Gravity (51 page)

“Move in with me, Sunny. We’ll take care of you.”

“No,” she insisted. “I have to figure this out. Novis said I could stay here for a little while, but

he doesn’t know about my condition, so that may not last long.”

“Are you keeping it a secret?”

“Not really. There just wasn’t a moment that seemed right to bring it up.” She grimaced and

then slammed her eyes shut. “I don’t know what to do, Silver. He just painted the baby room

green. And it’s the most hideous color.” After she wiped her eyes, she looked toward the window

again. “Living at home without Knox there… I just can’t.”

“You’re better off here,” I agreed. “There’s too much trouble following me around these days.”

She snorted. “I see nothing has changed.”

“Actually, something has,” I said, fidgeting with my hands. “I’ve accepted Logan’s claim. I don’t

think we can legally get married or mated, but I’ve made the decision to make what we have

permanent.”

I cringed, uncertain if it was the right time to spring that kind of news on her.

Her right arm curved around me. “Hold on to him for as long as you can. Cherish every

moment.”

The Relic had ordered Sunny to remain in bed for a couple of days until her arm improved. She

was encouraged to walk around the room and sit in the sunshine, but the stitches had to heal first.

She stood by the window after we said our goodbyes, and I opened the door and stepped into the

hall with Novis.

“How is she doing?” he said in a quiet voice. “She won’t eat.”

“She’s getting through it,” I whispered. “It’s too soon to expect miracles. Why is Knox’s hat in a

Ziploc bag on the dresser?”

His mouth formed a grim line. “She said something about not wanting to lose his smell.”

I sighed heavily. “You need to know something because I want to make sure she’s taken care

of properly. Sunny’s pregnant.”

He blanched, turning his wide eyes toward the bedroom.

“She’s carrying Knox’s twins, and I want her to have the best care while she’s here. Don’t make

her eat anything or do anything that would hurt them. She needs to be treated by her own Relic;

she mentioned seeing someone. Don’t give her any medication unless it’s—”

Before I could finish, Novis flashed into the room and caught Sunny. Her legs had weakened

and she almost collapsed. He lifted her into his arms and placed her on the bed, handing her a

glass of water from the bedside table. She took a slow sip and he adjusted the pillows behind her

before returning to the hall.

He looked like a man who had just seen a train collision. As Novis shut the door, the light in his

eyes pulsed as his lips peeled back. “I can’t care for this human the way she needs to be.”

“You will,” I said. “She won’t stay with me and she doesn’t have any other place to go that’s

safe, considering all that’s going on.”

“What can I offer her?”

I touched his arm. “Compassion? I don’t know how much of that you have left, but you once

mentioned to me that you’d had a family of your own.”

“They were murdered in front of me,” he said in a flat voice. “That was my mortal life. I had

three children slain by my enemy, and you do not want to know how victims in my time were sent

to slaughter.”

“So on some level, you can relate to her suffering?”

He acknowledged the truth with his eyes.

“Just talk to her, Novis. Share your story; empathize with her pain. She just needs someone to

listen, not someone who wants her to bury her past and her love for that man. I can’t stay, but

keep a phone or laptop in her room so I can talk to her.”

I left with all the hope in the world that he would offer her a shoulder to lean on. I couldn’t be

there for her every minute, but I’d be there for her for the rest of her life. I hoped that counted for

something.

***

Christian had lent me his trench coat for the motorcycle ride. It didn’t take long before we were

home, and I was certain that somewhere along the stretch of highway, we had broken the sound

barrier.

Logan had taken off to help his brothers clean his condo and replace the windows. There was

talk about using laminated glass, although I had no idea what that was supposed to do. I jokingly

suggested they install mirrored glass, like the kind that office buildings used. Especially since Logan

enjoyed sleeping and walking around in the nude. Kidding aside, I reminded them that Logan’s

home wasn’t a fort, and you couldn’t keep a determined man out.

I ran inside, tossing my coat on the hook. Christian remained in the garage to work on his bike.

As I skidded around the corner to take a hot shower, I bumped into Simon and nearly fell on my

ass before he grabbed my shirt and almost ripped it off.

“Damn,” he said. “You should buy cheaper fabric. That would have been spectacular. You put a

fright into us, you know.”

I tugged at his leather collar. “Another night out?”

He shrugged. “Can’t a bloke accessorize?” A short grin spread across his face, flashing his

dimple as I poked my finger in it. Simon shook his head as if I were being childish and put me into

a headlock. I did a little maneuver and got out of it. He arched his brows, clearly impressed.

“You remember the truck that drove us home? Novis found out it never arrived at the location

they were ordered to go to.”

“He didn’t mention anything,” I said in bewilderment. “I was just there.”

“Rang a few minutes ago. I wager I know who’s behind it.”

A heavy thought sank in: Nero now had access to the files. He would figure out that Samil was

not a unique Creator—that it really had more to do with the names on the list he selected in

addition to how we were created, which I’m sure he could have discovered from one of the people

he kept. A Creator’s light made our abilities stronger, or gave us rare gifts. In any case, Nero was

in control of the game, and only God knows where it was going to lead.

“Does Justus know?”

He shook his head. “You should go downstairs. Page is here. Something about her being sick

again, so he called a Relic. Lovely woman if you’re thinking of having a lobotomy done.”

I raced down the elevator lift and met Justus in the hallway. He was uncharacteristically sitting

on the floor. I knelt in front of him. “Is everything okay?”

Justus had a worry line on his forehead that would have created a permanent wrinkle had he

not been ageless.

“How long has the Relic been in there?”

“Hours. She’s running tests.”

“Well, it takes a while when they have to set up their equipment,” I said. “It sounds like she’s

being thorough. Do you know if the blood and medicine were destroyed in the lab? We cleared out

the files but left behind the equipment, and I don’t know what’s been going on lately.”

“Novis had his people take care of that.”

“Good.”

“I should get used to my Learner being in the midst of World War Three,” he said.

“Trouble goes, I follow.”

The door pulled open and a little old woman emerged with her bag in hand, lingering in the

doorway. She wore nude stockings that stopped short three inches from the hem of her brown

dress. “It’s a good thing she wasn’t on that morphine longer than she was or at a higher dose, or

that would have become a problem.”

“I didn’t notice any immediate signs of withdrawal,” Justus said, standing up.

The Relic stepped through and closed the door behind her. “She’s finally asleep, so I suggest

you let her rest. You should be ashamed for letting her become so sleep deprived.”

Justus paled at her punishing words and folded his arms, cursing beneath his breath. “Will she

recover?”

“She needs sleep and food. My advice? Keep work away from her for a while; too much stress

on the body is no good and will only lower the immune system and trigger a happy home for

viruses to spring to life.”

“Is that what she has?”

The Relic made a cackling sound that was similar to a crow. “I’ve checked her blood and

everything looks normal. She was given sedatives along with unknown drugs and we’ll have to see

how they wear off, so I’ll be visiting her again.”

The Relic moved down the hall and Simon held a blindfold between his fingers. “I don’t think

the blindfold will be necessary, Mage. I have a fantastic sense of converting movement into a

mental image. I should be able to find my way up.”

Justus approached the Relic. “Is there any medicine I need to give her, outside of sleep and

food?”

She glanced over her shoulder and wrinkled her wide nose. “I swear, you men are about as

bright as a bottomless pit. She needs to get all the toxins out of her system, not in. My fee has

been paid, so you owe me nothing, Charmer. I’ll see myself out.”

His blue eyes memorized every line in the floor as if it were a mathematical equation.

“What are you going to do?” I whispered.

He took a deep breath and erased all his worry lines. “Make her breakfast.”

That he did.

Burnt toast and undercooked eggs, but Page ate every bite.

Not soon after, I heard them arguing in his bedroom and she stormed out. Simon drove Page

home and I briefly spoke with her before she left. Page didn’t feel safe in her apartment anymore

and was planning to move. I didn’t ask what she’d fought with Justus about and why she was in

such a hurry to leave, I simply let her know I was there if she needed to talk. Justus had an

abrasive way about him, and I guess part of me knew it was only a matter of time before she

realized he was not a perfect piece of furniture—that some assembly was required.

Some people just don’t have the patience to invest that much time and effort when it comes to

a relationship.

Chapter 39

Logan made good on his promise and took me out to see a movie three times that week. The

women in the theater turned around several times to stare at him. I smiled privately and squeezed

his hand, knowing he was mine.

I visited with Sunny twice and kept a laptop in my bedroom with instant messenger open so

she could talk to me whenever she was feeling alone. She said it didn’t seem right coming to stay

with me because of the murder and mentioned she wanted to find out where her brother was. He

traveled a lot and had fallen out of touch with her over the past year or so. I knew she needed

Kane in her life now more than ever.

I decided to stick with my routine and went to Simon’s house on Friday for game night. He

talked me into a backgammon drinking game and before the night was through, I hid the dice and

locked myself in his bedroom, threatening to dunk his leather pants in the bathtub if he didn’t let

me win. I had never been a sore loser until I met Simon. That man could make me completely

insane. The following Friday, I brought Logan with me because Simon said I wasn’t worthy

competition. I pretended to be insulted and sulked on the sofa with my glass of wine while they

tried to save the planet in some new video game.

Christian remained my guard, and there was no weirdness between us.

Beyond the usual.

On the odd occasion, I would remember what had happened between us and somehow he

could always read my expression. He’d say something infuriating and get me into a verbal sparring

match with him. I would crack Irish jokes while he would say that I had sprung from my mother’s

loins, mouth first.

Christian was a man who was destined to live alone.

Logan invited me out with his brothers for a bite to eat and a drink at the bar. It was a ritual of

theirs, and it was a great feeling to be a part of it. Leo wasn’t as rambunctious as his younger

brothers were. He was a serious man with a warm personality, but I still got nervous in his

presence. He just had that vibe, and it had something to do with the fact that he was the eldest. I

hadn’t met their father; he traveled a lot for work and dropped into town only now and again. I

had a sense that he wouldn’t be receptive of our relationship, but Logan never spoke a word about

it.

Finn was growing increasingly self-assured. In the beginning, he had little control over his wolf

and shifted in public without a second thought. He still had his moments, but not around humans.

The Cross brothers were rubbing off on him in all the best ways. Except that Finn had picked up an

annoying habit of belching, thanks to Levi.

He fit right in.

Lucian had only gone out with us once, but being the introvert in the family, that didn’t come

as a surprise.

Tonight I had been given an assignment by my boss. Maybe I was just an apprentice, but I

enjoyed getting assignments other than a consultation for my opinion. I was a girl who needed to

be a street cop, not a paper pusher.

So I hopped in the Silver Bullet—the name Christian had baptized my car with—and headed

across town just after sunset.

Novis had given me the location to a human club and I immediately got butterflies going to an

unfamiliar place by myself. Breed clubs were like a church, or Switzerland. In a human