by Anya Nowlan
Arlen stopped one of the guys who was passing them in the hallway and tapped on his shoulder.
“Hey, can I borrow your gun?” he asked, sending Sienna’s brows flying up to her hairline.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” the man replied, a rather tall, broadly built guy.
Did he really expect that to work?
“Come on. I’m not going to take you all out with one gun. And if I did, hell, I deserve it.”
Travis let out another sigh from behind them.
“Let him have the goddamn gun. If nothing else, it’ll give me a reason to finally fucking shoot him. It’s a long time coming for the shit you put us through, Johnson.”
The agent looked surprised, then annoyed, then completely out of his mind with rage, but didn’t argue as he handed over his weapon and got out of their way. Sienna could hear him muttering expletives under his breath as he went.
Arlen immediately pointed the gun at Antonio.
“You were saying?” he growled.
For a split second, Antonio was speechless. He must have been sure he was the one in control, but now the tables were turned.
“I’ll pay you whatever you ask,” Antonio finally said, looking behind them at what Sienna guessed was Travis.
“This woman is my mate and she is carrying my child. This is my business, and The Firm would be wise to stay out of it.”
Arlen’s tone didn’t allow for any disagreement.
Soft murmurs erupted all around them as the Squad took that information in.
“I won’t mess with another shifter’s family, no matter how much you promise to pay me.”
Travis shrugged and leaned back, eyeing the situation with calm curiosity.
In any other situation, Sienna would have been horrified at the blasé stance these guys took towards human lives. With her father and the likes of Holland as the targets though, she couldn’t really find the compassion within her to really care too much.
Though she did think that Holland’s devotion to his mother was a bit heartbreaking, even if he was a jerk otherwise.
Arlen’s mouth curled into a snarl as his finger rested on the trigger.
“Just say the word,” he said, throwing her a sideways glance.
For a second, Sienna was tempted. She could be rid of the man, once and for all.
But at what cost? The action would permanently link Arlen to Antonio and she didn’t want to think of her father every time she looked at Arlen. Besides, death was too easy for her father. She would much rather have him live with knowing he failed to control her.
“He’s not even worth the bullet. Let him keep on rotting from the inside, knowing that the Marquez line ends with him and that he’ll never see me or his grandson ever again.”
Arlen paused, and she watched his hand shake a little. He must have been worn out from the fight, but that didn’t make him any less deadly. Finally, he took a breath and she could feel the whole room relax.
“If that’s what you want,” Arlen replied, lowering the gun.
He dropped it on the floor and stepped towards Antonio, who now looked legitimately scared. Arlen snatched up her father’s arm before he could even react and bent it backwards until the man screamed and Sienna could hear the bone crack.
She covered her mouth with her hand but that was as far as it went. She wouldn’t rush to him, she wouldn’t console him. Her own arm throbbed where he’d broken it when she was twelve.
Guess karma really was a bitch.
“I will do this to every one of your bones if you ever come near Sienna again,” Arlen said, as tears began to stream down Antonio’s face.
Her father nodded, probably unable to speak due to the pain.
“Can someone please escort this man back to his hotel?” Arlen asked.
One of the squad members, a tall man with a long scar down his face came forward after Travis confirmed it with a nod and led Antonio out of the house as her father cradled his arm and avoided looking at her.
“What will happen now?” Sienna whispered, watching Antonio be carted out, even though she already knew.
Arlen threw his arm over her shoulder after handing the gun back to one of the agents.
“I will call my friend, Graham, and you can stay with him until my punishment is over.”
“How long will that take?” she asked, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“I’m not sure.”
He ran a finger down the side of her face, remorse painted on his expression. Sienna realized she was only making this harder for him, so she pulled herself together and slapped on a smile. Being away from him and not knowing when or in what shape he would be back would hurt like hell, but she had to put on a brave face.
It wasn’t like he was doing this out of his own free will. She’d have to help however she could, and the options were limited.
“We’ll be waiting,” she replied, taking his hand and placing it on her stomach.
Arlen smiled at her before grabbing her into a long, lingering kiss. Sienna melted against him, trying to commit every second to memory. Her memories of him would have to be enough to tide her over until they got to be together again. It was Travis clearing his throat that finally broke them apart.
Arlen gave her a final hug before turning to Travis.
“I’m ready. Can someone take her to Graham Rawley’s?”
“We’ll handle it,” Travis replied as two men approached and fell into position at both sides of Arlen.
“I love you,” he called out as he was being led outside.
“I love you, too,” she called back, trying hard to keep the sobs out of her voice.
Sienna paced around anxiously in Graham’s apartment, listening to the man speak to someone on the phone. Graham was the only link she had to The Firm and the only person who gave her any information about Arlen. Which was to say, not a lot of information at all.
It had been two months since Arlen gave himself over and she hadn’t heard from him since. All Graham would say was that he was alive and looking forward to seeing her again. Being kept in the dark was driving her crazy and the hormones raging inside of her weren’t exactly helping her be reasonable.
So when Graham had gotten home last night with news that Arlen might be released soon, she had made the man’s life hell with questions and demands. One thing she was sure of, she was going to be there waiting when he got out.
“You have to understand, he might not want you to be there. He’s not going to look like the man you remember,” Graham explained, but Sienna was having none of it.
Now Graham was on the phone with some superior or another, trying to get Sienna access to The Firm’s blacksite so she could be the first person Arlen saw when he was finally free. These two months had felt like an eternity, and she wasn’t going to be away from him any longer than was absolutely necessary.
For a while there, she’d started thinking that maybe she dreamed it all up. The hormones were doing a number on her and she couldn’t wait to see Arlen again, to touch him and to assure herself that he really was real and they were really going to have a future, not just a daydream.
Graham hung up the phone and Sienna immediately rushed to his side.
“So?” she asked, wringing her hands.
“Grab your coat. Let’s go get your man,” he replied, giving her shoulder a little squeeze.
“You wouldn’t be yanking a crazy pregnant lady’s chain now, would you?” she asked, not quite ready to believe it in fear of disappointment.
“What, do I look like I have a death wish?”
Sienna didn’t even bother replying to that, she was already busy with pulling her coat on. It could no longer zip up at the front, but that didn’t really matter right now. Those shifter babies didn’t screw around with getting big!
Travis was already pulling up to the curb as she and Graham went outside.
“Sorry, but these are the rules,” Travis said, handing her a blindfold as she and Gr
aham got into the vehicle.
Sienna didn’t protest, tying in on right away. In a way, she was glad to see Travis, even if he was the man who’d taken Arlen away. She could see the men exchanging a surprised glance before the fabric made everything go black. The ride to wherever they were going seemed to drag on forever, even though objectively, she knew it took about an hour.
Graham patted her on the shoulder as the car came to a stop.
“I’ll guide you inside.”
She could hear car doors opening as Graham took her hand and pulled her along. She could feel the sun on her face for a while, before a shadow slipped over her and the air turned chilly and damp.
They’d gotten lucky that Arlen had been given his punishment in the Chicago branch instead of any others. The Firm was all over the place and it wasn’t rare for guys to get shipped off somewhere else. Sienna had wondered a couple of times if maybe Travis and Graham had helped to play a role in keeping him close.
“Okay, you can take it off now,” Travis said.
Sienna removed the blindfold to find herself in what looked like an old hangar. They walked through the empty space to a door, manned by two guards. Nodding at Travis and Graham, they tried very hard not to stare at Sienna’s stomach.
The guards opened the door and Sienna stepped inside the pitch black room it lead to, followed by Travis and Graham. She could barely see the hand in front of her face. Travis fished out a little flashlight and attached it to his vest.
Sienna gasped as he turned it on.
The room seemed empty at first glance, until one looked down. There, in the middle of the floor, cement gave way to metal bars, covering a square hole that wasn’t deep enough to stand up in or long enough to stretch out in.
In the middle of the hole sat a figure, clad in a dirty jumpsuit. His face was covered in an unkempt beard and he was holding a hand up to his face, even the barely-there illumination of the small flashlight clearly hurting his eyes.
With a start, Sienna realized the man was Arlen. He was pale and scruffy, and his hair was longer and disheveled, but she could recognize those grey eyes anywhere.
“He’s been here this whole time?” she asked, her breath barely a whisper.
“Yes. This is where we put the ones that really need to be taught a lesson. We call it ‘The Hole’.”
“Creative,” Sienna mumbled under her breath as she slowly approached the little hole that she could see Arlen through.
Travis pulled out a key from one of his many pockets and followed her while Graham remained standing at the door.
“Why did you bring her here?” Arlen demanded, his voice raspy. “She shouldn’t see me like this.”
He turned his head away. Even his voice sounded somehow different. None of that mattered, though.
Sienna grabbed the keys from Travis and opened the lock holding the bars in place.
“I don’t care what you look like. I love you and I didn’t want to spend another second without you by my side. Now get out here and hug me,” she said, voice breaking under all the emotions swirling inside.
Arlen turned to look as her with shiny eyes as he pushed himself up slowly, the process obviously painful and arduous. He had just enough room to turn around in there, maybe, but that was it.
Sienna reached out a hand and helped him stand, tears of joy spilling out of her eyes as soon as their skin made contact. He climbed out of the hole, squinting at her as his eyes started to adjust to the light.
“You’re right, it doesn’t matter what I look like. Not when you are even more beautiful than I remembered,” he said, staring at her belly. “Wow, our little man has really grown in there.”
He ran his hands over her stomach and she let out an exalted breath. This was real. It was really happening. She was going to have him back.
It felt like the grimiest, creepiest fairytale she’d ever heard of. But dammit, it was hers!
“He keeps kicking me like crazy, just when I want to fall asleep,” Sienna got out between blubbering like a fool.
The next thing she knew, Arlen had her wrapped in his arms, crushing her to his chest.
“We’ll never be apart again,” he whispered, and it was just what she needed to hear.
“Oh, and you can tell Spade I quit,” he said, turning to Travis. “I have some time I need to make up with my family.”
Epilogue
“Asher! Get back here!” Sienna could hear Arlen call out in the backyard, in between their son’s mischievous giggles.
Ever since the little boy had learned to walk, life had gotten very interesting. They could barely keep up with him. Or she couldn’t, at least. Arlen was a different beast altogether.
Sienna walked around the kitchen, picking up dishes from the lunch they’d had earlier, wearing a satisfied smile. There wasn’t a day that went by she didn’t feel lucky to have the life she did. Her little family was perfect and Arlen was an amazing dad.
His playful side was out in full force when he was goofing around with his son. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was enjoying playtime more – Arlen or Asher. The front door swung open and her man stomped inside, stooping over a little, with Asher up on his shoulders.
It struck her every time how much Asher looked like his daddy. They even had the same grey eyes. Except in this case, Asher’s were definitely straining to stay open.
“Nap time,” Arlen declared in a sing-song voice, grinning at her.
“No,” Asher protested, even as a big yawn stretched across his face.
Sienna stepped closer to run a hand through the boy’s light brown hair.
“You can play some more after naptime, okay? Now be a good boy for daddy.”
“Okay, mommy,” Asher conceded with an exaggerated sigh, making her heart melt.
Every mother probably thought her kid was the cutest, but Sienna knew it for a fact.
“I’ll be right back after I get this one to bed,” Arlen promised, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before making his way to Asher’s room.
“I’ll be here,” she replied, getting to work by the sink.
After getting done with the dishes, Sienna was just starting to turn around and make her way to the backyard to clean up all the toys, when strong arms circled her from behind.
“That was fast,” Sienna commented, leaning into Arlen’s embrace.
“It only took one book and he was out like a light,” he replied, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck.
“You do have your ways of getting him all tuckered out,” she remarked with a small laugh.
Sienna turned to face him, throwing her arms around his neck. She felt the warmth spread through her body as he stared down at her, as handsome as ever and all hers. There were times she could hardly believe how everything had turned out.
Surely in most cases where people who barely know each other have a child together, things couldn’t turn out this well. And it wasn’t like they didn’t have issues of their own to work out, without adding the couple dynamic to the mix. Or a child, for that matter. Yet instead of letting their baggage weigh them down, they had embraced it, sharing their past pain freely until it was a distant memory, overshadowed by their happiness together.
The decision to leave Chicago behind had been a mutual one and in Sienna’s opinion, it was one of the best ones they could have ever made. By the end, the city had more bad memories than good and Sienna knew Arlen would be much happier in his home state.
And she didn’t regret exchanging the gloom of Chicago for the sunshine of Austin one bit.
On top of that, she was finally getting back to work on her dream. With Arlen’s help, she had picked out a nice little storefront that, with a little love and hard work, could be turned into her very own massage parlor. Building a clientele in a new place would be difficult, but she was up to the challenge.
Besides, if her hands were half as magical as Arlen kept insisting they were, she had nothing to worry about.
Arlen�
�s own transition from an agent of The Firm to a civilian had been a lot easier than she would have thought. He had been a little restless at first, but finding a house for their new family and then taking on the new responsibilities of being a dad had kept him busy.
Now he had found his place as a consultant for a private security company, tying together reasonable hours, what he loved doing, and plenty of time with Sienna and their little boy.
He was still involved in keeping people safe, but at the same time, he wasn’t in any immediate danger himself. That was very important to Sienna. As far as she was concerned, Arlen had been in enough life-threatening situations to last a lifetime and then some.
They’d both had enough excitement in their lives. Calm and boring was actually a nice change.
Sienna hadn’t seen or heard from her father since that day in Holland’s mother’s house. She had, however, kept in touch with her mom. Carmen had even come by and visited a couple of times. She had only managed to look slightly horrified when Asher spilled a cup of milk on her new designer dress or when she realized their house didn’t come with a gym or an indoor pool.
They avoided the topic of her father, except for when Carmen let slip she had never seen a man so afraid for his health and safety than when he’d come home with that broken arm Arlen gave him.
From what little else her mother told her, he pretended not to know Carmen visited Sienna. Antonio had to know what her mother’s frequent ‘spa trips’ were about, but he seemed to stay out of that part of Carmen’s life.
Sienna still wished her mother would cut ties with that monster, but she’d learned to pick her battles. For now, it was good enough to see her mother smile genuinely when spending time with her grandson, and talk about things other than wine and her social outings.
“What are you thinking about?” Arlen asked, as Sienna realized she had been staring at him for quite a while.
“Just how lucky I am,” she answered, beaming at him.
“I think I’m the lucky one here. You gave me the family I always wanted and you’ve made this house a home. I can only give you myself,” he said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.
