26. Echo
ECHO
“Take a ride with me…” I pushed open Oliver’s office door without hesitation, too caught up in my thoughts to pick up the sound of skin slapping skin before doing so.
Carmen screamed or moaned, but I was too busy laughing and shutting the door to differentiate.
“Glad to see you two holding strong,” I said through the door, trying to embarrass them more. “Bring y’all freak asses on, though. I want to check on Forever.”
The office door swung open not long after, with Carmen on the other side. She was tall like my baby, but about three shades lighter, and had flesh-colored freckles all over her face.
“What happened with Forever?” she asked, brow lifted as if I had no choice but to respond.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about her yet, but my brother clearly did. And out of respect for him, I decided to indulge.
“Her husband is a worrier and decided to pop up at her location,” Oliver said before I could get my shit off. “That’s what happened to Forever.”
Our middle fingers lifted at the same time, always in tune, no matter the reason.
“His words are true,” I said, looking down at the woman still waiting for my reply. “So, come take a ride with me in case my intuition and obsession for her are in sync.”
They were rarely disconnected when it came to Forever.
Everything she said to me before we split, played over in my head. I never forget a word out of her mouth for this very reason.
There’s always something to latch on to, like her mentioning hearing from everyone and not her mom while with me.
More than once, which meant it bothered her.
Now it was bothering me, too.
“Her location is in—”
“Not far from here,” I cut in, flicking my gaze in Carmen’s direction as we stepped out of Cannon towers. “Just follow my lead and take your own cars.”
She scoffed, and I chuckled while already moving toward my truck. I wasn’t the jealous type until my wife forgot me.
The need to make everybody understand that I knew her better than they did was too strong to ignore.
My problem with Carmen boiled down to her being there for Forever when I couldn’t, but now wasn’t the time for my bullshit.
You worry me, dragonfly.
I found it hard to focus whenever Forever mentioned being alone with her mother in the past.
That feeling hadn’t changed at all, though I was pleased she subconsciously remembered to give me her location when entering an unpredictable situation that wasn’t society-related.
She’d even left the door cracked, almost as if my arrival was to be expected. This wasn’t the first time I decided to pop up wherever she was, even without a verbal request.
With so much at stake, leaving Forever out of my sight for too long wasn’t an option anymore. I never knew what to expect but I wasn’t scared of shit standing in the way of reaching her.
“What did she mean?” she mumbled as I carried her into the living room.
She was already fighting to get out of my arms, like she hadn’t just fainted into these muthafuckers.
I’d only caught the tail end of her mother’s words, but even I was wondering what the fuck Quinn meant.
There were too many secrets at play, and I wasn’t fucking with that, especially if it meant hurting my baby.
I set Forever down on the couch, and she immediately tried to stand, but I pushed her back down and kneeled.
“How… did…” She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “…you get into the building?” she asked, fingers gripping my shoulder. “I smell Carmen’s perfume. Is she here?”
There wasn’t a secure building I couldn’t find my way inside of, especially in the neutral zone. However, Carmen had been the one to let us into the lobby with a universal key she made sure to mention was given to her.
Oliver had already stepped out to call Alyssa’s husband for an emergency home visit after watching Forever pass out in my arms.
It was rare for us to use him, but after the baby news earlier, I couldn’t allow his wife to be in the same room as mine right now.
“She’s facilitating Quinn’s care,” I whispered, taking her face into my hands. “Do you feel okay? I can tell she gave you something.”
Her eyes danced, moving across my face as if they were taking me in for the first time. She was here but not really, definitely high on something.
“I love how pretty you are,” Forever slurred, smiling slowly. “Would you still love me if I were a black cat?”
I pulled her forehead to my lips and pressed a kiss that gradually turned into a smile.
“She gave the good shit, huh, baby?”
This was the second time Quinn drugged Forever in an attempt to protect her during an episode; the first happened twenty years ago yesterday.
Forever was only eleven at the time when her ma dosed her with Ativan, while Eliel was away.
“Lex is going to wait at the compound to check her out,” Oliver said, making himself known. “I had Joel send a car for you two. It’s best you take Forever there until she comes down. Staying in the mix isn’t feeling like the move right now.”
I thought about his suggestion while stroking the back of Forever’s neck. She was beginning to fall asleep, and I wasn’t sure if I should let her.
“Everything is set for Quinn. He never notices when she goes missing, but I’ll call Eliel after you two leave with Forever,” Carmen said as she entered the room.
“We need to keep them away from one another until after the marriage alliance is dissolved. Also, I’m almost positive she gave her Ativan.
They have access to it, and she’s done this before. ”
I lifted Forever bridal style and turned.
“Not that you weren’t already aware,” she added, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips.
Oliver tugged her back as I walked Forever to the door. Both followed, staying close but maintaining enough distance to respect the bubble I’d created around us.
The driver already had the door open and was waiting for me. I laid Forever on the back seat and closed her inside.
“You good, brother?” Oliver asked, following me around to the other side.
The concern in his voice made me pause. Was I good? My wife had been drugged by her own mother, learned about our lost child, and still couldn’t remember most of our life together. I had no idea what the fuck I was.
“When I figure it out, I’ll let you know,” I told him, pulling the door open and sliding inside. “Check in after you finish here.”
He nodded and shut the door, while I adjusted Forever’s head against my leg.
The ride went longer than expected with traffic, and I watched her closely the entire way, looking for signs of distress or discomfort.
“Pretty dragonfly,” I murmured, stroking her cheek as the car pulled through the compound gates.
Her eyes fluttered, but she was barely able to get them open. I carried her from the car and into the on-site clinic, where Lex was already waiting.
“Put her on the exam bed,” he instructed, pulling on gloves. “Do you know what she was given?”
He was checking her vitals by the time I got the words out.
“Ativan, I think. Can’t be sure.”
Lex frowned.
“Her pulse is steady but slow. Respiratory rate is normal. She’s just heavily sedated.”
I followed his every move as he checked her pupils, then her blood pressure.
“Her blood pressure is a little low, but she’s going to be fine,” he said, looking over at me. “I’ll start an IV to help flush her system and draw blood for a tox screen, but otherwise, she just needs to sleep it off.”
I nodded and pulled the knit blanket at the end of the bed over her body before dropping down in the chair beside it.
“How long until she’s back to normal?” I asked, pulling the seat closer.
“Six to eight hours, depending on the dosage…” He hung the IV bag and cut his eyes at me. “Once the bag is empty, I’ll check her vitals again, and then you can take her back to your place until morning.”
He went to leave, but stopped as expected.
Lex had never been much of a talker unless it had to do with medicine or his wife.
“Alyssa wouldn’t go into detail about earlier,” he said, always careful not to overstep. “But I hope you and Forever won’t hold it against her long-term.”
The thing I loved most about Forever was her ability to remove her feelings from most matters. Her anger had nothing to do with Alyssa, and eventually she’d tell her that.
“Ain’t no hard feelings,” I told him, leaning back with my eyes closed. “Lyss only did what she thought was right.”
He didn’t reply, and after a while, I heard a door shut and knew he was in his office.
“You can’t keep doing this to me, my forever,” I whispered, knowing she was out for the count. “My heart can’t take it.”
The compound was safer than anywhere else right now, but still, I found myself texting Joel.
Double security on rounds.
My eyes eventually focused on Forever while she slept, counting the rise and fall of her chest like it might stop if I looked away. I dozed off at some point and woke to Lex’s movement around the room.
“IV’s done,” he said, once I sat up. “Her blood pressure is better, vitals are normal. Joel is waiting to drive you two to your place. I wouldn’t suggest carrying a sleeping woman no one’s met before across the compound, even this late at night.”
I’d kept Forever a secret from all of them and used my mother’s life as a reason to get closer to my wife again.
The minute we entered those gates, I opened us up to scrutiny from the family. Moving in secret tonight wouldn’t stop what tomorrow would bring.
“Where am I?” Forever mumbled as I carried her up the path leading to my front door.
“Home, baby. Go back to sleep.”
Joel jogged around us to open it with the master key.
“I’ll lock up,” he said, stepping back. “How should I handle the questions to come?”
I paused halfway across the threshold and adjusted Forever in my arms. The questions would come regardless of how I handled it from here.
“Spread the word, there’s a family meeting tomorrow night at six. I’ll bring her before then to be added to the system.”
I carried Forever upstairs, rested her gently on the bed, and undressed her. After she was down to her bra and panties, I tucked her beneath the blanket, stripped, and got in beside her.
Forever turned against me, and I wrapped her up in my arms from behind.
“Loving you is never going to be a problem for me,” I whispered against her hair, eyes shut even though I had no plans of actually sleeping. “Even if you were a black cat.”
But eventually listening to her breathe took me under until I woke the next afternoon to the feeling of being watched.
“How long you been staring at me, my forever?” I asked, opening my eyes to find Forever on her side, head propped in her hand, while those pretty dark eyes intensely studied me.
A slow smile spread across her face.
“Long enough to count every one of your eyelashes and wonder how I forgot a face this beautiful.”
I chuckled and rolled onto my back, but kept my head facing hers.
“How you feeling, baby?”
She shifted closer, rested against my chest, and whispered, “Like I’m coming down off Ativan. Is that what she gave me again?”
I hummed.
“Think so. I brought you to the compound, and Alyssa’s husband checked your vitals and gave you fluids before letting me bring you here.”
Forever pushed herself up and looked around like she hadn’t put that part of the story together yet, but I knew her well enough to know she’d snooped and then climbed back into bed and focused her attention on me.
“You know we can’t go backward now, right?”
She looked back expectantly, and I nodded.
“I can’t let you go, no matter how much they might not like me,” she added, kicking a leg over mine. “Do you understand? I don’t care about anything more than the feeling you give me.”
And that was all I needed to know.