Hero's Haven

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Mercy rocked back on her heels. “It’s totally going to be fun to see.”

  Haven looked at these women who had become part of her family so easily. Finally, she was home.

  * * * *

  “You okay?” Ronan asked, scouting along the tree line a mile or so from headquarters.

  “Yeah.” Quade like the new lingo and decided there and then to stop saying “Aye.” Only Adare used that term any longer, and considering he was a Highlander, he should. “I didn’t think I’d make it back, and I made peace with that.”

  Ronan passed, turning to face him, his eyes sizzling. “You did it, brother. I’m so proud of you.”

  Quade grinned. “We put that asshole back into his hole, didn’t we?” He clapped his brother on the back. “It’s good to see you again.” Being without his brothers for so long had felt like being without a limb. Without all his limbs. They hadn’t really had time to celebrate the fact that they were both alive again. They needed to properly mourn Jacer, with several bottles of whiskey, as well.

  Ronan slung an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go back and check on headquarters.” They walked in companionable silence until reaching the helicopter and entrance to headquarters.

  Ivar moved out of the rock, looking like the Viking he’d once been. “Status?”

  “We’re clear,” Ronan said. “For now. We need to put security measures in place as soon as possible.”

  Ivar’s deep eyes gleamed an intelligent blue. “I’m glad you two survived and are here and everything. But this is it.” He gestured around the small clearing. “We’ve blown up every mountain I ever thought of using as a headquarters, and we even blew up that high-rise in Denver.”

  Quade opened his mouth to ask.

  Ivar raised a hand. “It’s a building. We blew up a building.”

  Quade’s eyebrows rose. “We won’t blow this one up?” Hell. He couldn’t promise that. Not really.

  “Good.” Ivar seemed to accept the statement. “The females want to go Christmas shopping tomorrow. You guys are welcome to join in, if you want to shop.” He looked at the rock fronting the entrance, shook his head, and strode back inside. “This is going to take forever to get functional,” he muttered, his words echoing back.

  Ronan chuckled. “He’s kinda fun when cranky.”

  Quade nodded and started moving toward the entrance. He’d been away from Haven long enough, and he had to know that she was all right. He nearly hit his head and had to duck for several feet of the tunnel until reaching a main room with boxes strewn everywhere. Ivar hadn’t been joking. This place was nowhere near ready.

  Logan and Benny came down the hallway, carrying a large pine tree still covered in snow.

  “Christmas tree,” Benny said, grinning.

  Logan rolled his eyes. “I told you this one was too big.”

  It looked just right to Quade. “Where is the medical room?” He’d just finished asking the question when Haven walked out of an opening in the rock.

  He reached her in seconds. “You are all right?”

  She looked up, and her smile was the sweetest he’d ever seen. “Yeah, but I shouldn’t take Benny’s blood. In fact, it sounds like nobody should.”

  He shared her smile. “Probably good advice.” Everyone was watching them, and his skin started to prickle. He took her hand and led her back down the tunnel to the outside. There he searched until he found a low outcropping of rocks beneath several trees. “Let’s sit.”

  She waded through the snow and let him lift her onto a rock. “How are your arms?” She ran her hands down them.

  Her touch set his blood on fire.

  “They’re fine,” he said. “Ronan’s blood helped.” He leaned over and examined her forehead. “No bruise. You are all right?”

  “Yes.” She tucked her hands into his waistband. “So. I love you.”

  Yeah, he’d asked her to say it again. How stunning what power words could have. He leaned down and kissed her, going deep and enjoying every second. Her sigh into his mouth filled him. “I love you, too.” He licked his lips. Maybe she was right, and he would be able to survive the final ritual. Finding love was a miracle, so why not believe in more of them? “I know you need to paint, and living underground isn’t ideal.”

  She tilted her head. “I could do a studio with some sort of skylight. Like when Ivar had that vent in the ceiling of the other place?”

  His body grew still. “You’re saying you’ll be okay staying here with me?”

  She kicked out her legs, a pretty pink flush covering her face. “I’ll stay anywhere you are. We can make this work.”

  So this was the third time she’d rescued him. He kissed her again, because he couldn’t help it. “I love you, Haven Daly. While you’re not human, you were raised as one. Would you like a human marriage?”

  She chuckled, her eyes lighting up. “Is that a proposal?”

  “Yes.” Of course it was.

  She leaned up and kissed him. “Then I say yes. I will marry you. Forever.”

  Yeah. For the first time, he actually believed in forever. Forever was theirs.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Lights from the Christmas tree danced around the main center room and made the silver veins in the rock shine like diamonds. The entire gang had exchanged presents after a lovely breakfast cooked by Benny, who turned out to be a master chef. People had then scattered to attend to duties and make sure the facility was safe.

  Haven led Mercy back to her suite, where another Christmas tree, this one much smaller, glittered from the corner. A bed was the only other furniture in the room so far. “I have something else, just for you,” she told her sister.

  Mercy hopped up on the bed next to her with a backpack over her arm. “Me too. Though I have to tell you, the charcoal drawings you did for each couple were a huge hit. I just love mine. Logan looks so sexy and dangerous in it.” She sank to her knees on the carpet in front of the tree.

  Haven had only had a week, so the framed charcoal drawings would have to do. “I’ll make you an oil painting when I can.” She sat next to Mercy. “I’d actually like you to pose outside for me sometime.”

  Mercy dumped out the bag to reveal a bunch of presents. She frowned. “I might have gone overboard.”

  How sweet. Haven eagerly reached for the first box and started opening. By the time she was finished, she had a sister mug, frame, keychain, bracelet, and even earrings. Her heart warmed and she hugged Mercy. She was the perfect sister, for sure. “Okay. I didn’t go this crazy, but I did buy you something.” She reached under the tree and handed over a package.

  Mercy hopped in place and quickly opened it. “Oh, Haven,” she breathed, taking out a pretty emerald bracelet with a sisters logo on it. “It’s beautiful.”

  “I have a matching one.” Haven held out her wrist and shook her bracelet. “Since we both have one green eye, I thought the emeralds fit.” She had never met anybody who’d embraced her as Mercy had, and she wasn’t sure how to express her emotions, but she wanted to try. “I’m glad we found each other.”

  Mercy slipped on her bracelet. “Me too.” She leaned in for another hug. “You’re the best sister ever.”

  There was no way either one of them could know that, but Haven leaned in to the love, anyway. “No. You are.”

  Mercy snorted and then looked up as Quade entered the room. She winked at Haven and then stood. “You two have a very Merry Christmas. Or what’s left of it anyway.” At the doorway, she paused. “You sure you don’t want to come to demon headquarters and meet Logan’s brothers? Zane and Sam are pretty cool, and their young sister is tons of fun.”

  “No,” Quade said, his gaze warming on Haven. “We’re staying here.”

  Haven grinned. That look in his eyes heated her from head to toe. “Yeah. Lots to do, you know.”

 
“Whatever.” Mercy rolled her eyes, her smile wide. “I’ll find you before we leave.” She disappeared.

  Quade strolled over, lifted Haven off the ground, and sat back down with her in his lap. “I like the sisters mug.” He surveyed the various presents and discarded boxes.

  “Me too.” She shifted on his lap and took a deep breath. Hopefully, he wouldn’t think she was a dork. She’d already given him new jeans without holes and a bunch of clothes, pretty much depleting her bank account. “I have a couple more presents for you.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” And from the boxes still under their tree, she wasn’t alone in that. She pulled out the biggest gift. “This one first.”

  He kept her gaze and smoothly flipped open the lid. His nostrils flared, and he sniffed the air, angling to the side. “What is that?”

  “Candy. All different kinds of peppermint, spearmint, and butterscotch.” She caressed his whiskered jaw.

  He plucked a mint from the box and stuck it in his mouth. A low rumble of pleasure came from his chest, and his eyes widened. “All for me?”

  She chuckled, truly happy for the first time in her life. “Yes, Quade. All of the candy is yours.” She sobered and shook off any remaining self-consciousness. “I also made you something else.” Staying on his hard lap, she reached around the tree and pulled out an oil painting. The only one she’d had time to create.

  He stopped chewing the candy. “Oh, Haven.” His gaze flared. “You painted you for me.”

  She swallowed. “Yes. It’s my one and only self-portrait.” He’d asked if she ever painted herself, and she never had, but he had seemed eager to have a portrait of her. “Do you like it?” She looked over at herself, even though it felt a little weird. Her eyes glowed and she looked happy. “I painted myself thinking about you.”

  His chest moved. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” He kissed her, his mouth firm and now very minty. “I love it. Thank you.”

  She relaxed. “You’re welcome.”

  He reached under the tree and brought out several boxes. “These are for you.”

  She opened the first one, her eyes widening at the sparkly diamond bracelet. “Quade,” she breathed. “This had to cost a fortune.” Matching earrings and several rings were in other boxes. All huge diamonds. Then some boxes with rubies and emeralds and some stones she couldn’t identify but sparkled wonderfully.

  “Turns out I’m wealthy.” He grinned. “My brothers invested our holdings through the years. You said you like diamonds, so I bought you some. You can have as many as you want.” He slipped the biggest ring with a square-shaped diamond onto her ring finger. “You said you wanted to get married, and a ring goes with that commitment.”

  “Wow.” She held her hand up to the light. Just wow.

  He reached for the last box and opened it to reveal a choker necklace with emeralds and onyx stones lined up. “This matches both of your eyes.” He secured it around her neck, the stones heavy and somehow warm. “Ah, perfect.”

  Nobody had ever accepted all of her this way. “I love you,” she whispered, tears clogging her throat.

  He smiled, her valiant, deadly, honorable warrior. “I love you, too.” He kissed her again. “Forever.”

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to the readers who have jumped into this new era of the Realm vampires. I have many wonderful people to thank for getting this book to readers, and I sincerely apologize to anyone I’ve forgotten.

  Thank you to Big Tone, Gabe, and Karlina: for their love, support, for making my life better every day.

  Thank you to my eximious editor, Alicia Condon, as well as everyone at Kensington publishing: Alexandra Nicolajsen, Steven Zacharius, Adam Zacharius, Vida Engstrand, Jane Nutter, Lauren Jernigan, Elizabeth Trout, Samantha McVeigh, Lynn Cully, Kimberly Richardson, Arthur Maisel, Renee Rocco, Rebecca Cremonese, April LeHoullier.

  Thank you to my wonderful agent, Caitlin Blasdell, and to Liza Dawson and the entire Liza Dawson Agency.

  Thank you to Jillian Stein for the absolutely fantastic work and for being such a great friend.

  Thanks to my fantastic street team, Rebecca’s Rebels, and to their creative and hard-working leader, Minga Portillo.

  Thanks also to my constant support system: Gail and Jim English, Debbie and Travis Smith, Stephanie and Don West, Jessica and Jonah Namson, Kathy and Herb Zanetti, and Liz and Steve Berry.

  Finally, thank you to the readers who have kept the Dark Protectors alive all of these years. It’s because of you that we decided to return to the world of the Realm.

  Rebecca Zanetti teams up with fellow New York Times Bestselling Authors Kat Martin and Alexandra Ivy to create heart-pounding romantic suspense in

  PIVOT

  Coming soon!

  As girls, they bonded over broken homes and growing up in foster care.

  As women, they’re fighting for their lives, and loves, once more. . . .

  MERI

  When Meriwether Jones takes her young daughter and runs from trouble in L.A., that trouble follows. By the time Meri reaches Spokane, she’s out of gas, money, and ideas. Luckily, ex-cop Ian Brodie hires her to help him with his father’s farmhouse, and they seem like the answer to each other’s prayers. But Meri is keeping a dangerous secret—and Ian is in danger of losing his heart. . . .

  MELANIE

  That secret explodes when Melanie Cassidy spots two men trying to kidnap a young boy she tutors and responds by ramming them with her car. The last thing she expects is for the man she once loved, Detective Gray Hawkins, to appear and rescue them both. Now she has no choice but to trust him as they investigate the truth about a conspiracy of dirty, drug-trafficking cops—and the truth about their relationship. . . .

  MICHELLE

  After a rough youth, Michelle Peach was finally content in Portland—until two men broke into her home, threatened her, and sent her mentally unstable mom on a blackmail spree that Michelle has to stop. The last person Michelle wants to see is her ex, Evan Boldon, a former marine turned sheriff. But Evan misses the woman who walked away instead of letting him help years ago. This time he’s not asking permission; he’s going to put a stop to the trouble stalking Michelle and her friends—and win her heart for good.