Prevail

by Wendi Wilson

“In our uncle’s house,” Beckett said. “It’s our legal residence and we’re eighteen. Officially adults. And, as a bonus, he’s not going to be there, watching us through his creepy surveillance equipment.”

  I relaxed a little, feeling slightly stupid. They made it sound so simple. I looked over at Lizzie.

  “What about you?” I asked. “What do you think you’ll do?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I have my sister to think about and we can’t go back home.”

  She looked on the verge of tears, so I reached across the table to squeeze her hand. She gave me a misty smile as Slade spoke up. “They can stay with us,” he offered.

  “I’m sure your parents will have something to say about your girlfriend living under their roof,” I shot back.

  Lizzie sucked in a quick breath and I groaned, realizing what I’d just said. I sent her an apologetic look and mouthed “sorry.” The three of them hadn’t defined their relationship. It was brand new, nothing more than a kiss between them.

  “Our mom loves our girlfriend,” Slade declared, stressing the title.

  “Yeah, and she’ll love our girlfriend’s little sister, too,” Silas added.

  Lizzie face lit up like the sun, her smile brilliant as she stared down at her slice of pizza. Wyatt laughed out loud, breaking any leftover tension with the sound. We all started eating, and the conversation turned toward the future.

  “You know,” Silas said, “there’s a UCONN campus really close to home.”

  “Yeah,” Slade added. “We could all go there, together, in the fall.”

  I frowned. “It’s mid-May. I’m sure the deadline for applications has passed. And what are the odds of us all getting accepted, anyway?”

  “I’d say the odds are pretty damn good,” Slade muttered.

  “I agree,” Jett said. “We just have to meet with the admissions officer.”

  “Oh, as easy as that?” I asked, my voice snarky.

  He snapped his fingers. “As easy as that. We can be very persuasive.”

  He said it so simply, so nonchalant. I reared back, appalled at the thought. Could we really use persuasion to get ourselves into college? It seemed wrong. Like we were cheating.

  “Savanna,” Beckett said, seeming to read my mind, “it’ll be okay. Your grades would get you in, anyway, once you make up the work you’ve missed. Plus, you have to do the work to stay there. We’d just be getting ourselves through the door.”

  I looked at Lizzie. “What do you think?”

  “I think it would be awesome,” she admitted, smiling.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m in.”

  When we got back to the motel, Lizzie and I checked in with my parents and Grace while the boys went to our respective rooms. Grace was sound asleep in the bed, despite the early hour. Being held captive was hard.

  Mom and Dad waved us toward the door, and the four of us stepped outside. They both wore serious expressions, making me a bit nervous. I glanced at Lizzie and she shrugged.

  “How’s she doing?” I asked once Dad closed the door gently behind us.

  “As well as can be expected,” Mom replied. “She’s shaken up, but she’s strong.”

  “Just like her sister,” I said, smiling at Lizzie.

  “So, Roman and I were talking,” she started, crossing her arms over her chest as she locked her gaze on Lizzie, “and we want you girls to stay with us.”

  “That’s very nice,” Lizzie said, “but—”

  “Where else would you go?” Mom asked, cutting her off. “Do you have any family you trust?”

  Lizzie’s gaze dropped to the ground for a moment before she looked back up at Mom. “No.”

  “You and your sister can’t go back to your parents,” my mom declared, an edge of panic in her voice. “There’s no telling what they’d do if it benefitted their beliefs. She deserves more than that. You both do.”

  “We can take care of her, like she’s our own daughter,” Dad added.

  I felt like crying. My parents were the best. They were willing to take in this pre-teen girl they just met, raise her and nurture her, just because she needed someone.

  “My parents will fight you. No judge will give you custody over them.”

  Our conversation about college admissions flashed through my mind and I repeated Jett’s words. “Sure, they will,” I said. “I’ll talk to the judge. I can be very persuasive.”

  I should have been ashamed of myself, but I wasn’t. Agreeing twice in the span of a couple of hours to use persuasion against unsuspecting officials? The old Savanna would have balked and refused.

  But I wasn’t the old Savanna. She didn’t exist anymore. I had to adjust and adapt. I lived in a world where Alts existed, and I was one of them. A world where people sought to destroy us, use us, manipulate us. A world where sometimes you had to bend the rules to make your way in it.

  A world where Grace Williams needed a safe, secure home and I had the power to give it to her.

  I had the power, and I was no longer afraid to use it.

  We parted ways and I held my breath as I swiped my key through the slot. Swinging the door open, I stood there for a moment, meeting the silver-rimmed gray eyes of my three boyfriends. Eyes that burned with the fire of love. The fire of need. The fire of desire.

  I stepped inside, ready to start the next chapter of my life. Of our lives. Together.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I closed the door behind me and took a few steps toward the bed where the boys sat. They stared at me, silence reigning as my eyes drifted from one to the next. No one moved, save for the muscle twitching in Jett’s jaw and Wyatt’s tongue darting out to lick his lips.

  I wondered if they felt what I was feeling, a sense of euphoria that was quickly turning into a burning need for contact. We’d won. Our war with Dr. Patton was over, as was his mission to obliterate Alts from the planet. We were finally free.

  As I took a step forward the boys stood, forming a muscled wall between me and the bed. Beckett stood to the left, Wyatt in the middle, and Jett on the right. No one said a word, but their eyes spoke volumes. The time for talking had passed.

  I planted myself in front of Beckett and his arms circled around my waist. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him, my tongue brushing against his as my fingers delved into his hair. A shiver ran down my spine and a moan emanated from my chest as I moved closer, trying to eliminate any space between us.

  His lips were so sweet, so giving. I could feel his love, his need, and it made me want him even more. One hand squeezed my hip, his fingers kneading the flesh as a purr vibrated in my throat. My body rubbed against his, working on instinct rather than rational thought.

  I needed…more.

  My temperature spiked and I lost all sense of mind as I took a small step back and grabbed a fistful of the front of Wyatt’s shirt, jerking him toward me. I kissed him, hard, while my other hand remained fully tangled in Beckett’s hair. One of Wyatt’s hands roamed over my body, slipping underneath my shirt to skim over the bare skin of my back.

  Tiny sparks of electricity shot through me, igniting all of my nerve endings. Wyatt’s mouth travelled across my cheek and down the column of my neck, which I stretched to its fullest length to better accommodate him. His lips and tongue teased the spot where my pulse beat wildly and I sucked in a quick breath, cracking my eyes open.

  Jett’s stare snagged mine, his eyes lit up with silver fire. Ragged breaths ripped from him, heaving his chest up and down. I released Wyatt’s shirt and stretched my hand toward Jett. He stepped closer and I slipped my fingers behind his neck, applying pressure there until his lips met mine.

  His lips were demanding, taking as much as they gave. His tongue slipped into my mouth, its silky smoothness brushing against mine, ratcheting up the heat burning inside me to a near intolerable level. His husky growl damn near pushed me over the edge.

  My hand left his neck and slipped under the hem of his shirt. My fingertips danced across hi
s abdominal muscles, sliding their way up to his chest. My palm flattened against the skin there, feeling the erratic rhythm of his heart.

  My left hand remained fisted in Beckett’s hair as Wyatt’s mouth moved up the opposite side of my neck. I broke off the kiss with Jett and turned back to Beckett, my lips seeking his out once again. He kissed me for a moment, then pulled back to look into my eyes.

  “Savanna, are you sure?” he huffed out in a whisper between labored breaths.

  Wyatt stopped and pulled away, searching my face. I looked at him for a moment before letting my gaze move to Jett. The fire in his eyes was still there, but the rest of his face was carefully blank. I looked back at Beckett, taking a few deep breaths before releasing my grip on him and pulling my hand from underneath Jett’s shirt.

  I took two steps back, putting a little distance between us. I watched them attempt to hide their disappointment behind soft smiles. They would never do anything to push me farther than I was ready to go.

  It was, and always would be, my show to direct. Their devotion to me was unparalleled, their care for me and my well-being superseding their own needs. Their own desires. And I knew, deep in my soul, that it would always be that way.

  Beckett, with his sweet, thoughtful demeanor. His creativity. His undercover sexy side that never failed to surprise me with its intensity.

  Wyatt, always grinning, laughing and making jokes. Always brightening my day with a word or a touch. Fiercely loyal. Brave.

  And Jett, with his harsh exterior and sarcastic wit. Smart, funny, and willing to go the distance for me, consequences be damned. The hardest nut to crack. But, so rewarding when I finally clawed my way inside.

  God, I love them all so much.

  Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, dropping it to the floor.

  Epilogue

  Five weeks later…

  “Thank you for finally agreeing to meet with me.”

  “You’re lucky you are even still alive, Patton. I suggest you watch your tone.”

  “Of course. Of course, Mr. President.”

  “You’ve been demanding an audience for weeks. Why don’t you just cut to the chase and tell me what you want?”

  The doctor leaned against the bars of his prison cell, his hands grasping the cold steel above his head as he stared at the commander-in-chief. An almost maniacal glee lit his eyes as he spoke in hurried tones, “I know you’re dependent on Alts for your unchallenged success.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” President Worth said the words, but his eyes told a different story.

  “Deny all you want, but I know the truth behind your so-called youth outreach program. How do I know, you ask? Because I am immune to persuasion. Every time one of your young Alts tried to persuade me, they failed. I remember everything.” He paused a moment for effect. “Do you?”

  “What do you mean?” the president asked, intrigued.

  “Do you know why you put me here?”

  “Because you tried to use an Alt to persuade me to kill them all. You are a threat to me and this country. I needed to make an example out of you.”

  “Her words, nearly verbatim.”

  “Whose words?”

  “The Alt who persuaded you to arrest me. Do you ever wonder how many times your personal guards have persuaded you to get what they want?” Dr. Patton asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  “They wouldn’t.”

  “Wouldn’t they?” He stood up straight, taking a step back from the bars. “Imagine, if you would, having an immunity to persuasion. You could really see what the abominations are up to without your knowledge.”

  “There’s no such thing as immunity,” the president stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “No?” Dr. Patton said. “Have that young man behind you try to persuade me.”

  The president nodded to his guard and the boy stepped forward. Widening his stance and crossing his arms over his chest, he spoke in a firm voice, “Hop on one foot.”

  Dr. Patton remained still.

  “Go sit on your cot.”

  A slight lift to his lips was the doctor’s only movement.

  “Sit. Down. Now.” The young agent’s voice rose in volume with each word.

  “No,” Dr. Patton said simply.

  “How is this even possible?” President Worth asked, waving the Alt away.

  “I have, what should I call it, an… elixir, of sorts. I’ve been giving it to my flock and they are all immune. I can share it with you.” He leaned close to the bars once more. “For a price.”

  “And what price would that be?” the president asked.

  “Give me a pardon. Set me free and I will give you the elixir.”

  “So, you expect me to trust you? After you tried to have me persuaded to kill an entire group of people that benefit me in many ways?” He shook his head. “No. I want the elixir first. If it works, then I’ll grant your pardon.”

  The doctor seemed to ponder his choices for a moment. But there was only one choice for him to make. He couldn’t continue his crusade to rid the world of Alts from a prison cell. He needed to be free to do God’s work.

  “There is only one person who knows where it’s kept and where I hide the key. She was supposed to be my successor, until she turned her back on her beliefs and decided to join those disgusting Alts.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Her name is Lizzie Williams. Her parents are still in my inner circle and have informed me she has registered as a freshman at the University of Connecticut in Stamford. Bring her to me, and I’ll give you the gift of never being controlled against your will.”

  “Who are her parents?” the president asked. “In case I have trouble locating her.”

  “Shaun and Jesse Williams, from just outside Savannah. They have a younger daughter, too. Grace is the child’s name.”

  “Thank you for the information.” The president smiled, but there was no humor, no joy in it. Only malice. “If I get this Lizzie Williams, what need have I for you?”

  “But… you promised me a pardon.”

  “I’ll pardon you tomorrow,” he said, then turned to his guard. “Persuade the warden to put him in general population tonight.” He looked back at Dr. Patton, a gleam in his eye, as he continued to speak to the Alt, “Go to the mess hall during dinner and persuade the biggest, baddest felons there to kill him. Tonight.”

  Then he turned on his heel and strode away, whistling a merry tune that echoed through the whole wing, drowned out only by Dr. Patton’s screams for him to come back and uphold his end of the deal.

  “Lizzie Williams,” he muttered as he walked out into the bright sunshine, slipping on his sunglasses and waving to the crowd that had amassed since his arrival.

  As he headed for the limo, his assistant Sarah fell into step beside him.

  “Did you have a productive visit?” she asked.

  “Yes, actually,” he said, climbing into the back of the car and waiting for her to climb in behind him. “I need you to find someone for me. Someone very important.”

  She pulled out her phone and opened an app to take notes. “Give me their info and consider it done.”

  “Her name is Lizzie Williams…”

  The End…

  …for now.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to my family for supporting me through this journey and understanding a writer’s basic need for coffee. And a big thank you to the baristas at my favorite coffee shop— Marie, Lauren, and the rest of you made my writing time a truly productive experience with your excellent iced coffees.

  Thanks, as always, to Samantha Britt, Jessica Myers and Kate Anderson for reading my first draft and helping me mold it into something greater. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

  Thanks to Molly Phipps at We Got You Covered Book Design for making these amazing covers. You are talented, in the extreme.

  Thanks to all of you— the readers who hav
e stuck with Savanna until the very end. You are everything.

  About the Author

  Wendi Wilson is mom to two rambunctious boys, two cats, and a pup named Izzy. She lives in Southern California with her husband and kids, writing in every spare moment she gets; those moments not already consumed by volunteering for PTA, team parenting various sports teams in baseball and football, and reading as many books as humanly possible.