She settled back down, into the space between his arm and body. “What happens now?”
He wished that nothing was happening, that he and Fiona could stay in bed an entire day and night and day again. He wanted to love her in every way he’d ever imagined…and invent a few new ways, too.
“I suppose you shower, and I’ll go meet up with the guys, see what happened after we left the tunnels. I know they will want to talk to you, if you’re up to it. You’re the only one of us who has actually seen King.”
She nodded. “But you have to know that he was covered head to foot. I didn’t actually see any of him.”
“That’s okay. There might be something in that interaction that has more meaning than you think. Let’s talk it over with the team and see what happens.”
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. “Kelan—the girls!”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll see if they were found.”
She pushed herself up to look into his eyes. “And if they weren’t, will you go back for them?”
“Yes.” Her eyes filled with tears. He frowned, then stroked her cheek with his thumb. How could her skin be so incredibly soft? “Talk to me, Fiona.”
“I love you. I love you so much, and I don’t even yet know everything that means to me. I love you on a visceral level, as if our hearts have connected in a way that isn’t rational. And yet here I am, sending you back into danger.”
Kelan grinned. “You love me viscerally?”
“Don’t go back, Kelan.”
“Don’t be afraid for me. I will find your girls and bring them back. I’ll do this errand, and a thousand more for you. I will do anything that gives your mind peace.”
A short sigh broke from her. She leaned forward, dragging her body up and across his so that she could put her face in his neck. She drew a deep breath against his skin. The air tickled his skin and lifted gooseflesh across his arms and back.
Kelan turned to her. Digging his hand in her hair, he held her face to his and looked into her eyes as his lips met hers. Her arm slipped about his shoulder, avoiding his broken ribs. He tensed; he was hungry to peel off their layers and explore her body with his. It was good he’d gone to bed fully clothed; she wasn’t ready for them to be intimate again yet—not after everything that had happened. It took a force of will to make him roll over her and climb off the bed.
He took Fiona’s hand and pulled. “Up.” When she stood in front of him, he said, “Take a shower. Get something to eat. Rest. I’ll come find you when the team’s ready to talk. I’ll be there with you the whole time.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you. Viscerally.” He grinned at her, but couldn’t raise a smile in her somber eyes.
*
Kelan grabbed a cup of coffee from the sideboard in the dining room, where Kathy always kept a pot going, then went down to the bunker via the hidden stairs in the den.
The team was slowly coming in. Everyone had started late today. No one had assigned seats, so he just sat wherever. Kit hit his shoulder as he went by. Greer fist-bumped Kelan, then sat next to him. Rocco nodded at him from across the table.
When everyone was assembled, Kit flipped a folder open, ready to start the meeting, until Val stopped him.
“Wait, Kit. Just hold up.” Val held up a hand. “Can we all take a moment to give Kelan a hug?”
Kelan frowned. “No.”
Max barked out a laugh.
Val smiled. “I’m glad you’re back. And Fee, too.”
“Thanks,” Kelan said.
“We all are,” Owen said from his place by the wall. “After this meeting, I expect you to take some time with Fiona.”
Kelan met Owen’s cold eyes. That was an unusually generous suggestion, especially at such a critical time. “I will. And I appreciate that, but I’m not finished with this. I need to see it through.”
“Right.” Kit stood up. “So here’s what we know. King’s Warren is a complex covering several miles of underground tunnels from two separate missile silos. Lobo and his team are still working the site. It’s been the holy grail of stolen antiquities, art, and jewelry. It’s going to take the FBI months to catalog everything they found.”
Kit nodded at Greer, who popped some images up on the huge smart screen. The long red and purple banners that lined the main hall filled the screen. Kelan read their slogans about world domination, moral cleansing, and population control—he’d been too focused on other things the times he was in the hall to notice them in detail.
“And in case you’re wondering, this wasn’t a casual clubhouse,” Kit commented. “Looks like they have grand plans, which they may already have begun implementing.”
An alert sounded in the ops room. Max checked his phone. He looked at Kit, then Kelan. The room became silent.
“Got the results back from the test we ran on Fiona’s DNA. She and Lion do share the same biological father. They’re half-siblings.” He took a breath. “And the blood from your knife, Kelan—it matches their father’s.”
“So it was King in that rotunda,” Rocco said.
Kit’s mouth became a thin line. “Or if not King, then at least their dad. We just don’t know who or what this King is.” He was silent a moment. “Let’s start at the beginning. I want to make sure everyone’s on the same page. Rocco, you and Selena got into King’s Warren first. Tell us what you saw.”
They told the team about the security system, the guard corps, the floor plan for the areas they toured. Greer played the video they’d collected. Some of Rocco’s footage included what happened in the rotunda. Greer had blurred the image of Fiona on the altar.
Kelan wanted to be sick.
The lights were dim and the video switched to low light, making the images green and grainy. It did capture a figure sitting on a throne and the others in the ten alcoves. And it showed the bastard who looked like a satyr to Fiona climbing on top of her.