by C Cato
The rooms Tessa’s husbands occupied were on the third floor and had a nice view of the shitty part of town. Unlike Tessa’s place there was nothing luxurious about it. They slept on a large straw palette together instead of spreading amongst the rooms.
Tessa knocked hard, bouncing on the toes of her feet, and Risa opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but the door opened, and Risa almost lost her feet with Tessa’s enthusiastic pulling. Dallas held the door and smiled brightly.
“Please talk some sense into her, my love. I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” said Tessa, taking the door from him and closing it, leaving her to stare awkwardly at the man.
She threw her hands in the air and glared at the closed door. “What the fuck was that?”
“Give it a rest, kid,” said Riley. He was sitting with Nor at a small rickety wooden table, and both held a hand of cards.
She stomped to the table, not in the mood for riddles or mind games. She poked Riley hard in the chest.
He flinched and rubbed the spot. “Ow. That’s going to leave a bruise you know.”
“Good. First, stop calling me kid. I’m older than everyone in this fucking room.”
Dallas pulled up an extra chair for her, but she was too worked up to sit down. “To be fair,” said Riley, pulling two cards from his hand and laying them face down on the table. “The time you spent sleeping doesn’t count.”
“Fine! I was forty-nine when we went under. I’m still older than all of you.”
Dallas sucked in a breath. “No shit.”
“No shit,” Risa repeated.
“It’s the water, right? It has to be,” rambled Morgan. “I mean, you don’t look a day over twenty.”
She chortled, it wasn’t a pretty sound, and sat in the proffered chair. “Just good genetics. Although, I think killing people works off unneeded stress and stress-related lines. Now, enough about my aging prowess. Why the hell did Tessa dump me here?”
Nor laid his cards down and folded his hands on the table. Risa had always thought of him as the leader of the group. His bald head was shiny, reflecting light from the afternoon sun burning through the window. Many people went bald even women. Lice was always a problem. She’d risk it. No one was getting near her with scissors.
Nor had tribal tattoos that decorated his scalp, coming down over his right eye to end on his cheek. More covered the backs of his hands, those tapered off at his forearms. He wore them well.
“Risa, did you know I can’t cook?”
Caught off guard, she recoiled, eyes wide. “What’ve you guys been smoking in here?” Of course, the answer was nothing. Weed was outlawed in the city, and the most potent drug they had was alcohol. Which the Hounds couldn’t have either.
All four men laughed.
He smiled and his white teeth were a stunning contrast to his bronze skin. “Sorry. Let me start again. When we go out in the field to hunt, I don’t do the cooking. I take care of the horses and supplies and leave the cooking to Riley.”
She turned to the man in question, and he winked. She still had no clue where they were going with it but sat back and crossed her arms to let them get to the point.
“Morgan usually looks after us. Sews up cuts and gets herbs when we’re sick.”
“What do you do, Dallas?”
“Morale,” he said with a sly smile.
“The point is,” said Nor, rolling over Dallas’ answer. “We all have our roles. Our purpose. We fit together well. Tessa, she’s our leader, and we count our blessings every day that we have her.”
Her chest constricted, and her eyes stung. Yes. They had her, which was exactly why she couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
“There’s no reason you can’t fit in as well,” said Dallas, touching her arm.
She jerked away. “You guys know I’m gay. No men in the play area.”
Dallas held his hands up. “Not even for affection? Have you never had male friends before?”
Cole immediately leapt to mind, him smiling with Soren as they all shared a beer in a dive bar in the middle of nowhere.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” said Dallas, returning his hand to her arm.
This time she allowed the warmth to sink in and spread.
“We know you have no interest in us, Risa. We understand and respect that, but we love Tessa.”
“And she loves you,” finished Nor.
“Loves me?” Risa squeaked. “It’s only been a few weeks. Granted, we spend a ton of time together, but still.”
“Why does that matter?” asked Riley.
Risa opened her mouth to explain but she couldn’t. Why did it matter?
“I don’t have anything to offer her,” said Risa. She was being pathetic, but she’d been alone a long time. A trained killer. That’s all she was. A pretty face that hid a wicked demon inside. No woman would want that.
“You do have something to offer her,” this from Morgan.
“And what’s that?” She winced at her wheedling tone. They didn’t deserve to be the punching bag to her frustration.
“You can be with her. Openly love her, where we can’t. Most assume our Valkyrie squad leaders are doing us, but they don’t think it’s serious. There isn’t a man in this building that wouldn’t die for his love, but none of us can show it. No kisses in the park or holding hands. If she got hurt in the city, we would be the last to know, and then we’d just get assigned to someone else. We can’t hold her at night or wipe away her tears when she’s had a bad day in a council session, and we all die a little inside when we see her hurt when we’re affectionate with each other. We do our best to not do anything when she’s here with us, but—”
“You know she wouldn’t want you to do that,” sighed Risa. What they said had appeal. She wanted to be that. “Does that mean I get to join the orgy?”
“Don’t know. How do you feel about men with other men?”
“On paper? Fine. Dallas, why don’t you kiss Nor, and I’ll let you know.”
“My pleasure.” He rose from his seat and sashayed to Nor in a slow hip-swaying gait that would have done a runway model proud. Nor pushed his chair from the table and leaned back, his light eyes sparkling.
Dallas bent forward rested his hands on his lover’s shoulders and lowered his head until their breath had to be mingling, then pulled away.
Nor moaned. “Don’t tease me, love,” he pleaded.
With a low chuckle Dallas widened his legs and sat astride Nor’s lap. Nor gripped his ass, and Risa had to admire his technique. This time when Dallas lowered his head, Nor captured his bottom lip between his teeth. Dallas closed his eyes and used both hands to tip Nor’s head back. They opened their mouths together. Moans grew louder as Nor thrust his hips to grind against Dallas.
A flush started at Risa’s chest and worked its way to her face and down to her core. She had no desire to have sex with them, but didn’t seem to have an issue with watching them or being close while it happens.
“Okay,” she said, hoarsely. “We can do the orgy, but there’s still the issue of time. When this mission is over, I’ll be returning to my unit. I can’t stay here.”
Nor and Dallas came apart, but both were breathing hard, and when he stood up Dallas was sporting an impressive erection. He returned to his seat, and Riley leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.
The men all exchanged glances and nods with each other. Whatever they were thinking, they must have had some serious discussion about. Tension was on all their faces by the time they finished their secret eye code.
“We want to come with you. We think you can convince Tessa it’s for the best. She won’t listen to us on this,” said Nor, composed again.
“Me?”
“Yes. Roles, remember. Besides, what do you think is going to happen to us when the Valkyrie return with your friend? The one Hunters have been searching for for years. The Valkyrie would definitely be reassigned, and who knows what would happen to us.”
She
hadn’t thought of that. If they stayed in Haven, the teams would split. It was hard enough for Tessa to see her guys. If taken away from her for good, there would be no consoling her. “What about the other Hunter teams?”
“All of us,” said Nor.
“All? Shit. We’re gonna need a bigger Vault.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Risa
“Am I interrupting?” asked Tessa, poking her head through the doorway.
Risa rose to her feet as the guys did, a bemused smirk on her face. Cole was going to give Risa shit about this. She was as much a player as Soren was. When Tessa came to the table, she scanned the room for another chair, and Risa impulsively pulled the unsuspecting Valkyrie into her lap. A pretty pink blush colored her cheeks, making the smattering of freckles across her nose stand out.
Risa arms naturally wound around her waist to hold her tighter. Maybe they could make the whole crazy thing work.
“I take it your talk went well?” she said breathlessly while squirming.
“Yes,” growled Risa. “And stop wiggling. I may not have a dick, but that’s still pretty stimulating.”
The men laughed. Hard. Riley fell out of his chair, and Nor kept wiping his eyes. Tessa only blushed harder. Risa took the opportunity to glide a hand up her back to cup the nape of her neck, pulling her down for a kiss. It didn’t have the desperate passion of the one they shared in the stairwell, but it was honest. Several small pecks and Risa reverently sucked on Tessa’s lip before letting it go with a small pop.
“That was beautiful,” said Morgan.
“Agreed,” Risa and Tessa said at the same time, gazes locked.
“We’ve agreed, Tess. When her mission’s over, we’re leaving,” said Nor.
The dreamy expression solidified into a frown. “I know we don’t have options left, but I worry that this will be worse. You know what they do to men found removing Valkyrie, and I’m a Councilwoman. I’m still not sure why they allowed me to keep you in the first place.”
“Your concerns are noted, love. If we can escape, we need to. We can go across the Barrier. Ray has always told us the gate would be open to us.”
Tessa shifted in her lap, so they were facing each other. “Are you sure about this?”
Risa had never seen her appear more vulnerable. “Yes, about both you and getting you all out. You’re soldiers trapped behind the lines. Cole will understand that I can’t leave you behind.”
The kiss Tessa gave her was all soft pillowed lip. Risa still had her fingers buried in the woman’s hair at her nape, tempted to tighten her hold and drink her in for hours. Tessa disengaged and pressed their foreheads together.
Risa slipped her free arm around the lush curves at her hip. “Thank you, my warrior.”
There was a round of quiet chuckles and Dallas clapped, but Risa didn’t want to lift her head. Tessa understood.
“We’ll just think of you as one of the guys,” said Riley, slapping her on the arm.
“Please don’t,” said Risa, pulling away to smirk at him. “You guys fuck each other.”
“Mm. Good point. Sister?”
“That you don’t mind seeing naked with her face between your wife’s thighs?”
Tessa squirmed, and Risa tightened her arm around her new partner’s waist.
“Well, stepsister,” said Riley with a wink.
This time Risa joined in the laughing. When they’d settled down, Tessa gave her another soft kiss and rose from her lap to do the same for the others, before sitting with Nor.
Risa waited for the burst of pain that came with jealousy, but it wasn’t there.
Was that all it took? Feeling included?
“I’m going to get us some food from the street vendors. Any specific requests?” asked Morgan.
“Sausages!” Everyone shouted.
He bobbed his head and left.
“Dallas, you should spread the word. We won’t know when the time will be right, so they’ll have to all be ready at a moment’s notice,” said Nor.
“Tess, do you have any insight on what’s going to be done with the Hunter’s men and when?” asked Risa.
The Councilwoman twisted in Nor’s lap, legs falling open on either side of his. She leaned back against his chest. Thick arms held her close. The position made Risa’s mouth water.
“No. Some of the others have been trying to torment me with hints, but I don’t think even they know.”
For the next twenty minutes, they concentrated on the planning. Proposing and throwing out ideas. Risa expected arguments. Less cohesion. She’s not sure why she doubted them. They were a solid unit. If Risa had concerns about a plan, they listened patiently to her reasons and agreed if they couldn’t counter or countered and proposed something different. What surprised Risa most was that they deferred largely to her on the final decision, not Tessa. She had to ask about it.
“None of us are as trained as you. I’ve read about the history of the military in the City Library. It only makes sense we follow you,” said Nor. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Wait. There’s a library?” said Risa, locking onto that little bit of information.
“Yes, it is hardly ever used. Most can’t read, and no one has any real interest in history. Shame, really,” said Riley.
Morgan returned with an armful of food forty minutes later. Risa dug into her sausage roll appreciatively. The flaky pastry that wrapped the meat was still steaming and smelled like a buttery croissant. The sausage was spiced just right. With just enough bite to tickle the back of her throat and warm her belly.
Morgan had produced mugs for everyone and poured liquid from a brown earthenware jug. “Sorry,” he said, when he poured some for her. “It’s warm, but it’s good mead.”
She gulped it down gratefully.
“What took you so long?” asked Nor, after his last bite.
“There’s a commotion at the main gate. It was hard to get close.”
Risa exchanged a glance with Tessa. Her heart rate jumped into overdrive. Food forgotten, she was at the door and outside before anyone could comment. Tessa running to catch up behind her. A calloused hand slipped into her own when she did. Risa locked their fingers together and raced down the street toward the front gate. Anticipation of what she’d find made her reckless, as she pushed men and Valkyrie aside to get as close to the front as possible. Suddenly the mass of bodies gave way and she was in sight of the massive city entrance. Bedraggled Valkyrie sat tall on their horses, as they paraded inside. They were all dirty and most sported the dark circles of exhaustion.
Risa didn’t care. She scanned the incoming women. Tessa had told her that the force sent out was two hundred Valkyrie strong. Half that returned. Risa took some pride in being part of the reason for that.
There was a small gap in the mounted procession and a group of five women marched in. Single file. Chained at the wrists.
Risa took a step, and Tessa tightened her hold. A set of hands landed on her shoulders anchoring her in place. She had to count to ten in Spanish and German before she could control the rage that burned through her system.
“They’re from the farms that traded with Celene’s family. All former Hunters,” Tessa whispered to her, a hitch in her voice.
At the end of the procession came three more. The crowd around the street stepped back. Risa and her group stood their ground as the A’amoth came into view. One of the males had a young girl on his shoulders.
There were loud gasps, and even a few cries of alarm at the sight of them.
“They didn’t know?” Risa whispered to Tessa.
“No. Jenna kept their existence a secret. Not even I knew they were in the city, or that they were used to track you down.
They weren’t bound like the women had been, but they all had on thick black collars with flashing lights. Towering over the gawking audience, they radiated menace. Two men—Risa assumed one was Keet, but she hadn’t gotten a good look at him before—and a woman. Risa’s gaze l
ingered on the marble-skinned beauty that passed them by, but then her gaze landed on her friend. Like the other A’amoth, she wore a collar. Her feet dragged a bit, but Sonya marched with her chin up, she also had a child clinging to her back.
Risa hissed out the air, she wasn’t aware she’d been holding.
Sonya scanned the gathering witnesses with calm, and Risa wondered if that was what she would have been like when she worked at the hospital.
She wanted to call to her friend, but worried that Sonya would startle enough to give her away. Sentinel One passed by and was lost to the sea of people. The time had finally come. She had a job to do.
CHAPTER FORTY
Sonya
Sonya wasn’t prepared for Haven. The two and a half weeks of traveling in a covered wagon wasn’t a picnic, and she was happy to be on her own two feet. The sound of voices rising in cheers made her ears ring and set her stomach on edge. Ahead of her, women shambled forward, chained together like criminals. No chains on her anymore. Small blessings. The collars would keep them from trying to escape.
The skin around her neck was tender and swollen to the touch. The injury constantly repaired itself and came back immediately. The harsh device chafed. There was no relief from the constant damage it inflicted.
During their march to Haven, more Valkyrie had joined the initial group that Willow led, towing prisoners. Women and, to her dismay, two children. Neither of them allowed the comfort of their mothers who gazed at them with sobs rising. She couldn’t help but think it could have been Celene and Elise. One could only cry so much, though, and when the last woman joined their wagon train, there was the sting behind her eyes without the promise of relief.
