What You Can’t See

by Allison Brennan

  Michael reached into his pocket and handed Danica the star. “Take this, Starkeeper, and put it where no one would ever think to look. And protect the knowledge of the location with your life.”

  Zach moved between Danica and Michael. “What guarantee do I have she won’t be followed?”

  “I can shield her until the rise of the next full moon to find a home for the star, and another for the scabbard. The two shall never meet; should they end up in the wrong hands, humanity is doomed.”

  Danica’s body quivered—her big blue eyes looked up at Zach as trustingly as a newborn baby’s. She nodded. “I can do this, Zach. I want to do it.”

  Zach looked from Danica to Michael. “Can I go with her?”

  “No. Only she will know the locations.”

  “So you’re telling me after she hides these pieces of the Trinity, there’s no way Sephora or an Immortal can track them down and life will be normal?”

  Michael smiled. It almost made him seem…human. “There are two ways for the locations to be known. One is by accident. Which is why it is imperative the hiding place is well thought out.”

  “And the second?” Zach prompted.

  Michael looked at Danica. “The Starkeeper.”

  “As in she tells someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “But what if—”

  “There are no ifs. Your daughter will be next to inherit the truth. And only she can pass it to her daughter.”

  Danica pulled at Zach’s arm. “I can do this without you. I need to.” She touched his hand and held his gaze. “Will you wait for me?”

  Zach smoothed Danica’s hair from her face, then took her head between his hands. Slowly he drew her lips to his and kissed her long, hard, then lovingly. Emotion built in his gut, spreading to his heart and filling it to capacity. Hot moisture stung his eyes. “I’ll never stop waiting,” he said against her lips.

  He pulled slightly away from her and rested his forehead against hers. “Hurry back.”

  Danica smiled up at him and nodded. She looked past his shoulder to Michael, who stood dark and silent. He nodded. Clasping the star to her heart, she rushed past both men to retrieve the scabbard in the Jeep then on to fulfill her destiny.

  Epilogue

  Ten weeks later

  D ANICA PULLED UP in front of Zach’s house. For long minutes she stared at the Mediterranean-style home she and Zach had picked out together. The house with the view, the house full of love, the house where they would raise their children and live happily ever after. She should have known then that Zach was not capable of settling down. He had too much left to do, too many demons inside him and his own stubbornness to work through. She wondered now, after all they had been through, if the demons were gone, or if new ones possessed him?

  The minute she’d set the star then the scabbard in their hiding place, a calm serenity filled her. Her life suddenly had a meaning that transcended her own feelings. She felt strong, sure, and ready to face whatever the world had to throw at her. And so when she returned from her quest the month before, she set the course for the rest of her life in motion. Now, it was time for reckoning.

  She exited the Jeep and slowly walked to the wide wooden door. She raised her fist to knock, but it opened.

  Zach stood on the threshold, clad only in a pair of jeans, grinning ear to ear. He gathered her into his arms and hugged her so tightly to his chest she thought she would suffocate.

  “Zach, you’re hurting me,” she managed to squeak out.

  While he loosened his hold, he kicked the door shut with the heel of his right foot. He hoisted her up into his arms and strode with her down the hall to what she knew was the master bedroom. “Zach! We need to talk!”

  “Talk while I’m undressing you.”

  He had her on the bed and her pants off before she could form a thought, much less tell him her news.

  He rained kisses on her face, her throat, her belly. “Zach, I got my job back at the PD, with full back pay and benefits.”

  He stopped only long enough to flash her a smile, then resumed ravishing her body. His big warm hands swept up her waist and cupped her full breasts. He took a nipple in his mouth and she moaned, arching against him. The feel of his lips sucking at her more sensitive than normal. She smiled and put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He managed to rid himself of his jeans, and when he slid deep into her waiting warmth, she gasped, the feeling too good to describe. Emotion threatened to overflow. He held still inside her, the two and a half months that separated them doing nothing to quell their natural passion for each other. He smoothed her hair back from her face and gently kissed her. “God, I missed you, Dani. I don’t think I can bear your leaving me again.”

  She looked up into his deep golden eyes. Her throat constricted when she saw his tears. “I love you, Zach Garett.”

  “I love you, Danica Keller.”

  He moved then, a long deep thrust. Danica sighed and smiled. “You’ll be seeing more of me than you want to.”

  He moved deeply inside her again. “I’ll never get enough of you.”

  “You might rethink that.”

  He stopped and looked at her. “Why?”

  “Because in a few months I’ll have to take maternity leave.”

  Zach grinned then threw his head back and laughed, the sound full of happiness. “Danica, I could not be more thrilled.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Because I saw the doctor yesterday.”

  He smoothed her hair back and kissed her full on the lips. “And?”

  She smiled. “Twins.”