Chapter 3
“I’m sorry we had to reschedule your studio time,” Lincoln frowned, nuzzling my neck before kissing the spot behind my ear.
I shook my head and grinned at him. “I’m slightly disappointed, but honestly, I’m excited for my first mission since I’ve been back.”
We had just landed in Mexico that morning, before the sun had even risen.
Through Ethan’s connections, we were able to enter the resort in the dark of night.
My sleep was restless on the plane, and I wasn’t able to take a nap before things were supposed to kick off.
Instead, I felt more energized than I had since I became pregnant.
“You sure you want to participate today?” Jaxson frowned, slipping on a pair of scrubs.
Jaxson was tasked with “working” at the spa that day, along with Kurt and Arianna. Arianna would work the desk and lead Annika and Sylvie back to the room, where Kurt and Jaxson would be waiting as their masseuses. When Kurt introduced them, he would put them to sleep.
Arianna would then open the back entrance that led to the rear parking lot, where Drake, Miranda, Ben, and Victoria would drive them to the airfield.
Meanwhile, Remy, Kade, Bentley, Gavin, and Mercedes would be procuring the two females they planned to use to replace Annika and Sylvie.
Jace, Noah, Troy, Lincoln, Micah, Shiloh, and I were tasked with securing the airfield.
If all went well, I wouldn’t even have to use my gifts that day.
We weren’t the only ones tasked with retrieving our marks today.
We also had five other teams dispatched to grab five other people on our “hit list.” God willing, after today, we would have dealt a hit to Horatio’s operations, and he would be none the wiser for at least four days, when all of them were scheduled to have a face-to-face meeting with him.
“She’ll be safe,” Troy said with assurance as he helped me pull my hair out from under my protective suit.
I took a deep breath in and out, testing the fit of my suit.
I had to give it to one of the other communities for creating our new protective suits.
The material was fitted to our skin, but it was stretchy enough, especially over my bump, not to make it uncomfortable.
The suit was created to protect our covered skin from a variety of gifts.
They had rolled them out in advance and had shielded our people in a variety of situations.
“Do we have, like, ten minutes?” Noah asked, his eyes hot as he bit his bottom lip, perusing me from head to toe.
I felt warmth gather low in my belly, but rolled my eyes and laughed.
Jace, ever the taskmaster, reminded us, “I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”
I walked over to the vanity and pulled my straightened hair back into a tight, high ponytail. I had to admit, I felt sexy, baby bump and all.
“What do you think the likelihood is of us staying for a few extra days?” Jaxson asked, looking out the windows of our suite.
Once the sun came up, I finally got to see the surrounding area of the resort.
I had to admit, I was impressed. It was the first time I had ever left the United States, and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy it at all.
The resort sat on a beach and had no fewer than three inground pools.
There were seven restaurants to choose from, and so many other amenities that I wished we could enjoy.
It was just one more place we would have to come back to in the future.
“I wish,” Noah grumbled, sliding on his suit.
I paused, fixing my hair in the mirror, and felt the saliva pool in my mouth. Most of my men were in various stages of undress, and I wished I had more time to play with them. It was totally unfair to be this horny and have no release in sight. Being an adult with responsibilities sucked at times.
“You guys are making your mama a hungry beast.” Troy’s voice rumbled next to my belly, making me start.
I glared down at him as he looked up at me through his long, thick lashes.
He gave me a wicked smile while caressing my belly.
“And I’m not talking about a hunger for food.
Not that I’m complaining about it, or that you need to know anything about that until you’re at least thirty, baby girl, and little man maybe eighteen. ”
I made a loud scoffing noise at his antiquated, sexist belief, just as one of the babies decided to kick out, and the other treated my bladder like a drum. Troy nearly fell onto his butt, eyes wide. “Was that them?” he asked in awe.
I grinned, my face nearly aching from the effort. I had been waiting for the moment when they could feel them moving. “It is. One of them is bouncing on my bladder, and the other one kicked at your words. I’m thinking it’s your daughter.”
“No way!” Jaxson exclaimed. “You felt them move?”
Soon he was kneeling beside me, while the others drew closer. Jaxson placed his hand on my belly next to Troy’s.
“Hey, baby girl and boy!” Jaxson crooned.
He frowned when nothing happened. “Your daddy’s talking to you,” I hummed, pressing down on my belly in different spots, hoping they would move again.
“Ciao, figlia. Ciao, figlio,” Troy murmured in Italian.
I nearly growled at how sexy he sounded, but I couldn’t fully soak in the sexiness as the babies moved again. Jaxson let out a startled yip and grinned.
“Let us feel,” Remy demanded.
He tried to talk to them too, but they were resting.
The others attempted to get them to move as well, but it took Troy or Drake speaking to them to make them stir.
I think it disappointed a few of them for a split second, but the joy of finally feeling the babies move overshadowed that.
I was ecstatic that they all finally got to feel them.
Only a light knock on the door reminded us that reality was waiting just on the other side.
η
“Kind of makes you realize how spoiled Americans really are,” I sighed, looking at the shanties we were passing.
I had seen chicken coops that were nicer than some of the “homes” we had passed.
Most of the houses seemed to be made of skids, mud, and rusted corrugated metal sheeting.
I thought I had it tough growing up in my antique trailer, with its disgusting shag carpeting and walls so thin that every noise could be heard.
Even in those horrid conditions, I hadn’t ever experienced this kind of poverty.
It went beyond horrible. It was heart-wrenching, in all actuality.
I frowned and absently caressed my belly, thankful that my babies would never experience this level of destitution.
A group of children with questionable hygiene ran barefoot in the streets, playing a game of soccer, well, football, since we were in Mexico.
Various mutts roamed the streets, while women hung up their clothing on crude-looking lines.
Ironically, the thing that struck me most was that they didn’t seem miserable in the least. It was as if the trappings of their lives didn’t affect them as much as they could have.
“It’s one thing to see it on television, but something entirely different when experiencing it in real life,” Jace agreed, picking up my hand and kissing the back of it.
“It reminds me of some of the tent cities I lived in when I was on the streets,” Micah off-handedly commented.
I tried not to react to his statement. Once upon a time, it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about his early childhood. I knew therapy was helping him open up about his past. I felt like it was a major step forward for him to talk about it, especially in front of his connected.
“You lived on the streets?” Shiloh frowned.
My first reaction to Shiloh was favorable. Like Micah, she was in ninth grade. She was bright and super sweet. She had lost both of her parents in a freak accident years ago, but luckily her aunt and uncle took her in and raised her with her older male cousin and younger female cousin.
The whole family was considered exceptionally strong and had become people of interest to Horatio when Chris Probst, Shiloh’s older cousin, was involved in a workplace accident that should have killed him.
The news outlets discovered the “miracle” before anything could be done to conceal the event.
His parents had always known he was invulnerable and had feared drawing attention to themselves. Unfortunately, they had.
They began making plans to protect Shiloh, Chris, and Regina, the youngest Probst minor, when Ethan approached them. He convinced them to shelter the children until our war was won. Here’s to praying we were on the winning side so people could finally return to their lives.
“My mom abandoned me, and my father wasn’t the greatest man.
I found a family on the streets. In fact, one day I would love to pay them back.
I’ve been reading about these tiny homes.
They’re the size of mini sheds, large enough for a bed and maybe a dresser.
With solar power, they can have heated or air-conditioned areas where people can safely return every night. ”
Noah half-turned in the front seat. “We can build a central area where the community can donate food for hot meals. We can find people willing to volunteer their time who specialize in placing others in jobs that align with their strengths. Or maybe we can offer different workshops to teach new skills. We could also bring in professionals who handle mental health or medical issues and give them a full assessment.”
Micah perked up. “Really?”
I couldn’t help but notice how Shiloh was beaming up at him. I still felt new at this whole connection thing, but there was no denying that Shiloh was already smitten with my brother. He seemed to reciprocate her feelings too. He hadn’t left her side since lunchtime today.
“Really,” Jace answered him. “And we have the perfect location for your first project. Let us do some research, and we can start working on it.”