NINE
“Yeah.” She drew it out, knowing it would drive her father Ycrazy.
“Ria.”
Laughing, she met his scowling eyes. “He’s an engineer.”
Her father’s eyebrows climbed to his hairline. “Who does he work for?”
“DarkRiver Construction. He specializes in making sure buildings are built to withstand seismic events.” That was how he’d put it, sounding far more academic than she’d expected. It had been obvious in that single sentence that he not only knew what he was doing, but that he loved his work. “He trained with Angus Wittier.” Wittier was considered the premier expert on seismic-proof building in the country.
Simon nodded, his face contemplative. “Pass me the oregano and go get changed.”
“Will the spaghetti be ready soon?” She wasn’t hungry, her stomach in knots as she waited to hear the outcome of the DarkRiver-Crew showdown, but she wanted to keep the emotional temperature mellow for her father. Simon only cooked spaghetti when he was stressed—Amber’s situation was clearly worrying him more than he’d admitted.
“Ten minutes.”
“I’ll set the table after I change.” Walking up to her bedroom, she closed the door before calling Jet. “How’s Amber?” she asked when her brother answered.
“She’s okay right now, resting.” His voice was soft. “Tell Mom and Dad not to worry—the doctor says everything’s super with the baby.”
“Hah,” she said, with a smile. “You know how they are.”
“You’ll keep them calm, Ri-ri.” Said with absolute confidence. “I’ll call you as soon as anything changes.”
Hanging up, Ria changed, and then did what Jet had expected her to do—she made sure everyone remained calm—though her own emotions had her feeling incredibly fragile beneath the surface. What if something happened to Emmett? No, she told herself, somehow managing to maintain her composed facade even when Amber suddenly went into labor and the entire family rushed to the hospital, escorted by a trio of DarkRiver soldiers.
They were walking past the emergency room when several ambulances came screaming in. Ria recognized the shock of white-blond hair on the stretcher they pulled out of the back of one vehicle. “Dorian,” she whispered, looking for Emmett’s big form. He wasn’t there. But Dorian was bleeding, the red stark against the pale gold of his skin. “Popo—”
“Go.” Miaoling squeezed her hand. “I’ll take care of your mom.”
Cian by her side, Ria ran to the fallen DarkRiver soldier, slipping her hand into his as the medical team worked around her. “Hold on, Dorian.” He was unconscious, but she felt as if he knew she was there. She turned to Cian. “Tamsyn?”
A nurse pushed Ria out of the way as they wheeled Dorian into an operating theatre. Turning, she found Cian on the phone. “She’s almost here,” he told her, putting the phone in his pocket. Tiny lines of concern fanned out from the corners of his pale blue eyes.
Tamsyn ran in mere minutes later, a slender blonde female by her side. While the healer ran through to prep for the operating theatre, the woman halted beside Cian. The soldier immediately put his arm around her shoulders. “What’re you doing here?”
“I was at Tammy’s when the call came in,” the woman said, pushing back her hair.
The instant Ria saw her eyes, all the pieces fell into place. The way Cian moved, the way he spoke, no wonder it had seemed familiar. “You’re Emmett’s parents.”
“And you must be Ria. I’m Keelie.” Emmett’s mother’s smile was wide, those whiskey-colored eyes she’d bequeathed her son as bright as diamonds.
Ria didn’t even think about shaking hands. She walked forward and into open arms. The hug was tight. “Have you heard from Emmett?” Keelie asked.
Surprised that Keelie expected Emmett to call her first, Ria shook her head. “Not yet.” Her phone rang at that very instant. Pulling it out, she put it to her ear.
“I’m on my way to the hospital, mink. Don’t faint.”
She felt her stomach drop. “What’s wrong? Emmett, if you’ve been shot—”
“It’s just a flesh wound. You can kiss it better.” His tone was warm, a caress across her skin. “I’ll come by after I stop in at the hospital—”
“I’m here,” she interrupted him. “Amber’s in labor.”
“Problems?” Sharp concern.
Her heart clenched. “It’s a couple of weeks too early, but the doctor said he didn’t foresee any difficulties.” She took a shuddering breath, trying to convince herself of that. “I’m in the ER. I saw Dorian being brought in.”
“Is Blondie okay?”
“Tamsyn’s in there with him.”
“He took a bullet through the ribs—don’t think it hit anything major. Hold on. Be there in a minute.”
Closing the phone, she turned to share what he’d said with Keelie and Cian, but the couple shook their heads. “We heard.”
“Oh, right.”
“Emmett’ll get you an earpiece,” Keelie said. “It’s what the other human members of the pack use when they want to have private conversations.”
Ria’s curiosity momentarily overwhelmed her worry. “You have human members?”
“Of course!” Keelie smiled. “I guess people must assume they’re cats.”
Ria opened her mouth to reply but something made her turn to the doorway. She was running toward Emmett before she realized she’d moved. He caught her with one arm, the other in a sling.
“Flesh wound?” She pushed aside his shirt to reveal the bandage. “That’s an awfully large bandage for a flesh wound.”
One big hand stroked over her hair. “It’ll be fine as soon as Tammy has some time free. Gimme a kiss, mink.”
“Emmett! Your parents are standing right there.”
But he was already kissing her, and what could she do but kiss him back? She held on tight, so glad he was safe. “When did you turn into such an exhibitionist?” she whispered after he drew back, her cheeks nuclear-hot.
A small, wicked smile. “Just letting the others know you belong to me.”
Her eyes widening in horror, she looked around his shoulder . . . to see the grinning faces of ten more DarkRiver soldiers. Including her boss. And a tall redheaded female who was giving her the thumbs-up. “Oh. My. God.” She buried her face in Emmett’s chest and felt the laughter rolling through his body. “I’m going to kill you.” But in truth, all she wanted to do was stay pressed to him forever.
Dorian was pronounced stable half an hour later, and Tamsyn had enough energy left over to do a little extra healing. “How does it work?” Ria asked as the healer put her hand on Emmett’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
“Some healers say it comes from within, but I think I act as a reservoir for pack energy.” Tamsyn’s forehead furrowed in concentration. “My body can only hold a finite amount, so if Dorian had been hurt too badly, I would’ve been wiped out. But he’s a strong one.”
“She’s selling herself short,” Emmett said. “Tammy directs and channels her energy so it does the most good—probably knows more about the human body than most doctors. Though she’s one of those, too.”
Ten minutes later, the sling was gone, Emmett’s wound a soft pink. Ria ran her fingers over it, taking utmost care. “Does it hurt?”
“Naw, I’m tough. But if you want to kiss it better, I won’t object.”
Laughing, Tamsyn backed out of the cubicle. “Remember kids, this is a hospital.” She closed the folding door behind herself.
Ria punched an unrepentant Emmett gently on his uninjured shoulder. “How did you get shot?”
“Aw, come on, mink, you don’t want me to get into that.”
Putting her hands on her hips, she faced him head-on. “Emmett, you know how we were going to have a conversation later?”
He looked a little wary. “Yeah?”
“Well—” she began just as her phone started to beep in a frantic pattern only the family ever used. “Amber!” She put the cell to her ear. “Mom?”
A fragile response. “Amber’s in trouble.”
Ria began moving, conscious of Emmett at her back. The maternity ward was in a completely different wing of the hospital so it took precious minutes to get there. She arrived to find Miaoling sitting down, her hand intertwined so tightly with Alex’s her fingers had turned bone white. Simon sat on Alex’s other side. No one said a word.
Ria’s heart stopped. “What? What is it?”
It was her father who answered. “There was bleeding. Complications. They don’t know if . . .”
“No one will talk to us,” Alex said, sounding on the verge of tears. “They just rush in and out.”
“Wait.” Ria took a deep breath and grabbed the first nurse she saw.
Crouching down beside Miaoling, Emmett took her small, wrinkled hand in his as he watched Ria quietly and effectively intimidate a nurse into giving her the information her family needed. She returned several minutes later, a small fierce warrior. “They’ve got a fetal heartbeat. Amber’s conscious and talking.”
“The bleeding?” Alex asked, her voice breaking on the words.
“They’re working on getting it under control.” Ria looked up as another group burst into the waiting room.
Amber’s parents, Emmett realized as Ria greeted them in a flowing burst of Mandarin, clearly trying to stave off their panic. The couple sat down on Simon’s other side, asking Ria more questions. She shot Emmett a grateful glance as he continued to talk to Miaoling and Alex in a low voice, telling them about life in the pack, anything to take their minds off what was happening in the room only a few feet away.
They asked him all kinds of questions, but he knew they’d be unlikely to remember any of it come morning. Still he talked, giving them the distraction they needed, as Ria did the same with Amber’s parents. Simon spoke to both his wife and mother-in-law, and Amber’s parents, in turn, obviously trying to stay strong for his family.
But Ria was the glue, the quiet strength that held everyone together.
His leopard growled in pride.
Forty minutes later, there were tears of happiness, not sorrow. Amber was pronounced stable—though she’d have to stay in the hospital a bit longer than usual—the baby was a squalling ball of red-faced anger, and Jet was grinning like a fool.
“What’re you going to call her?” Ria asked after everyone had piled into the room and reassured themselves that both mother and baby were fine.
“Joy,” Jet said, touching one gentle finger to the baby’s cheek. “That’s what she is—our Joy.”
“It’s a beautiful name.”
“Yeah. Amber wants to use Nana’s name as a middle name.” He drifted to his wife’s side as if drawn there, curling his hand around hers. Though her face was lined with tiredness, Amber smiled. “Hey you.”
Ria began to nudge everyone out of the room.
Half an hour later, Emmett used Simon’s car to drop off Amber’s parents, along with Alex and Miaoling, since none of them were in any condition to drive, before returning to pick up Ria and her father. Simon got into the passenger seat, as Ria slid into the back. Emmett could feel the older man’s focus on him as they drove and it was no surprise to hear Simon say, “Ri, go inside. We’ll be in in a moment.”
Ria looked from one man to the other. Emmett shook his head in a slight negative when she went to open her mouth. Pursing her lips, she got out and entered the house. Emmett glanced at Simon. “I’ll take care of her.”
“She’s special,” Simon said, looking him straight in the eye. “We lost a baby girl to a late-pregnancy miscarriage a year after Jet was born. We weren’t the same after . . . but then Ria came. She healed us. She’s our heart.”
Emmett nodded, fully comprehending the sheer depth of everyone’s terror at the hospital tonight. “I understand.” And he did. Because she was his heartbeat, too.
A pause. Then Simon opened the door and got out. “I’ll send Ria to you. Save you sneaking up the wall.”
Emmett winced. “Um . . .”
Simon’s lips curved. “Ask me sometime about how I used to get into Alex’s room when we were high school students.”
Emmett was still grinning when Ria slid into the passenger seat. Before she could say anything, he started up the engine again. “Think your dad would mind if we took the car for a spin?”
“No, but where are we going?”
“For a little ride.” Putting the vehicle into hover-drive, he took them out of the city, and through the red arches of the bridge that had been there so long, the world couldn’t imagine San Francisco without it.
Ria sat back, releasing a sigh. “I’m so glad everyone’s okay.”
“Even me?”
“Even the idiot who got himself shot up when I specifically told him not to.”
The leopard batted playfully at her sharp response, delighted by her. “Just checking.” Passing the main lookout on the other side of the bridge, he drove up a “secret” route that all the high schoolers knew about.
“Hey, where does this go?” She twisted around. “I’ve never been up here.”
“Mink, you must’ve been one hell of a good kid.”
“I admit my nerdiness with pride.” She made a choked up sound of surprise when she saw four other cars parked at the top, all of them a good distance from each other. “You brought us to a make-out spot?”
“How else was I supposed to get my hands on you?” Parking the car at the end of the dirt lot, he slid away the manual controls, then reached over and undid Ria’s safety belt. “Come here.”
Laughter danced in her eyes as she shifted over to straddle him, knees on the seat on either side of his thighs. “We are not making out in my parents’ car.”
“Yes, we are. That’s the rule. You think those kids own those cars?” He nodded out the window. “Exactly.”
Ria’s smile softened, grew serious. “I was so scared for you, Emmett.”
“Hey.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I can’t promise you I’ll never be hurt, but I can promise that I’ll do everything in my power to come back to you every day.”
Her lips trembled. “If you don’t, I’ll come after you.”
“I know.” After seeing her at the hospital, he finally understood what she’d been trying to tell him all this time—Ria might be small and vulnerably human, but she was also strong enough to take anything the world threw at her, a warrior in her own way. It was time he started treating her like one. “You want to hear how it went down?”
A jerky nod.
“Okay, we have the truck surrounded, and we’ve blocked off the streets he could use to drive out, so he’s a rat in a cage. We wait till nightfall.” He unbuttoned the first three buttons on her shirt.
“Emmett!”
“It’s to make the bad memories go away.”
Giving a burst of stifled laughter, she thrust her fingers through his hair as he pressed a kiss to the delicate skin between her breasts. “God, you’re pretty, mink. I’m gonna kiss you all over next time.”
“I like that song.”
“Me, too.” Another kiss before he straightened. “So, everything’s going to plan. Problem is, Vincent’s smart. He’s got the immediate area around his truck set up with sensors. No way to get to the truck without alerting him.”
“But you were sure he was in there?”
“We saw him come out earlier in the day—”
“How did you know what he looked like?”
Smart question. Nothing less than he expected from his mate. “No need. It was obvious he was the alpha dog.”
“Go on.”
He ran his finger down her bared skin, undoing a few more buttons along the way. His leopard rose to the forefront, possessive and oh-so-hungry.