And love.
Hagen moaned softly. He took a breath. It sounded a tiny bit easier than the labored ones from a few seconds ago. It was working.
Rhea pushed harder, pulling from every corner of her being, forcing any energy she could grasp into his dying body. Her hand burned from the heat as it snapped from her being to his. She forced it in, pulling and pushing until there was nothing left to take.
She had no more to give him.
She lifted her palm, fighting against the pull of exhaustion threatening to drop her into unconsciousness. Her heart sank when she saw the fine line of fresh red blood clawing its way free of the angry wound. Her body was tapped. Her well of energy ran dry.
And it wasn’t enough.
She sobbed into her blood covered hand as his breathing slowed. She could hear the gurgling in his lungs, as if they were filling with water.
Water.
Pulling every bit of strength she had, Rhea gripped the earth with one hand and dropped the other onto Hagen’s chest. Lightening coursed through her, burning across every nerve ending in her body, leaving a scorched path from her to him as it passed.
Rhea couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop the racing of energy she started. She could only hope if Hagen died, it killed her too.
She couldn’t live without him.
She wouldn’t.
The sound of screaming filled the air around her, piercing her ears and cutting through the night. It wasn’t until Hagen’s cry of agony joined it that she realized the sound was her. A howl of pain. Sadness. Fear.
Then it all went black.
****
Hagen fought. He swung for anything he could hit. Grabbed whatever was within reach.
They were taking her.
“No!” He held her limp body with one arm and used the other to inflict as much pain as possible on the bastard trying to take her.
Blinding pain stabbed through his chest, stealing his breath and knocking him back. He looked around wildly, struggling to focus on the scene around him. Around them.
“Stop fighting.” Jerrik held him down, his brother’s face looming over him. “Stop it. You’re going to undo everything she did.”
Hagen’s vision cleared. “What’s happening?” He coughed, the action making his lungs burn like fire. He tried to pull Rhea to him. Keep her safe from whatever this was. His arms were empty. “What’s going on?”
Magni shifted Hagen’s feet to a long, flat piece of wood. “You were shot.”
Hagen looked down at his chest. A deep red pucker of skin sat over his heart. Lines of drying blood streaked from the wound. He gingerly touched the tips of his fingers to the spot. He looked up at his uncle and brother. “That doesn’t make sense.”
He looked back down at the healing hole in his chest.
“She saved you brother.” Jerrik rose over him and stepped to his head, lifting him by the shoulders onto the board while Magni held it steady.
Hagen sat up, groaning as he fought through the pain the movement caused. “How? Where is she?”
Jerrik fought him, keeping Hagen from standing up. “Rhea’s already in the truck.” He eased Hagen back on the board. “She’s relatively okay.”
“We knew you’d kill us if you found out we got you out first.” Magni pinched out the cigarette dangling from his mouth and shoved the butt into his pocket. “Didn’t want you havin’ to murder anyone in the shape you’re in.” His uncle looked him over. “You almost died.” He pursed his lips and dropped his shoulders. “You should have died.”
“Now lie down and shut up so we can get you out of here.” Jerrik grinned at him as he lifted the makeshift stretcher. “We’re both tired of looking at your dick.”
“For the second fucking time today I might add.” Magni walked backward through the forest at his feet and Jerrik held the end close to his head, trying to keep up with their uncle’s steep pace.
It didn’t take long to get to Magni’s truck. Their uncle knew these woods like the back of his hand and could get his truck almost anywhere it needed to be. Years of being a recluse in the mountains had its advantages.
Advantages Hagen almost had himself. That would have been his life too if he let Rhea leave.
Jerrik set his side of the board onto the open tailgate and Magni shoved him in. Rhea laid on a similar piece of wood, a thick, soft blanket between her and the hard plane. Her eyes were closed, dark lashes splayed across pale cheeks. He reached out and cradled her face in his hand, emotion at seeing her like this clogging his throat.
“She’ll be fine.” Magni’s voice was hard but his eyes were soft as he looked at the unconscious redhead in the back of his truck. “She tough.” His gaze sharpened as it landed on Hagen. “Tougher than you.” The corner of his mouth quirked. For a second Hagen thought his uncle was going to smile.
His lips pressed together into a flat line. “Hold onto her while we head back. Don’t let her bump around.”
That was one thing he didn’t have to worry about. Hagen scooted as close as he could manage and wrapped his arms around Rhea, pulling her tight against his chest, the pain from the pressure it caused a reminder of what she’d done. He looked down at her, slowly inspecting every inch of her, making sure she really was okay.
He lifted one hand to press a kiss against it. The smell of charred flesh flared his nostrils.
A circle was burned into her palm.
He lifted the other hand. A matching burn etched into the delicate flesh.
“Jesus.” He carefully laid her injured hands between them so they would be as protected as possible. Hagen pressed his lips to Rhea’s clammy forehead.
If he’d known this was the mark she would bear for him...
He wouldn’t have done a thing different.
Because this was what was meant to be. It was what was always meant to be.
But that didn’t make it alright. Hagen closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, letting it calm him and soothe the beast.
He would never be able to make up for the pain he’d caused her. Rhea would carry the scars for the rest of her life.
But because of her he had the chance to try.
23
“Who’s hungry?” Gail rounded the divider with a serving bowl balanced in each hand. She dropped the first one in front of Rhea. The biscuits piled inside were still steaming. She carefully reached into the bowl, hoping to grab one without doing too much damage to her fingertips.
“I got it.” Hagen grabbed a biscuit out from under her hand and gently coaxed it open before setting it on her plate.
She smiled at him, excitement tugging at her belly. “Thank you.”
He reached for her hand, pulling it to his lips, resting a kiss against the pink scar in the center of her palm. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Get a room.” Stewart rolled his eyes from his seat across the table.
Rhea stuck her tongue out at him. “You don’t get to show up and complain.”
“I can do whatever I want.” He looked at Gail. “I’m a paying customer.”
Gail shrugged at Rhea. “He’s got you there.”
“Gail, I believe these biscuits might be better than mine.” Stewart’s mother was already halfway through her second biscuit. “And I make damn good biscuits.”
“They are fantastic.” Chauncey’s mother nibbled at her own.
Rhea smiled at the two women across the table, each seated next to their respective offspring. They couldn’t be any more different. Maxine, Stewart’s mother was plump and warm and outgoing. She was soft to hug and easy to talk to.
Then there was Chauncey’s mother.
Once she met Vivienne it was clear where Chauncey got his small frame and pale hair. His mother was slender and sophisticated. Prim and proper.
And way out of her element in Greenlea.
Luckily Vivienne was also a good sport.
“Would you like to go into town today and do some shopping with me?” Rhea set her hand o
n Hagen’s thigh, calming the beast she could feel complaining beside her. “I have a few things I need to pick up this afternoon.” She squeezed his leg resisting the urge to send a sense of calm reassurance to his beast. “I don’t plan on being gone too long.”
Vivienne perked up, sitting straight in her chair. “That would be wonderful.”
“What is it you need to shop for?” Gail’s eyes sparkled from across the counter.
The rest of the group seated around the table looked at her expectantly. She glanced at Hagen, unsure.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight against his chest. “We have a baby.”
Stewart gasped, clasping both hands over his mouth. His eyes shimmered as he jumped up and rounded the table to wrap her in a tight hug. He pulled back and looked her up and down. “Re-Re you look great. You’ve hardly gained a thing.”
Hagen growled beside her.
“I’m not pregnant.”
Stewart’s mouth went slack. He looked from her to Hagen, flinching at the murderous look on her husband’s face. “But you said—” He looked to the rest of the group then back at her. “Big and Scary said you were having a baby.”
“I said we have a baby.” He pulled Rhea back into his side. “Have. As in already there is a baby that’s ours.”
Stewart looked lost. “I don’t understand.”
“We were put in contact with a woman who is pregnant and not able to keep the baby.” Rhea could hardly believe the words as she said them. “She’s an acquaintance of a friend and wanted the baby to be with someone she could trust would take care of her.”
“It’s a her?” Gail stood at the counter wiping at her eyes with the apron tied at her waist. She covered her mouth when a soft sob escaped. “I can’t believe it.” Her mother-in-law hurried to Rhea’s side, shoving Stewart out of the way and pulling her up into a warm embrace. “I am so happy right now.”
Rhea sniffed back the happy tears she’d been erupting in for the past two weeks. “Me too.”
Hagen’s hand rested on her back, strong and firm. In the days since they found out about the baby he’d rarely left her side, more protective of her than ever.
Gail released her to once again wipe at her eyes, barely getting them both cleared before Maxine grabbed her in a hug. “I am so happy for you grandma.” Stewart’s mom glared his direction. “I feel like this is something you two should be getting on top of.”
Stewart’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah.” Vivienne turned to her own son. “You love Vanessa. When are you going to have your own?”
Chauncey shot Rhea daggers with his eyes.
She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
That’s what he got for trying to kill the man she loved.
Chauncey didn’t know the full truth of what he did and hopefully never would. To this day Stewart’s boyfriend didn’t know his shot hit anything. His conscious was clear. Jerrik and Magni deserved an award for being able to get the rest of the group out of there without raising any suspicions. Hell, just getting Stewart to leave the woods without her had to be a feat in itself, and they managed to do it. Probably because everyone was so shook up over Chauncey’s stupid, stupid mistake.
And Rhea couldn’t even hate him for it. He genuinely thought Bigfoot existed and was ready to prove it once and for all and between lack of sleep and a level of pressure few men could stand, Chauncey was prepared to go to any length to get what he thought he needed.
Luckily he realized it was a bad idea the minute he got some sleep and apologized profusely to the whole family for the danger he put everyone in their group in that morning.
But she was still going to take every opportunity to be a pain in his ass because of it. Starting with making his mother and Maxine fall in love with Greenlea. The more they wanted to visit, the more Stewart would visit, the more Chauncey would visit and the more opportunities she would have to annoy him.
It was a perfect plan.
Hagen scooted his chair back as he swigged down the rest of his coffee. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take the mother of my child and go home.” He held his hand out to Rhea. “We have a nursery to finish.”
It was surreal. Being here. With him. Surrounded by people who knew what she was and accepted it without question. For the first time in her life she didn’t feel different. The odd one out.
The failure.
Her days of trying to prove her worth were over. The cloud of her parent’s disappointment no longer hung over her head. Sure, they probably weren’t too happy their daughter was in the middle of nowhere, still not a doctor, and married to a man they would never understand.
The same old feelings were there for them. She just didn’t care anymore.
Rhea slipped her hand in his and let him tug her through the room. “I’ll call over with plans for our trip Vivienne.” She waved at Chauncey’s mother as the kitchen door swung closed behind her.
The street outside was busy, full of guys working on the new buildings that would make Greenlea’s downtown almost a whole block long. The media center was almost complete, slated to open well before the fall ‘mating season’ rush. It was crazy to see how many people came here hunting Bigfoot.
And how many left thinking they didn’t see him.
“What’s funny?” Hagen gazed down at her as they slowly made their way through town toward home.
She shrugged. “Everything I guess.”
“I don’t know if funny is the word I would use to describe it.” He laced his fingers through hers. “Crazy maybe.”
“Crazy too.” She waved through the wide window at the front of Jerrik’s office. He sat behind his desk, like always, shooting her a quick grin.
“Don’t make me kick his ass.” Hagen narrowed his eyes at Jerrik through the glass. His brother blew her a kiss.
Rhea jabbed Hagen in the ribs, stopping his low growl in its tracks. “He’s just aggravating you.”
“Hmph.” Hagen slowed as they passed the new diner just past the general store. The walls were up and the crew was working on the trusses.
“Wow. They’re really making good time on that aren’t they?” She caught sight of David working across the building from them. She smiled and waved.
“People here wanted to work. It just wasn’t available.” He nodded at his friend. “Now it is.” Hagen squeezed her hand gently. “Because of you.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t really me.” Thank God Stewart did as she said and kept his camera rolling. Otherwise he would have missed Magni in all the chaos after Chauncey shot into the woods. Luckily, when they went back through the footage, there he was, plain as day.
And the stream of people rushing to Greenlea to catch their own glimpse of Bigfoot hadn’t slowed down since.
“It wouldn’t have happened without you coming here.” Hagen pulled her through the front door of their house. “I can promise you that.”
“It’s a double-edged sword then.” She sobered, the happy thoughts easily stifled. “You also wouldn’t have almost died if I didn’t come here.”
Hagen cupped her face in his hands.
“But I definitely wouldn’t have lived either.”
****
Hagen rocked slowly in the dark, silent room. He stared at the tiny face peeking out of the swaddle, holding her tight. Shame ate at his soul.
How could he have ever imagined an angel like this wouldn’t be enough for Rhea?
For him.
For them.
“You can put her down.” Rhea stood in the doorway, her voice soft and low. She padded across the thick pile of carpet covering the nursery floor. She’d agonized over the decision, running it down to the wire. He’d had to call in a favor to make sure the room was ready when Annabelle came home.
But he would use every favor he had to give his little girl and her momma what they wanted.
Rhea tucked one hand against the back of his neck and rested the other on their daughter. He felt t
he warmth push through, from her hand to his skin. He frowned up at her. “I’m fine.”
She smiled. “You’ve been up every night with her.” The warmth in her hand increased. “I just thought I’d give you a little something to get you through the night.” Rhea dropped a kiss against his temple. “Since you insist on night duty it’s the least I can do.”
“You need your rest.” Hagen cradled Annabelle against his chest as he rose from the upholstered rocker. Gently, he eased her tiny, sleeping body into the crib. “Someone has to do all the hard work around here.” He turned from the crib and grabbed his wife’s hands, pulling her into his arms. His thumb softly stroked the inside of one palm. The scars raised across Rhea’s skin were harder to feel now. Time had taken most of the angry redness from her wounds.
She leaned into him, her body molding to his, her free hand over his heart, covering the scars from his own injury. “I would call staying up all night and helping the guys build all day hard work.”
He shook his head. “It’s not work if you love it.”
She leaned back, an eyebrow raised. “What is it that I do you consider to be the hard work?”
Hagen scooped her up grinning as she stifled a surprised yelp. “Putting up with me.”
She ran the tips of her fingers down the side of his face as he carried her from the room.
“You said it’s not work if you love it.”
Thank you so much for reading Hagen!
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Wait! Would you like a sneak peek of Magni? He’s next in line in the Big series. You can grab your copy here but I’ll give you a little taste before you go...
****
“I found it out here this morning.” Magni dropped down, squatting beside the stiffened carcass he came across before dawn on his daily hunt through the woods surrounding Greenlea. “It hasn’t been here long.”
Hagen Page 25
