by Pam Godwin
I turned back to him and kissed his blood-stained mouth. “Come with me.”
“I took you away from them, remember? If I were in their position—”
“You didn’t—”
“They don’t know what happened.” He stroked his thumb over my jaw. “Let them have a minute with you before we dig into the last four weeks.”
Four weeks. Fuck, it had been that long? In some ways, it felt longer.
“You’re a better man than me, Michio Nealy.”
That earned me barely a twitch of a smile, but it was something. With his hands on my hips, he lifted me up to my feet, rising with me.
He kissed the top of my head. “I love you.” He nudged me toward the approaching men.
“Love you, too.” I squeezed his hand and took off.
Thirty feet away, Jesse and Roark picked up their speed, leaving the group of men behind as they sprinted toward me. Neither of my guardians smiled, their faces creased with worry, but their happiness was evident in the gleam of their eyes and the way they glanced at each other as they closed the distance to me.
I slowed my jog so I could look at them for a moment. I just needed to look, because fuck, I thought I’d never be able to rest my eyes on them again.
Jesse still had his stubble, the reddish hues glowing in the sunlight. Roark’s blond curls were shiny and twisting at the ends as though they were dreading again. His strong jaw was covered in a month’s worth of whiskers. Jesse’s leather pants and jacket and Roark’s trench coat were ragged and blood-splattered, but my guys looked healthy, uninjured, and as arresting as ever.
Jesse ran quicker and reached me first. I thought my heart might leap from my chest when his arms enfolded me and swung me around in a circle. As he hauled my body up his chest, the noises rumbling from his throat conveyed a bevy of emotions, part-laughter, part-groaning, and there was definitely a deep growl in there.
When he stopped moving, I looked up at his face and found his eyes glaring daggers at the overhang and the man I’d left there.
“Hey.” I wrestled an arm free from his tight hold and gripped his scruffy jaw, pulling him back to me. “You should be kissing him, not glaring at him. He saved my life.”
“I know. I was there.” He nodded his chin at the canyon wall on the far side of the dam then lowered his brow, touching it to mine. “You took my heart with you when you fell from that cliff. I didn’t think it would beat again.”
I pulled in a deep breath, inhaling his woodsy scent, our lips an inch apart. “If you hadn’t distracted the Drone with the arrow—”
Huge hands wrapped around my chest and yanked me back. Jesse’s arms fell away as Roark spun me and cupped my face. I got a glimpse of his jade eyes right before his lips landed on mine.
I turned my head, cringing at the condition of my hygiene. “I haven’t brushed my teeth in over a month, Roark, and I need—”
“Shut up.” His hands on my face forced my mouth back to his. What little argument I’d put into stopping him was driven away by the dive of his tongue. He didn’t wait for me to open my mouth, and instead barged right in with forceful, hungry licks. The stretch of his jaw coaxed mine, and in the next heartbeat, we were sucking and tasting and eating each other up.
“You left us,” he rasped between kisses.
I slid my tongue along his bottom lip and grinned. “You found me.”
Jesse crowded behind me, his hands on my back, sliding over the tattered rags and curving around my hips. He followed the lines of my body, perhaps checking for wounds or maybe reacquainting himself. Whatever the reason, I didn’t want him to stop.
As Roark covered my mouth with his, plunging his tongue and heating my core, Jesse moved his lips to my ear. “We missed you, Evie.”
It wasn’t a sensual declaration. There was too much heartache straining the words.
I slid my mouth away from Roark’s and kissed the breast of his trench coat. “I missed you, too. We have so much to talk about. I…” I looked up and fell into Roark’s glimmering eyes. “How did you find me?”
Jesse stepped to my side and stuck two fingers in his mouth, releasing a high-pitched whistle.
I heard him before I saw him. The scrabble of toenails. The low whine. My pulse raced as I spun.
Link stood some thirty feet back and let go of Darwin’s collar. In a blur of black and tan fur, Darwin tore away from the group of men and raced toward me, his tail straight out and his tongue swinging from his panting mouth.
I met him half-way and fell to my knees as he leapt against me with his paws on my shoulders. I fell back, laughing at the feel of his slobbery tongue on my face, his thick coat between my fingers, and the whip of his tail as he drove his big head against my neck.
Gripping his furry cheeks, I pressed my nose to his muzzle. “You found me, huh?”
“He rode with his nose out of the window.” Jesse ran his hand lovingly down Darwin’s back. “He went crazy whenever we missed an exit or turned the wrong way.”
I kissed the space between Darwin’s huge brown eyes, smiling at the mystery of this amazing animal.
My smile grew bigger when a curvy pair of long dark legs stepped beside me.
Shea gripped my arm and yanked me to my feet. “You look like shit.” She pulled me into a hug and said, softly, “But I’ll take this over the alternative. Oh honey, your boys…” She sighed. “They’ve been out of their minds.”
I closed my eyes, my heart sinking with the news I’d yet to share with them. I should just blurt it out. Rip off the Band-Aid.
When I opened my eyes, Jesse and Roark were watching me, each wearing his own private smile. They felt what I felt, that overwhelming joy of completeness. The Drone was dead. We stood on a fortress that would protect us indefinitely. And we were all alive, breathing, together.
With two words, I was going to decimate their peacefulness.
I’m pregnant.
Say it, Evie.
With a quick scan, I glimpsed a number of familiar faces. Link, Paul, Eddie, and Hunter, they were all here. Dozens of men lingered in the distance. Link’s legendary army. I shook my head with a small grin, then leaned around Shea, seeking out Michio.
He stood across the street that traveled over the dam, enveloped in Roark’s hug. Fuck, my chest swelled at the sight of that. But when Michio raised his head, his eyes were still hardened with torment. He was waiting for the bomb to drop, knowing that Jesse and Roark were moments from feeling the anguish he felt now. I swallowed around the ache in my throat.
“I need a shower,” I announced, stalling. “And a toothbrush.” Such a coward. “And a bed.” Large enough for four people. Good God, how would that work?
I reached down and ran my fingers through Darwin’s hair, seeking his strength. It was going to be a long night.
I stood in a large public restroom beneath the surface of the dam and stared down at the filthy rags that hung from my body. After the near-death events of the day, a cocktail of hormones and adrenal fatigue tingled through my system and numbed my limbs.
The Drone was dead. The cure for nymphs had been dispersed. My guardians were here, with me, all of us together. And I was pregnant. Now that my life was no longer in immediate danger, my focus had radically shifted. I needed a place to safely have my baby. And I needed my guardians to be her home.
Walking through the bowels of the dam without restraints or guards had allowed me to look at its monolithic, protective wall with new eyes. Elaine had said I would love it here. Maybe the rapist bitch was right. I ached to tell her so while I cut out her tongue and stuffed it up her foul ass.
On the way down here, Shea and Darwin had run off to investigate the dozens of rooms and miles of tunnels. I wanted to explore with them, but my guardians and I had more pressing matters. Like washing all the death from our bodies. And talking. We all had questions.
The door to the hall was propped open, and there were no barriers blocking my view of the three of them. The rumbling of t
heir voices floated over me as they ironed out security details with Link. The barricades needed to be rebuilt. The guards needed rotation schedules. And the breeding facilities needed to be found.
I’d kept the cotton wrap secured around my neck and torso to ward off questions about the bite mark and bruises until we were alone. God, I both longed and dreaded to be alone with my guys. If only we could skip the how’s and why’s of what had separated us and jump straight to the part where we made up for lost time.
As they discussed the layout of the dam with Link, the enthusiastic buzz in their inflections loosened some of my nerves. It sounded like one question was getting answered. They wanted to stay here.
I’d traveled enough for ten lifetimes and was more than ready to plant my ass on the couch of complacency. The dam offered electricity, plumbing, and fortification. A haven for a pregnant woman.
Shea squeezed past the men and strode through the bathroom, turning the faucets on and off, her huge brown eyes crinkling with awe. “This is the third bathroom I’ve passed on this level alone. They all have hot water. Can you believe it? And there’s a huge storeroom stocked with food near the kitchen.”
“There’s a kitchen?”
“Looks like it’s been recently added.” She lowered her voice. “Dude, did you see the Drone’s bedroom?”
A chill crawled over my scalp. “No. Thank fuck.”
“He’d brought in all kinds of ornate furniture and artwork. The only thing missing was a gold toilet. Seriously, it looked like a museum, except every inch was smothered in spider webs.” A shiver bunched her shoulders.
“Jesus. We need to gut it. Burn everything.”
“Already on it. Paul and Eddie are hauling everything to the surface and looking for anything that might lead us to those other women.” She touched my arm. “Do you mind if Paul, Eddie, and I take that room? I mean, it’s huge and has an attached bathroom, so if you want it—”
“God, no. It’s all yours.” I’d have nightmares sleeping in the Drone’s space.
“I need to tell you something.”
Her serious tone snapped my eyes to hers. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, and a smile stretched across her pretty features. “I’m pregnant.”
My breath caught, and my muscles locked in shock. A good shock. “Holy shit, Shea. I’m so happy for you.”
Her eyes lowered down my body, and her smile fell. I followed her gaze and realized my hand was pressed against my stomach. I dropped my arm. Shit.
“Oh my God,” she whispered and covered her mouth. “Evie? How? The IUD? I saw it myself. Oh God, Evie, is it—”
I pressed my hand over hers against her lips, my eyes darting to the door.
My guardians were still immersed in conversation. It sounded like Link was updating Michio on Arkendale.
“It’s Jesse’s.” I kept my eyes on them as I spoke quietly. “I don’t know what happened to the IUD.” I looked back at her. “Jesse and Roark don’t know yet.”
Tears brimmed her dark eyes, threatening to spill over my hand. I pulled our arms down and held onto her shaking fingers.
“Don’t you fucking cry,” I said, under my breath, glancing at the door. “They’ll come in here, demanding answers.”
“You have to tell them,” she whispered, harshly, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Shit, girl. It’s going to destroy them.”
“Shhh. I know.” I held her face in my hands, touching our foreheads together. “I’ll tell them tonight.”
She gripped my wrists, her head nodding against mine. “We have the ultrasound machine and we can get more equipment. We can find doctors and specialists, whatever we can do to prevent…” Her voice cracked, and her face crumpled.
What warmed me the most was what she didn’t suggest. When a mother's life was at risk because of pregnancy, abortion was usually the solution. It was a testament to how well she knew me to not bring it up.
I kissed her brow and leaned back. “It’s going to be okay. This is a good thing.”
She stared at me as if I were already lying on my death bed.
“What can I do?” She looked around the bathroom, eying the bucket of shampoo and soap, the three toilets, and the stack of towels on the nearby shelf. “Is there anything you need?”
A pair of comfy pajamas and fuzzy slippers? Good luck finding that. A case of cold Guinness? Oh wait, I couldn’t drink. Oh, ice cream would be good. Right. How about a long night’s sleep wrapped in three pairs of strong arms? Fingers crossed.
I glanced at the hall and back to her. “Can you find the room Elaine was in and gut it, too? Michio can tell you where it is.”
Her brows furrowed. “Elaine? The chick from the mountains?”
“Yeah. She did some really awful things,” I whispered, hardening my expression to let her know I wouldn’t elaborate. “Can you also set up a room for me as far away from that one as possible? One large enough to sleep the four of us?”
“You got it.” She wiped her face and put on her best smile, a gesture I knew she was making for my benefit. “Eddie’s cooking dinner. I’ll have food brought to your new room, okay?”
I squeezed her hand, my chest swelling at the sight of her glowing with health and pregnancy. “Thank you for coming here.”
Her lips compressed, rolling between her teeth as if holding back a cry.
I gave her a smile that I hoped portrayed everything I felt for her. “You could’ve stayed in Arkendale. You could’ve gone anywhere. But you didn’t. You stuck by me when I was sick in Virginia. And you came here to find me. I just wanted…” I lifted my shoulders, my hand hanging awkwardly in hers. “Thank you.”
Her chin trembled. “You saved me, Evie. Gave me the chance to love again. To start a family. You gave me life. A life made so much fuller with you in it.”
The backs of my eyes pricked. Fuck, now I was going to cry.
She drew a deep breath and patted my cheek. “No crying, remember?”
Then she gathered her composure and made a beeline for Michio. They’d only just met as we walked the tunnels down here, but when he learned she was the woman we’d cured in Georgia, a spark had momentarily returned to his eyes.
He leaned down as she whispered in his ear. His jaw hardened, and his gaze sliced to me. He turned and pointed down the hall, jogging his finger as he gave directions to the room where Elaine had done God knew what to him.
Shea vanished from view, and a moment later, the commotion of footsteps and voices crammed the hall. A group of battle-weary men gathered around Link and my guardians. I only recognized one face.
Hunter’s long black hair hung in his eyes, his arms wrapped around a huge duffel bag and my bow and quiver. “Link, where do I put this stuff?”
Link slipped into the bathroom and gestured for him to follow. “Leave it here.”
Hunter set the bag and bow on the floor and looked up at me, smiling. “Hey, Evie.”
I gave him a small wave, but Link was already ushering him out with a hand on the back of his neck. “Thanks, kid.”
Link waited for him to leave then turned back to me. “So.” He tipped his bald head, studying me. “You’re alive.”
“So are you.”
“I didn’t fall from a cliff.” He grinned, rubbing his jaw. “That prophecy is a real bitch, huh?”
He had no idea. I forced my hands to my sides, resisting the impulse to touch my belly. “Were the guts and glory of battle everything you hoped for?”
His black eyes sparkled under the glow of the ceiling lights as he sniffed the air with a dramatic stretch of his nostrils. “Smells like history in the making, Little Ladybird.” He nodded at the bag on the floor. “All your clothes and other belongings should be there.”
Wow, that was thoughtful and unexpected. There was something off about Link that would always make me uncomfortable, but beneath his disturbing demeanor, I wondered if his intentions weren’t completely vain. Link the Emasculator could very well be
Link the Bighearted in disguise.
I bit my lip, hiding my smile. “Thank you.”
He headed toward the crowded hallway and paused at the door, passing me a glance over his shoulder. “I’m sending a couple men to Arkendale tonight. It’ll take them a month or longer to return, but I thought you’d want news of the peninsula’s progress.”
Another thank you tumbled from my lips, but he was already gone, striding down the corridor and barking orders.
I knelt beside the bag and opened the zipper. Jeans and t-shirts made up most of the bulk, but nestled on top were three things I thought I’d never see again. Roark’s rosary, Jesse’s turquoise stone, and the arm sheathes and blades Joel had given me. I stroked each with trembling fingers, the remembered textures and curves sending a warmth of love through my chest for the men who’d given them to me.
A pair of scuffed-up boots stepped beside me, followed by two more pairs and the thunk of another bag on the floor next to mine. The door shut, and the lock clicked.
Michio towered over me, his brown eyes dark with regret as he stared at the sheathes. “I’m so sor—”
“Don’t. The only thing you have to be sorry about is your guilt.” I climbed to my feet and shifted into his space, staring up at him. “No more apologies.”
Irritation drew lines across his gorgeous features. He speared his fingers through his hair, walked to the sink, and gripped the edge, bracing the rigid bend of his upper body on stick-straight arms.
I wanted to wrap him in a hug, shake him, and tell him to move on. But he wasn’t ready to let go of his feelings. He was probably still trying to wrap his head around exactly what he was feeling. He mourned hurting me even as he knew it hadn’t been him delivering the punches. I suspected he was also working through his acceptance of the child that would both end my life and save mankind.
Peace didn’t come without tragedy, and love didn’t bloom without pain. Irony and ambivalence were the layers of life. He would come to terms with this just like every other struggle we’d endured over the past two years. I just needed to be patient.