6. Chapter 6 #2
I knew it wasn’t. “Viggo’s residual energy led me right to it. I think this is related to what he and my dad were working on.”
Conall went still. “Are you saying the missing ranger and Eli knew each other?”
I leaned forward. “Yes. Gunnar, where’s the journal I gave you?”
He pulled it out of his jacket. I laid it on the table and showed them what I’d found. “I haven’t read it all, thanks to Langston, but something was happening at Rocky Mountain National Park when Dad went missing, and now I think it’s happening here too.”
Ash folded his arms. “Yellowstone is over two million acres.”
Gunnar nodded. “We gotta narrow it down then. Tomorrow, let’s go to Afton and visit that diner to see if anyone knows where the other half of this receipt is.”
Conall looked at Gunnar. “You stick out, and people may not talk to you.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Gunnar grumbled. “I don’t understand why people don’t like talking to me. I’m perfectly pleasant, damn it.”
“I can’t imagine,” I murmured.
He raised his shaggy caterpillar eyebrows at me. “You bein’ a smartass?”
“A little. Viggo’s cabin isn’t far from Afton. Maybe they know him.”
Gunnar watched me. “You need to be careful, Blackthorne. You’ve got some scary bastards after you. Marlowe, Apex, and whoever took Viggo.”
“Don’t forget the FBCI. And with my luck, the IRS is probably after me too.”
“It’s not funny.” He took a swig of his soda, the can looking tiny in his huge hand.
“It’s a little funny,” I muttered.
Conall shook his head at us as Gunnar let out a tired belch. I stared down at the ripped receipt and old journal on the table. They were our only leads to Viggo’s disappearance.
An hour later, Freda and Bennion returned with groceries. Conall nodded at his Betas. “Thanks for doing a food run. Beau offered Riley and me a cabin just up the path.”
Bennion nodded. “I’ll take the first watch.”
Twenty minutes later, as Conall and I walked to the smaller cabin, I silently assessed the daily toll the implant exacted. It had become a ritual I allowed myself once a day. My Resonance and analytical thinking were sharpening, while my emotions were slowly fading.
“You’re getting quieter,” Conall observed, his large hand warming mine. “What’s happening inside that brilliant mind of yours?”
I considered giving him a safe, vague answer, but he deserved the truth. “It’s spreading. My abilities are sharpening, but the implant is slowly numbing everything else.”
He squeezed my hand. “Drew is doing some research. We’ll figure this out,” he vowed. But we both knew time was running out.
The small cabin glowed softly in the moonlight. It had a covered porch and windows overlooking a meadow. Inside, the cozy space had a stone fireplace and rustic furnishings.
We put our bags away, and I moved to the side of the bed, looking down at the patchwork quilt.
“I’m sorry.”
He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my chest. “Don’t apologize for what was done to you.” Maybe I was apologizing. Or maybe I was acknowledging that if nothing changed, the implant would eventually extinguish our bond, like a harsh wind blowing out a sputtering candle.
Conall’s phone rang, and he checked his screen. “It’s Sawyer. I need to take this.”
“Put him on speaker,” I requested.
Sawyer didn’t waste time. “How is she?”
We sat on the edge of the bed, and Conall stared at me. “She’s here, and you’re on speaker. We’re dealing with it.”
“Freda filled me in about Langston. He’s somehow connected to ApGen, and now he’s showing up there. There’s got to be a connection.”
Conall’s jaw tightened. “He came for her personally. This wasn’t a standard debriefing. He was looking for information about the facility in Roswell, and probably wanted to get his hands on her implant. He brought Hayden and Hunter with him.”
“His fucking orcs? I thought they were in federal prison after that bloodbath in Louisiana.”
“So did I,” Conall growled.
“We need to keep tabs on Langston. He’s too interested in Roswell and Austin, and he targeted an Alpha Mate. The Council would support us taking him out.”
“I want to know who he’s connected to first, and what he knows,” Conall replied.
“Let me come up with a plan. You have your hands full.”
“Thank you. Riley has to go in for an official interview and physical exam.”
They continued discussing logistics as I listened with analytical detachment.
They were planning an execution, but I didn’t feel any moral qualms or emotional reaction.
Six months ago, this conversation would have horrified me.
Now, it mildly disturbed me, while I intellectually agreed it made tactical sense.
When he hung up, Conall turned to me. I sat with my arms wrapped around my waist, trying to keep warm.
He pulled me to my feet. “Come on. I know how to get you warm.”
I followed him to the bathroom, where he turned on the taps to the clawfoot tub, steam quickly filling the small space. He added something from a small bottle on the shelf—bath salts that smelled like cedar and sage.
“Do you want me to undress you?” I stared at him, and a different kind of heat unfurled inside me.
“I can do it.” I held his gaze as I slowly stripped off my jacket and pants, then my shirt. He watched as I unhooked my bra and slid my panties down my legs, his eyes growing lazy as he took me in.
He undressed and ran his hands down my arms to lace our fingers, then leaned in and murmured in my ear. “Get in, and I’ll wash you.”
I stepped into the tub, and he slid in behind me, his chest warm against my back. For the first time in forever, heat penetrated my entire body. The water enveloped us, and I relaxed against him, feeling his hard length against my back.
“Better?” he murmured.
Pleasure flickered. “So much better. You’re warm, and you feel so good.”
His hands slid over my shoulders, down my arms, then around to cup my breasts. Not demanding, just connecting us. “You’re still in there. Your body responds, even if your emotions are muted.”
I leaned back against him, my head resting on his shoulder. “I’m scared.” Fear occasionally broke through the numbness.
“I know.” His lips brushed my temple. “We’ll figure it out.”
His hands moved lower, skimming my stomach, then between my thighs. My breathing sped up, the sensations sharp and clear in a way nothing else had been for days. He continued his erotic exploration, his touch slow and languid.
Eventually, I turned in his arms, water sloshing over the edge, and straddled his hips. Our lips met in a slow, wet kiss that made the bond flare and lazy energy swirl around us. His hands gripped my waist as I sank down onto him, exhaling at the connection.
We moved together slowly, our bodies remembering what my mind struggled to feel. The water lapped around us, steam clouding the air as I rocked against him. Each movement sent tiny fractures through the ice inside me, giving me glimpses of emotion. Tenderness, desire, fear of loss.
“I’m here,” he murmured against my lips. “Stay with me.”
I pressed my forehead to his, our breaths mingling as the tension built.
When he caressed my center, then leaned in and sucked and bit my nipples, I arched into his mouth as an orgasm rolled through me.
He held me and thrust up into me, water sloshing over the tub.
His fingers squeezed my hips as he came deep inside, and I welcomed the bite of pain.
Afterward, I slumped against him in the cooling water, his arms around me as if he could physically hold me together. When the warmth started to recede, a sob hit me.
“I’m losing myself,” I whispered into the quiet. “And I don’t know how to stop it.”
His arms tightened, and he kissed my shoulder. “We’ll find a way.”
An owl hooted as a breeze rustled the pines. And sorrow seeped through our bond.