Not that he would actually care if it happened. Well, that wasn't true. He'd really care about his cock no longer working since he'd only be able to get hard for the woman that would share the mating mark he would get once he came into contact with her. It didn't matter that the last time he had sex, Reagan had been in office, or was it Kennedy? It didn't really matter because sex wasn't important and he didn't need it, not like junk food. Speaking of junk food, maybe he should hit the cafeteria for something sweet. He'd need it if he was going to be stuck with these two surly bastards.
"Alright," Chris said as he came to his feet and looked down at his mate expectantly, "you may now shower me with kisses and profess your undying love for me."
"No, I'm mad at you," Izzy mumbled, trying to come off as stern, but failing miserably. The woman was madly in love with her mate, one of her few faults as far as Kale was concerned, but he was willing to overlook that since she was his closest friend.
"I'll cry," the man said as he playfully pouted for his mate and made him resist a well deserved eye roll.
"Good," Izzy said with a sniff.
"Does it not bother you that I could possibly be going off to meet my death and that you might never see me again?" he demanded in mock outrage and this time Kale did roll his damn eyes.
This was just pathetic.
Like he'd allow the bastard to make his little Izzy a widow or hurt her in any way. Nothing was going to harm the Sentinel male while he was stuck with him. Having the male along was a complication, one he apparently couldn't shake or Izzy wouldn't use Tattletale for him ever again. That was a reminder that he needed to figure out what the woman was up to and he knew that she was up to something.
Once she found out that Chris and Ephraim wanted to tag along she couldn't blackmail his ass fast enough to push her mate and father-in-law on him. If it hadn't been for her program he would have simply snuck out of the compound with her bowl of chocolates and sent her a text message telling her hell no, but he needed Tattletale. Having that program at his disposal would cut time off his jobs and bring him closer to his goal that much faster. He'd do anything to reach his goal, even put up with the bastard who'd better damn well make sure that he didn't hurt Izzy in any way.
"Just make sure that you pick me up a yummy surprise when you come home," she said, clearly dismissing the possibility that she might lose her mate and showing so much faith in her man that for a minute there he was actually envious and wanted a little of that for himself.
"Are you going to worry about me?" Kale asked in an offhand tone as he pressed a kiss to Jessica's cute little button nose.
"Of course I am!" Izzy snapped, taking him by surprise.
What. The. Hell?
He was a goddamn mercenary and she was worried about him? That was fucking insulting. He was over nine hundred years old and she actually thought that-
"If you touch the yummy treat he gets me I will kick your-"
With a groan, Chris ducked his head and cut Izzy's little cute tirade off with a kiss. Kale knew the man wasn't doing it because he cared in any way, shape, or form for him, but for the little girl in his arms. Chris had a strict no swearing rule around his daughter, one that he actually didn't mind following since he decided that his precious goddaughter was going to grow up perfect and ladylike.
A small moan and a loud groan to his right caught his attention and he looked over in time to see Ephraim give Madison a proper kiss goodbye. Honestly, he didn't know what the big deal was. They were only going to be gone for a few days. God, these people were pathetic, he thought as he gave Jessica extra baby kisses to last him until he could hold her again.
********
"Oh my god, you're crazy," Madison said as she rubbed her belly soothingly, trying to get her baby boys to calm down while she leaned back against the elevator wall and tried not to think about Jill.
She overreacted when she found out what happened between Jill and Logan and instead of asking Jill what happened she went off the deep end. She wasn't happy about it, but she normally wouldn't have reacted like that. These damn hormones had her crying one minute and ready to kill someone the next and unfortunately for Jill the hormones had hit her hard when she found out.
If she didn't truly think that Jill was better off away from the compound then she would never had agreed with Ephraim, but she really was better off away from here. They all would be soon, but Jill especially. Over the last couple of months Jill had receded into herself, losing her luster for life and becoming increasingly quiet. She also spent a lot of time downstairs in the lockup unit at night and now she knew why. The only thing that she didn't know was how that bastard manipulated Jill into doing something so stupid, but she planned on finding out shortly.
"This plan is perfect," Izzy said, shifting Jessica in her arms as she continued to rummage through the large backpack that Marc was struggling to hold. "Yes!" Izzy said triumphantly as she pulled out two king size Milky Ways and promptly handed one over to Madison, saving her the trouble of snatching it out of Izzy's hand.
With a sigh, Madison opened her candy bar and enjoyed a large bite. She was really going to miss being able to eat food. As soon as her babies were born her body would no longer be able to process food, which of course was why she was planning to eat everything in sight until the moment they decided that it was time to leave her. It's what she did when she was pregnant with Marc. When he decided that he'd had enough, she was sitting in the finished basement back at the old house, eating a bag of caramel popcorn dipped in fudge while Chris struggled with his physical therapy to regain control of his legs. Since Ephraim had warned her that she would no longer be able to eat once the baby was delivered she made damn sure to enjoy every last kernel.
"Dad and Chris are going to be mad," Marc said, shifting nervously as he struggled to zip the oversized bag back up and throw it over his shoulder.
"No, they're not," she said, lying since she knew they'd be furious and they'd be forced to barricade themselves in a room for a few weeks and hope that by the time they found the courage to leave the safety of the room that Ephraim and Chris had mellowed out and didn't spank the hell out of their asses.
"They'll be happy with our surprise," Izzy said, lying her ass off.
Even if they managed to pull this off, the guys were still going to be pissed that they took this chance, but they had to do something. Madison couldn't take this any longer. Before they came to the compound she'd never spent all day cooped up inside. She was used to taking walks, enjoying the fresh air and the sun. As nice as the compound was, she couldn't stay here any longer, especially since she knew they could very well be stuck here for another year.
That was not happening.
They were grabbing Joshua, hopefully, and getting the hell out of here and in a few hours they'd be in their new home where they could do whatever they wanted and go wherever they pleased. Tomorrow morning they'd send for Grandma and Jill and she'd wring Jill's neck for this recent bullshit, but then they'd move on and hopefully Jill would have learned a valuable lesson. They were still going to have to figure out a way to erase the bastard's mark off her neck without hurting her.
Speaking of the bastard.......
As soon as the elevator doors slid open she spotted him lying on his cot, resting peacefully while her poor sister was forced to leave the compound. When she started to waddle in his direction, just to poke him gently in the heart with a stake a few times, Izzy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.
"Behave," Izzy said. They followed slowly after Marc as he made his way to Joshua's cell. It was only because she knew that Ephraim would probably take his rage out on the vampire when he discovered that they were gone that she allowed Izzy to drag her away.
As soon as they stepped in front of Joshua's cell she felt her heart break for her baby. There he sat all alone, looking both handsome and miserable. She loved all her children, but Joshua was and always would be her little guy. He was the one who used to make he
r smile when things were bad and who was always there for her. Before he was shot and changed by Ephraim and Kale into God only knows what, he was well on his way to becoming a brilliant doctor for the Sentinels. Now he simply sat in his cell, saying nothing and barely acknowledging any of them. It was sad, but hopefully he'd respond well to their new home.
"Joshua," she said as Marc nodded and moved over to the security pad and waited for her signal to open the cell. "We're going to the new house today and we're taking you with us."
When he didn't go into a rage she took that as a good sign and nodded to Marc, who couldn't press in the code fast enough. They all missed Joshua and couldn't wait to have him back. As the door slid open he stood up and walked towards them. She nearly sighed with relief as he took a left and headed towards the back staircase.
They didn't know what he'd become, but whatever it was, she knew that her little guy was still inside somewhere waiting to come back out and be with them. Izzy threw her a pleased smile as she followed after the man who used to be her best friend and Madison couldn't help but hope that things were going to get better.
Twenty minutes later she watched as Izzy typed in the code for the secret exit that would take them out to Boston Common where they'd be able to blend in, hail a taxi or two and get out of town. They knew from the surveillance tapes and eavesdropping on the men that this was one of the few exits that the mercenaries still after Izzy didn't know about, but of course the men refused to risk them by taking this chance and trying to escape.
When Marc reached for the door to open it Joshua stilled, it was subtle, but she noticed it. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong when she caught the scent that filled her with dread. Izzy realized what was going on, but too late, as she tried to slam the door shut and escape to another exit.
"I wonder what we have here," Chris drawled lazily as he carefully shoved the door open and reached for his mate. With a wince, Izzy turned and tried to waddle away, but her mate was faster. Unfortunately for Madison, her mate was a hell of a lot faster. He had her scooped up in his arms before she could turn around.
"It's not what it looks like!" Izzy said on a squeal as Chris scooped her up.
"I told you they were up to no good," Kale said cheerfully from the doorway as he reached out and grabbed hold of Marc by the back of his neck as the boy smartly tried to make his escape.
Her eyes shot over to Izzy just in time to catch her subtle nod. Good, they were in agreement; they were going to have to kick the shifter's tattletaling ass.
Chapter 40
"Are you comfortable?" Chris bit out tightly as Izzy continued to shift on his lap until she was sitting sideways with her legs draped across Kale's lap. The shifter glowered in their direction as he continued to nibble on a large chocolate peanut butter candy bar.
"No, but.....," Izzy said, leaning forward and snagging the candy bar away from the shifter with a cocky little grin that shouldn't turn Chris on given the circumstances, but it did. "Now I am," she said, sounding pleased as she took a huge bite of the candy bar and made a show of savoring it.
The shifter released a menacing growl that had Jessica giggling from the safety of her car seat where she was strapped in tightly and secured to the thick divider of the cargo van. Marc noticeably started at the sound as he reached out and took Jessica's little hand into his to offer the happy infant comfort.
"Actually, you know what? I'd be even more comfortable if you just went ahead and unchained Joshua now," she said in that damn smug tone that grated on his nerves and caused his cock to twitch with need.
He shot a look over to his brother whose legs and arms were bound tightly in chains and secured to the other side of the van. The man might look as docile as a puppy, but Chris hadn't missed the flash or silver and red when the tunnel door opened and revealed the little sneaks. There was more to his brother than any of them knew and he sure as hell wasn't risking his family to find out.
"Not happening," Chris said, wondering if his father would be willing to trade places with him, but then again he'd have to deal with Madison's gloating as he drove so he decided that perhaps he'd better stay right where he was.
"Give it back," Kale said, reaching to snatch it out of Izzy's hands only to have the woman shake her head as she sighed contently and took another bite.
Kale noticeably fumed as he forced himself to pull his hand back. The woman had them all by the balls and she knew it, too. After the shifter confirmed Chris' suspicions that his mate was up to something they put off their trip and waited by the door that his mate had shown a little too much interest in lately.
For two hours he waited, anticipating the five minute spanking he was going to give her ass as he took her only to have his plans destroyed by his devious little mate. Instead of scooping her up in his arms, he should have searched her before her sneaky little hands could pull out her Smartphone. In less than a minute she was able to send out a program that fucked with their phones and more importantly, Kale's tablet, which held all the information they needed to go after the Pytes.
So instead of spanking their asses like they deserved they were forced to grovel to the damn women and break speed laws in two states to get everyone to their new home where they'd drop them off before they could go after the Pytes. It added an extra twelve hours to their plans and he should be pissed, but he really wasn't. Well, he was, but he was also relieved.
His family was leaving the compound and was going to be tucked away somewhere safe and that's all that mattered. Well, that and the fact that once he finished this mission his mate was going to get the sound spanking that she so richly deserved.
********
Somewhere in Western Massachusetts
"This better work," Caine said, holding Danni's cold limp body tightly against his as he walked through the automated double doors of the hospital's waiting room.
"Of course it will," Jax said, not sounding a hundred percent sure and for good reason.
"You'll have to relocate the pack after this," Caine pointed out as they headed for the triage desk.
"They're doing it as we speak," Jax said as they approached the triage desk manned by a young woman with a ready smile that quickly disappeared as she caught sight of Danni.
"Oh my God......," she whispered before she could catch herself.
Not that he could really blame her since Danni appeared to be dead. That blue tint that colored her skin wasn't exactly helping and if it wasn't for the fact that he knew that she was a transformed Pyte he would have lost it.....a few more times.
Danni was just in limbo as Jax said and as soon as they figured out how to fix it she would be fine, more than fine. He'd take care of her, feed her and then he'd have to leave her. Even though he'd already decided that he wasn't going to be able to part from her, he didn't have a choice. As long as the Master and Greg were alive she was in danger. He hoped that Jax would allow Danni to stay with his pack while he went after the Master and Greg, but his pack was too skittish around her for that to work, so he was going to have to find another way to keep her safe.
He opened his mouth to ask the woman to call a doctor, but she looked seconds away from fainting so he decided that perhaps his best bet was to find the doctor on his own. He walked over to the double doors that led to the emergency room only to find them locked. With a sigh, Jax grabbed the metal handle on one of the doors and pulled until an alarm went off and the door bent backwards as the lock broke with a loud snap and the tip of the door was embedded in the wall.
Screams erupted in front of them and behind them as the humans ran. At least that took care of clearing out the emergency room, he thought as he walked through the doorway and placed Danni on a recently vacated stretcher.
"Find a doctor," he said absently as he cupped Danni's cold face.
"You got it," Jax said as he took off after the fleeing humans, but he didn't have to go far.
"What the hell are you doing?" a man wearing a dull white lab coat demanded
as he walked into the room.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties and pissed if the scowl on his face was any indication.
"You're going to fix my mate," he informed the man as he stepped away from Danni.
The scowl was immediately replaced by concern as he rushed over to Danni and looked her over. It didn't take long before the man released a resigned sigh and stepped away from Danni.
"I'm sorry, sir, but she's gone. There's nothing I can do to save her," he said gently.
"Actually, there is," Jax said, looking around the now mostly empty emergency room. He ignored the nurses cowering near the few patients who were unable to make their escape and focused on a machine sitting on a metal cart. "Excellent," Jax said as he walked over to the cart and pushed it towards them. "Now we're going to need to take a little walk to the blood bank," Jax said with a pleasant smile.
Tall, Dark & Heartless: A Pyte/Sentinel Series Novel Page 36
