by Susan Bliler
Aaaah. A suite in StoneCrow Manor. “Sorry. I must have misdialed.”
“That’s alright,” Cindy responded and hung up.
Okay, she knew where she was. Looking down she took stock of herself trying to figure out how she was. Definitely sore in delicious places. Her cheeks stung with the hard blush that took her. She remembered trying to outlast the “heat”—as doc Jenny called it—but resistance had been futile. She’d only made it two hours on pain meds and then the rest of the night had been agony. It had felt like her skin was being raked with razor blades, and it had taken every single ounce of her being to keep from begging them to call Marko. Yeah, and that only lasted until about dawn. Finally, when it felt like her insides were being ripped out, she’d begged for him. By then, the pain had been too much, and she’d tried to actually get off the bed to go find him. Jenny had screamed for help, and Stoney rushed the room with a male nurse. The second the guy's hands touched Thea, her body had convulsed, and she’d dry heaved. It took them all a minute to figure out the male’s touch was making things worse. By that time, she was outright screaming for Marko. It’d seemed so urgent then, but now she felt humiliated. Everyone in the infirmary had to have heard her. Slumping back on the bed, she curled into a tight little ball and hid her face in her hands.
What in the actual fuck is going on? Jenny had tried to explain the medical nuances of what was happening, but with the heat pulsing through her, Thea had only picked up bits and pieces. All she knew for certain was that this wasn’t supposed to last. Jenny had said it had come and gone in other women who’d been subjected to the same tranq. When there’d been a resurgence, Jenny hadn’t been able to hide her shock and worry. Thea knew that the drug was affecting her differently than it had affected the other women and right now she was worried that there’d be permanent damage.
Her thoughts shot to Marko. Poor guy. How long could Jenny expect him to…to…service her?
Thea remembered how he’d been with her. Gentle. He’d been gentler than she’d known he was capable of. He also seemed to enjoy their encounters, but it didn’t change the fact that they’d been forced into coupling. Worse, how was she supposed to face him and act like nothing had happened? He’d fucked her seven ways from Sunday and even now just thinking about it had her temperature rising.
STOP!
Sitting up, Thea took stock of herself. She felt okay. The heat was pulsing through her again with that too familiar pounding need, but it was a dull ache, not an intense demand. She actually felt fairly decent and knew she needed to seize the rare opportunity. She was up and showering in a flash. Okay, flash probably wasn’t the right term considering she moved about the bathroom like she’d had the stuffing kicked out of her. Still, when she finally made it under the spray of hot water, it felt divine.
Hair washed, body scrubbed, teeth minty fresh, she found clothes in the dressers in the room. Someone must have brought the items from the infirmary because while everything was in her size, the articles were all utilitarian white cotton. Nothing fancy here. Funny though, there was only underwear, pajamas, or sweats. Not a single pair of jeans or actual shirts were in any of the drawers.
Dressed in a pair of sweatpants and matching tank top, Thea squirmed as the matching bra and panty set she wore rubbed against her still sensitized skin. Ignoring it, she paced to the bedroom door and took several steadying breaths before she finally found the courage to pull the door open.
Stepping out into the sitting room, she braced for the awkward encounter she knew was coming. It didn’t happen.
“Hello?” she called out and felt equal amounts of relief and disappointment at realizing she was alone in the suite.
Alone? That didn’t seem right. She’d been in agony down in the infirmary, and Doc Jenny had seemed adamant about figuring out what in the hell had been pumped into her and how to counter it.
Counter it. That’s it! Jenny must have found a cure! It was the only thing that made sense. Jenny had healed her, and because the beds were needed down in the infirmary, she’d been moved up to a suite…right?
Walking to the small island that served as the only dining area in the small open floor plan, Thea expected to find a note with instructions, or at least something. There wasn’t anything. And after a thorough search of the suite, she didn’t find a single note or anything directing her that she needed to go back to see Jenny for follow up. Admittedly, it stung. She felt like a part of the StoneCrow family and to be sloughed off to some suite to simply sleep it off felt…well, it felt like shit!
Turning, she eyed the phone and debated calling down to the infirmary to check in. She just as quickly discarded the idea when she realized that if they’d needed or wanted her to check in, they’d have left some directive to do so.
Annoyed, pissed, and feeling abandoned, Thea scoured the suite for shoes. She only found slippers and resigned herself to the fact that they’d have to do. She was going home.
Chapter 12
Two minutes later, Thea was out of her suite, still dressed in her sweatpants and tank top, but now she wore a sweatshirt over top to ward off some of the frigid temperature.
In the corridor, people came and went, but there was no casual air to their movements. No, everyone was moving with a purpose, and once she made it to the elevator and made it down to the first floor, she remembered why.
The east wing of the estate house which housed the school and cafeteria was demolished. Tears flooded Thea’s eyes, and her mouth fell open as she walked silently toward the thick billowing sheet of plastic that was meant to cordon off that section. As she approached, she heard voices, and she shoved the plastic aside to step into the carnage. There was a hole, just one giant gaping hole, where her classroom used to be. She stared at the space, unblinking, as her feet shuffled her toward the nearest Walker who was helping a dozen others to clear out debris.
“W-was anyone hurt? The children,” she amended quietly, almost afraid to ask. “Were any children hurt?”
The Walker stopped working and turned to stare down at her. “Uh, no. No kids were injured.”
Relief filled her so quickly that it actually stole her breath.
The Walker eyed her curiously. “You alright, lady?”
She nodded numbly but kept her eyes on the devastation. Thank God!
Beside her, the Walker inhaled and then tensed hard. “You,” he turned to fully face her. “You smell really good.”
Finally tearing her eyes from the wreckage, Thea looked up at the man. He was smiling confidently as he angled his head. “You been at StoneCrow long? What’s your name?”
She so wasn’t doing this.
Backing up a step she shook her head and held up a hand as she continued to back away. “Thanks for the information.”
“Hey!” he barked. “Wait!”
But she was already back on the other side of the plastic and hightailing it to the door.
Outside she found even more carnage. She had intended to head to the parking garage to borrow a car, but there was no longer a parking garage to head to. All around the estate were signs of the attack. Trees had been felled, burn marks mottled the grounds, men and women worked together on various tasks. For a moment, she considered helping, but a quick look down reminded her that she was wearing only sweats and slippers.
Walking away, she paced down the line of vehicles parked in a long line out front. Some were the estate’s military type vehicles, others were normal cars and truck, and some were service vehicles used at the estate. With any luck, she’d find one of the small buses the school used for extremely rare field trips. It’s not like they’d be using the buses anytime soon, and surely no one would miss one.
***
Marko was quickly shoving fists full of gear into his duffle bag. He’d meant to be quick, but King had stopped him in the hall at the manor to ask him too many questions and now his five-minute jaunt to his cabin had turned into thirty. He considered contacting Jenny to apologize, but fuck her
. She’d made Thea wait for relief, so she could do some waiting of her own.
A mental nudge came just as he zipped up his bag and stood. “What?”
Stoney’s confused voice carried to him through the mist. “Marko? Where’s Thea?”
Annoyed, he stalked toward the door. “Jenny moved us to a suite on the second floor.”
“Uhhh, yeah. I know. I’m here.”
There was a pause, and in that small space, Marko’s feet slowed to a halt. “You’re in the suite?”
“Yea and Thea’s not here.”
He started walking again, only this time much more quickly. “Yes, she is. I left her with Jenny. She’s in the room sleeping.”
“Marko, Jenny had to get back to the infirmary. She asked me to come up and keep an eye on Thea until you got here, but I’ve checked the entire suite. She’s not here. Room two-o-one, right? It’s empty.”
Fear skittered up his spine. “Check the bedroom, the bathroom.”
“I did!”
“Fffffffuck! I’m on my way.”
Marko dropped his bag just outside his cabin and shifted. Unconsciously, he always shifted into the form of a white animal and right now was no exception. In snow leopard form he hurtled himself toward the main estate house as both panic and fear seized him. His mind immediately went to worst case scenario and had him contacting King to ensure there hadn’t been another breach. There hadn’t, which meant that this was all just a huge misunderstanding…right? He pushed himself faster.
Marko burst through the door of Thea’s suite and startled Stoney who was standing in the center of the sitting room.
“Jesus!” she plastered a hand on her chest.
“You find her,” he snapped without preamble.
“No.” Stoney shook her head, her brows spearing down in clear annoyance. “I told you she’s not here.”
The suite was only one room, so it didn’t take him long to sift through the scents in the small space. He picked up shampoo, soap, and mint even as Stoney relayed the story they told.
“Apparently, she showered and left.”
Crossing to the closed bedroom door, he shoved it open.
“Will you listen,” Stoney demanded. “She’s gone!”
“Where in the fuck were you?” he demanded.
“On my way up!”
“And where was Jenny?”
“She had to go check on a patient. She asked me to come up and take her place. By the time I got up here, Thea was gone.”
“You guys left her alone?” he accused.
“Hey!” Stoney barked. “You left too!”
“To get clothes,” he snarled bending to go nose-to-nose with the nurse. “I said I’d be right back!”
Stoney didn’t back down an inch. In fact, she pressed her nose right up against his. “And when was that?”
Fffffuck! He jerked back and buried a hand in his hair. “You’re wasting my time.” Walking around her, he stalked out the door and into the hall. Nose lifted, he couldn’t get a bead on Thea’s scent because of the gaping hole in the building that had cold wind blasting through the whole damn place. “Fuck!”
“You say that word a lot,” Stoney complained from right behind him.
“Nothing else fucking fits.” He stomped toward the rail that looked down to the main floor and scanned the people coming and going. No Thea.
“We can’t even call the guardhouse out front because there isn’t one anymore.”
As helpful as he was sure Stoney thought she was being, he didn’t need her following him around and stating the obvious. Palming the rail, he vaulted over it and shifted mid-drop. Massive snow-white wings caught his descent, and just as he reached the ground floor, he tucked his great snowy owl back inside. In human form, he lifted his head again trying to get Thea’s scent. Nothing. “Motherfucker!”
Chapter 13
By some small miracle, Thea found her old truck parked out in front of the estate house like it’d been waiting for her. She assumed that it was. Jenny must have had it brought up from where she’d left it butted up against that tree on the main road in. The fact that her truck was outside only served to affirm for her that she had in fact been released from Jenny’s care. On her way out of the building, she’d been tempted to go check in, but opted against it. She was worried about running into Marko before she had a chance to formulate a decent apology for all he’d had to do for her.
Climbing in her truck, she hissed a long, “Ffffffffffffuck,” against the frigid temps that had the plastic bench seat under her ass hard as a rock and cold as ice. Keys dangling from the ignition, it took her three tries before ol’ Frankie coughed to life. She actually named the truck Frankenstein because one front quarter panel was black while the other was a faded red. The hood was green, and the rest of the truck was a hideous beige. Over time, she’d replaced a lot of parts but had never had any luck finding anything that actually matched. Still, Frankie ran smooth and was tough as hell. The fact that she’d smacked him into a tree and all he had to show for it was a slight dent was a testament to that.
Good ol’ Frankie was going to take her home.
***
Marko didn’t bother contacting security. He’d scavenged the estate grounds without finding Thea, and then he’d shifted and was currently flying over the black ribbon of highway that led into the city. After contacting Jenny and finding out Thea wasn’t in the infirmary, he assumed she’d headed home. Luckily, he knew exactly where she lived, but he still wanted to ghost the road in hopes of cutting her off before she made it all the way back to Great Falls.
The farther he flew though, the more worry filled him. Thea only had a thirty-minute jump on him, so unless she was driving like a bat out of hell, he should have found her already. Part of him wondered if she was doing just that. Was Thea flying like the all get out to get as far as fast as she could? The question had him doubting whether he’d done what was best for her. It was possible that he’d seized an opportunity to take advantage of Thea because he was a greedy bastard who wanted nothing more than an excuse to finally touch her.
A mental nudge hit him, and he permitted it.
Jenny’s voice carried to him through the mist. “You find her? I need her back here, Marko! Now!”
Too pissed to respond, he didn’t.
Undeterred by his silence, Jenny kept right on. “She could have another episode anytime! She’s nowhere near being in the clear right now, do you understand? Find her and bring her back!”
Jenny severed the connection, and Marko seethed as he tucked his wings and dove to pick up speed. This is why he never asked people for shit. They always let him down. For Christ’s sake, how hard could it be to stay with a sleeping woman for thirty fucking minutes?
As he hit the edge of the city and soared overhead, he was lost in his anger. So lost, that it took him a minute to realize that Thea’s truck, which had gone missing from StoneCrow, wasn’t parked in front of her little three bedroom house. He knew from tailing her before that she always parked on the street, always!
“Motherfucker!”
***
Thea eased her truck onto the snow-covered back road and felt that hollow feeling that had been gnawing at her middle abate just a smidge. The more she thought about what she and Marko had done, the worse she felt. Now, turning off onto the private road that led to her parents’ farm, she decided that she’d made the right decision by heading back home for a visit.
Twice on the drive here, she’d felt the hints of a panic attack edging in on her. She’d been able to hold it off but could tell by the way her eyes were already pricking that the second she saw her mom she was gonna lose her shit.
Before her truck even rocked to a halt, two familiar mounds of fur bounded down the front steps of the porch and lurched toward the driveway.
Parking near the front of the house, Thea smiled at Czar and Zena’s barking. The commotion wasn’t a warning. Nope, these were yips, whines, and howls of recognition induced e
xcitement.
Climbing from the truck, she immediately dropped to a knee and let the Siberian husky and black lab lick at her face and snuffle at her clothes. When she stood, and the dogs kept right on sniffing at her, she realized they must smell Marko on her.
Thank God dogs can’t talk.
“Thea!” Her mom’s voice had her lifting her head, and just that fast, tears were filling her eyes. She tried to blink them back as she crossed to the porch and made her way up, but her Ma wasn’t fooled.
Brow creasing in her concern, Ethel Kinsey pursed her lips. “What’s wrong?”
Afraid to speak, Thea simple shook her head and folded her arms around her mother’s slight frame.
“Anxiety?’ Ethel asked.
Grateful for the out, Thea nodded against her shoulder.
“Awwww, hon.” Ethel pulled back to stare at Thea from arm’s length. “Come on in, I made turkey and rice soup. It’ll make you feel better.”
Thea barked a watery laugh. Her mom always thought food fixed everything.
An hour later, belly full of hot soup and warm buttered bread, Thea was sipping her second cup of tea and realizing that her mother was right. She did feel better.
Booted feet stomping on the porch signaled her father was back from his chores. The front door creaked open, and then he was bellowing, “Althea?”
She grinned at how he still refused to call her Thea even though everyone else did. Rounding the corner from the quaint farm kitchen, she saw her dad stripping out of his hat, coat, and gloves before toeing off his work boots.
“Hey, dad.”
He lifted his head and instantly beamed at her, and her world felt right. It felt so good to have a place come back to, a place where people were happy to see you. A place where you could either bare your soul or keep your problems close and no one would judge you for it.
In two giant steps, her dad had her wrapped up in a huge hug that lifted her feet off the floor. “There’s my girl.” He set her down and kissed the top of her head before pulling away. “Glad you’re home, baby, what’s the occasion?”
