Saven Disclosure (The Saven Series Book 2) (33 page)

“Okay.” I lick my arid lips. It feels like there’s a layer of Saran wrap over my mouth.

Logan taps the side of the bed and a tray shoots out. He presses the base of the tray, and a glass materializes, filled with clear liquid. I openly gawk as he holds it to my lips. “Jarod would love it here,” he says, sniggering. “Tons of gadgets for him to mess with.”

The cool liquid soothes my throat like balm. I slick my moist tongue over my dry lips, and Logan stifles a groan.

“Time and place, buddy,” I croak. He laughs lightly. Within seconds, his expression crashes, and agonizing sorrow contorts his face. “What?” I whisper, frowning.

Carefully, he rests his head against my chest. “When you were shot, and you fell right in front of me, I almost died. There was so much blood … I … I thought I lost you. It was the worst moment of my life. Don’t you dare do that to me ever again!” Looking up at me through a thick layer of jet-black lashes, he tenderly cups my face. Moisture beads in his eyes. I place my hand on his chest, and the throbbing of his heart pulses against my skin. “I could feel your life force ebbing and flowing,” he whispers. “Stars, I think that was worse than watching you plummet right before me. In the minutes before we got here, I could barely feel you. I’ve never been so scared or felt so empty. It was like I was dying right next to you. I …” Water spills freely from his eyes as he tilts forward and kisses me. His lips brush mine with salty-sweet tenderness. “I know this isn’t the appropriate time for this conversation, but I want to Eterno connect with you as soon as possible, because if anything like this happens again, I want to be with you every step of the way. No matter what.”

“Exist as one,” I say, recalling the conversation we’d had in Thalassic City.

“I won’t exist without you,” he says in an insistent, stubborn tone.

Dali comes bounding into the room, holding her stomach, clearly out of breath. “We have to leave. Right. Now,” she rasps.

Logan is already peeling back the covers, scooping me into his arms. “They’ve found us?” She gives a tight-lipped nod. “We had to activate the hyperdrive in order to get here promptly,” he tells me as he runs out of the room after Dali. “We knew it was only a matter of time before they tracked us. Dammit! I didn’t want to cause any trouble for the Rind.”

I cling to him, nuzzling into his collarbone as I brace against the jarring pain.

Win has the ship fired up when we reach the hangar. Dali helps strap me in while Logan hurries to the cockpit. I’m shivering profusely in my thin hospital gown. Dali tugs off her sweater and helps me into it. “The doctor said to use one of these at eight-hour intervals for the next two days.” She hands me a thumb-sized gold disc. “You place it on your upper arm, and it administers a controlled pain dosage.”

About ten seconds after I slap it on, I conk out.

When I wake up this time, I’m in somewhat familiar surroundings. If I’m not mistaken, we’re in my new apartment. Ella has unpacked my things, and the bedroom already feels like home. I hate that she had to move into this apartment on her own, but I’m grateful that she followed through on our plans. I desperately need to see her. Wincing, I heave myself upright in the bed. “Careful,” Logan says, reaching over to take my hand. “You’ll feel sore for another day or two.”

I look at him, noting his pale pallor and bloodshot eyes. “You look exhausted.”

“Well, hello to you too.”

“Come here.” I shunt over in the bed to make room.

He toes off his shoes and strips back the comforter, scooting in beside me. Gently sliding an arm underneath me, he tucks me into his body, and his dependable warmth soothes the lingering aches. I nuzzle into him. “Are Win and Dali gone?”

“Yes,” he says, rubbing his hand up and down my bare arm.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“You’ll see them again.” He presses a protracted kiss to my temple.

“Is my sister here or at work?” I’m still totally confused over dates and times.

My head lifts slightly with the visible movement of his chest. Air knocks out of his lungs as he audibly exhales. “She isn’t here.”

I try to squash my disappointment. “What—”

The door swings open, and Jarod bounces into the room, Haydn lapping at his heels. Perching on the edge of the bed, he hauls me out of Logan’s clinch into his embrace. “Holy hell, Sadie. You have no idea how frigging worried we’ve been. Thank God, you’re okay.”

Pressing his lips to my forehead, he maintains his close hold. I sense Logan’s mounting jealousy, and I wiggle free.

Haydn steps forward, quietly replacing Jarod as he gently pulls me in for a hug. Logan flagrantly sighs. Haydn smooths a hand over my hair. His whole body trembles against mine. When he starts to speak, I’m expecting the habitual reprimand, but he surprises me. “I think I died a few times when I woke that morning and found you gone. I knew. Dammit.” He rocks back, eyeballing me. “I just knew something was wrong. Stars, Sadie. If anything had happened to you …” Blazing emotion lights up his eyes. Gulping, he stares at me in a way that’s definitely not socially acceptable.

Logan’s scant patience evaporates. “If you’re both done with the grabby hands routine, leave.” He’s needlessly harsh, and I frown. “I need to speak to my
Eterno
. In private.” He sounds territorial in the extreme.

Jarod scowls sternly. “You don’t have a monopoly on her time.
I
need to speak to her. There is lots I have to update Sadie on. Stuff that can’t wait.” He throws out a challenge, boldly staring at my boyfriend, inviting the pissing contest.

“Boys.” I issue a clear warning.

Haydn stands. “I’ll get you something to eat and drink.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shuffles out of the room.

One down, two to go.

Jarod hasn’t moved an inch. I cough purposely, centering his gaze on me. “I’ll get showered and dressed and meet you out in the living room, okay?” I suggest.

He clenches his teeth. “Fine,” he snaps, after a minute, walking briskly out of my bedroom.

Logan gets up, closing the door shut with more force than necessary. Without uttering a word, he walks into the adjoining bathroom and turns on the faucets. He rejoins me, resting on the edge of the bed. I thread my fingers through his. “They care about me, that’s all.”

He emits a low growl. “I know. And I’m glad that they were here for you when I … when I wasn’t.”

He hangs his head, and I crawl over to him, affectionately draping myself around him. “Don’t do this. You had to do your duty. I understand, and I don’t blame you for that. Far from it.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier. I wanted to shelter you from everything, I still want that, but it’s getting harder and harder.”

I run my fingers over his luscious lips. “You can’t shelter me, and I don’t want you to. Either we are a team or there
is
no us. No more secrets. No more lies. We tell each other everything. You will lean on me, and I will lean on you. We’ll support each other through this. Speaking of which,” I say, pausing to gather my courage. “Do you have any idea why a group of Saven soldiers have tried twice to kill me?”

His muscles tense underneath me. “What?”

His expression is incredulous as I tell him about the day I was kidnapped from Earth and what exactly went down when I got shot leaving Saven. “Why am I only hearing this now?”

“I forgot to tell you with everything else going on.” In the overall scheme of things, this omission is miniscule, but try telling Mr. Overbearing that.

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?” He sends me a stern look.

“I’ve told you everything now, I promise.”

He looks reflective. “Don’t think that I’m not mad about all the secrets you were keeping. That’s not cool with me, Sadie, not at all.” His mouth is set in a displeased line.

I heave a sigh. “I know, Logan. And I
am
sorry. But I was only trying to protect you in the same way you were trying to protect me.”

He fists his hand in the comforter. “It’s not the same thing, and you know it!”

“Oh, so it’s okay for you to blatantly lie
to my face
and not okay for me to conceal some stuff because I didn’t want to over burden you? That sounds awfully like unfair double standards.”

“Stop twisting things. It’s not a like for like comparison.” He throws back his head and curses. “Look, let’s not do this now.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.” I sulk.

“And now I’m drawing a line under it. Are you sure it was Saven soldiers who were giving chase?” he asks, redirecting the conversation to the original subject matter.

“I’m positive. They had these red and black Saven emblems on their shirts, slightly raised and rimmed in gold.”

He visibly stiffens. “Only the Royal Guard wear gold-edged emblems.” He rests his head on my shoulder momentarily. “My father must have issued the directive.”

Anguish scampers over his face, and I hurt with him. “I recognized one of them. He was one of the guards protecting us that day in the restaurant.”

He visibly flinches. “Are you sure? Which one?”

“I’m sure, and it was the dark-haired one. I remember him because he definitely wasn’t a paid-up member of the Sadie fan club.” Logan frowns. “Why does your father want me dead?”

Logan slides me off his lap, walking toward the bathroom. “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to find out.”

I join the boys in the living room after my bath. It feels so good to be wearing my own clothes again. Logan moves to my side. Despite our audience—or maybe because of it—he circles his arms around me from behind and presses a kiss to the sensitive skin underneath my ear, heating me on contact. I flinch as my body tingles all over. Jarod looks like he might spew. Haydn has his routine stoic face on.

Logan leads me to the counter as Haydn sets a steaming plate of pasta in front of me, insisting I eat before we start talking. We watch news updates on the TV screen as I chow down. Nothing we hear indicates any concern about a new alien threat or impending invasion. So either our government is completely oblivious or they are deliberately keeping the public in the dark.

Jarod’s mood grows bleaker with each passing second, until I can bear it no longer. Shoving my plate aside, I command the screen to shut down as I walk to the couch and plunk down beside him. “Okay. You’re up. What do I need to know?”

His Adam’s apple bobs as he faces me with sorrowful eyes. Haydn and Logan stand side by side in front of the fireplace, postures rigidly stiff. Tiny hairs lift on my arms. I grit my teeth and steel my mind in readiness. “It’s Ella, Sadie. She’s missing.”

I lock my hands behind my head as I draw consecutive deep breaths. A shrill ringing in my ears drowns out all other sounds around me. I blink repeatedly as the admission shreds my brain. Limbs stiff with fright, I sit stock-still, caged in my inner torment. “What? Since when?” I sound absurdly calm, though I’m the complete opposite on the inside.

“She went missing ten days after you did.”

“Wait up.” I hold up one hand. “How long have I been gone?”

“Just under three weeks,” Jarod corroborates.

“Whoa.” I guess time really does work differently up there. “Does the VP have her?” I immediately jump to the most logical conclusion.

Jarod buries his knuckles in his forehead. “He says he doesn’t know anything about her disappearance, but we both know he’s a lying son of a bitch. To my knowledge, he’s the only one who threatened her life, and considering she didn’t return home from work that day, it seems most likely that he took her. But I don’t have proof.” His foot taps anxiously off the floor.

“I doubt she returned to our family apartment, but did you check there?” I scrunch handfuls of my hair.

He moves his head up and down. “She isn’t there. My money’s on the VP, but his place is like Fort Knox. I’ve been patrolling his estate, but I haven’t been able to infiltrate it. Not without help.”

I stand up and address Logan. “He has her, I’m sure of it. This is his way of sending a message to me. We need to get her out of there ASAP.”

“Agreed. But we have to think this through in light of everything else. We need leverage.”