by April Zyon
The woman’s hand tightened on her arm and yanked Pepper to a stop, which allowed the blindfold to slip down off her eyes, giving her a chance to see the crazy going on all around her. She didn’t say anything, but her breathing was harsh, and too fast. All of a sudden, the hand slid away, the long claw-like nails scratching Pepper’s arm before falling off. The woman hit the floor with eyes wide open, and a hole in her forehead oozing blood.
A second later the main door burst open.
“Pepper!” Lincoln’s voice reached her.
Pepper leapt into Lincoln’s arms. She cried, clinging to him. “I knew that you would come. I knew you wouldn’t leave me.” She was all but trying to climb into his skin she was so afraid.
He lifted her up so she could wrap her legs, and arms around him. “Shh, sweetheart. I have you, I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Continuing to whisper soothing words to her, he held her tight while the others stormed in to sweep the room and rest of the building. He kept pressing kisses to the cheek he could reach while rocking her and rubbing her back.
“Lincoln!”
“In here, Thomas,” he called out.
“Oh, thank the gods.” Pepper felt the other man come up behind her, and press a kiss to her neck. “Pepper, are you okay, baby?” he asked softly, his hands on her hips and rubbing over her legs slowly.
“I am.” She reached back to touch Thomas as well, tears streaking down her face. “I knew you would come for me. Both of you, all of you. I knew you would come.”
He wrapped his arms around her middle and gave her a squeeze. “Let’s get her the fuck out of here. She needs to be looked at, and then we all need to lock ourselves in a room for the next month. I might be over this by then,” he muttered. Neither of them moved immediately, though.
“Agreed,” she whispered and rubbed her cheek against his. “I also think that we should bond. I never want them to take me again. I never want to have them find me again.”
“We’ll talk about that later when we’ve all calmed down from this,” Lincoln said. He pressed another kiss to her cheek. Leaning his head back, he stared into her face. “We need to get you home and have Deiter check you over,” he told her and planted a quick kiss on her lips before he looked down at her. “We need a shirt to cover her up.”
“Got one here,” Gareth said from the side. When she looked his way she found him, and the others, watching her with worry all over their faces.
She was thankful for the shirt and once more nuzzled in close to Lincoln when she had it on. She reached out her hand and grabbed Thomas. She knew that they were having slight issues because of their weapons, but she didn’t care. She had to touch them, needed to feel them.
They moved slowly out of the building into the light of the day. Pepper kept her face pressed to Lincoln’s neck to help with the ache the brightness caused.
“Is she okay?” Mikhail asked when they next stopped moving.
“She’ll be okay, mostly in shock right now,” Thomas said.
“Good, I was fucking worried about taking that last shot. They were too damn close together. If they hadn’t stopped for as long as they did, I’d never have risked it.”
“I knew that you wouldn’t hit me. I trusted you. I knew that all of you would come for me.” She gave them all a thin smile. “Thank you. For coming for me. Thank you.”
“Always,” Mik said with a nod to her. “You’re family. Now let’s get you home. You’ve had one hell of a day, and these two haven’t been much better off.”
Lincoln squeezed her closer to him while they all started to get into the vehicles. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to slide into the front passenger seat of one of the SUVs with her still holding tight. Thomas sat right behind them so she could hold onto his hand, and see him at the same time.
She couldn’t let them go. She knew that she should, but she couldn’t let them go. They were all that was keeping her sane at the moment. They kept her grounded and made her realize that she wasn’t in her enemies’ clutches any longer. “I love you,” she told Lincoln against his ear. “And we are going to complete this bond. No more waiting.”
“Close your eyes, sweetheart. We have a two-hour drive ahead of us,” Lincoln told her.
She nodded and closed her eyes. “Two hours? How did you find me?” Had she really been asleep that long? “They drugged me, I didn’t know. I thought that we were closer,” she said. “They were going to try to do things that I didn’t want. I just kept telling myself that you would come.” She had known it, had complete faith in it.
“We had no clue where you were once they got you off the property, and on the road. But that light show of yours let us know right away. Ares, Dionysus, and Apollo were around, and the instant we had a location, they got us all out there. Don’t even ask how they managed to get the SUVs there. It’s best not to think about that since I’m pretty sure they broke several rules today as is,” Thomas told her. “But they were in full pissed-off-god mode so we just nodded, and agreed with whatever they told us to do. I always knew they could go full on scary, but never actually thought I’d witness it quite so spectacularly.”
“Well, I’m glad that they were there then. And I couldn’t control the lightning. I was terrified, and it was instinct,” she admitted. “I have got to work on how to control my ability. I think that I’m going to have to ask Ares to see if my grandfather will come and show me how to use it, how to control it.”
“We’ll support you whatever you decide to do. We also won’t leave you alone with the bastard either,” Thomas promised. He smiled at her and sat forward so he could run a hand over her hair. “I was terrified we wouldn’t find you in time. Every worst-case scenario and a few that I made up on the fly went through my head. I was a fucking wreck. So was Lincoln, though he was slightly less than a wreck than I was because he figured you’d give us a sign to where you were when you could. And you did.”
“I’m here now, though. You found me. I knew you would, and I’m so sorry that you both were worried. I really am. I wish that there was something I could do to take that back, but I can’t. The only thing that I can do from here out is to ensure that one of you always has eyes on me.” It was her who had to go see a doctor right then and there without letting them check everything out.
“Not your fault,” Lincoln said. “You were following your heart and taking care of what you thought was necessary. But you’re safe now, and we’re going to keep you that way. Then we’re going to bitch slap Hades for even thinking of taking you from us. That god has messed with the wrong damn family for the last fucking time.”
“Amen.” She had no idea how they would hurt Hades with him being trapped in Hell, but she was sure that if anyone could come up with a way, it was these men and women that were her family. “Some way and somehow, we will ensure that he pays for all that he did. Our bonding will only be the first of it.”
“Damn straight,” Thomas agreed. Pressing a kiss to her fingers, he brushed his other hand to her hair. “Try and get a nap in, darling. You’ve had one hell of a day, and it’s going to be longer still I’m afraid. Deiter is extremely thorough with his exams. You’ll want to be rested for that I’m afraid.”
She nodded and rubbed her cheek on Lincoln’s shoulder. She only at that moment noticed that he was wearing Kevlar. “Do you need me to lean back so you can take that off? Does it hurt you?” She didn’t think it could be too comfortable to wear that and have her all but plastered all over him.
“If you want to get closer to me, I’ll have to pull it off, but it doesn’t bother me any. I’m used to wearing it. It’s a second skin basically,” he told her. “Lean back, sweetheart. I’ll tug it off and then you can cuddle back into me again.”
She did as he instructed, and when she leaned back against him, she sighed. “Much better.” Her cheek was against his chest, and she could hear the beating of his heart. “I prefer you without the Kevlar but only when you are with me and not in dange
r.”
“I prefer having you in closer as well,” he said. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and a large hand sliding up under her shirt to rest on her skin. “This will do until we can be skin to skin without an audience.”
“I like this.” It would do, for now. Pepper closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the vehicle and the men talking. “I’m sorry that you guys were worried. I was scared crapless, but I knew you would come.”
“Not your fault, so don’t apologize,” he told her, squeezing her tight for a breath. Pepper felt his lips skim the nape of her neck before he leaned his seat back to a more reclined position. Lincoln started to massage her neck gently working out kinks she only then realized she had.
Pepper relaxed against him even more, and the gentle massages that he was giving her made her give in to that need to sleep. She drifted knowing that she was back where she belonged.
Chapter Twelve
Hera paced in her private quarters. She couldn’t recall another time when she had been more pissed off. She stopped and shook her head. No, that wasn’t true. She’d been more pissed off when she found out that not only had her lying, cheating fucktard of a man had been screwing around on Earth, again, but he’d fathered a fucking child.
“How the fuck could you have lost her?” she screamed at the man who was on bended knee before her. She had already torn off one man’s head, and she was about to do it a second time. “Now they fucking know that she was under my protection and they will hurry and bond with her. This is the worst possible fucking outcome, you bastards!” She was seething with rage, losing her control because of some little fucking piece of human trash.
“We didn’t lose her, mistress. Harvey wanted to have some fun with her, so he allowed her to come out of the sedation you’d provided him with. He wanted her acutely aware while he had his fun, which allowed her to become scared. The lightning gave her position away to those looking for her. Had Harvey listened we’d have made it to the rendezvous point on schedule, and they’d have been none the wiser until it was too late.”
“So it's that motherfucker that I need to kill and ensure Hades rakes over the coals time and time again. Now this plan has failed.” She put her hand to her head and tried to think. Now the whole pantheon would know she had done everything except kill the little bitch. “Fuck.”
“He’s already dead, mistress. Their sniper took him out before the others. We were the only two to escape to bring you word of what had occurred. While we knew you would have preferred us to take out as many as we could before sacrificing ourselves, it didn’t seem feasible at the time. You’ve constantly reminded us that knowledge is power, so we felt it better to bring you the information in the hopes you would know what step to take next.”
Hera stopped her pacing and narrowed her glare at the man before her. “Really?” She growled that word, her anger spilling over. “You insignificant little worm. How dare you assume to know what I’m thinking. You should have killed as many of them as you could. Those fucking men have been a thorn in my side for far too fucking long.”
“I would never dare presume to know your thoughts, mistress. But if we had not lived how would you know they don’t plan on bonding with the girl until tomorrow? They were all insistent she rest and recover tonight. From what we overheard they want her to be clear of mind before they bond. You still have a chance, mistress.”
Hera looked at him and smiled. “What do you need to take her? I can’t pop into that house, but I can get someone in there.” It was a small flaw in the shielding that those little bastards didn’t know about. “So tell me, what do you need?”
“A way to get her out, mistress. She won’t leave of her own accord. Who would after what she was subjected to by that fool Harvey? It must be something near and dear to who she is. Something she could never refuse to comply with. I’m unsure, mistress. You are the strategist, great goddess. I bow to your wisdom on such matters.”
“I know just what to do. I’m going to give you the visage of her cousin. You will take her to the barn area, that isn’t nearly as shielded, and I will be able to pull you both from there. Your voice and face will be those of her cousin. She would do anything for her family.”
He bowed lower before turning a look of awe her way. “You are most wise, mistress. Thank you for providing me with a way to continue to serve you, and your cause. I am forever your servant.” Once more he lowered his head until his forehead was pressed to the floor before her feet.
“You can leave now,” Hera said as she looked down at the man. He was now wearing the image of Pepper’s cousin, Kasper. “You disgust me.” She sneered at the person before her. “I can’t stomach looking at you like that.” She hesitated. “I will flash you into the hall before her room,” she added, and then with the wave of a hand he was gone.
A shimmer of something dark slid through her consciousness followed by the words, Last chance, goddess.
****
A knock on the door sounded pulling Pepper from her doze. She could hear Thomas in the shower, and a glance around showed that Lincoln wasn’t back from the kitchen yet.
“Pepper, I hate to bother you, but can you open the door please?” Kasper's voice reached her through the thick wood.
Pepper frowned and got up. Walking to the door she asked Kasper, “Kas? What’s going on? Do you need something?” She pulled back slightly. “Where are James and Victor? I thought that you guys were going to use the spa and pool tonight?”
“We were, but then Mik needed them to help with a beam in the barn. Damn thing got bumped out of place by one of the guys earlier, and it’s still not sitting right. They’re out there trying to shore it up. Mik thinks they made things worse and need some of us women to help as spotters, to get it in place. I know this is a lot to ask, but would you mind coming to help me? It shouldn’t take long, but the more they are trying to look instead of getting the thing in place the worse it gets. We’re hoping that with us women directing this mess it might be fixed this year.”
“Sure. I don’t mind.” She looked back to the bathroom and shrugged. “Let me just leave a note.” She grabbed the phone that was on the dresser and typed a quick text. “Okay, let’s go.” she said with a grin. “I’m happy to help you guys. It makes me feel more a part of this family.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to come usually, but they are driving us all insane. Camilla thought if we ganged up on them we might get them into the house again tonight. I personally want my spa night, and at the rate they’re going I’ll be old and gray before it happens.” Shaking her head, Kas shot her a frustrated look that still held a lot of humor. “For a bunch of smart men, they really do know how to mess up a perfect plan on a woman.” Kas led her down a back staircase, and out one of the side doors that was closest to the barn.
“That’s the truth. Those men are so funny, and once they know something is wrong, they obsess over it until it’s completely perfected. Those men are the definition of perfectionists.” Which they had to be. They were all deadly and worked in a line of business where they had to be deadlier.
“I adore them all, but I’m about ready to leave them in there for the night and say to hell with it. Maybe drag Camilla down to the spa instead,” Kas muttered. They were walking around to the end of the barn with the doors. Kas tugged it open and waved Pepper inside, still muttering about the obstinate men of the house.
Pepper snickered at that. “Maybe we should make a girls’ night of it?” She got inside of the barn and frowned. “I thought you said that they were out here correcting a beam? Kas, where are they?” She turned to face her cousin, her mind spinning madly because she had no idea what to expect.
“I did say that, didn’t I?” Kas grinned wickedly. “I lied. Hera! Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Then Kas grabbed Pepper’s arms and wrenched them up behind her back. “Sorry about this, cousin. Though not really, because you’re no cousin of mine.”
“That’s what I h
ad figured,” Mikhail said. An instant later Pepper was free, and her “cousin” was on the ground turning into a man she’d never seen before. Mik grabbed her arm and tugged her away from the guy a moment before he vanished in a flash of light. “Ares!” Mik called out. Then he looked down at where his hand was resting on her skin, and shot her a confused look.
Pepper looked at Mik’s hand on her arm as well and then looked to the god when he appeared. “How can you touch me?” she whispered in shock.
“That would likely be because Hera directly interfered, twice. Her shield, as well as her freedom, have been canceled,” Ares said as he stepped from the shadows. “We found the fucking Fates, and since Hera was a naughty girl, they ensured that the shield over Pepper was nullified.”
“About fucking time,” Mikhail said. It was a sentiment Pepper heartily echoed. “If I hadn’t seen you heading out of the house when I did… Gods, I don’t even want to think about it. Are you okay?” he asked facing her fully while giving her an assessing look.
She nodded her head to answer. “He looked just like Kas. Moved like her. Talked like her. Everything.” If Mik hadn’t seen her… “Goodness, I would be dead or wish I was right now if you hadn’t seen me.” She then threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”
He hugged her back, a large hand rubbing up and down her spine. “You are very welcome, kiddo.” Another gentle squeeze and he stepped back slightly. “Let’s get you back into the house before your guys freak the fuck out. If they haven’t already.” Mikhail kept an arm around her shoulders as they headed back to the house with Ares joining them for the walk.
“Pepper!” Thomas came barreling out of the house wearing only a towel. He spun around until he saw her, and then he raced toward her, losing the towel part way.
“For fuck's sake,” Mik said looking anywhere but at her man.
Pepper moved so that she was quickly in Thomas’s arms again. She burrowed as close to him as she could get and cried. “Mik saved me.” Again. That was at least twice now that the man had saved her bacon. “Hera tried to get me, but Ares and the others found the Fates, and I guess she’s in god jail now?”