Wyatt took a breath before he answered his grandmother. When she asked for something – anything at all – his tendency was to get it for her immediately. She was everything to him and his brothers. She was home. She was family. He knew why she felt such an urge to go get the other two little babies out of that hellhole, but he also knew someone would come after them and he had to be prepared. Already, they were at risk because they’d taken in Pepper and Ginger.
“Nonny, we can’t rush off and just grab the other two babies without some kind of plan in place to protect them and all of us. Someone is goin’ to come lookin’ for them,” Wyatt objected. “We also need to know anyone around them is safe from accidental bites. I want the children out as fast as you do, but we’ll need help.”
“Call Flame,” Nonny said. “She’ll come a runnin’ and she loves children. You know how she longs for children.”
“No.” Wyatt stared his grandmother down. “Absolutely not. Don’ even think about callin’ her. She’d come in a second, yes, but she’s Gator’s entire world. He wouldn’t survive without her and you know that. He nearly lost her once and I’m not about to take any chances with her, not until I know she’ll be safe.”
“She would be a huge help even with the rescue,” Nonny said. “And her feelin’s might be hurt if you didn’ call her.”
“Maybe,” Wyatt conceded, “but I never had a sister until Flame came along. We’re not chancin’ it, Nonny. It’s bad enough takin’ chances with your life. If somethin’ happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“Don’ you go a thinkin’ you’re gonna be bossin’ me around, Wyatt Fontenot. I’m not leavin’ my own house. I can see it in your eyes. You’re a thinkin’ you’ll send me away too, but these are my great-grandchildren and I’m goin’ to help them.”
He knew his grandmother and how stubborn she was. He also knew that all the years she’d spent in the swamps and bayous, running free as a child and hunting game and flowers and herbs, she’d never once been bitten. Not a single time. Like all of them, she’d encountered her share of venomous snakes, but they’d left her alone. Of all of them, Nonny might actually be the safest.
“So what do you want us to do, Wyatt?” Ezekiel, ever the practical, asked.
“Let’s get the house set up for all three babies. We’ll need cribs and blankets and high chairs.” Wyatt turned to Pepper. “Do they drink milk, or formula?”
“All of them drink milk and they prefer it warm.”
“How soon before you’re on your feet?” he asked.
“Another day. Two if I need to fight.”
“So we’ll need at least two days before we can go in, Nonny. At least that. We need to build a fortress here, and I have to set up my lab and get the house prepared. We’ve got a lot to do.” He pressed Pepper’s hand closer to his chest. “Are you certain they’ll be safe, that no one will decide it’s best to terminate them?”
He no longer believed that was the goal. Whitney liked to play games. He liked to experiment, but he would never risk losing Pepper and the three little girls, not when they were clearly so important to him. Wyatt’s mind began to fill in the puzzle pieces. Whitney wanted him to know the girls were his daughters. He wanted him to break into the secure facility to remove them from harm. He might even be planning to throw all kinds of things at them to see how far they would go to protect their venomous children.
Pepper stirred, drawing his gaze. Her eyes met his, the brilliant starburst of diamonds showing through the nearly purple, midnight sky. “Has it occurred to you that none of his scientists could figure out how to make the antivenom in my body work for anyone else? And that he expects you’ll have to do it. That you’ll have to find a way to make the children less lethal? And when you do…”
“He’ll come after them again.”
Pepper was getting tired. He could tell by her voice – the soft, sultry note had crept back in. He didn’t reprimand or remind her. He set his teeth and endured it, not looking at Ezekiel or Malichai, hoping they could see how worn out she was.
“The minute you said you needed my blood, I knew you were more than a soldier. You really are a genius, aren’t you? Both you and Nonny, and along with that, you’re chemists and deal with toxins all the time.”
Wyatt nodded slowly. “The swamp has many plants that cure and take away pain, but it also has plants that can kill in minutes.”
Pepper made a small sound in the back of her throat, her large eyes on him. Fringed with impossibly long feathery lashes, her eyes pulled at him. They were filled with fear, and this time she didn’t try to hide it.