Chapter 13
Having his mate and child in his home was a wonderful feeling for Hank.
He had never really had a chance to show off all the features he had been building into the structure over the past couple of years.
Mark knew, of course, because Shelly was part of all the design work.
She made sure that everyone who was building on the island had proper plans and triple checked calculations to make sure everything was done safely.
Other members of the Clan had specialized in engineering. Many worked side by side with Shelly, providing their expertise. There was more than one tunnel specialist because so many of the more resourceful Clan members had decided to excavate into the side of the caldera for their dens.
Hank, though, had probably taken it to the greatest extreme.
He’d bored straight through the mountain, from the inner curve of the caldera to the outer mountainside.
It wasn’t something Mark encouraged many of his people to do, but if they followed specific guidelines, it was permissible in certain cases.
Hank was interested to find out what Tracy would think of his escape hatch.
“This is really impressive,” she said, walking into the wide hallway that led to the inner rooms of his home.
“We took advantage of the natural structure as much as we could,” he told her, leading the way. “It’s still a work in progress,” he said, opening a door to expose an empty section that didn’t even have walls yet. “I put priority on my private quarters, office and the hatch.”
“The what?” Tracy sounded intrigued.
“I’ll show you, but maybe we should put Emma down first. I do have a spare room that we can make comfortable and safe for her,” he assured her.
Emma was tired. All the excitement of the day had finally caught up with her, and Hank saw every indication that, once put to bed, the child would sleep for hours.
Tracy nodded, and Hank led the way to the spare bedroom.
It wasn’t right next to his bedroom, but it was close enough, and he was already thinking about the surveillance gear in his office that he could repurpose to use as a baby monitor.
He knew he had an infrared camera with a motion sensor and mic pickup.
That should suffice. He could rig it to his bedside monitors overnight, and they could keep tabs on Emma.
They’d hear any sounds she made and be able to hear and see immediately if she made a move or had a bad dream.
It would only take a few minutes to set up.
He escorted them to the spare room, opening the door and taking note of the duffel full of weapons he’d have to remove.
He threw gear in here on occasion, but nothing other than the weapons satchel would pose a threat to Emma.
There was a bed along one wall. It had originally been Hank’s, but he had opted for a larger size when he built his bedroom.
He’d kept the old furniture, knowing he had a lot of space to fill in his lair.
He’d kept it but had never had a guest here before, so it hadn’t been used since he’d moved in.
The room was clean though. He liked a tidy home and had a robot vacuum that made the rounds once a week whether he was here or not.
He’d rigged it to self-empty into a waste chute he’d specially designed, so it never needed supervision.
“I’ve got bedding in this closet, and there’s a bathroom through that door,” he told Tracy, already opening the closet and taking out a set of clean white sheets, blankets and pillows. They’d make a little nest for Emma, and she’d be safe.
Tracy might possibly be thinking about sharing the room with their daughter. The bed was big enough for both of them. But Hank would be doing everything in his power to convince her to sleep in his bed. His new bed. With him. She just didn’t know it yet.
Hank and Tracy worked well together as they tackled the tasks at hand.
Tracy took Emma into the bathroom to wash up while Hank made the bed and quickly removed the weapons.
He deposited them into his private office, grabbing the camera and being sure to lock the door behind him.
If Emma did manage to wander around the house at some point unsupervised, he didn’t want her getting into the weapons or his security equipment.
He’d installed the camera before Emma and Tracy came out of the bathroom.
Then, it was time for sleepy hugs and baby kisses as they tucked their daughter into the improvised nest they’d created.
Between one minute and the next, Emma had fallen into that deep sleep that he’d seen in other children of his species.
Hank and Tracy tiptoed out of the room and closed the door. He led her down the hall toward the hatch, wanting her to know everything about the place. So few people had been back here, he wanted to see her reaction.
“This is what I call my escape hatch,” he said, entering a special code into a mechanical lock at the far end of the hall. It clicked, and he opened the door. Lights came on automatically and Tracy gasped when she saw what was inside.
“How in the world did you get that in here?” She stepped inside, motioning toward the small sea plane that had pride of place in the center of a large chamber that was essentially an airplane hangar.
“We have to winch it up after every use, but it’s proven itself useful. I can launch from here, dropping down into the water, then motor out a ways before I take off. Mark’s had me do it a few times when the island was under too much surveillance.”
“I thought nobody came to the island without an invitation,” Tracy said, tracing one hand along the body of the small plane.
“They don’t, but Mark is a celebrity in both the human and shifter worlds.
Especially in the early days, right after news of his purchase of the island hit the papers, we had a lot of unwanted attention from the paparazzi.
They were circling the island in boats, helicopters, small planes, and even drones.
It was a total pain in the ass for a while there, until we started fighting back. ”
“Fighting back?” Tracy looked at him sharply.
“Well, those drones are expensive and pretty easy to shoot down. Once Mark declared open season on them, we all got in a lot of target practice. It was kind of fun, actually,” he mused with a grin.
“The manned aircraft they buzzed us with stopped coming so close once they realized a lot of us crazy pilots would play chicken with them in the sky. And the island itself is defense against most watercraft. There’s really only the one place to dock.
Everywhere else is just too dangerous, filled with sharp rocks and other hazards—some of which, of course, we put there ourselves. ”
“Clever,” she said softly, moving toward the front of the plane, which was facing outward toward the outside of the mountain. “So, you’ve got a retractable door here, like in some kind of superhero movie?”
“Yep,” he told her, moving alongside and grinning as he looked at the giant door he’d helped install.
“I figured if we were going to live inside a dormant volcano, we might as well go all the way.” She shook her head, but she was smiling.
“The doorway is carefully camouflaged from the outside. When we open it, we douse all the lights and roll the plane out. There’s a gentle slope and then a sharp drop-off into the water.
It’s a hell of a ride, and gravity does all the work.
We calculated the best spot to put this so that the prevailing winds and tides would carry the seaplane away from the island about ninety percent of the time, without having to engage the engines. This is a stealthy getaway special.”
“Ingenious,” Tracy murmured.
“I’ve got another surprise for you,” Hank told her, bringing up the secure feed from the camera he’d put in Emma’s room on his phone.
He tilted it, so Tracy could see, then hit the sound icon that let them both hear their daughter’s delicate breathing.
“She’s safe, and we can see and hear if she needs us. ”
“Do you have cameras all over?” Tracy sent a doubtful look around the large hangar.
Hank chuckled, pocketing his phone after one last glance at their sleeping baby.
“No. I had that camera in my office, in a pile of components. I hooked it up just before you and Emma came out of the bathroom. I figured it would lend you some peace of mind should you decide to sleep…and maybe do other things…” he gave her a daring grin, one eyebrow raised, “…elsewhere.”
“Just what sort of other things did you have in mind?” Playful. Interested. Hot. All good signs from his potential mate.
He tilted his head to one side, feeling mischievous. “Oh, a little of this, a little of that.”
“Tell you what.” She turned, putting both palms on his shoulders and stepping close. “Why don’t we get on with the tour? I still haven’t seen your bedroom.” The invitation in her voice made his excitement level rise…among other things, as she sauntered away from him back toward the door.
He wasted no time closing and locking the door to the hangar behind them. He led her back down the hall, pointing to the door to his office, but not stopping, then opening the door to his bedroom with a flourish. He let her precede him inside, wondering what she’d think.
Tracy was enchanted by the large bedroom suite.
She could see this was definitely Hank’s inner sanctum, because it was decorated in a way that differed slightly from the rest of the house.
Here, he seemed to have collected fabrics and mementos from his trips all around the world.
There were hints of such things in other parts of the house.
She’d noticed tribal drums displayed in the living room and colorful Italian glass on the open shelving in the kitchen, but this was more personal.
“You certainly are well traveled,” she mused, walking slowly into the room.