by R. D. Brady
“I hope you’re right.”
“She’s not a little kid, even if she seem like it sometimes.”
“I know, I know. It’s just weird having a sister I never really knew and jumping right into worrying about her.”
“Another thing we have in common.”
He smiled as Jen slid her hand into his, nodding in the direction the chopper had disappeared. “She’ll be all right, too.”
He smiled down at her. “Walk with me?”
“Happy to.”
The two of them walked hand in hand. Henry breathed in deeply, the ring box in his pocket practically burning a hole through his trousers. He’d been walking around with it for two weeks, waiting for the perfect moment. But the moment had never appeared. He’d come to the realization that there was no such thing as the perfect moment, especially with the chaos that was their lives. Truth was, life wasn’t perfect, but there were little moments, just brief interludes, where you could take a breather.
This was one of them. That gnawing worry that had been a constant in his stomach had lessened now that Laney was back with them and Elisabeta was in hiding.
Noriko was a concern, but he really did believe that Gerard would not hurt her. It would be dishonorable, old-fashioned as that might sound. But he had a feeling that being honorable was important to Gerard.
They walked around the perimeter of the estate without talking, but it was an easy silence, the silence of two people who just enjoyed being with one another. He glanced over at Jen. She looked happy, peaceful, which, with Noriko AWOL, was odd. “What’s going on with you?”
She opened her eyes wide. “What? Nothing.”
“No, something’s up. You look . . . happy.”
“Well, gee, I didn’t realize I was walking around with such a sourpuss face all the time.”
Henry laughed. “It’s not that. It’s just, I don’t know, there’s something’s different about you.”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” Jen wrung her hands as she fell silent.
Henry frowned, not sure where she was going with this. But even with the hand wringing, she still looked happy.
She took a breath, then laughed. “I never thought I’d be saying these words.” She looked up at him, her dark brown eyes shining. “I’m pregnant.”
Henry’s world tilted left, and it took a moment for her words to register. “You’re . . . you’re . . . Are you sure?”
“As sure as five home pregnancy tests and one visit to a doctor can make someone.”
Henry just stared down at her, shock rolling through him.
Jen grasped his arm, her smile fading. “Henry?”
He smiled, then laughed, grabbing Jen and twirling her around. “We’re pregnant!”
Jen threw her arms around his shoulders, laughing as well.
Then Henry stopped, quickly putting her down. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Is the baby okay?”
Jen laughed. “The baby’s about the size of a pea. I don’t think a hug could do much to him or her.”
Henry just smiled down at her.
“You’re happy?” Jen asked.
Henry couldn’t seem to bring himself to stop smiling. “Oh, Jen. You have no idea.” He knelt down, pulling the ring box from his pocket, opening it. “I’ve been carrying this around, waiting for the right moment.”
Jen’s mouth fell open.
Henry took a breath. “Jennifer Witt, ever since you appeared in my life, it has gotten better. You’ve filled a piece of my soul I didn’t know was missing, and now I can’t imagine my life without you. Without us.” He took a breath. “Jen, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Tears shone in Jen’s eyes as she nodded. “Yes.”
Henry took the ring from the box and slid it onto Jen’s finger. Jen placed her hands on either side of Henry’s face and kissed him deeply. In that moment, Henry wondered if someone could truly die of happiness. She loved him. She was pregnant with their child.
“I love you, Jennifer Witt.”
“And I love you, Henry Chandler.” Jen tugged him to his feet. “We need to tell Danny.”
“He knows. I didn’t feel it was right unless he was part of it. He helped me pick out the ring.”
Jen looked at the ring in her finger. “I’ve never been much for jewelry. But this thing is so big, I don’t think it can be called jewelry. I think it technically counts as a weapon.”
Henry laughed. “That’s what Danny said. We should call your parents and your brothers.”
Ahead, the main house of the estate came into view. “Does Jake know?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, let’s go find him, and then we need to call Laney.”
Henry kissed her hand. “Your wish is my command.”
Jen leaned into his side, squeezing his arm. Henry pressed a kiss against the top of her head.
They stepped onto the path when Jen pulled him to a stop, her head jolting up. “What’s—”
The main house exploded, the power of it throwing Jen and Henry into the air.
Chapter 21
Galeton, Pennsylvania
Patrick rubbed his temple as the dull ache signaling the beginning of a headache began to form. He walked from his bedroom to the living room, hoping the change in environment might help his frustration level, which seemed to be rising every minute the conversation continued.
“Sean, I just don’t see how that is possible at this moment.”
On the other side of the line, Father Sean Kirkpatrick sighed. “Patrick, I realize you have a lot going on, but you are still a member of the priesthood. And that comes with responsibilities. You cannot turn down a summons from the Vatican.”
Cain rolled his eyes from across the room. “Tell them to stuff it. You’re busy.”
Patrick covered the mouthpiece. “You’re not helping.”
Cain shrugged as he took a seat on the couch. “I’m not trying to.”
Rolling his eyes, Patrick turned his back on the immortal to focus on the conversation. “Sean, surely the Church can understand that while I appreciate the need they have for information, my calling lies here at the moment.”
“Your calling lies where ever the Holy See says it lies, Patrick. You seem to have forgotten that.”
Patrick blew out a breath. No, he hadn’t forgotten that. He was just all too aware of the human failings that often got in the way of an individual’s true calling. Right now, though, taking care of Nyssa and helping Laney however he could was where he was supposed to be.
“Let me see what I can arrange. Perhaps in another few weeks, I could—”
“Another few weeks? Patrick, I am trying to help you here. You are making it very—”
The line went quiet. “Sean?”
No response.
Patrick pulled his cellphone from his ear to look at the display. Call lost. He frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Cain asked.
“The call was lost. And I no longer have a signal.” While the cabin was remote, the signal strength had always been excellent.
“That’s odd.”
Patrick shrugged, sliding his phone into his back pocket. “Well, at least that’s a small reprieve.”
“You don’t need to follow their dictates, Patrick.”
Patrick sighed, knowing Cain would never understand. He had been on his own for eons. He had come into being long before organized religion was even a thought. The idea of sacrificing your personal desires and wants for the greater good, to be determined by a separate body, was not something he could easily grasp.
Truth be told, Patrick was having a bit of a hard time accepting it these days as well. The more he learned about history through Victoria, through Laney, through Drake, through Cain, through his own research, the more he had come to question the Church’s role and their mission. It had been more than a little world shattering. Since he was a boy, the Church had been the one constant in his life. His mother had raised him and h
is sister with a strict Catholic upbringing: no meat on Fridays, confession once a week, church on Sunday in your best clothes. There was consistency there, a comfort in its reliability. Jesus himself had always been a point of solace for him. Long before it become a trite cliché, whenever faced with a moral dilemma, he had found himself asking: What would Jesus do?
He still asked himself that. And protecting the innocent, doing what was right, even when it was difficult, was exactly that. The Church, however, seemed to disagree with him.
“I know it is not easy for you, Patrick. But you are one of the most moral men I have ever met. You will make the right decision. It is who you are.”
Patrick looked across the room at the man who was now his closest friend and the world’s first murderer. He respected Cain. He came at the world from a decidedly unique perspective. “Thanks. Now how about we go grab the little princess for a walk? Perhaps—”
Cleo’s roar tore through the house, setting Patrick’s pulse racing. He glanced at Cain for only a second before the two of them were sprinting down the hall for Nyssa’s room.
Chapter 22
Baltimore, Maryland
The cellphone lay on Henry’s desk, taunting Jake. He’d come in here to review the security reports, but he was having trouble concentrating. He glanced at his phone again before shoving aside the reports and picking it up. He held it for a second, then put it down. Mary Jane McAdams’s number was displayed on its face. He’d been debating for the last hour whether or not to call her. He’d spoken with her yesterday, but Laney had gotten him thinking.
He picked it up. Okay. I’ll just ask how Molly’s doing. That was a good reason to call. She was still figuring out her powers. It was reasonable he’d be concerned about her. You big chicken, a mocking Laney taunted him from inside his mind.
Oh, shut up. He used his thumbprint to open the phone.
The building shuddered. His head jolted up as the windows exploded, sending glass shards into the room. With a yell, Jake dove behind Henry’s desk. Part of the ceiling crashed over the desk, but Jake, pressed up against it, was spared.
Three more blasts sounded, but they were all farther away. Jake crawled out from the debris, his ears ringing. His mouth dropped. The picture windows at the back of Henry’s office were gone. Parts of the ceiling had caved in. He picked his way through the debris to the windows and leaned out.
“Jesus.”
The wings on either side of the main house were a complete wreck. Fires burned what was left standing, but the middle of each was rubble. He pulled out his radio, wiping at blood that dripped onto his nose from a cut on his forehead. Wincing, he pressed his hand against the cut.
“This is Jake. I need a report.”
“Fricano here. The front gate was hit, along with two explosions on Sharecroppers Lane.”
“I’m at the main house. Looks like there was a double explosion here as well. Fire crews and ambulances on the way?”
“As we speak.”
“Good. Call in all off-duty security. We need all hands. Evacuate all buildings, and anyone who can help, put them to work, but no one is allowed off the estate.”
“Jake?”
Jake took a breath. Six simultaneous explosions. No incoming missiles, no warning. “Someone bombed the estate, Mark. We need to make sure this wasn’t an inside job.”
Mark paused before responding. “Roger. I’ll make sure no one gets out.”
“Good. And everybody needs to start looking for survivors.”
“Roger.”
“I’ll oversee rescue efforts at the main house. Send Dylan to Sharecroppers.”
“Got it.”
“Any word from Henry?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay. Jake out.” Jake pocketed the radio and headed to the hall to see what damage had been done. He said a quick thank-you that the teenagers were safe at the animal preserve and had escaped all of this. He paused, looking over Henry’s destroyed office. Where was Henry? And Jen, for that matter? With their speed, they both should have been here already. They were probably down on Sharecroppers Lane helping out.
After all, they were practically indestructible.
Chapter 23
Galeton, Pennsylvania
Cain reached Nyssa first and swooped her out from the playpen where she’d been sleeping. Gunfire rang out somewhere in the distance. Patrick opened the closet door and unlocked the gun safe, pulling out the Remington 870 shotgun. He loaded the tube with four shells, chambered one, then loaded one more shell. He reached for an AK-47, shoved a magazine in, and looped it over his shoulder.
“What do we do?” Cain asked, Nyssa carefully clasped in his arms. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.
“We stay in the cabin for now until we can tell what is going on. Drake should be here any moment. But let’s get into the hall. There’s no windows. It’ll be safer for her.”
“I’ll take one of those as well.” Cain nodded toward Patrick’s shotgun. Patrick grabbed another one and loaded it before holding it out to him. Cain ignored it, grabbing Patrick’s arm. “If they make it into the house, you and Nyssa need to get behind me. Hitting me will hurt them.”
Patrick wrenched his arm free. “I’m not using you as a shield.”
Cain took the shotgun. “Yes, if it comes to it, you are. Because our priority is keeping this little girl safe.”
Patrick met his gaze but refused to agree. Cain needed to stop trying to make up for past mistakes. And Patrick would never intentionally harm him.
“We’ll see.” Patrick strode for the door.
“You are one stubborn Irish man.”
“I’m Scottish,” Patrick tossed back over his shoulder.
“Even worse,” Cain mumbled, making Patrick smile.
But the smile disappeared as the woods outside went silent. He crept out into the hall, waving Cain down toward the floor. Crouching low, Cain moved to the middle of the hall with Nyssa pulled to his chest while Patrick moved to the front of the house. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. His every breath felt like a shout in his heightened state.
Drake should have been back by now. Cleo, too. The fact that they weren’t and that the woods had gone silent . . . Patrick swallowed hard.
He peered into the living room. Two windows lined each side of the front door across from him. There was also a window above the sink to his left. Too many openings. He couldn’t cover them all at once.
A board creaked on the front porch. Patrick tensed. A shadow crossed the window, heading for the door. They stopped out side the door, waiting. Patrick didn’t. He blew a hole through the door.
A scream sounded. Gunfire ripped through the door from the other side. Patrick dove for the kitchen table and flipped it over to provide cover.
The remnants of the door were kicked open, and two men burst in. Patrick caught the one nearest him in the thigh. The other one turned, but Patrick managed to catch the man in the ribs before he could bring his weapons around. He vaulted from his spot, kicking both men in the face before kicking their weapons away. He frowned, staring down at the men.
They’re human.
Glass broke toward the back of the house. Smoke began to fill up the hallway. Damn it.
Nyssa cried out as Cain stumbled from the smoke, part of his shirt trying to cover Nyssa’s face. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her face red.
“We need to get her out,” Cain choked out before pushing Nyssa toward him. “Take her.”
Patrick grabbed her. “What are you—”
“Stay behind me,” Cain ordered, not waiting for Patrick to respond before moving to the door.
“No!” Patrick grabbed for him, but he had already stepped outside. A bullet tore through Cain’s arm. Cain grunted, but somewhere ahead of them, a man screamed.
“Cain, no!” Patrick hurried after him.
But Cain just moved forward. A second shot rang out. Cain crashed to his knees, blood spraying from a wound in his thigh.
Patrick dropped next to him, shoving Nyssa at him and scanning the woods around them with his rifle.
“You are not expendable,” Patrick said through gritted teeth. “Can you walk?”
Cain nodded.
“Now you follow me. And stay low.”
Patrick headed toward the woods, scanning the area around them. A glint of metal on his left caused him to let off a volley of fire from the AK. A shot rang out, cutting into the tree next to them. Patrick grabbed Cain and shoved him to the ground while pulling the trigger. Cain scrambled behind the large oak, Nyssa screaming in his arms.
Patrick dove in after them. “You guys okay?”
Cain nodded, looking pale and unfocused.
Patrick gripped his shoulder. “Cain, stay with me.”
“I’m with you, Patrick.” Cain blinked hard, then slid to the ground.
“Cain!”
Nyssa scrambled out of Cain’s arms, rolling forward.
“No!” Patrick leapt for her just as a gunshot rang out.
Chapter 24
Baltimore, Maryland
The sun was playing peekaboo through the clouds, and there was a light wind, making the weather perfect as far as Danny was concerned. Ahead on the path, Dov was happily riding on Snow’s back, gripping her coat with Zach on one side and Sascha on the other. The rest of the cats all had appeared as they’d made their way through the preserve to the hill in the middle. Its apex provided a great view of the preserve and the land beyond it.
Rolly stepped closer to him, keeping his voice low. “What do you think about Noriko taking off?”
Danny studied him out of the side of his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you think she’s okay?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I kind of get the feeling Gerard likes her. I don’t think he’d hurt her.”
Rolly pulled Danny to a stop. “Look, I think Gerard will make sure no one hurts her. Heck, I think he’d probably rip someone to shreds if they even tried to. I’m not sure why he’s so protective of her, but he is. But I also think Noriko is really naive and way too trusting. I’m just worried he’ll hurt her, not physically, but emotionally.”
