by Fall, Carly
“So, what got you up?” he asked.
She sighed. “I don’t know … it just felt like someone else was in the apartment, and I immediately thought of my brother.”
Justice opened the beers then handed one to her.
“It was just really strange,” she said.
He placed his hand on her shoulder and massaged it lightly. “Are you okay now?”
“Yeah. I just feel so much guilt about what happened to him.”
He pulled her close and she laid her cheek on his bare chest.
“Time helps to heal wounds, Holly. That feeling will eventually fade. You weren’t responsible.”
She nodded and sighed, feeling as if she could stand here in his embrace like this forever. Her stomach grumbled, letting her know it needed food, stat.
“Thanks,” she said, turning back to the stove. “It’s nice having you around.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me to hear you say that. I feel like when I’m with you, I’ve found my new home.”
She grinned as she stirred the eggs. For the first time in a long time, she thought of herself as happy.
Chapter 51
One week later
“I feel like I’m going to meet your family and I know they already hate me,” Holly said, pulling down the mirror and looking herself over again.
He grinned and tried to concentrate on the road instead of ogling her. She actually wore a dress today, one that matched her eyes and the sky. He also noted she’d put makeup on—not a lot, but just enough so that it was noticeable and enhanced her already pretty features. He didn’t want to wreck the car because he carried the most precious cargo he could have ever imagined; however, it seemed he could never get enough of staring at Holly. To him, she had become the most beautiful thing on Earth.
“You look gorgeous,” he said. “Everyone is going to love you.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, Justice. Just a week or so ago, they were in my apartment trying to manhandle me.”
“And look how that turned out for them.”
They laughed, recalling Hudson’s bloody nose.
He’d spoken with Noah a few times this week while Holly had been at work. He missed his crew of Rescue One, and even a few of the Saviors. The females of the house had always been so kind to him, and he knew they’d like Holly. On Monday, Noah did not take kindly to the idea of Justice stopping by with her, and Justice knew he had to put things in perspective so that Holly seemed like an asset to the Saviors.
By Wednesday, he’d had it nailed down.
“She’s part of the government that took our people and studied them, Noah. She’s got access to information you don’t. How would you ever know if the government was gunning for you?”
Noah had hesitated. “I wouldn’t, except if some douchebag showed up on my front door like Blake did.”
“Exactly.”
“We can’t trust her.”
“Yes, you can. I trust her with my life. If she wanted to do something to me or to you, she’d have done it already. Hell, I’m a sitting duck here in her apartment. We’d be captured by now, Noah.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
He’d thrown back his head and laughed. “I never thought I’d hear those words from your mouth.”
“Yeah, yeah. Bring her by Saturday night for dinner, okay?”
He had to admit, Holly wasn’t the only one feeling nervous about this little rendezvous at the silo.
They pulled off the main highway onto a dirt road and bounced along for a while. The first gate came into view and he stopped, gazing up at the camera. A moment later, the gate slid open, and he proceeded to the second gate, where he didn’t have to stop as it opened immediately.
He parked and turned off the engine.
“This is amazing,” Holly murmured, taking in the large dome protruding from the ground. “How deep does it go again?”
He tried to remember. “I believe it’s eight or nine floors.”
They exited the car, and the silo door opened. Noah and Abby stepped out, followed by Hudson, Beverly, and Killian.
“Is that Killian?” Holly whispered, and he nodded. “He’s so cute!”
“Don’t let his innocent look fool you. The kid is a terror.”
Noah came down the steps and grinned, followed by Hudson. “Welcome to our home, Holly. Everyone is really looking forward to meeting you.”
Holly studied Noah and decided he was telling the truth. She shook his hand. “Thank you. Considering our past issues, your invitation means a lot.”
He nodded. “You remember Hudson, right?”
She grinned and looked over Noah’s shoulder. “Of course. How are you, Hudson?”
He stepped around and embraced her in a tight, brotherly hug, reminding her of Billy before the PTSD and depression had won. “I’m good, Holly. I have to say, I’ve looked forward to this all day.”
“Why’s that?”
He stepped away and grasped her shoulders firmly. “Because any female that can get the drop on me like you did has my utmost respect. I can’t wait to get to know you better, and perhaps, we can even train together.”
She nodded. Justice had gone into more depth on the Colonists and the Colonists’ offspring this past week, and she wanted to help in any way she could. If that meant breaking a few noses, she would be more than willing.
“Thank you, Hudson.”
Glancing over at Justice, she could have sworn she heard something resembling a growl from him, but she dismissed the idea.
Hudson offered her his arm. “So, let’s go inside, pretty lady. We’re having Beef Wellington with a bunch of side dishes. I’ve been in the kitchen all day.”
She slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Really? It sounds delicious. Justice has become quite the cook, as well.”
Hudson glanced back to Justice and immediately let go of her. “Perhaps you’d like to escort her in, Justice?”
“Damn straight.”
She’d never seen him look so furious, but the anger faded as he pulled her close.
“Come on, let’s go meet what’s left of my people.”
As she climbed the stairs into the silo, she felt overwhelmed, but excited. Perhaps these people would one day become her family, and she couldn’t help but think of Billy. It seemed as if he had been with her a lot lately, almost like he trailed behind her wherever she went. She shook her head at the thought.
When they entered the beautiful kitchen area, she gazed at all the faces in front of her. Beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, and colors; huge men, all built the same, except for one. He was a little shorter than the others, and not quite as wide, but still built like he worked out for hours every day.
She studied his face as he threw his arm around the woman who had introduced herself as Sophia, and a little girl stood between them. She knew him from somewhere, but she couldn’t place it.
The next hour, she chatted with just about everyone and found them all welcoming and friendly, except the one named Rayner. He kept his distance from her and kept looking around the room, as if he saw something the rest of them didn’t.
Finally, she recognized the guy named Blake.
She sidled up to him and said, “You’re that guy on the F.B.I.’s most wanted list.”
A flash of panic crossed his face.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I see your picture every day when I go to work. Nice job on the Area 2 breakout.”
He grinned and looked relieved. She left him to find Justice.
They sat down to dinner, and she smiled at the huge table teeming with food and drinks. The Saviors lived in comfortable elegance, and she looked around the room again. Slipping off her sandals, she ran her feet over the plush carpet and tried to figure out if the table was teak or something else. She accepted another glass of red wine from Faith, and she chatted with Justice, Kade, Chase, Nico, and Alaina as they at
e.
When she thought her belly would burst, she still kept shoveling food in her mouth as it tasted so good.
Out of nowhere, Rayner stood and screamed at the wall. “For the love of everything holy, would you fucking shut up! If you aren’t going to be quiet, then at least tell me who you’re talking about!”
Silence blanketed the room, and Rayner became more and more agitated, running his hand through his hair and transferring his weight from one foot to the other.
“What is it?” Faith asked, standing up next to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Who is this guy?”
Faith glanced around the room. “We can’t see anyone, Rayner. Only you can. Talk to him. Find out what he wants.”
Holly looked around and didn’t see anyone, either. She leaned over to Justice. “What’s going on?”
“Rayner sees spirits caught between this world and the next. My guess is he’s seeing one now.”
She watched in fascination as Rayner stared at the corner of the dining room. She turned, but only saw the china cabinet.
“His name’s Billy,” Rayner announced.
Holly gasped, and everyone looked at her. She placed a hand over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. Justice laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, giving her a little bit of comfort.
“He says he’s sorry, and that you shouldn’t feel bad … Holly.”
The tears spilled over and tracked down her face while disbelief tore through her. Was this some type of sick joke they’d decided to play on her? But why?
“He says he’s happy now, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about his death.”
The sob wracked her whole being as she turned to Justice and hid her face in his embrace. Her stomach clenched, and she thought she may lose all that good food she’d just eaten.
“He’s been waiting in the ether to deliver this message to you. He’s going to move on into the afterlife, and he says he’ll see you when he sees you. He wants you to be happy, and to embrace your new … your new family.”
Holly screwed her eyes shut. She couldn’t deny Rayner had been talking to Billy because those had been the last words he’d said to her. There simply couldn’t be any way for anyone in this room to know that.
Rayner continued. “He says, quit being a cry baby and move on.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded so much like the old Billy, before the PTSD and depression got their claws into him. It was the Billy from the picture when they had been younger.
“He says he’s not going anywhere until you look at him.”
She turned and followed Rayner’s gaze to the corner of the dining room, still holding her breath. How she wished she could see him one last time, but again, she saw nothing.
Rayner chuckled. “Now, he’s giving you the finger and laughing about it.”
She shook her head and giggled, extending her digit in his direction.
“He’s telling you to be happy, and to … to embrace your new family.”
Justice squeezed her shoulder again, and Alaina took her hand. Everyone stared at her as she fell apart, unable to contain the sobs.
“T-tell him I love him,” she whispered.
“He can hear you, and says he loves you, too, but it’s time for him to move on.”
She nodded.
“He says it’s very important that you realize you aren’t responsible for his death, and he knows you think you are.”
She did think that. If she’d had a little more patience with him that day and if they hadn’t argued, that psychopath wouldn’t have killed him.
“So, he says to stop it.”
Crying harder, she pushed her face into Justice’s t-shirt, not caring that she drenched him with tears and snot.
“He’s gone.”
She glanced over at Rayner, who sat back down at the table and ran a hand through his hair.
“Why don’t you take Holly somewhere private so she can gather herself?” Abby suggested to Justice.
He nodded and stood. They walked to the kitchen and to the elevator. She couldn’t let go of him.
Logically, it didn’t make sense for Rayner to be able to see Billy. Once someone died, that was it. However, the things that Rayner had said made perfect sense, giving her every indication that he had indeed been talking to Billy.
It amazed her and frightened her.
“Does anyone else here see dead people?” she asked as the doors opened and they stepped inside.
“No. But a few of them have paranormal abilities.”
“Like what?”
“Jovan and Liberty can sense if someone is telling the truth by touching them, and they also feel the emotions in a room as a physical force.”
“Wow.”
“I know. Nico is a Dream Walker—he can visit others in their dreams.”
She took a deep breath, finally feeling somewhat composed again.
“Cohen is a Healer of our people, like Macy. You’ll probably be meeting her in a just a moment.”
The doors opened and Justice pushed through another set of doors, leading into a huge gym with cots lined on the sides. A large stack of mats had been piled in the corner. A man laid on top and a woman sat next to him.
“That’s Macy and Titus,” Justice murmured with a wave. He turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Are you feeling better now?”
She nodded, yet more tears brimmed her eyes. “That was difficult to hear, but even more so in front of an audience.”
He pulled her to him, his large arms embracing her and making her feel safe and protected. They stayed together for a few minutes, and then he spoke. “This is where I used to live. Second cot.”
Turning, she looked around. “Not a lot of privacy.”
He shook his head. “No, but the rest of the floors are taken. The silo is pretty much out of room.”
“Even the catch-all? I didn’t see that part of it.”
“What’s a ‘catch-all?’”
Thankful for the conversation to take her mind off her brother, she continued. “In some of the silos, they built what my grandpa used to call a catch-all. It was in case something went wrong with the missile. Supposedly, it was a safe place that the crew could go. If I remember right, Grandpa said it would be right off the top floor.”
“How do you know this?”
“He used to work in a silo in the sixties. He said that if something went wrong with the missile, they’d all be screwed, catch-all or not. But I do remember him saying that most of the silos did have one.”
Justice smiled. “I think you may have just solved a big problem.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. If they have a catch-all, my guess is they don’t even know it. They can turn that area into sleeping facilities for my crew.”
She didn’t like the sound of it. She knew Justice didn’t like staying here because of the lack of privacy in the gym, but what about if he could have his own room?
He pulled out his phone and kissed her forehead while he waited for someone to pick up.
“Hey, Noah? Does this place have a catch-all?”
As he stared at her, she saw the pinpoint of gray in his eyes. It grew and morphed.
“Well, you may want to come talk to Holly. She’s got an idea for my crew.”
A moment later, his eyes blazed gray. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist as he hung up.
“If they do have a catch-all, I hope you won’t kick me out, Holly.”
It had been a week, and things only seemed to be getting better. Noah had set him up with a computer, and he had come to the silo a couple of times for lessons. During the day while she worked, he continued to help the Saviors track down the Colonist who had caused so much death and destruction in Phoenix. At night, he’d gone on patrol twice. When he had been home, they’d been like any other couple—watching television and talking and laughing together. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Hudson he’d also becom
e quite the cook.
Happiness coursed through her as she studied her glowy-eyed being, the man with whom she found herself quickly falling in love.
“I won’t. I kind of like having you around. “
Chapter 52
Justice shut the apartment door and flipped the four locks he’d installed this week. No one would be getting into this home.
Griffin chirped at them, and Holly went over to his cage and spoke to him in soft tones while Justice went into the bedroom to remove the contacts he’d put in at the silo before they’d left dinner.
“Make sure to close those blinds,” he called.
“I will.”
Noah had seemed very excited about the catch-all and had promised to look into it. Justice felt better about his crew—he didn’t feel as if he had abandoned them, but he couldn’t go on living on a cot in the gym.
He walked back into the living room and plopped down next to Holly on the couch. She snuggled up to him, and he pulled her close as he put his arm over her shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“They all seem really nice,” Holly murmured, sounding as if sleep would be upon her soon.
“They are.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to move back if they do find the catch-all?”
He shook his head. “I’m really happy right here, Holly. I like it just being the two of us. I like our little slice of privacy right here.”
“Okay,” she said with a yawn.
Yes, things had turned out better than he’d ever thought they would. He still felt sadness when he thought of his lost home, but being with Holly made that a little more bearable each and every day. He would still work with the Saviors, but he didn’t need to be living with them, and he didn’t have to butt heads with Noah if they lived apart. There could only be one leader.
He grinned as Holly snored softly next to him.
She seemed more at ease after her visit to the silo, and he felt certain Rayner being able to relay Billy’s message had helped. The killer had been dealt SR44 justice, and he felt certain they would catch the Colonist, or the head of the snake, at some point in the near future.
Overall, he couldn’t image being any happier.
