Queen of Quarantine

by Caroline Peckham

  Kyan twisted in his seat, staring at Tatum for the longest time as she passed out and the miles slipped away before some of the tension eventually seemed to ease from his posture.

  "What's in the box then?" Kyan growled as the silence grew thick between us and Tatum slept on.

  "That would be the vaccine the world has been aching for," Saint growled. "And as soon as we get home, the four of us will be getting a dose."

  My brows rose with hope at the idea of that and I sucked in a deep breath. "What about my dad?" I asked, unable to help myself. But I didn't care what he had to say about that unless it was an agreement. I couldn't lose the only parent I had left.

  Saint was silent for a long while and I ground my teeth, wondering if I was going to have to beat the shit out of him to make sure my dad got one of those vaccines.

  "Yes," he said eventually. "We will figure out a way to get him one too. I suppose we’ll need to decide who gets the rest of the doses, but for now we need to focus on the most important tasks at hand."

  "Which are?" Monroe asked.

  "My father's demise. Royaume D’élite. Kyan's family. The Justice Ninja. Our futures."

  "Oh, just that," I muttered, shaking my head at his bland tone.

  "Just that," he agreed and though I couldn't see it with the ski mask and ventilator still in place over his features, I could have sworn the bastard was smirking at the challenge those issues presented.

  I woke in a warm bed held against a bare, muscular chest and I was certain I was dreaming.

  I ran my fingers down his body, knowing him by touch and scent alone. Leather and smoke and danger. My husband.

  “Are you awake, baby?” his voice was deep yet velvet soft, his breath fluttering the hair against my forehead. How many times had I imagined waking up in each of their arms? And how many times had my heart sunk when I realised they weren’t truly here? It made me afraid to open my eyes, afraid my beautiful, tattooed beast of a husband would vanish and I’d be alone once more, pining for him and every one of them.

  “Mmm,” I hummed.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked, gruffer this time and the way his voice vibrated through me and his arms tightened around my body told me he really was here. And slowly, reality came rushing back to me.

  I’d passed out at some point in the helicopter. I must have exerted myself too much and now I was confused, dazed.

  “I think so,” I croaked. “Where am I?”

  “Home. Safe,” he swore, holding me tighter and I had never felt so secure about those two things in all my life.

  But I wasn’t content yet. I needed the others close. My mind was foggy and things were slotting together all too slowly. I jerked away as I remembered the virus that plagued my body and panic tore through me. I’d nearly lost Kyan to this monster once before, I couldn’t see that happen again.

  “It’s alright,” he growled, catching my hand and not letting me put one more centimetre between us. “I had it before. I have protection. And I’m not leaving your side, Tatum. You didn’t leave mine when I was on my knees. I will repay the favour to my wife whether you agree to it or not.”

  I took in the bandage on his arm and the nicks and bruises lining his flesh, including a huge, blossoming red and blue mark across the centre of his chest. “Kyan,” I gasped and he dragged me closer again as I lay my mouth on the blazing flesh. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “I took a bullet or two for you,” he said like that was nothing. “Small price to pay, beautiful.”

  The fear of knowing those bullets could have killed him made me seize up and he released a growl in his throat as he noticed my concern. He captured my chin, tilting it up until my lips found his, soothing my worries. I knew it was dangerous, but we were already sharing air and he was right, he should be protected from the virus for a few months at least. That was what they’d reported on the news. Though nothing was certain.

  His tongue met mine with a fervent, desperate kind of hunger that made my body tremble and a moan of need chafed my sore throat. I tried to pull him even closer, but found my muscles still weak and the longer I kissed him without coming up for air, the more my lungs laboured and burned. A murmur of pain escaped me and he broke the kiss, his dark eyes stormy and furious as I sagged against him.

  “Take these. Saint’s got every vitamin and painkiller you’ll need to get through this.” He grabbed a glass of orange juice and a bunch of tablets beside it on the nightstand.

  “Will they make me sleep?” I asked in fear and he shook his head. “Promise?” I breathed. “I don’t want to sleep. I want to be wide awake here with you.”

  He cupped my cheek, pain glittering in his eyes as he sensed my distress. “They won’t make you sleep. You’re not going anywhere you don’t wanna go, baby.”

  I took the glass and washed down the tablets, my throat scraped raw from screaming and coughing.

  When I’d drained every drop, he placed it back down and pulled me against him, his arms winding tight around my waist. He explained how they’d driven us back here in Saint’s car, sneaking me into The Temple then given themselves all vaccines – a fact which made me seriously happy. I may have been through hell at the hands of Troy Memphis, but if it meant my boys were going to be safe from the Hades Virus, then going through that pain had been worth it in one way.

  I’d have to remain hidden here now. No one could know I was at Everlake. If word got back to Saint’s dad, I was fucked. They all were too. I wasn’t sure what the future held or how we were going to get away with what we’d done but for now, I was too exhausted to feel anything but relief over being here.

  “Thank you for coming for me,” I said, tears of gratitude pricking my eyes.

  “Always,” he swore, his lips brushing my temple. “Tell me what you need. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

  “I want to see the others.”

  He nodded and my heart beat harder at the thought of them all being close again. I knew they couldn’t come into this room, that I’d have to isolate until I was better. But I would get better. No force on earth could take me from my men again now I was returned to them.

  Kyan took his phone from the nightstand, sending a message to the group chat then wound his fingers around mine. I felt his eyes on me and I lifted my chin to meet his gaze, soaking in his presence as peace washed through me.

  “Tatum,” he sighed. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

  “For what?” I gasped, a chill running through me as I curled against him.

  He tugged the covers up around us and the warmth of his body surrounded me.

  “For them taking you. For not finding you sooner. For…fuck, baby, everything they did because I couldn’t get to you in time to stop them.” His brow creased and guilt marred his beautiful face, making my chest constrict.

  “This isn’t your fault, Kyan Roscoe,” I said seriously, speaking directly to his dark soul.

  He growled like a beast, his hands gripping my waist, knotting in the material of the t-shirt I was wearing and making me realise they’d changed me out of the awful hospital clothes. I was coated in the scent of Kyan and swamped in material far too big for my frame and I’d never loved that feeling so much in all my life.

  “You found me, you all did,” I said firmly. “An army couldn’t have done what you did for me. You’re my saviours.”

  The crease on his forehead eased and he stroked his calloused fingers along the line of my jaw. “Don’t go getting any ideas about me being a hero, baby.”

  I smirked, his touch sending tremors deep into the centre of my being. “I know exactly what you are, husband.”

  “And what’s that, wife?” His eyes glittered and he reached for my hand, running his thumb over the skull on the ring that branded me as his. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’d done that very thing myself while I was trapped in that lab, taking strength from the knowledge of how much he and the others loved me, how they were surely fighting for me. I’d nev
er doubted that for a single second.

  I sought out the tattooed ring on his own hand and brought it to my lips to kiss it. “You’re mine.”

  A hungry noise rumbled through his chest as he drew me closer and despite how exhausted I felt, desire still coursed through me like wildfire. He paused before claiming a kiss from me, the tip of his nose grazing mine. “I won’t be touching you while we’re locked up in here, baby. You need to rest. But when I do lay my hands on you, I’ll drain every drop of your strength all over again. So you need to focus on building it back up.”

  “Thanks for the incentive,” I teased then a loud knock sounded at the window.

  I tried to jump up, excitement warring through my body, but my legs gave out and my knees hit the floor, blackness washing over my vision. Kyan cursed, his arms looping around my waist as he pulled me upright and I leant against him for support.

  “I’m okay,” I panted as he pushed my hair away from my face.

  “I know I’m not the best one to look after you, baby, but Saint knows what to do. He’s been ordering up all kinds of health foods and shakes and shit. I’ll get you better if it kills me, I fucking swear it.”

  I gripped his bicep as my vision cleared and I caught my breath, gazing up at this dark sinner who vowed to save me. “I know you will,” I said. “I trust you. All of you.”

  “Fancy that, huh?” He grinned and the knocking grew louder, more impatient.

  He was right of course, how could I ever have predicted a future like this with all of them where I loved and trusted them so implicitly after the way things had begun between us? But I wouldn’t change a second of it now. Not a single, bloody, brutal one. Because if this was where it brought me, then it was more than worth all of the heartache and every single tear.

  I let Kyan guide me over to the window and he pulled the curtain back, making my heart swell as my gaze fell on the final pieces of my puzzle. I rested my hand against the pane and Blake, Monroe and Saint all stared in at me with a deep longing in their expressions that was mirrored in my own heart. Dawn coloured the sky gold behind them, making their skin seem dipped in molten metal.

  “I can’t thank you all enough for what you did,” I choked, emotion flooding me as I stared at my beautiful warriors, wishing I could draw them all close. I needed them together, surrounding me, flesh against flesh. As much as I adored Kyan being this near, I needed Saint’s possessive touches, Blake’s firm caresses and Monroe’s strong arms to hold me too. To anyone outside of us, I was sure it would have seemed strange. But I desired all of these men equally. I craved them like they were four ingredients to my own brand of heroin, catered perfectly to my needs.

  “There’s no need to thank us,” Saint said, his jaw tight as he gazed in at me. There was a shadow in his eyes that spoke of how little he’d slept and my heart squeezed for him.

  Blake placed his hand to the glass where mine was, moving forward as his brows lowered and an urgent need filled his deep green eyes. “You need to get better,” he croaked, fear flickering across his face at the thought of losing me. My poor golden boy had lost far too much in this world and I wasn’t going to be another scar on his heart.

  “I’ll be okay,” I promised. “One of the doctors gave me some cutting edge drugs yesterday and I’ve felt so much better since. I’m just…” I bit my lip.

  “What, princess?” Monroe growled, his shoulder pressing to Blake’s but not in a way designed to push him aside. I could see the bond between them had grown since I’d been gone. He fit among them all better than ever, had slid so perfectly into their ranks it was like he’d never been missing from their tribe at all.

  “I’m just weak,” I admitted. “I’ve got no energy. It feels like the life’s been sucked out of me.”

  “Then we shall put it back,” Saint said, matter of fact. His features were neutral, but the intensity in his eyes hinted at the desperate creature who lived beneath his hard exterior. He was aching for the need to control this situation, to take charge and stand in Kyan’s place beside me. But the trust he had in his brother was iron clad. And I knew he could manage to restrain himself. It was what he did best. I just hoped it didn’t take too much of a toll on him.

  “Rest,” Monroe demanded and Saint nodded his agreement, directing the others away from the window, his eyes lingering on me the longest before they walked away.

  Blake clapped his hand to Monroe’s shoulder and even Saint was closer to them than he’d usually be, his arm brushing theirs like wolves taking comfort in their pack mates.

  Kyan drew me away from the window and I turned around in his hold, my fingers moving intimately along his arms and chest, still trying to convince myself I was really out of that hell hole and back where I belonged.

  “What do you need?” he asked, his voice a deep baritone that set my pulse racing. If there was one way to inject life into me, it was being this close to any of my Night Keepers. They set my soul alight and made it burn brighter and hotter than any star in the universe.

  “I need…” I thought on it, then noticed the way my hair was hanging lank around my shoulders and a hopeful smile pulled at my lips. “A bath.”

  Kyan didn’t make any suggestive remarks as he picked me up and carried me straight into the bathroom and started filling the huge clawfoot tub. I glared at the plain white clothes I’d been given by the nurses where they lay discarded in a corner, never wanting to lay eyes on them again.

  Kyan’s gaze lifted as he knelt beside the bath, his hand cutting through the water as he stirred some honey blossom body wash into it. His throat bobbed as he took in my naked skin, but there was no desire in his eyes. There was an arctic, serial killer rage that chilled my bones. His gaze was skimming over the bruises where needles had punctured my arms countless times, the marks no doubt left on my neck by Jonas and finally to my waist which was slimmer than it had ever been, showing off my hip bones far too much. The virus had taken a bite out of me and it was clear to see.

  “I’m a survivor,” I told Kyan, needing to say it out loud because I didn’t want a scrap of his pity. “I may have scars, but they don’t define me. Don’t look at me like I’m some wounded animal you want to avenge, Kyan.”

  He stood up, his shadow falling over me as he stalked forward and leaned down to rest his forehead to mine. His thumb tracked the length of my spine, making a deep tremor resound through my bones. “I don’t pity you, Tatum, I fucking worship you. Your pain makes me want to sin, but your strength makes me want to repent. I’m a demon trying to grow wings by standing in the blinding light of you.”

  “I don’t want wings from you.” I wrapped my hands around him, scoring my thumbs over his shoulder blades. “I love you just as you are. Every sharp claw, every dark shadow on your heart, and all the sweetness in between that you can’t even see.”

  “Why do you love me?” he asked in a boyish voice that made my heart shatter. I looked him dead in the eyes, needing him to know. How could he not already know?

  “Because your soul is made to fit mine. I love you with all I am and all I will ever be, Kyan. And I’ll spend every day at your side making you see why you’re worthy of everything the world has to give.”

  “Even you?” he asked, pulling me closer by the waist. “Am I worthy of you, baby?” There was a desperate plea to his voice like he needed to know this above anything else and it hurt me that he could doubt it. But I understood him. The life he’d led had moulded him this way. So I would make it my mission to ensure he felt worthy of the whole universe and every atom in it.

  “Especially me,” I growled and he closed his eyes as he soaked in those words, his hands tightening on me to the point of pain.

  He hoisted me up, carrying me to the bath and laying me in the water. The bubbles foamed up around me and I tipped my head under the surface to wash away the feel of that horrid place on my flesh. And when I arose from the water, I felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I had two pieces of myself back. And in a couple of
weeks, I would reunite with the final three pieces of my soul and be whole once more.

  D espite my best intentions, I couldn't sleep. Midnight had come and gone and that fucking clock just kept tick, tick, ticking until it threatened to burn the sanity from my mind and leave me as nothing but a monstrous wreck of a man.

  I pushed myself upright, hating the disruption to my routine and yet knowing that I wouldn't be able to claim sleep now. It was a difficult beast for me to wrangle at the best of times and tonight there was no chance.

  It had been two weeks. Two weeks precisely since we'd made our way into my father's secret lab and stolen his most precious commodity and ours in one fell swoop. The vaccination I'd taken would be in full effect now and Tatum's period of isolation would end at four minutes past one. The exact time it happened to be now as I stood from my bed and stalked towards the edge of the balcony to look out over the sleeping Temple below.

  There was an ache in my chest. A desperate, selfish need to go to her, to rouse her from sleep, pull her into my arms and reassure myself that she was here, wholly and fully herself once more. Recovered after her time of rest and the rigorous recovery schedule I'd set for her. Replenished and vibrant and once again ready to take her place as master of my soul.

  My obsession with her was dangerous. My need for her unfathomable. And in all the time we'd spent apart, all I'd been able to think of was the sweetness of her kisses and the unavoidable fact that I wasn't worthy of them. But I was her creature now. And I wasn't certain I could continue to avoid the call of her.

  The distant click of a door opening reached me in the silence and my breath caught in my chest as she emerged. Tatum walked out into the open space below in a white tee that must have been Kyan's with her bare feet padding across the flagstones.

  I glanced at Monroe where he lay sleeping on the couch as had become his routine, but he didn’t stir and I gave my focus back to her.

  My heart ceased to beat as I watched her, waiting for permission to go on as I just stared down at this siren who had thoroughly enthralled me.