19. Unexpected Visitors
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Unexpected Visitors
"...halò bana-phrionnsa..." ? *
Sitting in the tub with her chin inches above water, Deja silently watched Jax sitting across from her as he carefully bathed their baby girl. It had been a while since she heard him speak Scottish Gaelic, but it seemed to flow from his lips like a love song every time he spoke to their daughter.
Jax hummed with a warm smile as he held Chloe above his head. She giggled, and it lit a fire in his belly. "...breagha… cho breagha, mo bana-phrionnsa ? * … just like your mother..."
Jax carefully lowered Chloe onto his face until their noses touched, and Chloe grabbed a fistful of his hair. "The grip on this one," Jax grinned. He glanced at Deja, catching the sullen look in her gaze.
Moving across the tub, Jax handed Chloe to Deja before maneuvering to sit behind her. As Deja cushioned Chloe against her breasts, she tenderly kissed Chloe's forehead. Meanwhile, Jax's fingers tenderly dug into Deja’s hair, pulling her head back against his chest.
Deja sighed as he began massaging her scalp. After her bloody excursion in the forest, she immediately removed her goddess locks. She no longer cared for her appearance, especially while being constantly surveilled by four dangerous killers.
"So much hatred in your eyes, beloved," Jax mused.
Deja scoffed. "You know why..."
Jax silently massaged her scalp before leaning down to kiss her temple and whispering in her ear. "...I can wait out your hatred..."
Their bath didn't last long enough before Deja was sitting on the bed, drying and moisturizing her hair, while Jax put Chloe in a diaper.
Grabbing a scarf, Deja wrapped her hair before lying back in bed.
Jax nestled Chloe next to Deja before possessively grabbing the back of Deja's neck, and his eyes locked with hers.
Laying a sensual kiss on her lips, he stroked her jawline with his thumb. "Get some sleep."
Jax turned off the light before leaving and closing the door behind him. Helpless tears slipped down Deja's face as she pulled Chloe against her bosom, peppering her forehead with kisses.
Stepping into the living room, Jax saw Caleb carrying several boxes into the cabin. "That's the last of her things," Caleb said. Leaning against the counter, he looked at Jax. "How is she?"
"Sleeping," Jax said, filling a bowl with warm water.
Caleb frowned. "She's been doing that a lot lately..."
Jax placed Chloe's bottle into the bowl. "Giving birth will do that to a woman."
"Being on the run from the Society and locked in a cabin with your killer ex-fiance and his brothers might have something to do with it," Caleb muttered.
Jax snorted. "How convenient that you've left yourself out of that equation. As if you haven't caused a considerable amount of her distress."
Caleb sharply exhaled. "I'm well aware." He saw Scully rubbing against his ankle and crouched to pick up the kitten. "We can't keep her here, Jax. She's not safe."
Jax stared at Chloe's bottle, warming in the water. His nostrils flared as his jaw tensed. "I know..."
Deja gently ran her fingers over her swollen nipple and winced. She was grateful Chloe didn't have teeth yet. She was already starting to gum on her nipples. Cradling Chloe, she grabbed the warm bottle of pumped milk Jax had prepared and pushed it into Chloe's mouth.
She looked around the room, crowded with breast pumps, diapers, and baby clothes, and noticed yet another bouquet of roses from Jax.
It sat next to the box of jewelry from Ian and the basket of fruits from Keith.
She didn't know if they were showering her with gifts out of guilt, obsession, or manipulation.
But it didn't matter how many gifts they tried to drown her with. It wasn't enough to bring Deja out of the dark mental abyss she found herself spiraling into with no hope of escape.
Deja wondered whether ending her maternity leave early and returning to work might distract her from the dark emptiness she felt.
But was she ready to shorten her time with Chloe so soon?
Her daughter stared up at her with bright blue eyes that contrasted so drastically with her brown skin that it frightened her.
She looked so much like her father. Those same piercing eyes.
Deja tilted her head back, trying to breathe. "I love my daughter. I love her," she repeated, as if she said it enough, she might forget what kind of man she belonged to.
Grabbing Roselyn's Memoir, she started to read. These days, it seemed to be the only consistent thing that brought her solace.
"They're clearly retaliating because they think Deja killed Jax. Can't you just tell them you're still alive so they can back the fuck off?" Caleb asked with his arms crossed over his chest.
"No. They made her bleed. I want to know who put a hit on her, and I want them dead," Jax said firmly.
Ian sighed, rubbing his temples. "We wouldn't even know where to begin."
"Start with one of their interns," Keith smirked. "Next time one of those bitches ends up on our doorstep, we'll make 'em squeal."
Jax shook his head. "I'm not waiting that long."
"Nor should we be risking her safety," Caleb added.
"We can bring her home to Edinburgh," Ian mused.
"She's not cleared to fly yet," Jax muttered. "Neither is Chloe."
Keith slapped the counter. "Kay, I'm just gonna say it. She's depressed as fuck in this shitty-ass cabin. All offense intended, farmer boy." Caleb responded by flipping Keith off.
"She probably misses her family," Ian noted.
"There couldn't be a worse time for her to see them," Caleb sighed.
Keith threw his hands up. "You motherfuckers just gonna keep shooting down our ideas?"
Jax ran his fingers through his hair. "We'll figure something out..."
"Come in," Deja responded after hearing a knock at the door.
Caleb entered and smiled. "Hey..." he said softly.
"Hey," she responded emotionlessly.
"How's little spitfire?"
"...fine."
Caleb noted her impassive tone. "Do you have a minute? There's something I wanna show you."
Deja pulled on a sweater and swaddled Chloe before following him to the back of the cabin. He held open the door as Deja stepped outside, and her eyes widened in awe. Her gaze darted around the small, lively garden that was walled off with a tall white gate.
"I carved out a section to give you your own place to work," Caleb explained. "Figured if you're going to be here for a while, you should still be able to enjoy your passion."
Deja clutched Chloe tightly as she crouched beside a bush. "...thank you..."
Caleb kept his distance as he watched her inspect the plants. His desire to hold her was overwhelming as he forced his hands into his pockets. "If you need anything, just let me know," he said, turning to leave.
"I have a question," Deja said.
He turned to look at her. "Anything."
"Are you the reason why so many people in town are missing limbs?"
Caleb was not expecting that question. "Yes..."
Deja shakily exhaled. "...w-why?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to find the most palatable explanation. "I used to study epidemiology in college. The plasma in human blood is one of the richest nutrients for soil..."
Deja's eyes widened as it clicked. "You're using human flesh to fertilize plants..."
A small smile cracked Caleb's face at how quickly she caught on. "Every human is useful..."
Deja turned towards him, and his face fell at the look of horror on hers. "You're killing people, Caleb! Do you not understand how awful that is?"
" People are awful, Deja. Humans are destroying this planet from the moment they're born to the moment they take their last breath.
And when they're not destroying this planet, they're destroying each other," Caleb said irritably.
"Offering their bodies for the earth’s survival is the least they could do. "
It frightened Deja to hear how eerily similar Caleb's conviction was to the Donovans. "Killing is wrong, Caleb. It doesn't matter what you believe," Deja said.
"Is it?" Caleb asked. "How many animals are killed so that we can eat? How many trees were killed for you to read that book? Do we pick and choose which killings are moral and which are not?"
Deja exhaled sharply. She hated that he had a point. "I don't wanna argue about this."
Caleb raised his hands in surrender. "The last thing I want to do is argue with you."
Deja averted her gaze. "Can you just… give me some time alone?"
Twisting his mouth with regret, Caleb sighed. "Sure.”
Using her breast pump on the bed, Deja worked on her laptop, scrolling through the emails that crowded her inbox. She thought going back to what she loved would pull her out of her depression. Instead, it infuriated her.
Professor McIntosh had granted her full autonomy over the Underwater Forest. But without JP and Carmen, Deja found herself overwhelmed. Normally, Carmen maintained relationships with their site hosts. Deja was about to lose four in key locations.
JP checked for liabilities and safety risks. He would have caught on that an oil company was trying to buy one of the reservation sites she had partnered with. He would have also informed her of the recently passed bill pushing out the Indigenous tribes that resided there.
She groaned irritably, digging her fingers into her hair when the pump slipped, and milk spilled onto her laptop. "Fuck!" she blurted. She furiously wiped her laptop when the bedroom door swung open.
"Deja-"
" What?!”
Jax looked at Deja, startled by her outburst, as she angrily paced while trying to clean herself off. "...are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
"Having the time of my life," Deja said sarcastically as she threw the milk-soaked towel and fell back on the bed.
Jax approached her and analyzed the mess before grabbing the pump and her laptop. "I thought the point of 'maternity leave' was not to work..."
Deja looked at Jax, irritably. "I'm really, really not in the mood right now."