*
The bed in the guest cabin was set in a deep alcove. Curtains that could be pulled across the opening were drawn back on either side. The dark, still sleeping bay was a perfect nest for spiders, Remi thought with a shiver. A quick check of the space showed it was as spotless as the rest of their cabin—and the outhouse behind it.
The community had provided a candle and a box of matches. They lit it and set it on the table a few feet from the bed. Remi took her boots off and climbed into the alcove. Leaning back, she watched Greer settle against the opposite wall.
The candle was dim and flickering, but once her eyes were used to the low light, she could see Greer clearly. He was the first guy she’d ever kept longer than a weekend. That should have panicked her, but it didn’t for some reason she couldn’t identify. Other than her professional cooperation with his team, Greer never asked anything of her personally. What would happen to them when this was all over?
In the dim light, for the space of a few heartbeats, his eyes seemed to darken as he said, “I want to still see you when this is over.” It was as if he read her mind.
She folded her knees and brought them close to her chest. She wanted that, too. For the first time ever, she’d found someone she wanted in her life. The weight of that realization terrified her. “What if it’s just the stress of everything bringing us together?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe. But what if you’re the one?” he asked. “What if I am? Do you want to quit before we know?”
“What if I’m not?” she countered. His silence was heavy in the space between them. “Do you really believe in finding the one perfect person?”
“Before you?” He shook his head. “I’d stopped believing when my fiancée left.”
“I didn’t know you’d been engaged.”
“We met in college. I guess I just wasn’t the guy she thought I was. At least not once the Army recruited me. I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t like Army life. I traveled a lot.” He looked at her. “I don’t want to be alone, Remi.”
“What if I push you away, like I push everyone away?” She got off the bed and paced across the room. She opened the door and let the night wind in. Her back was to him; she didn’t see or hear him move, but his arms slipped around hers like soft wings. He took her wrists and opened her arms, holding her hands at right angles to her body. The cool air slipped over and under their arms.
“What if…what if I am what you are for me—a soul hangover?” His rumbled whisper gave her a shiver. “What if I stay in your heart, and you ache for me as I do for you? Will you be brave? Will you fight for me?”
She did ache for him. Already. “I don’t want to.”
“But will you?”
“I’ve never fought for anything like that.”
He turned his hands palm-up under hers. “Yes, you have. You’ve fought for your life. You’ve fought for your career.” He pressed his face against her hair. “Will you fight for me?”
She turned and looked up at him. “Greer, you terrify me.”
He nodded. “As you do me.” He touched her hair.
“Will you fight for me?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah.” His teeth flashed in a quick smile. “When this is behind us, we’ll still be together. We’re a long way from over.”
*
Kit’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He picked it up, checking Ivy to make sure it hadn’t roused her. Casey was watching a movie with Mandy, Rocco, and Zavi, so they’d had the evening to themselves. Ivy was now in a deep, sated slumber.
Max was on the other end.
“Sorry to interrupt you, boss. The kid’s walking into a situation you need to know about. He’s meeting a former WKBer, who’s now a card-carrying Friend, at the witching hour of two a.m. Want me to send a couple guys as back-up?”
“Yeah. Angel and Val. I’ll go, too. Tell them to be downstairs at midnight.”
He hung up. Ivy slipped her arm over his chest. “Where are you going?”
“Just a security patrol. Nothing to worry about. I don’t have to leave for a while yet.”
She smiled and reached up to touch his face. He kissed her as he rolled over her. Spreading her legs, he slipped inside her. This third time tonight was different from the others. Gentle. Slow.
She wanted another baby, and he wanted her to have everything her heart desired.
*
Kit was humming in the passenger seat as they neared the turn for the Friendship Community.
“Jesus, Kit,” Val grumbled. “Can you turn down the afterglow? It’s hard to see the road.”
“Sorry.” He grinned. “We’re working on kid number two, feel me?”
“Val and I are in the worst drought of our lives, and you’re popping kids?” Angel grumbled.
Before Val could answer, a loud Harley roared past. Two more came over the hill they were climbing. All three of those slowed down, turned around, and rode up tight behind them.
“Hang on, guys,” Val warned. “Looks like the party’s starting.”
“Max, we got ourselves a situation,” Kit said over the comm unit. “The WKB’s getting real friendly. Tell Greer we might be running late.”
“Roger that. I’ll send backup for the backup.”
“Negative. Keep them at the house—on alert.”
“Copy.”
A line of bikes appeared ahead of them across the peak of the hill, blocking both sides of the road. Val executed a flawless J-turn, heading away from the bikes on the hill and into the three behind them. One of those whizzed by, but the other two didn’t manage to evade his rapid acceleration. They laid their bikes down and slid off into the wayside amid a blaze of sparks.