Scavenger Vanishes (The SkyRyders Book 3)

by Liza O'Connor

“He says it’s Fred,” Alisha replied. “Betty and he are in love,” she added as she opened her mouth for the forkful of chicken Logan held out for her.

  “Betty… Didn’t you have a friend who died named Betty?” he asked as he offered her another bite.

  “Yes. You haven’t eaten anything. You just keep feeding me.”

  “You said you were very hungry,” he reminded her.

  “I am, but sharing means both of us should eat.”

  ***

  God, she was so adorable it was everything he could do not to abandon the food and take her into his arms.

  Logan dutifully took a bite, then offered her another. “Would I have met your new friend named Betty in a certain cave by the wind farms?”

  Alisha choked. When she finally settled back down, she looked at Logan. “How did you know that?”

  “From General Powell’s description of her. I thought Denny looked very young and feminine in the cave. How old is she?”

  “She’s claiming twenty-one, so we’ll just leave it unchallenged,” Alisha said.

  When he tried to feed her a grape, she refused it because he hadn’t fed himself a bite. He smiled and popped a grape into his mouth. Then he selected another grape and waited for her to open her mouth. She had her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open, looking very kissable. He couldn’t resist the temptation. He leaned over and kissed her lightly, letting his tongue run playfully over her lips. He withdrew and popped the grape into her mouth. He was afraid he might have moved too quickly, but the fear faded as she rewarded him with her beautiful smile.

  She reached over to his lap, picked up a grape, and held it out to him.

  His lips slowly covered the grape. When she didn’t let go of it, he nibbled the tips of her fingers with his teeth. She laughed and surrendered the grape.

  ***

  It took more than two hours to finish dinner. Alisha loved the playful sexual tension between them as they shared their food. It gave her hope that maybe she could still experience the playful romantic love she envied between Betty and Fred.

  When they’d finished eating, Logan moved the trays back onto the cart and tried to roll it out into the hallway, but the door was locked. He seemed worried by the fact.

  “Do they always lock your door?”

  “No,” she replied. “They must be afraid you’re going to try to kidnap me.”

  “If I thought I could make you safer, I’d do it, but the truth is you’re very safe here.”

  “Then why did you insist on seeing me?”

  “Because I had a question to ask you,” he replied. “And you’re not on email.”

  Alisha laughed. She loved his dry humor. She stifled a yawn.

  “I’m keeping you up past your bedtime.”

  “I get tired fast these days.”

  “Then you should go to sleep.”

  “But I don’t want you to go.” She struggled to get off the bed. Logan helped her.

  “Then I won’t go,” he promised.

  Alisha felt her heart swell with happiness. “I’m going to take a shower.” She wanted to ask him to join her, but then remembered how large and repulsive her body had become. It was probably better if he didn’t see her naked just now.

  ***

  She stood in the shower letting the hot water melt away the wrinkle-skin, trying to sort out her feelings. She wanted to hate him. She should hate him. Inexplicably, she didn’t, not even after he’d confessed all the terrible things he’d done. All she could think was if she’d been there, she could have saved him. They could have found a better way to turn the East Coast around.

  For the first time, she realized she’d failed him as much as he’d failed her.

  When he’d called her on the videophone, it had been a desperate cry for help, and her hateful words had pushed him into a blackness so ugly that she was amazed he’d survived at all.

  His rape of Marge was as much her fault as his. He’d been the gun, but she’d pulled the trigger.

  Tears of regret and pain rolled down her face, mixing with the water. Why was their love so difficult and painful? Why wasn’t it easy like the love between Jack and herself, or between Betty and Fred? Why could they never get it right?

  Cool air chilled her as the shower curtain pulled back.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  She turned and faced the corner. “Don’t look at me,” she said, afraid he’d be able to tell she’d been crying. “I’m disgusting.”

  “You’re beautiful,” he assured her as he stepped in and caressed her arm.

  She saw the wrinkle-skin from her arm fall to the shower floor. She turned to explain.

  He peeled another piece of skin from her arm and held it up. “Now this is disgusting,” he admitted.

  Alisha laughed and nodded in agreement. “It’s a lotion Betty created. It makes my skin look old and wrinkly. I apply it to my face, arms and legs every day.”

  “And the red and brown spots?” he asked, stepping closer and touching her face.

  “The red is caused by an allergic reaction to the lotion, and the brown age spots are tattoos.”

  She saw his frown and added, “Don’t worry, Betty says she can undo them.”

  “I don’t care what you look like,” he assured her. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”

  He grimaced as another layer of skin fell off her leg. “But since we’re going to be staying in the room, perhaps you can forgo the lotion. I’m going to be having nightmares about this for years,” he complained.

  She laughed and helped him to remove the last of the wrinkle-skin.

  When they returned to the bed, he placed pillows around her to make her more comfortable, then lay down beside her. “You’re sure I’m not going to disturb your sleep?”

  “No,” she answered, pulling his arm around her massive stomach.

  He moved his body tight against her back and kissed her on the neck. Snuggling in his arms reminded her of the first night when he’d offered her shelter.

  “God, I love you,” he whispered.

  Alisha stiffened. Every time he’d said those words in the past, he’d left her soon after. Please God, make him stay this time, she prayed.

  He evidently felt her tension, for his next words were an apology. “I’m sorry, I know I don’t have the right to say those words, but I need to express these emotions of happiness that are welling up inside me. Whether I deserve the right or not, I plan to declare my love for you more than you’ll be able to bear.”

  His words were as if in answer to her prayer.

  “It’s all right,” she assured him. Feeling safe, secure and loved for the first time in almost nine months, she closed her eyes and fell into a restful sleep.

  She woke in the morning alone in her bed. She forced herself up, staring for some evidence that Logan had been there. It couldn’t have been a dream! It had been too real. God, please no!

  She ran to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t. She twisted the handle again, and it opened. Fred stood in the hall, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Logan. Where is he?”

  “He’s right behind you,” Fred replied.

  Alisha turned just as Logan wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all right,” he assured her. “I was just in the bathroom.”

  She started to cry uncontrollably. “I thought I’d only dreamt you.”

  “No, Alisha. I’m real. And I’ll never leave you again. I promise you.” He stroked her back until she calmed down.

  “How do I know that?”

  Logan paused. “Well, I’ve been waiting for the right time to ask you—maybe this is it.” He went down on one knee and held her hand. “Alisha, will you marry me?”

  She was about to say yes, but then stopped, remembering the promise she’d made to Jack the day he’d helped her escape. “I can’t. Jack asked me first.”

  “This isn’t a foot race,” Logan replied, trying very hard not to lose his temper. �
��It’s not even a contest of who’s been your best ally. It’s a question of who’s your soul mate.”

  “You said you didn’t believe in soul mates.”

  “And then I foolishly left you and I discovered how wrong I was. Without you, Alisha, I got lost. With you, everything is right. Even this shabby little room is wonderful, when we’re in it together.”

  “I know… I feel the same way…but I can’t just think of myself now. I have to think of my baby. She’ll need a father who’ll be there.”

  “I will be there!” he promised. “I’ve left the Corps. There is nothing for me to focus on except you and our child. Alisha, don’t make the same mistake I’ve made. There are countless noble reasons why we shouldn’t be together, but in the end, they’re nothing more than sophistry. Listen to your heart. What does it tell you?”

  “Logan, if you break my heart again…”

  “I won’t. I swear to you.”

  “Then I need to make a phone call,” she said, and knocked on her door.

  Freddy opened it. “I need to talk to Jack Sparkes for a moment. Can you arrange it?”

  Freddy assured her he could. He asked her if she wanted the phone in her room or Betty’s room. Alisha chose her room.

  She sat on the bed and waited for the phone. “I’m going to call Jack. And you’re going to present your case to him. Then, if he’s convinced you mean it this time, and withdraws his offer of marriage, I’ll marry you. If you can’t convince him, then he asked first, and I’ll honor that.”

  “Alisha, don’t do this,” Logan pleaded.

  “I have to. I love you too much to think straight. I need my best friend, who knows me better than anyone else, who has always looked out for me, to help me.”

  “Don’t you think he has self-interest in this situation?”

  “No. Everything Jack has ever done has been with my interest in mind. Even his proposal was so my child would have a father.”

  “Your child has a father!” Logan snapped, feeling his temper tested to impossible limits.

  “Not when he proposed to me. You’d cut all ties between us, Logan. My child was fatherless.”

  ***

  She could tell Logan was angry she’d refused his offer of marriage. She even granted he had reason to be angry. Everything she’d done—flirting with him at dinner, asking him to stay the night, inviting him into her shower—had all signaled she’d forgiven him, that she still loved him.

  So why the sudden cold feet on her part?

  She knew it wasn’t just because Jack had asked first. Logan had been correct to argue against that excuse. As he’d talked about being her soul mate, admitting he believed such a connection was real, it had created both pain and pleasure within her. He was saying everything right this time. Everything! But how could she know if it was real? How could she know he wouldn’t break her heart again?

  ***

  Logan stared in stunned silence as Alisha waited for the phone so she could call Jack and ask him to decide who she should marry. He’d come so close to winning her, but in the end, he knew he’d fail, not because she no longer loved him, but rather because she loved him too much to trust her own judgment. Instead, she would consign herself to a life of moderate affection while she sent him into a life of torment and regret.

  He couldn’t allow it to happen. He couldn’t allow her to make this horrible mistake.

  ***

  Fred soon returned with a phone and plugged it into the wall. He dialed a number and handed the phone to Alisha.

  “Jack?” she spoke into the phone.

  “Hey!” he said. She could hear his concern even before he asked, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she assured him.

  “Logan took the test,” Jack said. “According to Riley, it almost killed him. He’s trying to find you.”

  “He has,” Alisha replied. “He’s here with me now. And he’s asked me to marry him. I told him you’d already asked.”

  “Alisha, if you want to marry Logan, I’ll understand,” Jack assured her.

  “I don’t know what to do, Jack. I need you to tell me!” she cried. “I thought I hated him, but the moment he arrived, I fell right back in love. And he’s saying all the right things, and I can’t remember ever being this happy, but I’m scared, Jack. He’s done this before. I need your help.”

  “How can I help you?”

  “I want you to talk to him. Ask him anything you want. And if you’re convinced I’ll be happier with him, then withdraw your offer of marriage. If you don’t withdraw your offer, then I’m marrying you, because I know you’ll be there for me and the baby through thick and thin.”

  She wiped away the tears pouring down her face and handed the phone to Logan.

  ***

  Logan stared at the phone as if it were a serpent from Hell. Seeing no way out, he placed it to his ear. “Jack,” he finally said.

  “This is awkward,” Jack admitted.

  “You could be a gentleman and just bow out,” Logan suggested.

  “I’m more interested in being Alisha’s friend. If you want me to bow out, Logan, you’re going to have to convince me you’re going to stick by her this time.”

  “I am, but I have no idea how I can convince you.”

  “Try, because as things stand at this moment, I’m going to raise your child.”

  “No,” Logan said. “I’ve let too many things get between Alisha and myself. It stops here. You’re a good man, and you’ve been an invaluable friend to Alisha, but you will not stop me from marrying her. What you feel for her is nothing compared to the love that is between us. It’s why I was afraid of it. It’s blinding white-hot. I feared it would consume me if I gave into it. So I ran away, using any excuse I could find: the general, the Corps, Daniel, the problems on the East Coast. The truth is, I was a coward. I was afraid to allow an emotion that intense to dominate my life.”

  “And now?” Jack asked.

  “I finally realized that loving Alisha is my life. It’s what I was meant to do: to love and cherish this marvelous woman and help her become whatever she wants.”

  “Let me speak to Alisha,” Jack requested.

  “I’m serious. This is one battle I will not lose,” Logan warned him.

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Yes, Jack. I am. I can’t endure the hell of living without her another day. You have to step aside.”

  “First you have to put Alisha back on the phone,” Jack replied.

  I shouldn’t have threatened him. Jack will only stiffen his resolve. Fool! Logan cursed himself.

  He handed the phone back to Alisha. He would have to convince her to delay making a choice. Once the child was born, he could rekindle the amazing passion between them.

  Logan hated his child would be born a bastard, but he had no choice. Jack Sparkes wasn’t going to raise his child and bed the woman he loved.

  Chapter 35

  When Logan handed back the phone, Alisha could see the despair in his eyes. He didn’t think his argument had been compelling enough to sway Jack. She desperately hoped he was wrong.

  She lifted the phone to her ear. “Well?”

  “He seems very determined.”

  “I know, but is enough?”

  There was a long, empty pause, then Jack finally spoke. “He loves you, Alisha. He always has. But now he’s finally come to terms with it. That’s promising. So despite the fact he threatened me with untold but probably lethal consequences if I didn’t stand down, I would like to withdraw my offer of marriage. As much as I love you, I think you’ll be happier with Logan.”

  Relief and joy flooded through her whole body. “Thank you,” Alisha whispered. “I love you too.”

  “No!” Logan yelled, and pulled the phone from her hand. He was prepared to threaten Jack further, but the phone was dead. In desperation, he knelt down before Alisha. “Alisha please, I beg you not to do this! I love you! I know that can’t mean much because I’ve treated
you horribly, but things will be different, I promise you.”

  Alisha reached down and placed her hand to his lips. “It’s all right.” She stroked his cheek. “Ask me your question again.”

  Logan stared at her in confusion. Jack had let her go? Realizing she was waiting for him to propose, he asked, “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “And it’s forever, and you have to tell me you love me every day, and you really have to be there for us. You can’t put other things above us.”

  He was so happy he would have promised her the moon. “I swear there will be nothing above you and our child, and I’ll tell you I love you all the time. And I’ll be there every day,” he promised her, meaning every word.

  Water burst on the floor around Alisha’s feet. She seemed confused for a moment, then smiled. “Well, if we plan to marry before our daughter’s born, you’d better hope Freddy has procured a clergyman in advance.”

  Chapter 36

  Logan lay beside his wife and child in a dreamy state of euphoria. The events of the last eight hours, which had brought him from utter anguish to indescribable joy, had happened almost too fast for his brain to record.

  Fred, competent to the end, did have a clergyman on staff, and they’d been married just minutes before his impatient, beautiful daughter greeted her parents.

  He stared down at Alisha holding their newborn child. “I had no idea that a person could feel this happy.”

  Alisha playfully glared at him. “That’s because you got to watch. You try to push an eight-pound football through a hole the size of an egg and see if you’re still so happy,” she grumbled.

  He leaned over and kissed her pouting lips. “You can’t tell me you aren’t happy right now. I can feel joy radiating off you like rays of sunshine.”

  “I am,” she admitted. “Look at her, Logan. Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?”

  Logan wasn’t going to admit Arial was only the second baby he’d ever seen. It might make Alisha think he wasn’t qualified for the job.

  “Do you think we might have another one?” she asked.

  Logan raised his eyebrows. “Well, MAC would have to issue us a special license before we could try again. Only one miracle baby is allowed.”