Chapter 1 #2
I release a deep breath and attempt to keep myself calm.
My heart is racing, and my head is swirling with the havoc around us, but I can’t let it rattle me too much.
Stress certainly isn’t good for the baby, and Damien is so good at picking up my emotions, that I know I need to stay composed for both of them.
At this second, Satori is not a threat—Damien is right here where I can see and feel him, and as far as we know, no one directly related to us has been affected by this disaster.
Everything is okay. Everything is okay.
After a few moments, he still doesn’t move.
I reach into his pocket for him, grab his phone, and unlock it.
My chest warms as I see the picture of us as his lock screen once again, but unfortunately, I don’t have time to melt over it.
Now is the time to focus, and even though the glimpse of our perfect bubble is nice, I can’t get sidetracked.
I scroll down to Kade’s contact and call it, immediately putting it on speaker and holding it in front of Damien.
It rings a couple of times, each one having the same effect as the sirens from The Purge with the way it makes my stomach flip, but by the end of the third ring, he surprisingly picks up.
“I see Satori made it to your house,” Kade says and chuckles, but I can see that Damien is anything but amused. He grits his teeth, and the muscles in his neck tense up.
“Hang up the phone, baby,” Damien says warningly, and I do as he requests, deciding not to defy him or argue about it right now.
I’m sure he’s relieved to hear that he’s alive, but I can only assume that he’s also hurt.
He’s reached out to Kade for weeks now with no response—not a single word.
But then he wants to answer like nothing is wrong?
“Well, that was rude. No wonder you two haven’t spoken,” Satori jokes, and I cut my eyes at him, wondering why the hell he would think it’s a good idea to antagonize Damien right now. He has no idea of the bear he’s poking, and I know that even I can only restrain him for so long.
“Shut the fuck up and sit down.” Damien gestures towards the living room again, ushering Satori further into the house.
Carter finally looks up from his phone and tracks him through the space until he sits in one of the armchairs.
He flops down and leans back lazily, like he’s walking into his own home, and the entitled composure bothers me once again.
As if it upset him as well, Damien groans lowly and moves his hand to grasp mine, pulling me over to the sitting area with him.
We stand behind the furniture instead, in the space between the living and kitchen areas.
His grip on the gun remains firm, just as his grip on my hand, and he never takes his eyes off Satori.
“You can put that down now. I’m clearly not going to hurt you,” Satori teases, holding his hands up again in a mock surrender.
“What the fuck do you want, then?” Damien asks.
“As I said, I need your help.”
“What kind of help could you possibly want from us?”
“We’re in a bit of a bind, and our main base was blown to bits. When we heard you took care of Dust, we figured this was our best bet. I thought we could work with you while we get ourselves back together.”
“So instead of calling like a normal human being, you just show up to his house uninvited and bypass all of our security?” Carter asks.
“You can thank Kade for that,” Satori replies with a smartass tone.
“That’s not the point, and you know it,” I interject.
“Listen.” Satori leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “We didn’t have anywhere to go. You’ve made some serious improvements here, and we were short on time. I had to take my men somewhere. We were drowning.”
“So you fly them across the country to us?” Damien points out.
“Fly? No. Travel by vehicle? Yes, before we knew what we would be walking into. Now it seems like you might need our help as well.” He turns and points to the screen.
The TV continues to play the breaking news, and I can’t help but glance over at it.
Unfortunately, Satori is right. The entire city is affected by this attack, and DH’s numbers just aren’t big enough to handle it all.
Especially since we can’t come right out, claim that we’re Devil’s Hands, and get right to work.
We’ll probably have to approach this as ‘volunteer’ citizens and work from behind the scenes like always.
The police, while now more trustworthy than ever, still have limited numbers, and half of them have proven that they’re not capable of handling extreme events like this.
I’m sure by now, the National Guard has been called in, but even then, how will they get here in time?
How will they get all the supplies the people will need?
We need to get as ahead of this as possible, and that might mean breaking some laws.
Something the police and National Guard aren’t willing to do.
“We have protocols, and I need to talk to my men. You’re not getting an answer now,” Damien states, and my chest swells with pride. I know a few months ago he would’ve done anything Sahara asked of him to be able to work together, but now he’s standing tall and confident in his abilities.
“At least let me provide you with information. Let me show you what we have to offer.” Satori pushes again, and I can feel Damien’s grip on my hand tighten even more. I squeeze back ever so lightly, just as a small reminder for him to keep it together.
“You’re starting to piss me off, Satori,” he seethes.
My phone buzzes once again, and I subtly take it out, only because I’m worried to see what it says. I look down to see another message from Serena, and my blood instantly turns to ice.
They just brought Tay in on a stretcher and Zeke is freaking out! Get over here NOW!
“Baby?” I hold my phone up in front of his face and show him the message.
He looks over, and almost unnoticeably, and his eyes widen with concern.
We don’t have time for this back and forth, and something needs to be done.
“If we’re opening the Attic up to our families, just get Alex to handle Sahara until we can get there.
They can’t get anywhere important without access, and they don’t have it. ”
He immediately nods and lowers the gun, putting it back behind him and wrapping his arm around me again. I lean into him as he pushes us into momentum, clearly ready to prove his point.
“Get the fuck out,” Damien tells Satori as he starts leading me towards the garage door.
“Where are you going?” Satori stands abruptly and holds his arms out, like him and his concerns should be the most of our worries.
“My men are in trouble, the city is in distress, and as I said, we don’t have time for this.
Get the fuck out. Go back to wherever it is you came from, and I’ll be in contact.
” Damien opens the garage door and ushers me through, just before turning back to look at Satori.
“I waited months. You can wait a day. Get out of our house and don’t ever show back up uninvited again. ”
Damien stands by the door, with a firm grip on the wood, as he waits for Satori to leave. I look back through the archway to see Satori’s pissed-off expression, but he gives in after a few moments—striding angrily towards the door and practically stomping through it like a child.
As he passes by me, we momentarily lock gazes.
For once, I can’t get a read on his expression.
It’s something intense between saddened and angry, like my existence in this moment is unnecessary, and I’m something he’s going to have to get used to.
I brush it off, knowing that this is a stressful situation for everyone, but Damien isn’t so easily dismissive.
And he notices the look.
He steps forward angrily, attempting to move past me and say something, but I grab his hand again.
I can feel the tension leaving his body the moment I touch him, and his face softens as he turns around to face me.
My eyes meet his, and we almost immediately reach a silent understanding to keep moving.
There are a thousand emotions flying behind those blue, kaleidoscope eyes, but I don’t miss the way they brighten when his pupils dilate.
Carter files in after us, gripping Damien on the shoulder before moving in front of him.
Damien turns back to join him, keeping his hold on my hand, and they both watch as Satori walks out of the garage door and storms down the long driveway.
With every step he takes, and every inch farther away, the air feels less heavy—like something paranormal follows Satori’s shadow, and we just laid witness to it.
Once he’s gone from view, Damien moves to help me into the front seat, while Carter continues to track him through the windows above the large metal doors.
I don’t need help anymore, but I think it makes him feel a little better, and now that Satori is gone, I can feel the energy around us change.
The atmosphere before was thick, like two pack leaders were about to fight for dominance.
It’s fading away gently, though, and Damien’s usual softness is settling in.
He lays his hand over the soft swell of my stomach and stares at me with such worry it makes my heart twist.
“Before we go, I need to know that you’re okay, and that you can handle this,” he inquires softly, but with absolution—like all I have to say is ‘no’ and we would stay here.
As sweet and amazing as that is, Zeke and Tay need us, and as much as I would like to go back to the same bubble we’ve lived in for the past month…
We can’t.
“Yeah. I’m okay, baby. Let’s go.” I kiss his cheek and sit back as he buckles my seatbelt.
Once he shuts my door, it’s not even a full second before he’s in the driver’s seat, ready to pull out, and he’s back into his commando mode.
Carter quickly hops into the back seat, already back on his phone as well.
“Carter, call Alex and tell him we’re headed to the hospital. Make sure he intakes everyone who comes to the Attic. I don’t want any more surprises today.”
“You got it, D.”