14. Rena #3
“He’s fine,” I replied, bracing my hands on the footboard. “Or pretending he is. He went to the bathroom and disappeared.”
“He’s a sneaky one.”
“How are you feeling, Suzie?” I asked. She’d been watching me with a small smile. “You look much better.”
She gave a little nod.
“They think her vocal cords might be paralyzed from the surgical trauma,” Zack said, his voice a little shaky as he kissed her temple. “We’ll wait and see, yeah? Could come back.”
She leaned up and brushed her lips across his jaw.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Nope,” Zack said, pointing at me. “You don’t apologize to us. Not ever.”
“What if I accidentally punch you?” I blurted. “Or back into your car or something?”
“You do that a lot?” he asked curiously, his lips twitching.
“Well, no.”
“Then you don’t need to apologize,” he said easily. “You came for us. Stopped up my bleeding when I could see it hurting you. Found Suz and brought her to me. Nothing to apologize for.”
“How about abandoning her mate?” a familiar voice called.
I turned to find Chance walking toward me in a pair of denim overalls and nothing else. He left one strap hanging so it wouldn’t rub against the wound in his shoulder.
“Are you a farmer now?” I asked, holding back a laugh.
“They’re the only thing Uncle Mordecai had that didn’t hurt like hell when I put them on,” he griped. His face lit up when he looked at the Vampire on the bed. “Walsh, you son of a bitch.”
“Good to see you, Chance,” Zack replied, grinning from ear to ear. “This is my mate, Suzie.”
“Nice to meet you, Suzie,” Chance said, putting his arm around my shoulders. “I see you’ve already met my mate.”
“Rena’s an angel.”
Chance laughed from deep in his belly.
“Hey,” I protested.
“She’s loyal as fuck,” Chance said, still smiling. “But she’s not an angel.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be recovering in bed?” I argued.
“Thank the Gods,” Chance said to Zack, ignoring me. “Right?”
“She’s gonna kill you,” Zack warned in amusement as I glared at Chance.
“It’s all right,” Chance replied. “I’ll probably enjoy it.”
Suzie’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.
“There’s something wrong with you,” I sputtered.
“And later, I’ll let you list them all,” Chance said offhandedly. “But right now, I’m visiting with my buddy Walsh. Do you mind?”
I gaped at him.
“Glad to see you haven’t changed,” Zack said ironically.
I nearly said something else, but I got a good look at Suzie and kept my mouth shut.
Her eyes were shining happily while she watched Zack chat with Chance.
I listened to them discuss things that I knew nothing about, and eventually realized that Chance had begun to lean more heavily on my shoulders.
I didn’t think he was even aware he was doing it.
I pulled away and looked around the room, finally finding a seat near the kitchen area that was unoccupied. I carried it over to the end of Zack’s bed and urged Chance into it. I didn’t expect him to tug me with him.
“You’re hurt,” I protested quietly. “I don’t mind standing.”
“It’s just the one side, love,” he replied, just as quietly. “Sit with me.”
I let him pull me onto his thigh and perched there carefully for a while before relaxing against his uninjured shoulder. The heat mellowed to the equivalent of a warm blanket as I listened to them visit.
“Where do you think you guys will land?” Chance asked.
“Not sure yet,” Zack replied. “My parents never stay in one place too long, and Suzie’s lived all over. We met on a train. She was going to Chicago, and I was just fucking around, letting the wind carry me.”
“That was an engine,” Chance said, like he was speaking to a child. “Not the wind.”
“Shut up.”
“Well, can I recommend Oregon?” he smiled. “You’ll have to deal with me, but the angel is part of the bargain too, so I figure it all evens out.”
“Maybe,” Zack said. “We’ll be here for a while yet, I think.” He glanced at Suzie. “But maybe we’ll head that way afterward.”
She nodded with a small smile.
“We’ll need to find her a doctor,” Zack said softly, still gazing into his mate’s eyes. “See what they can do about that voice.” He looked over at us. “Fucking shame about Alice. I saw her there, but I’d lost consciousness when it happened.”
“Yeah,” Chance said hoarsely. “Nothing you could’ve done.”
For a moment, I was right back in that warehouse, the sensation of running but not getting anywhere happening all over again. It was like living through a nightmare.
Eventually, Suzie fell asleep on Zack’s shoulder, so we quietly said our goodbyes.
Zack and Chance shook hands, holding it a little longer than necessary, and I knew they would’ve hugged if it were possible.
The two of them had a history that went back longer than I’d been alive.
I wondered how hard it was for people to quit the teams that they’d spent their lives with for so long.
“Look at you, walkin’ around like you weren’t tryin’ to die on us last night,” Chance’s friend, Cap, greeted as he met us walking back to the house.
“Yeah, yeah,” Chance replied, his fingers squeezing mine. “What are you still doing here? Thought you would’ve left last night.”
“Sully and Franco took off,” Cap replied. “But I figured I’d stay and help with the wounded. I’ve got time.”
“Has anyone reported that they’re having problems with Command yet?” Chance asked.
“No, but give it time,” Cap said, waving dismissively. “What can they do? Vampires serve on a volunteer basis. They start swingin’ their dicks around, and they’re gonna be lookin’ at a lot less volunteers than they’re used to.”
“Fair point,” Chance said dryly.
“I’ll let you two get goin’,” Cap said, stepping out of our way. “I’ll see you later, I’m sure.”
“I like him,” I said as we continued walking.
“Everyone likes Cap,” Chance replied. “He’s charming as hell, and he’s got that accent.”
I laughed.
Inside, people were milling around and visiting quietly.
I wondered vaguely how long we’d be in Montana as Chance led me over to a couch and sat down heavily.
It would probably be weeks, if not months, before the wounded could go anywhere.
Would the Bouchers stay that long? It wasn’t as if I could fly back alone.
For safety reasons, I hadn’t brought any identifying information when we’d left Oregon, and there was zero possibility that I’d go anywhere without Chance, anyway.
“I can’t believe you’re up walking around,” Danny said, falling onto the couch across from us. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry to tell you this, Danny boy,” Chance shot back. “But I just simply have a stronger constitution than you do.”
“Yeah, okay,” Danny replied in amusement, while Chance continued to talk.
“You’re delicate, like a flower. I’m mighty, like an oak tree.”
“You’re full of shit,” Danny said, unbothered.
“Where’s Rosemary?” I asked, glancing around the room.
“She never went to bed last night and finally fell asleep sitting at the table, so I carried her to bed,” Danny said with a small smile. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Now, there’s an oak tree,” Chance observed.
“Can’t argue with you there,” Danny mused. “She goes until she drops.”
“She literally lifted me up and carried me backward last night,” I told Chance, leaning against his side.
“She figured pulling you away from the situation was the safest bet,” Danny added. “Though Charlie had it handled.”
“Where is Charlie?” Chance asked. “I haven’t seen him today.”
“In bed,” Danny answered grimly. “Mom said to leave him be.”
Chance sat on the couch, holding court for a long time. His cousins, Josiah and Matthias, came over to hang out for a while. Beau and Ambrose too. Sven stopped by for a few minutes during dinner, then disappeared to be with Alice again. Erik hung out for a while.
Elgin and his sons came to say goodbye.
“Don’t get up,” Elgin ordered as they crossed the room. “We’re heading out and just wanted to see you before we go.”
“Thanks for coming,” Chance said sincerely. It was a stark change from the tone he’d been using for the past few hours with his family. “I appreciate it.”
“Came because you asked,” Elgin said gruffly. “Stayed because…” He paused. “Well, couldn’t go home and look my mate in the eye if I didn’t.”
“It wasn’t your fight.”
“And if you’d believed that all those years ago?” Elgin asked. “Wouldn’t have my Linette or the boys. Hope they turn me to ash before I ever look the other way.”
Chance nodded and looked at Jean and André. “You got out in one piece,” he said. “Must’ve handled yourselves well.”
“You’ve met our father,” André said with a grin. “We learned to follow directions well and early.”
I laughed quietly.
“Well, you kept up with trained operators,” Chance said. “So he must’ve done something right.”
“Don’t say that,” Jean joked. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Both of you cool it,” Elgin ordered, but his mouth was twitching. “Take care, Chance.”
“Send Linette my love,” Chance replied.
Elgin scowled. “Forget my number.”
“Already forgotten,” Chance practically cooed. “If I need you, I’ll just reach you through André.”
André flipped us off as he followed Elgin and his brother toward the door, making Chance chuckle.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” I mused, looking up at him. “You were having such a nice goodbye.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Chance only made it another hour before he grew quiet and tense, the pain he’d been ignoring becoming bad enough that he couldn’t hide it anymore.
“Do you think you can make it back to the bedroom?” I asked quietly.
“If I can’t, just leave me,” he said, groaning as he pushed up from the couch. “It’s been a good life.”
“You’re so dramatic.”