Edge of Darkness
Page 21
He stiffened. “What’s the Order doing here?”
“I asked Razor to send them to Parrish Falls,” Leni said. “I called him as I left the safe house to come after you.”
Part of him was grateful for his mate’s smart thinking. Another part of him would have been happy never to see the Order at all. If the two warriors had any doubts about his fitness to look after Leni and Riley, or had thoughts about removing them for their own safety, there would be a second battle yet to come tonight.
The lighter-haired warrior strode toward them, his expression grave. “You must be Knox. And Lenora.”
“Leni,” she said, offering the male a kind smile.
“I’m Sterling Chase, commander of the Order’s Boston operation.” He gestured to the formidable male beside him. “This is my team captain, Nathan.”
Knox nodded at them both.
“Looks like we arrived too late,” Chase said, glancing at the scene. “You handled this all on your own?”
“No.” Knox shook his head. “I had a partner. My mate, Leni.”
The commander’s mouth tugged into a faint grin. “Good work. Both of you.”
The Hunter called Nathan extended his hand. “Good to meet you, brother.”
Knox took it, exhaling the tight breath that had been dammed up in his lungs. “You too.”
A history of sins and regrets spilled through the brief connection with his fellow former assassin, but they were old scars on Nathan’s soul. What he saw in the warrior’s steady gaze was honor. He saw an unspoken understanding there as well, a kinship. One that only Knox and another of his laboratory-born brethren could share.
Nathan’s glance slid to Leni. “It appears my brother is well-mated.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, her arms going tighter around Knox. “I’m well-mated too.”
Chase nodded. “Razor briefed us about the situation along the way here. The Order is grateful for your work and intel, both of you. Not only have you saved the lives of those victims tonight, but we’re hopeful you can help us and law enforcement dismantle this ring all the way to its source.”
“I’ll be glad to do whatever I can,” Knox replied.
Maybe if they could follow the trail from the Parrishes to whomever they were working with across the border and elsewhere, they might also find the truth about what happened to Shannon.
After the ugliness of what he’d read in each of the Parrishes’ hearts, Knox loathed to think where those answers might lead. But he knew Leni needed them.
In time, when he was old enough, Riley would need them too.
“Much appreciated,” Chase said. He held out his big hand to Leni first, giving hers a gentle shake. Then he offered the same to Knox. “You have our thanks. That’s coming all the way down from Lucan Thorne as well.”
Knox gave the commander a sober nod.
“You know,” Chase added, as he let go of his hand. “I’d be more than willing to make a place for you on the team in Boston. Or put a good word in for you with the Commander of operations in Montreal, if you prefer.”
Knox chuckled. “Thanks, but no. I’ve already found my place.” He lifted Leni’s chin on the edge of his fingers. “It’s here in Parrish Falls, with my extraordinary, beautiful mate.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later . . .
“Claude, would you like more coffee?” Behind the counter full of diner patrons, Leni held the fresh pot in her hand. She winked at the old man’s wife, Mable. “How’s that blueberry pie?”
“Best in the whole state, honey. Your mom and gran sure would be proud.”
Leni smiled. “I’ll swing by with some more vanilla ice cream. That slice looks awfully lonely, if you ask me.”
Mable chuckled. “That’s only because my husband stole the first scoop from right under my nose.”
She squawked as Claude reached over and gave her a playful pinch.
Leni left the elderly pair to their flirting and made a quick final round to the rest of the patrons before it was time to start closing for the night.
It was a glorious, warm August evening, the sun having set just a few minutes ago. She loved the blue hour between sundown and nightfall. Not only because of the soothing way it painted the summer trees outside the diner in a cool shade of twilight, but because it also meant it was nearly time for her evening escorts to come and walk her home to the house.
She couldn’t curb her smile as the bell above the door jingled with Knox and Riley’s arrival.
The little boy from just half a year ago had somehow grown a full inch during summer break. He had since retired Fred and the rest of his imaginary friends, moving too quickly from the whimsical child he’d been to an inquisitive, sensitive youth who absolutely adored and idolized his current best friend, Knox.
But he still gave the best hugs Leni had ever known.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he ran to her in greeting. “You’re getting really fat,” he declared, resting his head on the rounded swell of her belly. “How long is that baby going to take to get here, anyway?”
She laughed. “Only a few more months now.”
Knox strode up and tilted her face for his kiss. “Hello, love.”
She melted into him, as always. After the trauma they had come through together, she savored every second of every day she shared with Knox. And the nights.
Especially the nights.
He broke their kiss on a low growl meant for her ears only. His strong arms enveloped her, the heat and scent of him driving her mad with desire. Even heavy with his child, she couldn’t get enough of her blood-bonded mate.
“Do I look fat to you?” she whispered.
He shook his head, amber sparks dancing in his stormy blue-gray eyes. “You look beautiful. So beautiful, I think I might keep you pregnant for the next ten years.”
“What does pregnant mean?” Riley asked, hopping onto one of the empty stools at the counter.
Leni and Knox both laughed, along with several of her customers.
She didn’t doubt for a minute that her mate was fully capable of keeping her knocked up. God knew, they spent enough time practicing for it.
Given his background, she had worried that Knox might be reluctant to start a family. Instead, it had been his suggestion. He wanted to put down roots with her, make a life together in the town that had been her home from the day she’d been born.
Now, in just three months’ time, they would welcome their son in Parrish Falls too.
Knox stroked her unbound hair, drawing her against the hard ridges of his warm, all-too-sexy body. “Have I told today you that I love you?”
“You have,” she murmured. “But by all means, don’t let that stop you.”
“I love you,” he said, his gaze so earnest and solemn, it made her heart squeeze in her breast.
“I love you too, Knox. Forever.”
Riley heaved a dramatic sigh. “Oh, geez. There they go kissing again.”
Knox chuckled. “Get used to it, buddy. Kissing your Aunt Leni is my favorite thing to do.” His eyes flared, and behind the lush curve of his lips, the points of his fangs gleamed. “One of my favorite things, that is.”
He lowered his mouth to hers again, but paused as a large black Rover turned in to the parking area in front of the diner.
“That’s the Order,” he said, tension seeping through their bond.
“Were you expecting them?”
He shook his head. “No.”
They had been in regular contact with Sterling Chase from Boston, but the big blond warrior who stepped out from behind the wheel of the SUV outside was a different male. He was accompanied by a tall, stunning woman with a chin-length, raven-dark bob. The female carried herself like a warrior too, garbed in black leather the same as her companion. Except she held an infant in her arms.
And then, from out of the backseat, another woman appeared.
Petite, fair-haired. With bright blue eyes the exact sh
ade of Riley’s.
Leni’s breath seized in her lungs. “Oh, my God. It can’t be . . .”
But it was.
“Shannon.”
Leni wanted to run to her. She wanted to race outside the diner and pull her sister into her arms and never let go again. But her feet stayed rooted to the floor. Her heart hammered with uncertainty in her breast as she watched the frail woman take a few hitching steps away from the vehicle.
It had been so long.
Shannon had been through so much.
Knox had been working with the Order in Boston and Montreal, doing what he could to help the warriors piece together what had happened to her sister, and where she had ended up after Travis arranged for her abduction.
They had told Leni not to get her hopes up, that finding Shannon alive, let alone in any shape to resume a normal life, were likely slim to none.
But now, here she was.
Home. At last.
Knox drew Leni close to him, a fortifying presence as she waited the eternity it seemed to take for her sister to step inside the diner with the couple from Montreal.
The bell jangled. Shannon flinched at the sound.
Then her eyes lifted, meeting Leni’s tear-filled gaze.
“Leni.” Shannon’s hand trembled as it came up to her cracked, pale lips. A jagged cry tore out of her. She took a step, then another. Then ran forward and clutched Leni close.
“Oh, Shannon. I’ve missed you so much.”
Her sister wept, and Leni did too. It seemed as though they clung to each other for an endless time before Shannon’s hold finally loosened.
She drew back, looking at Leni’s belly, then up in question at the massive Gen One Breed male at Leni’s side.
“This is my mate, Knox.”
Knox smiled, his deep voice gentle and soothing. “I’m honored to meet you.”
Shannon gave him a faint nod, then her red-rimmed gaze slid toward the counter. To the grown-up seven-year-old she hadn’t seen since he was a baby, but who could never be mistaken as anyone’s child but hers.
The sound she made was a mix of elation and abject sorrow.
“Riley,” Leni said softly. “Didn’t I promise you she would come home one day?”
“My mom?”
Leni nodded. Riley’s sweet little face crumpled for a moment, then a smile burst through his tears. He jumped off the stool and ran to his mother, wrapping her in one of those hugs of his that had always managed to make all of Leni’s problems disappear.
She hoped her sister felt some of that healing power too.
Leni moved closer to Knox as they watched Shannon reunite with her son.
Shannon had Riley again, and she was home.
As for Leni and Knox, they had all they would ever need too.
Family, home, and a love that would last forever.
~ * ~
Thank you for reading EDGE OF DARKNESS!
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EDGE OF DARKNESS
© 2019 by Lara Adrian, LLC
Cover design © 2019 by CrocoDesigns
eBook ISBN: 978-1-939193-28-5
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