“Thank you, brother of Fiona.”
“Call me Brant.”
With a quick nod, Gryke stormed off toward his room to grab a few items. He would commandeer one of the ATVs while he was at it. He’d find her a lot faster with the help of the human device.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Fiona climbed off the four-wheeler she’d borrowed from Abbie, shouldered her bag, and entered the massive cave to her left.
Pulling a moonstone from her bag, she held it up, sighing in relief as the pool of steamy water came into sight.
Gryke had shown her this place on their trip back from the surface, and Fiona had fallen in love with it.
“This place is bigger than my apartment,” she murmured aloud, taking in the sheer size of the cave.
Several smaller caves were scattered throughout the area, like a maze. Fiona wondered if they ended somewhere, or if they led back to the hall.
She would explore their depths later. Right now, she just wanted a hot bath and a glass of wine.
Easing her bag to the floor, she unzipped the top, pulled her bedroll free, and snagged the bottle of wine she’d gotten from the food pantry.
Fiona couldn’t imagine Gryke drinking wine, or any Bracadyte, for that matter.
Once she managed to get the cork free, Fiona took a long pull of the sweet red wine before grabbing a towel and soap and moving to the edge of the pool.
She peeled out of her clothes, thoughts of Gryke tormenting her in vivid detail. The amazing sex they’d had only hours before, the smile on his face when she’d confessed her love for him.
But he doesn’t return that love, her mind whispered in painful clarity.
“Fiona?” Gryke’s voice inside her head caught Fiona off guard.
She wanted like hell to answer him back, but she couldn’t. He’d only feel guilty for hurting her. And the last thing Fiona wanted or needed from him was pity.
Years of conditioning had taught Fiona to be physically strong, vigilant, and resourceful, but she owed her mental strength to the CIA.
Fiona shut down her mind, blocking out the world around her. Including Gryke.
Picking up the bottle of wine, Fiona took another drink and stepped into the steaming pool.
It took her a moment to adjust to the heat of the water as she lowered herself into its heavenly depths.
The moonstone gave off sufficient lighting, giving the cave a cozy appearance.
Fiona’s gaze ran along the walls, imagining a sitting room, a kitchen, and bedrooms. With the right furnishings, anyone could make this cave into a home.
Why was she thinking of Aukrabah in terms of home? It was temporary at best. Once Abbie and the CDC got the Incola virus under control, Fiona would need to return to the surface.
Andrew could never have a normal life in Aukrabah. A boy his age needed sunshine and baseball. He should learn to drive a car…go to his senior prom. So many opportunities missed if he remained below.
Resting her chin on her knees, Fiona blinked back tears of sadness—of regret. Even if Gryke returned her feelings, they were still at an impasse. He would wither and die on the surface, and Fiona couldn’t remain below.
Fiona hadn’t cried in years. She’d learned how to control her emotions early on in life. But she cried now.
How had her life gone from accomplished Marine and CIA agent to a sniveling little girl, alone and crying in an underwater cave?
Fiona almost laughed at her own mental description of herself. She must be losing her mind.
She took a long, leisurely bath, sipping on her bottle of wine and contemplating her future. If she settled in Aukrabah, Andrew could remain safely below while still having access to the surface. Especially if they had a couple of four-wheelers for transportation. She could take him above for outings as soon as it was safe to do so. But what if Gryke never grew to love her?
Fiona stepped from the pool and dried off before dressing in her usual attire: black pants and an equally black tank top. She pulled on her boots and rolled out her blankets on a flat surface. Being a Marine had taught her to be ready for anything, and sleeping in her boots had become second nature to her.
After finding a comfortable position, Fiona sat to finish off the bottle of wine.
* * * *
“A heat-seeking missile is out of the question,” Kerik insisted, his voice barely audible over the static of Howell’s cell phone.
Rueben took a patient breath. “There are plenty of warm bodies at that entrance. It’ll find a mark regardless.”
Kerik grew quiet for a moment. “You want me to take out the Marines, sir?”
“Kill the one to save the thousand, Kerik. Just blow the damn thing and be done with it.”
“The only thing that will accomplish,” Kerik argued, “is caving in the opening. It won’t do any damage to the belly of that place. Besides, they have an exit route.”
Howell ground his teeth. “Then what do you suggest? Doctor Sutherland is down there, as are the scrolls and Fiona Henagar.”
“That depends on how important the scrolls are to you, and if you want the two women alive or dead.” Kerik paused for a second. “We also have to consider the repercussions of such an action. If we blow the north end, the Bracadytes can still escape through the south end. And the navy is patrolling that area, along with the coast guard. We can’t get near it.”
“Damn it,” Rueben snarled, wanting nothing more than to throw his phone across the room. “Then we have to get some men down there.”
“They will never make it. Not as long as that healer resides down there. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Rueben snapped, growing more impatient by the minute.
Kerik cleared his throat. “The only way those aliens would be willing to give up the human women or those scrolls would be for one of their own.”
Realization settled into Rueben’s mind. “The alien that Pratt’s protecting.”
“It’s not going to be easy to get our hands on him, but not impossible.”
Rueben took a calming breath. “Blow the entrance. That’ll send the alien running back to help his people.”
“But he won’t be alone. The military will be swarming the area if we blow that entrance.”
“I know that,” Rueben snapped. “But once the dust settles, we’ll grab him when he emerges to return to Pratt.”
“What if he doesn’t return?”
Rueben considered that possibility. “He will. And so will Doctor Sutherland. They feel responsible for finding a cure for Incola.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gryke maneuvered the ATV through the halls of Aukrabah with one thing on the brain. Finding Fiona.
His protective lenses were in place, giving him a better visual of his surroundings. If Fiona was camped out in one of the nearby caves, he’d find her.
Attempting to reach her through their connection hadn’t been a success. She’d obviously shut him out.
Gryke drove faster, his gaze darting to both sides of the wide path he traveled in hopes of discovering evidence that Fiona had been there.
An explosion rocked the walls of Aukrabah, nearly deafening Gryke in its intensity. The ground beneath his ATV shook, and debris from the cave’s formation blasted him fully in the face. If not for his protective lenses, the damage to his eyes would have been unimaginable.
“Fiona!” Gryke roared, his heart pounding in panic.
The walls continued to rumble as the aftershock of the blast traveled through the halls of Aukrabah, dropping heavy rocks in his path.
Gryke jumped from the ATV before it came to a complete stop, and ran with everything he had. Fiona was in there somewhere, possibly hurt, or worse.
Dust filled the air, making it difficult to see. Large chunks of rock lay in his path, growing in frequency the farther he ran.
A partially crushed ATV abruptly came into view a few minutes later, and Gryke’s throat closed in denial.
“Fionaaaaa!” Blasti
ng forward, Gryke dropped to his knees behind the ATV, attempting to see beneath the giant boulder lying on top of it. “Where are you, my heart?”
Silence.
With a cry of desperation, Gryke surged to his feet, gripped the edge of the boulder, and lifted.
Muscles strained beneath the weight of the massive rock, but it was no match for the strength of a Bracadyte fueled by terror.
Heaving the boulder aside, Gryke encountered another one of equal size. If Fiona was under the weight of all that rock, there would be no way she’d survived.
Something shattered inside Gryke. He couldn’t have lost her. Not his Fiona.
His mind spun back to the look on her face when she’d professed her love for him. The happiness and uncertainty in her beautiful eyes.
He should have said something—anything to let her know he felt the same.
Grabbing onto another boulder, Gryke went into full-on berserker mode, slinging rocks aside as if they weighed nothing.
Was that an opening up ahead? he wondered in desperation, moving between two large rocks and stepping over debris.
Gryke staggered inside, waving a hand before his face to clear the dust. “Fiona?”
More dust fell as his voice ricocheted off the surrounding walls.
Straining to see through the aftermath of destruction, Gryke’s gaze landed on a boot partially hidden beneath a giant rock.
“No!” he snarled, staggering forward and dropping to his knees next to her covered form.
Carefully clearing the dirt and rubble from her face, Gryke leaned in and rested his ear against her mouth.
A weak puff of air tickled his skin, letting him know she still breathed. Barely.
Relief mixed with fear to create an anxiety that nearly paralyzed him. “Stay strong, my love. I am going to get you out of here.”
Running his palms down her arms, Gryke encountered some cuts but thankfully nothing broken.
He turned to her chest next, clearing off the debris and checking for injuries. His hands paused at the massive rock covering her lower half.
If he lifted the rock and she had internal injuries, he could do more harm than good. He glanced at her face. She would surely die if he didn’t get her some help. And soon.
His heart pounded in his ears. “I am so sorry, Fiona.”
Jumping to his feet, Gryke turned his back to the boulder, careful not to step on Fiona, bent, and gripped the edge.
His muscles shook with the effort of lifting the enormous weight off her body. Sweat popped out on his face, and his teeth locked together in a growl of determination.
The rock shifted to the side, eliciting a barely audible moan from Fiona’s throat.
With a mighty heave, Gryke forced the boulder away from her and returned to her side.
He cupped her face in his hands. “Fiona? I know it hurts, but I need to move you. I have no choice.”
A lone tear rolling from the corner of her eye was the only evidence she’d heard him.
“Forgive me.” Gryke eased his arm beneath her head and slid the other behind her knees, standing in one fluid motion.
A tortured cry wrenched from Fiona’s lips and ripped through Gryke’s heart like a sharp-edged blade.
He held her as gently as possible and waded through the rubble, careful not to walk into anything.
Reaching the exit, Gryke turned to the side in an effort to squeeze their bodies through the opening without causing her more pain.
“Stay with me, Fiona. No matter what, you stay alive!”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Fiona’s insides were on fire. Every step Gryke took sent excruciating pain slicing through her body.
She locked her teeth together to keep from crying out. Anything to help remove the gut-wrenching fear she felt coming from him.
His thoughts were a jumble of emotion, more so than actual words she could lock onto. Fear, anxiety, panic…and love.
“You love me?” she whispered through their connection.
Gryke’s steps faltered. “You are awake?”
Fiona fought to stay lucid. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“More than anything. More than my own life,” Gryke sent back. “I am only sorry that I did not make that clear before now.”
“I’m sorry I ran off…”
“Do not apologize. I am the one at fault here. Not you. The only thing you need to concentrate on is staying with me. I am taking you to Zaureth.”
“This is going to hurt,” Gryke informed her in a pained voice. “But I need to situate us on the ATV. We will make faster time with the human machine.”
Fiona bit the inside of her cheek as Gryke climbed onto the four-wheeler, a torturous moan slipping out unbidden.
“I am sorry,” he repeated over and over, cranking the ATV and turning toward the belly of Aukrabah.
Fighting to stay awake, Fiona tried to open her eyes, but found herself too weak to do so.
She slipped into Gryke’s mind, seconds ahead of the blessed sleep that claimed her. “I love you…”
* * * *
“She is healing internally, but her leg is fractured in three places. That will not mend overnight.”
Fiona recognized Zaureth’s voice, along with Doctor Sutherland’s.
“The splint is the best I could do,” Abbie announced. “A cast would be better.”
“How is she?” There was no mistaken Brant’s deep voice.
“She’s lucky to be alive,” Abbie responded from somewhere near Fiona’s head. “She suffered extensive internal injuries, a fractured leg, and a concussion. These last three days have been touch and go to say the least.”
Three days? Fiona slowly cracked her eyelids open, squinting at the bright light of the room. “Gryke?”
Brant was suddenly in her line of sight. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Like ass.” Fiona wheezed, glancing around at the blurry faces in her bedroom. She blinked to clear her vision. “Where is Gryke?”
Brant smiled down at her. “He just went to go get Andrew from Rauneca. That man hasn’t left your side since he brought you here nearly dead.”
The fact that Brant had referred to Gryke as a man wasn’t lost on Fiona. She squeezed her brother’s hand and shifted her gaze to Zaureth. “Thank you for everything. It couldn’t have been easy for you to help me.”
Zaureth tilted his head to the side. “I hold no ill feelings toward you, Gryke’s mate.”
Emotion welled up inside Fiona at Zaureth’s words. She attempted a smile that hurt the muscles in her face. She winced instead.
“You sustained some bruising along your jaw,” Abbie explained. “But thankfully, it’s not broken.”
“Mommy!” Andrew squealed, running into the room. He moved to climb onto the bed, freezing when he glanced up at his mother’s face. “Mommy?”
“I’m okay, baby,” Fiona assured him, her gaze moving to Gryke as he stopped at the foot of her bed. “I just had a little accident.”
The look of relief on Gryke’s face warmed Fiona’s heart. “You shaved your beard off.”
“We’ll give you some time alone,” Abbie announced, waving everyone from the room but Andrew and Gryke.
Andrew climbed onto the other side of the bed as Gryke stepped deeper into the room. He stopped and sat on the mattress at Fiona’s side. “I thought you might like my face better if it was clean shaven. How are you feeling?”
“I would like your face if it was covered in mud,” Fiona whispered, taking in his handsome features. “And I’m going to live.”
Leaning down to kiss Andrew’s forehead as he snuggled up next to her, Fiona returned her gaze to Gryke. “Was anyone else injured in the blast?”
Gryke shook his head. “President Pratt has a cleanup crew down there, sifting through the destruction in hopes of finding the source of the blast.”
“My guess would be Kerik and Howell.”
“I do not understand what they would hope to
accomplish from such a thing. Caving the land entrance does not prevent us from escaping into the gulf.”
Fiona thought the same thing. “It makes no sense. But there’s really no other explanation. No one but Kerik would have access to those kinds of weapons. Not with the military presence in that area.”
Easing her arm around Andrew’s small shoulders, Fiona hugged him as best she could. “I missed you, little man.”
“I missed you too, Mommy. Uncle Brant said you had an accident on the four-wheeler.”
Fiona made a mental note to thank her brother for his tact where Andrew was concerned. “Yes. I told you they were dangerous.”
Andrew’s eyes were suspiciously wet as he leaned back and gazed up at her. “Did it hurt you a lot?”
“It could have been much worse if Gryke hadn’t come along.”
“Mister Gryke can do anything,” Andrew insisted, suddenly becoming serious. “He’s the strongest, most biggest man in the world.”
Fiona shifted her gaze back to Gryke, to find him grinning at her son. “I do not know about the world. I hear there are Bracadytes in Italy that are larger than Zaureth.”
Andrew’s eyes grew round. “Can I see them?”
“Perhaps, one day.”
“May I enter?” Rauneca called from the hall.
Gryke waited for Fiona’s nod before answering. “Come in.”
The pretty Bracadyte female trailed inside, stopping at the archway to Fiona’s bedroom. She sent Fiona a smile. “I trust that you are on the mend?”
“I am. Thank you for asking. And I appreciate all the help you’ve been with Andrew.”
“Andrew is a joy to be around. He has taught me many human games that I can pass down to Arcanum and the other children of Aukrabah.”
Fiona’s heart squeezed with joy. “I am so glad to hear that.”
Rauneca crooked a finger in Andrew’s direction. “We are building a fire near the great hall. I found marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers in the food pantry. Abbie had them delivered. She tells me they are called s’mores.”
Gryke: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 6) Page 13
