“Then I’ll go there.” Astrid put her feet on the floor and stood. She swayed, and Irja caught her before she went down.
“You’re not strong enough yet. You’ve been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours.”
“I’ll be fine. Just help me get dressed.” Luke had been shot. His heart had stopped. Her breath hitched. “Irja, I have to go to him.”
“There’s nothing you can do for him. He’s in intensive care. The doctors operated to repair the damage, and they managed to start his heart again.” She swallowed. “He’s in a coma. They don’t know if he’ll come back to us.”
“He’ll come back to me,” Astrid said.
Sadness clouded Irja’s face. “We don’t know that.”
“I do know,” Astrid insisted. “Freya told me.”
Irja hesitated but then nodded. “I’ll drive you.”
* * *
Astrid walked into Luke’s room without Irja. The nurse at the station had said only two visitors at a time were allowed, and someone was already in there. The first thing she saw as she stepped through the door was Luke lying motionless in a hospital bed. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. She blinked furiously to dry the moisture in her eyes. She’d promised herself never to cry over Luke again.
Someone cleared their throat, and she looked up. Rex smiled at her gently from across the room. “They called me when he arrived,” he said. “Apparently, I’m his emergency contact.”
“How is he?”
The tall, dark man shook his head. “They say he could wake up any minute.” He scratched his jaw. “Or never. Basically, they have no idea why he’s not waking up.”
Astrid walked up to the bed and put her hand over Luke’s, the one that wasn’t hooked up to the heart monitor. “It’s my fault he got shot,” she said. She tapped into her berserker and tried to get it to connect with Luke’s. The beast ignored her but grunted contentedly as she stroked Luke’s hand.
“Come again?” Rex asked. “Did you tell him to go meet criminals in the middle of the night without backup?”
“He did have backup.”
“He didn’t have me.” His voice was laced with anger. “If he’d told me what he was up to, I could have covered his ass. Instead he left me to babysit the club.”
“He had his reasons for keeping you out of it.”
“Oh please, like I didn’t know he was Mr. Undercover Cop. It was obvious his heart wasn’t in the money laundering he supposedly used to finance the club. I saw the accounts. He was stupidly happy over making legal money. Anything dirty, he ferreted away and didn’t touch. He couldn’t pretend to break the law if his life depended on it.”
“He pretended well enough for me,” Astrid said quietly.
Rex rocked back on his heels. “I thought you were undercover too.”
She smiled sadly. “Nope, I was the mark. I had no idea it was all pretend.”
“If you think Luke’s feelings for you were fake, you’re seriously deluded. Ever since you first stepped into the club, he’s never been able to keep his eyes off you.” Rex chuckled. “Took him long enough to make his move, and then you disappeared. He was foul-tempered for months after that.”
Hope rose in Astrid’s chest. Freya had told her to trust in the goddess’s choice. She’d basically bitch-slapped Astrid for not following her berserker’s lead. “He was probably irritated because he didn’t know how to find me and he needed to get close to me for his mission.”
“Nope, that’s not it. The guy had—has—it bad for you.” Rex walked across the room to a chair in the corner and picked up a jacket. “Now that you’re here, I’m going back to the club to make sure it keeps making money for him.” He handed her a card. “Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Rex.” Astrid’s smile was wobbly.
“Anytime.” He left the room.
Astrid sank down in the chair next to the hospital bed. All she had to do now was will Luke to wake up so she could tell him what a dickhead he was. And then maybe she’d forgive him. She shook her head. No, she wanted them to start over with a clean slate. No forgiveness or guilt. Just the two of them getting to know each other without hidden agendas.
She lowered her head and prayed to Freya for a second chance.
Chapter 25
The nurse came in to check Luke’s vital signs, startling Astrid from her dozing. She sat up straight. Her neck creaked as she worked out the kinks. Two days in the chair was making her very stiff. The nurse gave her a small sympathetic smile, which Astrid returned. It felt more like a grimace though.
She looked over at Luke, who still looked like he was just sleeping. And maybe he was, but he’d been sleeping since his surgery three days ago. All vital signs were normal. The doctors assured her the operation had been a success, but they still didn’t know why he wouldn’t wake up.
She tapped into her berserker. The beast was happy and content as long as Astrid remained next to Luke. She tried to reach further, to connect with the other warriors and see if she could find the presence in the web that she thought might be Luke.
Her berserker didn’t allow any access beyond the connection between it and Astrid. It remained completely focused on Luke in the real world and didn’t give a shit about any of the other warriors. Stubborn beast.
A soft knock on the open door announced Ulf. “Hey.” He smiled carefully.
Astrid hadn’t seen him since the fight in the warehouse. Irja and Naya had both visited the hospital and kept her company, but the rest of the warriors had stayed away. They probably thought she was unstable with her själsfrände injured. She returned Ulf’s smile. “Hey, yourself.”
He held up a duffel bag. “Naya told me to bring you some clean clothes.”
“That’s great. Thanks.” She grabbed the bag and put it in the corner.
Ulf wiped his hands on his jeans. “She would have come herself, but she and Leif are prepping Whalert. He testifies tomorrow.” Naya and Ulf had hacked into enough records to figure out that the person who had manipulated DTU to put a kill order on Whalert was a federal prosecutor. They didn’t know how deep the corruption went, but they had enough information to clear Whalert.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as the trail went. The federal prosecutor had taken money to falsify documents that would get rid of Whalert, but he didn’t know anything beyond that. And the person who had paid him was a fake persona no longer used. No leads to who had used the ID could be found.
Kraus was dead, so they couldn’t extract any information from him. Per had put a bullet in his head as soon as Kraus shot Luke. Astrid rubbed her chest. “I’m sure Whalert will do well during his hearing.”
Ulf smiled weakly and turned to look at Luke. “How is he?”
“The same. His vital signs are strong. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t come out of the coma. The doctor says it can happen any time, but also not to have hope, because it may not happen.”
“Talk about mixed messages.” Ulf rubbed his jaw. “Listen, I want to apologize for being a complete ass.”
“You already apologized for that,” Astrid said. “In the game room when you told me about Kraus and Luke.”
Ulf grimaced. “About that.” He pointed to the armchairs by the hospital bed. “Can I sit?”
“Sure.” Astrid sat down in the chair closest to the wall, and Ulf took the other.
“I may have been a little overzealous in digging up dirt on Holden. I was very motivated after he showed up at the wedding.”
“If you hadn’t found that footage, Naya would have eventually. You did your job. Don’t feel bad about it.”
“I still could have handled the whole situation with your själsfrände with a little more grace and dignity.” He glanced at Luke in the bed. “I went a little crazy.”
Astrid shrugged. “It happens.” She truly didn’t
have any hard feelings against Ulf. He’d been reckless and messed up. She’d been in that situation herself several times, especially during the first century she’d spent among the mortals. She had no right to judge.
“Leif is sending help to the Vikings in New Mexico. Scott and Pekka volunteered to go, and I’m joining them.”
“You don’t have to leave.” Three warriors gone would seriously deplete their defenses. Plus, as much of a pain in the ass as Ulf was, she’d still miss him. Ulf had been part of her family for eighty years.
“I know, but I want to. I’d like to see more of Midgard than just Pine Rapids.”
“It’s going to be weird not having you to bicker with,” she said.
He laughed. “Friends?”
“Friends.” She leaned over and hugged him. Ulf stiffened at first, but then put his arms around her and held on for a while. Something loosened within Astrid. It felt like a click deep inside her body. Her berserker growled loudly. She withdrew from Ulf. He kept his arms around her in a loose embrace.
Astrid looked over at Luke.
He watched them intently, storm clouds brewing in his gunmetal eyes. “Get your hands off her,” he croaked.
Ulf laughed again and squeezed Astrid one last time before letting go. “She’s all yours.” He stood and left the room.
Luke’s eyes were blazing with anger as he watched him go.
“You’re awake,” Astrid whispered.
“Why are you making out with him?”
“That’s your first question? You’re in a coma for three days, and that’s what you want to know first?” She rubbed her forehead. “I am seriously so happy to have two X chromosomes.”
* * *
Even with bags under her eyes, Astrid was the most beautiful woman he’d seen. Luke tried to reach for her, but there were wires in his way. She noticed him struggling and came and sat on the bed next to him.
“What happened?” His throat felt like sandpaper.
Astrid handed him a cup of water with a straw. “You were shot.” He remembered the meeting with Kraus. One of his questions must have tipped the guy, because all of a sudden he had a gun in his hand.
Luke struggled to sit up. Astrid helped, piling a bunch of pillows behind him. “I patted him down,” he said. “He had no gun on him.”
“It was taped under the table.” So maybe the guy had been suspicious from the beginning.
“How long was I out?”
Astrid swallowed. “Your heart stopped, and you lost a lot of blood. The doctors operated on you for ten hours. That was three days ago.”
“I’ve been an idiot.”
“Yeah, you swept the place before the meeting and didn’t check under the table. I’m surprised Irja and Per didn’t double-check your sweep.” She fiddled with his pillows again. “Rex is pissed you didn’t bring him for backup. He says he would have found the gun.”
“That’s not what I meant. Although, I wouldn’t let Irja and Per check the diner. I thought bringing strangers would tip Kraus off and told them to stay out of sight.” He cleared his throat. “No, I’ve been an idiot about us.”
“Yeah, that too.” Astrid caressed his jaw, a small smile on her face. Was it possible that she would give him another chance?
“I will fix it though.” He fingered one of her curls. “I love you. I think I’ve loved you since I first saw you.”
She snorted. “Lust and love are not the same thing.”
He grinned. If she was joking about the situation, there was still hope. “We can figure this out. Give me a chance to prove that I love you.”
She tapped her index finger to her mouth. “I’ll think about it.”
He pulled on the curl he was holding until her lips met his. Calm poured into him from the contact, and something deep inside him purred as if he were a fucking cat. Startled, he let go of Astrid. “What the hell was that?”
Her eyes glittered with laughter. “We’re going to have to test this, but I’m pretty sure you’ve somehow acquired a berserker.”
That would take some time to get used to. “Let’s test it right now. Kiss me again.”
She pulled back. “On one condition.”
He’d give her anything she wanted. “What?”
“Tell me why three days of me pleading with you to wake up were completely ineffective, but me hugging Ulf made you perk right up.”
He paused. “I don’t know what happened. I was dreaming about you and everything was peaceful, then all of a sudden all my instincts were on alert. It felt like a major threat. I opened my eyes and there he was, making out with you.”
Astrid mumbled something under her breath. It sounded like “testosterone overload,” but he didn’t pay attention because she leaned down and kissed him again.
Epilogue
Three months later
Astrid put away the sword she’d polished and sharpened and walked into the training area. She reached for some tape to use on her hands while she pummeled the sandbag. She’d pretty much moved in with Luke. It didn’t take much—he gave her some closet space and she was good to go. She still came back to the fortress to work out though. Luke’s apartment building had a state-of-the-art gym, but it wasn’t the same as working out with the equipment in the fortress. For starters, there were too many people in Luke’s gym. She needed space to practice jabs and kicks on the sandbags. Plus, the mortals would freak out if she sweated it out at top capacity. And there was no sparring ring at the fancy gym. Not that she’d get a workout if she went up against humans, but a true gym needed space for sparring.
They’d had to come up with a new patrol schedule since Ulf and Pekka had left. Scott hadn’t really participated in patrols, but he’d been in charge of the training schedules and the weapons. His absence was definitely noticeable.
If it wasn’t for the fact that only sporadic wolverines showed up every now and then, they would have been in trouble with three men short. Things were so slow that Irja considered leaving on an extended medical rotation. Although most other Viking warrior tribes had some kind of medical person among them, there weren’t many with Irja’s capabilities. She’d gone to modern medical school and conducted research on various medications for the Norse. Most recently, she’d figured out the antidote to the wolverine poisons. Other Viking tribes constantly requested that Irja come for a visit. Astrid worried about Irja. The Finnish Valkyrie seemed down, maybe because she missed her brother.
Astrid finished taping up her hands and started her warm-up. Since today was a light day, she didn’t bother with gloves before attacking the sandbag. Her training was completely different now that the berserker wasn’t always clamoring for control. She could focus on increasing her skills instead of going for complete exhaustion to sleep at night.
That problem no longer existed. Luke made sure she was tired before they went to sleep. Astrid smiled. They spent most of their days apart, she at the fortress and Luke at his office. Officially, he was still managing the nightclub, but Rex actually did most of those duties. Luke was the new liaison between DTU and the Norse warriors. Whalert had been reinstated as Luke’s boss. He still thought Leif was the commanding officer of an SOG unit, which worked out well. The new partnership was only known by Whalert and Luke. Until they found out who in the government was in charge of the covert labs, DTU would remain a secret.
Astrid executed a semicircular kick and bounced on the balls of her feet as she prepared for a series of jabs and hooks. She paused when Per came running into the room. The younger Viking stopped to catch his breath.
“Hey,” he wheezed. “I need your help.”
“With what?”
“This thing outside in the glen.” He ran out again.
That made no sense, but Astrid followed him to the clearing in the woods. She slowed as she drew nearer. Everyone was clustered around the big basalt
rock at the end. She approached slowly.
“You’re in workout clothes,” Naya said when she saw Astrid.
“Yeah,” Astrid drawled. “I was working out.”
“Never mind.” Irja took her hand. “Come here.” She pushed Astrid in front of the group.
The warriors parted and formed a semicircle behind her. She turned around. “What’s going on?”
Harald grabbed her shoulders and made her face the slab again.
Luke walked out of the trees, dressed in a charcoal tunic over pants in the same color. He wore a navy wool cloak fastened with a Norse silver brooch. He looked amazing.
When he reached her, he swung the cloak back across one shoulder and lowered himself on one knee.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her heart racing.
“Hush, jänta,” Torvald said. “It’ll be obvious in a moment.”
Luke grabbed her left hand. He frowned at the tape but then shook his head. “Astrid,” he said, looking up into her eyes. “I have loved you ever since that first moment I saw you and fell in lust with you.”
Laughter bubbled up inside her. She threw back her head and let it escape.
Luke smiled, but the others looked at her like she’d completely lost it. Considering how much trouble she had trying to stop laughing, they might not be wrong.
Luke tugged on her hand, and she calmed down.
Listen, the berserker demanded, which was ironic considering how rarely the beast listened to Astrid.
“You are the strongest, most courageous warrior I’ve known.” He held up a thick gold ring with an oval, green jade stone. “This made me think of your amazing eyes. Would you give me the immense honor of becoming min fru?” His pronunciation was horrible, but she understood well enough.
Astrid couldn’t draw in enough air to say anything. She nodded, and a cheer went up behind her. “Yes,” she whispered when she was finally able to breathe. “Ja.”
Viking Warrior Rebel Page 28
