Chapter 27 Dottie
I couldn’t believe I was primping for a date with an alien warrior.
Okay, so primping might be a little generous.
But I was definitely busting out the lipstick and drawing in my brows.
I mean, I know that he liked me the way I was without all the accoutrements, but something about the process of getting ready made everything feel so much more exciting.
They were such simple acts, drawing in my brows, swiping on color, brushing my hair, but they made me feel like I hadn’t felt in ages, a reminder that I was still a person who got to enjoy things, not just survive them.
It had been so long since I had a reason to get ready for anything that wasn’t sheer survival. The anticipation was strange and wonderful, like a little spark of normal, pre-bug life sneaking back in.
The great thing was that I had the room all to myself since everyone was already out going about their day.
Was it silly that I had butterflies in my belly even though I’d already spent the last two days attached to Ror’k? I couldn’t even decide what to wear. I mean, I was going to take it off anyway.
I giggled.
We were going to have a shower date! A shower date! Who had shower dates? We did apparently. Just the thought alone sent a warm flutter through me.
But honestly, I was just excited to spend time with him that didn’t include running for our lives.
But I’d better hurry, or else I was going to be late on account of having gone to set Her Highness and the kittens up inside one of the library’s meeting rooms. Then I’d gone to the cafeteria to grab a snack before coming back to get ready.
I wanted to be at the hunters’ compound before Ror’k arrived.
I picked up my phone, which Janice had found in the field, and returned it to its charger on my nightstand, and headed out.
I blamed my excitement for the reason I wasn’t paying attention when I walked out of the main survivor building and right into trouble.
“There she is! Dottie, the head librarian,” said a familiar man’s voice.
I turned to see Max with a woman who’d joined our settlement last year, right before the summer swarms. Her name slipped my mind, but I’d seen her around often enough to recognize her face.
“Good. Now let’s get our hands on that hard drive and get out of here.”
If they were after the hard drive, then they must be our NEM rats!
“Max?” I couldn’t stop my head from shaking. I felt so betrayed. I couldn’t believe I’d actually started to care about the guy. But the pieces were coming together. He’d taken the job at the library to look for the hard drive. He clearly hadn’t found it because it wasn’t there.
There was a sharp glint in the woman’s eyes that told me she was the mastermind behind this outfit, not him. My gaze swept the hallway for an exit, but everyone was out in the fields today finishing up the planting.
“Grab her, you idiot,” the woman ordered.
I ran, but Max lunged first, his hand clamping around my arm roughly.
“Where is the hard drive? You were close with Kiera,” the woman demanded. “Show us, and no one gets hurt.”
“I don’t know what you mean. You mean the ones in the library computers?”
“The hard drive. Don’t play dumb with me. We saw Kiera return to town smiling. And they had all those secret meetings. She must’ve been successful.”
And the NEM thought that getting the hard drive was enough to pull their spies out of New Franklin. I needed to get out where someone could see me or make a run for it.
“Answer me!”
“I really don’t know,” I lied. “That’s above my pay grade. Roger would know.”
“Fuck! This is useless.” Max shook me so hard stars appeared in my vision. “I told you she doesn’t know. She didn’t speak about it at all while I was working there. I checked every computer in that library. What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?”
The woman paced the room. “Their leader is soft. They’ve known each other for years. He’ll trade the hard drive for her.”
She brought out a phone and dialed a number.
Interesting! So they did have a network we didn’t know about to communicate.
She spoke softly to someone on the other line, and Max held me hostage.
I wished I had crazy Xarc’n hearing so I could hear what was being said, but I didn’t, so I took the opportunity to tell Max exactly what I felt.
“I can’t believe I let you have first dibs on all the new thrillers. You traitor! I hope you never read a good book again.”
He looked taken aback. “We do what we have to. I was really hoping those brats would find it, so I could stay here and live the cushy life a little while longer. Even if I have to see those disgusting halflings all the damned time.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Those “halflings” he spoke about with such disdain were miracles, mixed babies who bore the best of both human and Xarc’n parents!
“Okay. They’re planning our evac now.” She turned to me. “You. Do you have a phone?”
“Yes.” I didn’t see a reason to lie. They’d find it on me eventually anyway.
“Send Roger a message telling him come to meet you behind this building ASAP. Don’t make it sound suspicious, or we’ll shoot your brains out.” She flashed a gun under her jacket.
I sent out the message, then the woman took my phone, and I was being marched out of the building’s back door with a gun to my head.
The next few minutes waiting for Roger to arrive felt like the longest of my life.
But when Roger appeared, he didn’t even look shocked.
He simply raised his hands to show that he was unarmed.
“Let her go, and we can talk about this.” He sounded so calm.
His calmness irritated Max because his grip on me tightened painfully.
“There is nothing to talk about. You are going to do what I ask,” the woman said. “Give us the hard drive and let us safely out of the settlement gates, or we’ll blow her brains out.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“You have ten seconds to start talking or walking. And it better lead to the hard drive,” she threatened.
“I tried to warn you. I’m not the one you should worry about.” Roger still looked cool as a cucumber. “He is.”
He gestured behind us, and Max whipped around, jerking me so hard I wheezed.
Ror’k stood there, all seven feet of rolling muscles, his golden eyes glaring over a pair of shades at the man holding me. And he looked pissed.
“You dare hurt my female?” He cocked his head, and the sunglasses snapped back into place, covering his eyes.
His female? I never thought I’d get the warm fuzzies from a man calling me his, but here we were.
The fine hairs on my arms raised as the air around us charged with anticipation.
Ror’k moved in a blur, his hand snapping around Max’s wrist, twisting it until his weapon clattered to the ground.
Max howled, stumbling back, but Ror’k didn’t give him room.
He drove his knee into Max’s gut, folding him over with a grunt. The fight wasn’t even fair.
The woman shrieked and reached for her gun, but Roger was already there, disarming her.
“Mind keeping the guy alive, Ror’k?” Roger asked. “We need information, and we can’t question a corpse.”
Several officers were here as well now, and they separated Max from Ror’k.
“Good job, everyone. Let’s get these two in for questioning.” He turned to Ror’k. “Nice shades.”
“Thank you,” Ror’k grunted. And soon we were alone.
I found myself wrapped in his arms, and I knew immediately that everything would be alright. I was exactly where I was meant to be.
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered against his chest, still catching my breath.
His hand slid up my spine, warm and possessive. “I will always save you.” His voice dropped, rich and certain. “I know we agreed on just dating, but you are mine, and nothing can change that. I will not tire until I earn your love.”
A shiver rolled through me. “Good. Because I changed my mind too. I want more than a few dates. And I think I already love you. I know it’s early. But I do. I thought I’d never find someone who would deserve my love again, but you proved me wrong, and I love you.”
He lowered his head. “I do not know what romantic love feels like, but something tightens in my chest when I look at you, and the thought of being away from you is unbearable, like I can’t breathe. I need you like I need the air.”
My heart did a little flip-flop at the raw honesty in his voice. “That might be love.”
“Then I’ve loved you since the moment you crashed into my life.”
I laughed softly, brushing my fingers along his jaw. “You mean crashed into you, lips first.”
“That too.”
“The feeling could also be indigestion,” I said, hiding a smile.
“Dottie,” he said with a tone of warning.
I just laughed, because what else was I to do? I’d never felt giddier before in my life. The only thing that could make it remotely better was some sexy time under a hot shower. “That shower is looking awfully good right now.”
“Then let’s go,” he said. “I can’t wait to peel these off you.” His voice had gone warm and hungry.
He tried to pull back, but his arms didn’t budge. His brows lifted, surprise flickering across his face.
I knew instantly what it was. “I think it’s the mate bond,” I said, breathless.
“Huh,” he said, his eyes full of warmth and wonder. “It is. I guess I was wrong.”
“Can’t be right all the time. But I don’t mind at all, big guy.”
“Good. Because I’m not letting go.” His forehead touched mine, his breath warm on my lips. “Ever.”