Chapter Twenty
The lights still flashed outside the office building, but Cato had grown accustomed to them now. It had been several hours since they had escaped the destroyed ballroom, but it felt like no time at all. Over and over, the scene played in his head.
Alair was gone. The kind man who had been like a brother to him had behaved exactly like his true nature: selflessly.
It had nearly killed Cato to see Nikon as he sat there in the grass with Leah, both of their hearts broken by the same loss.
Cato now sat on the couch in Titus’s office with Wendy pressed against his side and squeezing his arm if he moved at all. She hadn’t spoken more than a few words since they had gotten out.
“I should have evacuated the second you mentioned the bomb threat,” Colonel Hall said. “How many dead?”
Titus sighed. “Three hybrids and five soldiers.”
The colonel nodded to Titus. “It would have been more if it weren’t for your men.”
Cato raised a brow. He wasn’t expecting that considering how things had been since the military had stepped in.
“You could have just worried about your people, but I saw true bravery today,” she said quietly. “Your men chose to protect my people at their own risk. This goes against all the reports that have landed on my desk.”
Titus nodded. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “I think there are some that want to see us used for other purposes.”
Colonel Hall leaned against the desk.
“You said this was our government,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “If my government, even if it’s just a faction, has turned against me, I’d like to know.”
Titus nodded. “We don’t have solid proof, but we have a lot of evidence that leads us to believe that might be the case.”
“Unfortunately, without proof, that makes it hard to start a case,” she said. “How many families are here now? Children?”
Titus glanced over to Cato. He wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. “About a dozen families and over a dozen children.”
She sighed loudly. “I never thought I’d see the day when my government would bomb our own country. I swore to defend the people of this country from enemies both foreign and domestic.” She glanced between the hybrids in the room. “Take them and go. Get out of here before these bastards try something again. I’m not going to party to the murder of families. At least we can get them out of here until we get this situation under control.”
“And if you don’t?” Titus said.
“Then maybe everyone will just have to… evacuate and get lost along the way. For now though, families and children.”
Wendy stiffened next to Cato and stood. “Ma’am? What about orders?”
The colonel smiled at her. “This is a war zone. We weren’t told what we were walking into. I can’t guarantee their safety here.” She slammed a fist on the desk. “I’m not going to stay here as some bastard hiding in some office in DC hires some crazies to bomb us.” Her eyes widened. “They killed innocent people, and they killed men under my command!” She took a deep breath. “I was told to protect the hybrids, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Even if that means letting them leave.”
Cato stood next to Wendy. “This is my home,” he said firmly.
The colonel raised a brow. “Your home is a dangerous place. If they are willing to go this far, who knows what they’ll try next time?”
Cato shrugged and looked over to the woman standing next to him. “This is where I belong.”
The colonel glanced over at Titus. He nodded at Cato.
“You’ve got a place to go I presume,” she said to Titus. “I know you have something up your sleeve.”
Titus laughed. “They said you were smart.”
The colonel gave him a genuine smile. “A good leader always has a backup plan and a way to extract the troops.” She eyed him. “One of the hybrids that helped tonight was named Lucan.”
Titus quirked a brow. “Yes?”
“I recognized the name. He’s supposed to be dead.”
“Sometimes it’s good to have resources no one knows about.”
The colonel nodded. “You’re even sneakier than I thought, good thing sometimes in a leader. I want to do what I can to help you. I’d like to help you all leave, but there’s no way I can manage it with the current situation.”
Titus nodded. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “We’ll take the families and children for now. This is no place for any of them.”
“You should go tonight before we’ve got every agency crawling up our ass,” she said. “Sergeant, I’d like a word.”
Wendy looked up into his eyes and then gave a small squeeze before following the colonel out.
“She’s a good woman,” Titus said.
Cato turned and nodded. He wasn’t sure which woman he was talking about, but the description fit both.
“You weren’t wrong,” Titus said and sat down on the chair. “This is our home. There are many others who want to stay and fight with you. To help pave a world where human and hybrid can live in peace.”
Cato was slightly surprised. He hadn’t realized that there were others that felt the same way.
“And I’m never going to ask a hybrid to leave his Vestal,” Titus said. “You can be happy with her and still help our people.”
Cato nodded and then thought back to the initial warning. Their enemy was always one step ahead of them. “Jill Hope wasn’t clear about who was involved.”
“She has an anonymous tipster who definitely said the government was involved, but that it might not be Senator Woods.”
“Huh.”
“That changes nothing for now. You’ll do your part here, and the families and children will move to the new facility.”
Cato nodded
“I’m going with my family,” Titus said. “They need me at the new facility.”
It made sense, but he still couldn’t help but be surprised by it. “Who will be the leader then?”
Titus smiled at him, and he could see just how tired he was. “You.”
Panic rose up in his chest. “Me? What the hell do I know about being a leader?”
Titus chuckled. “You know more than I did coming into the title.” He stood and clapped Cato on the shoulders. “You are a leader,” he said. “It’s in your very blood. It’s why you spend so much of your time alone and why you question every more that is made. You were made to do this job.”
Had this been his plan all along?
“Wendy…”
Titus nodded. “A strong leader needs a strong woman,” he said. “She is exactly that.”
He felt it as well. The strength that Wendy brought about in him.
“Thank you, sir,” he said quietly.
Titus smiled. “Have faith in yourself. I do.”
* * *
Wendy stood outside taking in deep breaths as she stared at the red lights flashing down the road. It seemed so surreal.
A heavy arm wrapped around her, and she knew without even looking that it was Cato. Just having him near her brought a comfort.
She’d feared he would leave with the others. Hearing him say he would stay gave her the emotional strength she needed to continue.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
Wendy turned to look at him in the night. “No,” she whispered.
He nodded. “He was a good man,” Cato said.
She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. His arm tightened around her.
“What did the colonel have to say?” he asked.
Wendy turned her head towards his. Their faces were much closer together now. “That she was wrong. Life is short and to live every day that way.”
Cato leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and comforting. She could feel the strength from it reach into her very soul and pull her back from the darkness there.
When he pulled away, she continued to stare up at him. “So what now?”
He placed his forehead against hers and breathed in deeply. “We stay,” he said. “We protect the people we care about, and we make a life.”
Wendy turned and wrapped her arms around him. “I thought you had died,” she whispered. “I thought you had died, and that I’d never get to tell you how much I love you.”
Cato pulled her in even closer. His mouth against her ear.
“My life was darkness without you,” he whispered. “You are my heart. I love you, now and forever.”
Wendy kissed him again with all the love she felt in her heart. They would stay, and they would live the life that others weren’t able to. They would create a new path in life, and they would spend their days sharing the love they had for one another. From now until forever.