,” he promised before he hung up. He was always there though. She knew she could count on him.
* * * *
James couldn’t find his sister. He’d searched everywhere, but Emily was nowhere to be found. Robert wouldn’t tell him where to find her. He had a feeling she was pregnant. It made sense. She had disappeared without a trace eight months before.
No plane ticket, no record of her anywhere. Robert had made it so James couldn’t track his phone records or anything else. There was no way to trace his calls, and he’d tried to get into their mailbox, but Liz had cast her hidey-hole magic on the box.
He finally found a way to make it past the wards that protected her house. All thanks to his brother’s mistake. Robert had created talismans for Liz to travel to and from The Silver Council headquarters in Seattle. They had moved all the way out to Edenton, Washington two years before.
Not many mages could translocate, and Robert was the only one James knew who could travel clear across the country, or world for that matter.
James looked down at his trembling hands. He was growing weak, and needed his fix. Liz’s power would fuel him for weeks, maybe months if he could only get close enough. She had done an excellent job of being anywhere he wasn’t.
That was going to change. If his suspicions about Liz’s parents were right, she might be the key to bridging the gap between dark mage and true mage. Her rare brand of magic was rumored to strengthen the connection to his own source of magic and still allow him to feed off other mages.
Jarvis dropped into the seat beside him. “I just received news that Robert’s gone for the day. He rescheduled his meeting with Draecyn to next week.”
James sat up straighter. “Is that so? Do you know where he went?”
“Of course not. I’m sure he used his own method of travel to go where he pleased. I do have confirmation that Liz is still there. Tremaine was heading to her house.
“Is that so?” James sat back in his seat. “Do me a favor. Keep an eye on them. When he’s gone, let me know. I have to pay her a visit.”
“With the talisman?”
“Of course. It would be fitting if I show up at her house the same way Robert left.” He pushed back to dig around his desk for the charm.
“Good luck, you’ll need it.” Jarvis ducked out the door before James could reply to the parting shot.
* * * *
Robert went back to the Jacuzzi where Emily had been most of the day. “You sure about this water birth?” He asked mildly.
Emily groaned, but nodded her head. “I am. It’s safe.”
He sat down beside the tub and took her hand. “You’re a healer. Why aren’t you making this easier?”
She snorted. “If I could, I would. T
he contractions are hell.”
“What can I do?” he asked. “You’re the expert here, not me.”
“Talk to me. What have you been up to?”
He snorted. “Look, Em, you don’t want to hear about it.”
“You’re going to ask her again, aren’t you?” It wasn’t an accusation like it had been every other time in the past. No, this time it was honest curiosity in her voice.
“You going to try to talk me out of it?” He asked.
“No. She makes you happy, and you deserve to be happy.” A tear slid down her face as she doubled over, screaming.
“Emily,” he murmured.
Her fingers tightened on his until his knuckles popped.
“Sorry,” she groaned as she eased up.
His gaze drifted back to her. “I’m fine, Em. Don’t worry about my fingers.”
She smiled weakly, laying her head on the side of the tub. He shifted to look her in the face.
Emily said, “Look, I know it’s too late for Liz and me to be friends. I’ve pushed her away for so long, I don’t think I can ever fix the damage I’ve done. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be happy. Her too.”
“She doesn’t hate you.” He brushed her damp hair out of her face. “She never has.”
“She should. I listened to James. I blamed her for so many things that weren’t her fault.”
“I bet she’d surprise you if you tried to talk to her.”
This time Emily doubled over, her face barely out of the water. “He’s coming. Oh God, he’s coming.”
“What do I do?” he asked desperately.
“Need you in the water. You’re delivering this baby. I can’t do it on my own.”
He kicked off his shoes, and stripped own to his boxers before stepping into the water. “You have to walk me through this. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
She nodded as she eased back. “It’s easy. You only have bring him out of the water when he’s out.”
“You want to hold him?”
“No. After you cut the cord, you need to take him away from me, away from our family. Somewhere safe where James will never learn of him.”
“I’ll take him, but if you ever change your mind, you let me know. He’s yours.”
“I can’t, Robert. I couldn’t live with myself if anything ever happened to him. I don’t deserve a child, not after letting James get away with what he did.”
Robert cupped Emily’s cheek. “Let me handle him then. I’ll make sure he can never hurt you again.”
“No. You promised you would never speak a word of it. It’s over. Let it stay buried in the past. Please, I’m begging you.”
His eyes slammed shut, but he nodded.
She curled in on herself again, a guttural scream breaking loose. When Robert looked down, he saw the baby coming into the world.
* * * *
Tremaine knocked on the door. A second later she threw the door open and grabbed his wrist, dragging him inside.
“Thank you, Tremaine, really, thank you,” she exclaimed. “Do you have it? Tell me you have it.”
His brow arched as he produced a paper bag. “There are two in there. Now calm down, and take a deep breath.”
She did, or started to, but then she snatched the bag and ran to the bathroom.
“Liz, you okay?” He called.
“Yeah, I was just drinking water until you showed up,” she yelled back.
He shook his head. After all this time, he never imagined he would see her so excited over a possible baby. She had turned Robert down a solid ten times when he proposed, and he never once gave up.
The man had more persistence than anyone he knew. He admired that about him. Over the years Robert and Tremaine had become close friends, closer than even he and Wilhelm.
They both loved Liz more than the entire world, though in very different ways. Neither would ever let anything happen to her.
Tremaine was always on the outside, a guardian, but seeing her happy gave him a peace he hadn’t known before she came into his life.
After a minute Liz came out of the bathroom and took a seat on the stairs. “Talk to me. Distract me. Please,” she pleaded.
He chuckled. “Where’s Robert?”
She shrugged. “Emily called this morning. He went to her.”
“You haven’t asked where he took her?” Tremaine wondered out loud.
“Should I?” Her brow arched. “I really doubt she wants me to know where she is.”
“You know, there are times I wish I hadn’t taken you to Wilhelm. I would have made a shitty father though.” For more than a few reasons. The more he worked cases with her and Robert, the more he saw her as a woman, and the harder he fell for what he could never have.
“You’ve always been the one I go to when I need to talk. You’re the only one I trust with everything. Even now. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Uncomfortable with the thoughts rolling around his head, he nodded to the bathroom. “Should I grab the tests?”
“Please.”
With a chuckle he stepped into the bathroom to grab them, and then plopped down beside her. “You ready?” he teased.
She reached over with a trembling hand, snagging one as her gaze cut over to him. “You’re mean.”
He nudged her. “Me? You woke my ass earlier than I wanted so I could go get you these.” He held up the other test and looked at the second line. “Congrats, Mama.”
Liz looked at his, then hers and started bouncing on the step. “Oh my God, do you think Robert will be happy? I hope he is. I can’t wait to tell him.”
Tremaine threw an arm around her. “He’ll be ecstatic, but you may kill him if you tell him no again.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. I wouldn’t have five years ago.” Letting her head drop, her smile fell away. “I think he gave up on me saying yes.”
“You could have asked him,” Tremaine murmured.
“He’s always asked though,” she groaned. “Maybe he changed his mind. We have been together forever.”
He squeezed her. “Don’t tell him I said this, but he’s planning to ask tonight.”
She spun to face him, her smile radiant. “Really?”
“You better not tell him I told you,” he warned. “And you better not chicken out. Especially now.” He placed his hand on her tummy and grinned. “You really shouldn’t turn him down this time, Liz. I know you love him more than the world itself.”
“I always have.”
He stood up. “Have you eaten yet?”
She shook her head. “Food and I don’t get along before noon lately. So I’m going to stay here and prepare. I want to surprise Robert.”
Tremaine took Liz’s hand and pulled her to her feet so he could give her a hug. “I’m happy for you. You’ll make an excellent mother, Liz.” He kissed her cheek and stepped toward the door. “Tell him yes.”
She grinned. “I will, I promise, no matter what happens.”
Chapter 11
The baby was sound asleep, swaddled in blankets. He’d laid the boy on the chair and surrounded him with pillows before going to check on Emily one last time.
Emily sat in the rocker by the fire. Her knees were drawn to her chest. “Please take him before taking me home. I need a little time to heal myself.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Robert said sadly. He wanted to do more for her, but she had hardly said a word since he cut the umbilical cord.
He closed his eyes, and translocated to a small town in Florida. Robert knocked on the door and waited.
Mrs. Murdock finally answered, and for the millionth time, he wondered why she always looked the same. Trapped between youth and a wizened age.
She looked up at him with a sad smile. “Does the boy have a name?”
“Christian Carter.” He placed a kiss on the boy’s tiny head. “I’ll be checking in on him when I can. My brother can never learn of his presence, and Emily can’t handle seeing him. I won�
��t abandon him, but he can’t know our last name.”
Mrs. Murdock nodded as she took Christian from him. “I’ll keep him safe, Robert. Come visit when you can.”
He wiped the back of his hand across his face and flashed back to Emily. She looked a little better, but not much. “Are you sure you want to go back to your new home?”
She closed the distance and took his hand. “Positive. Please take me home.”
Robert nodded before flashing her back to the home he had prepared while she was hiding. It was only an hour from the house he shared with Liz.
Emily pulled away and crumpled on her own bed, pulling herself into the fetal position where she started bawling. He sat down beside her, pulling her head into his lap so he could run his fingers through her hair.
Robert promised, “I’m not going to let him near you or the baby, Em. You’re safe here.”
Her whole body was racked by her sobs. “I couldn’t keep him. I couldn’t.”
“I know. I get it. I don’t blame you,” he told her, but a small part of him did blame her. Not for the way James treated her, but for the way she dealt with that perfect little boy. For giving him away, not wanting anything to do with him. He couldn’t understand how she could choose to give her son up.
There were only two things he wanted in the whole world. To always have Liz in his life, and to have his own family with Liz. A child of their own.
“Go to her, Robert. Please.”
“I’m not leaving you. Not until I know you’re okay,” he told her. Liz would understand. She would tell him to go back if she knew. He would call once Emily fell asleep.
* * * *
Liz was nervous, her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t wait until she saw Robert. Everything was going to change tonight. She would beg him to marry her if he didn’t ask.
Oh, I hope he asks. I’m going to feel like a fool if he doesn’t.
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