CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Apollo
After a lengthy conversation with Brick and getting Jagger to research Gerald Levy’s father, Apollo returned to his bedroom to find Rocko asleep in his bed.
The man looked drained and he wished he’d been with him as he dealt with the visions.
But he’d had to alert the others to this dangerous new update.
He removed his shirt and jeans and carefully crawled into bed beside Rocko, pulling the covers up over both of them.
A few moments later, Rocko rolled over and curled up against him, laying his head on Apollo’s chest. He wrapped his arms around his lover and held him close.
The events of the day had certainly put a different spin on what they were facing.
A much more deadly twist that affected all survivors.
No matter their mutation and innocence, they’d been marked for death. What the hell was wrong with people?
Being a survivor was fraught with dangers, not only from the mutations forced upon them but from others who deemed themselves superior.
They were the collective judge, jury, and now executioner.
Apollo couldn’t help but worry. It was his mission to protect those in danger, but as the threats increased in number, Apollo couldn’t help but wonder if he was the right man for the job with so many lives on the line.
Was he strong enough? Capable of staying ahead of the hunters? Protect those under his care? His team. Rocko. What if he failed? Who might be hurt or killed?
Apollo had become accustomed to handling whatever was thrown his way, but this change had him seriously second-guessing himself, which was dangerous.
“What’s got you thinking so loudly?” Rocko asked in his sexy, sleep-roughened voice.
Apollo looked down to see those clear blue eyes staring up at him, that unforgettable grin firmly in place. No one had the right to be that damn gorgeous when waking up.
“Just going over things.” Why worry Rocko with more than he already had on his mind?
“Worrying?”
“Possibly,” Apollo drawled.
“About how we’re going to handle Levy and his goons?”
“Yeah. Never seems to be a moment when we aren’t trying to stop one asshole or another,” Apollo said in frustration.
“Just lucky, I guess,” Rocko joked.
“What’s the old saying, if we didn’t have bad luck?”
“We’d have none at all,” Rocko completed. “It’s not all bad.”
“Really?”
“We have our friends and each other.” Rocko hugged him closer.
Apollo’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
He pulled Rocko closer and leaned in for a comforting kiss. His emotions were all over the place along with his thoughts
“You’re second-guessing yourself,” Rocko stated.
It would be easy to deny it, but why? This was Rocko. His Rocko.
“I’m having a moment of reflection.” Okay, so maybe he wasn’t ready to admit it.
Rocko’s rolling eyes confirmed he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Fine. I’m concerned,” Apollo allowed.
“So am I. You’d be crazy if you weren’t. This new group is a danger to all survivors. Hell, I’m not confident I’m the best person to deal with them,” Rocko admitted.
“You’ve gone head-to-head with members of the Noah Group before, and you’re a seasoned detective.”
“I’m still human. Mostly. Maybe genetically engineered, but I still have the same emotions. There’s no shame in admitting that this shit is crazy.”
“Why do you always seem to know what to say?” Apollo asked. It wasn’t the first time Rocko had de-escalated situations or addressed others’ concerns.
“I say it like I see it.”
“That’s the thing, you see things differently.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“That wasn’t a shot. I mean it’s as if your brain works out what each person needs, allowing you to formulate a response or action that’s tailor-made to help that person.”
“Isn’t that a fancy way of saying I tell people what they want to hear?”
“No. It’s more accurate that you tell people what they need to hear.”
Rocko looked contemplative, and Apollo wasn’t positive he’d gotten his point across. He wasn’t known for his eloquent speaking ability, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d insulted Rocko and fucked it all up.
“I think I understand what you’re saying. Along with my supercharged memory, I can articulate what is concerning a person by their visual and verbal cues, then formulate a response that assists them in some way.”
“Okay, it sounds a hell of a lot better when you say it, but yes. You have the ability to see to the heart of a matter and attempt to fix the problem. It’s amazing.”
“Now you’re trying to blow smoke up my arse,” Rocko chuckled.
“It’s not smoke I want in there,” Apollo joked before kissing Rocko again.
As their kiss deepened, Apollo could feel their bond growing stronger, and he knew he’d never be able to let Rocko go. Which might be a sticking point when he wanted to return to his life in Florida, but Apollo would cross that bridge when he reached it.
***
Rocko
The morning was spent filling the team in on what he’d managed to work out from his visions. Rocko knew he still hadn’t completely organized his thoughts, but it appeared everyone accepted he was doing his best to speed the process along. Even if he’d expected more from himself.
“What the hell have we ever done to deserve this shit?” Damon growled as Xavier inched closer to his side, causing Damon to reach out and lay his arm across the back of Xavier’s chair, calming the silent man instantly.
Xavier still hadn’t spoken a word outwardly, but Rocko was still convinced he communicated with Damon just fine.
“No survivor deserves this shit, and that’s why we’re going to stop them,” Griffin stated.
Rocko rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache bearing down on him. There were images stuck in his subconscious that wouldn’t reveal themselves, no matter how hard he tried to force them to the surface.
“Mary and her family have settled into the larger fifth wheel close to the main house,” Renee said. “I thought it best to keep them close in case they needed us.”
“Good idea,” Apollo said. “It’ll be easier to protect them here. Have we set up security systems over at their property?”
“Yes,” Ace answered. “Anybody so much as sneezes in that direction, we’ll know about it.”
“Good.”
“If Levy and his associates track down Tom’s family, it’d be easier to take them down while they’re out here than back in town,” Hendrix said. “No innocent bystander moments.”
“We can only hope they make it that easy on us,” Blade agreed.
“They never do,” Jagger huffed. “That’s the problem.”
“No, they don’t,” Apollo agreed. “So, we’ll likely have to go after them to shut them down.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” Ellen asked.
Ellen’s tone had Rocko looking over in the young woman’s direction.
By all outward appearances, she was fine.
However, he could see the sadness in her eyes, pulling at Rocko to fix it.
The conversation carried on around them, and a few moments later, she got up and headed into the kitchen.
Rocko followed, and he waved off Apollo when he stood.
He found her staring out the window over the sink.
“It’s going to be okay, Ellen. You’re safe here,” he said.
“Does it matter?” she asked without turning around.
“Yes. Your safety matters.”
“What about Asher? She’s only a baby. What could she have done to warrant a death sentence?”
Rocko’s heart ached for Ellen.
“These people are driven by fear and hate of something they can’t understand.
There’s no way we can make sense of their actions or reasoning or argue the facts with them.
Tom merely used his telekinesis to protect a fellow worker from a falling beam, and Levy still viewed him as a threat and kidnapped him.
It’ll drive you crazy trying to apply logic to these people.
No matter what any of us do, they will never understand. ”
“So we have to live in fear for the rest of our lives?”
Rocko placed his hand on Ellen’s shoulder, and she finally turned around to show her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
“People have the wrong view of fear. Fear is human nature’s way of keeping you safe and out of harm’s way, allowing you to rethink your actions before suffering the consequences.
Fear isn’t the problem. It all comes down to how you use that fear and how much you allow it to control you. I’m fearful at times.”
“You? You’re a detective. You face horrible things all the time.”
“Yes, that’s the trick. I choose to face my fears. I listen to them, and then it’s up to me to make a choice.”
“Choice?”
“We all have the power of choice. Either we choose to let that fear rule us and sink deeper, or we acknowledge it, understand it’s there to protect us, and decide how to move forward.
Using an element of that fear to keep you safe and on alert, while facing it, accepting it, and allowing it to strengthen you. ”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s one of the hardest skills I’m still trying to master.”
“Still?”
“Yeah. I doubt I’ll ever fully overcome it, but what matters is that I use that fear to push forward. I believe it’s my duty to stand up when others can’t. I’ve made my choice.”
Ellen looked at him thoughtfully, and Rocko couldn’t help but worry he’d said too much or made no sense at all and looked like an idiot. Her smile slowly returned, and he took that as a good sign.
“I choose to stand and protect people like Asher who can’t protect themselves.”
“Good choice.”
Ellen lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Rocko, hugging him tight.
“Thank you.”