Tia

“You did what?” Across the breakfast table, I stare at Huxley and Banks in shock.

“You don’t have to worry about anyone coming after you anymore,” Hux says. “All of your files are deleted. Your identity has been wiped clean like you never existed.”

“That’s not possible,” I whisper.

“It is.” Hux’s expression is resolute. “I’ve done it before. Christina Thorne, patient C65 has no cyber footprints. She’s erased. Only Hypatia Curie exists now.”

“It had to be done,” Banks says. “It wouldn’t just be your father who would come for you if the information got out.”

“It wasn’t your decision to make.” Frustration mixes with relief. I hate that I feel even the slightest bit of solace knowing the choice was taken from me, but I do. And yet, I’m angry too. Angry that they would delete the files without asking me first. “But what about the cure?”

“I’m still searching, that won’t stop,” Banks says, but I can see in his eyes that he isn’t convinced. “And now that I know it’s possible, it’s only a matter of time before I--”

“Time is something the world doesn’t have,” I say.

“But it’s something you have now.” Huxley holds my gaze. “I made a vow to protect you, Tia. This is how I do that.”

“I have to say, I agree with Huxley on this,” Fallon adds, sitting down at the table, the large breakfast Em prepared sitting in front of us, untouched.

“I think we all do,” Giles agrees.

Emerson and Salinger nod.

“So, what? We all go live happily ever after, while the rest of the world suffers?” I shake my head, feeling ill, and yet relieved at the same time.

“Banks will find another way.” Huxley crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

“And if he doesn’t?” I ask.

Banks raises his brows. “You don’t believe in me?”

“Of course I do, but...” I push my chair back. “Erasing my name doesn’t erase who I am. My father still knows I’m here.”

“And I told you I’ll take care of him.” The way Huxley says the words sends shivers down my spine.

“But until then,” Salinger says. “I’m taking you to my mom’s bunker. You’ll be safe there.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“For the love of God, Tia,” Fallon says roughly. “For once in your life, don’t argue with us. “Your father is flying into Alaska tomorrow, if something goes wrong with Huxley’s plan, you can’t be anywhere he can get to you.”

I swallow hard, knowing all the things that could go wrong.

“Fine,” I mutter. “But only because I don’t want you worrying about me.”

Emerson runs his hand over my hair. “Doesn’t matter where you are, we’ll always worry about you. But Sal’s right, you’ll be safe there.”

“How long do I have, before I need to go there?” I ask, hating the idea of leaving the compound yet again.

“We need to leave in a few hours,” Sal says. “Giles and I will take you together.”

Ever since spending time at Grace’s and Charles’ house all I can think about is making the compound into a home.

I know there isn’t room in our lives right now to paint the house and put up a picket fence, but for the first time in my life, I’m longing for everything to be simple, calm. I used to have so much scholarly ambition, but my priorities have changed.

I press a hand to my belly. Now I have my babies to think about. And if my husbands truly deleted my existence, then that means I might actually have some sort of happily ever after.

If I can live with myself for not sharing the cure.

“Don’t,” Fallon says, looking up from where he is sitting at the breakfast table.

“Don’t what?”

“I swear I can see your anxiety from here.”

I smirk, and try and lighten the tension in the room. “How? Can you read my aura or something?”

Giles laughs. “Yeah, you know Fal, he’s all into that New Age bullshit.”

Banks frowns. “Not all of it is bullshit.”

That cracks everyone up.

“What?” Banks asks, walking to the coffee pot and refilling his cup.

“I think we all just see you as someone who practices science over holistic medicine,” Emerson says, still standing beside me, his hand on my back.

“Well, I believe in energy. All kinds.” Banks lifts his eyebrows, a small smile on his lips. “Besides, you don’t know everything about me, you know.”

Playing along I stand and step toward him. “So tell us something, Banks. Something we don’t already know.”

He sets down his coffee and cups my face with both his hands, gazing into my eyes with seriousness. “I can read minds.”

My shoulders shake from laughing. “You’re so full of it.”

He shakes his head, not letting me go. “Wrong. I know what you’re thinking.”

“And what’s that?”

One side of his mouth pulls up. “Damn, I’m gonna have to say goodbye to my husbands for a few days, so I better have an orgy before I go.”

Everyone in the kitchen is cracking up over Banks’ word choice. The fact that my rigid husband is the one who can break the tension in this house is a testament to how far we’ve come as a family. It’s a relief to set aside all the external things trying to tear us apart. Right now, we’re here, safely in the compound, together.

I’m not wasting this precious time.

I scrunch up my face, trying to play tough, and then pointing a finger at Banks I say, “Oh yeah? That’s what you think I’m dreaming about?”

“I know it is, baby.”

“Wrong.”

“Oh?” He pulls back, feigning shock. “Then what is it our wife is thinking about?”

“I don’t want an orgy.” I cross my arms, laughing as my husbands groan in disappointment. “Yet!” I say, to their obvious delight. “But first, I want each of you to play a little game with me. It’s called Hide and Seek.”

“What are the rules?” Fallon asks, sitting back in his chair.

“Simple,” I say, pulling off my sweater and tossing it to the floor. Then I pull off my pants and panties. “I hide, you seek. No clothes.” I reach back and unhook my bra, my full breasts falling out. “I’m counting to ten then you better come find me.”

I run from the kitchen and head upstairs, tiptoeing as I count out loud. “One, two, three.” At the landing I twist my lips, deciding where to hide. “Four, five, six, seven.” I decide on my room and run into the walk-in closet. “Eight, nine, ten.” Pulling the door shut I hear my husbands running around the house. I push myself deeper in the closet, behind my clothing, and pull my cashmere bathrobe over me as I sink to the floor, trying to fight a case of the giggles.

“I hear you in there, sweetheart.” Fallon’s voice echoes in my room and when he pulls open the door, I suck in my breath. The closet door shuts behind him and he whispers, “I see your painted toes, baby.”

I pull my feet back, shaking with laughter and Fallon reaches for my feet and pulls me out from my hiding spot. It’s not too dark in here, there is a small skylight, and I take in Fallon’s firm, naked body.

He tsks-tsks me. “My little wife, trying to hide from me.”

“You found me first,” I say softly, not wanting to be found by anyone else just yet.

“Just like when I had you first.” His eyes roam over my bare skin, and I know we are both remembering our first time together.

“It was so perfect,” I tell him, crawling toward him, sitting in his lap. I wrap my legs around my husband, lifting my ass so he can move his thick cock inside me. “Remember how you were scared you might hurt me?”

“You were a fragile virgin,” he says as I sink down against his length. I let my head fall back as he fills me up.

“Not so fragile anymore,” I whimper, rolling my hips as his strong hands move along my rib cage, his mouth on my neck, kissing my ear.

“And not a virgin, either,” he says. I feel his smile as his mouth meets mine, our lips pressing together as our bodies move as one.

“I love you, Fal,” I tell him, wondering for the thousandth time how a man so commanding could still hold me so tenderly, make love to me so gently.

He comes inside of me just as an orgasm rushes over me.

“I love you more, Tia,” he tells me, and I know it’s true. Words mean everything to him.

Just then, the door opens and Banks is standing there, shaking his head. “I found them,” he shouts, and all my husbands are suddenly in my room. I know what I need to do.

What I want to do.

I laugh as Fallon pulls me up to stand. “I promised you an orgy, so let’s have at it. Then, let’s go save the damn world.”

When Sal and I get to the bunker several hours later, I try to not let worry take over.

“Just think about how much fun we had this morning,” Sal says, squeezing my hand as we walk into his mother's headquarters.

“You’ve been busy,” Miriam Ward says when she sees us, looking between Salinger and me with brows raised.

I immediately have a terrifying thought that she somehow knows about our ridiculous game of hide and seek. But when she mentions Huxley’s dealing with my father and the situation at the border, limiting his access to Alaska, the flush in my cheeks fades and I can focus.

“Thank you, Mother, for all your help. I’m so relieved to know Tia can stay here and be safe until we deal with Thorne.”

The one side of her face that works, twists into a scowl. “Warren Thorne is considered an essential asset to the United States. He’s protected under their laws, the same way pregnant women are protected here.”

“What does that mean, exactly? I ask my mother-in-law.

“It means if we were to end him on Alaska ground, it would be a death sentence for whoever pulled the trigger. I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but the most vital thing right now is making sure he doesn’t get access to our State.”

“Mother,” Sal says gravely. “I don’t think you understand the power he holds.” She starts to interrupt, but he continues, sounding more confident in himself than I have ever heard him when speaking with his mom. “I know you’re working tirelessly on behalf of the women and children in Alaska, but you are always here, in the bunker, and I fear your pulse on the situation outside of this place is skewed. Warren Thorne has been working with mercenaries in Alaska for a decade, transporting our women to his facility in Seattle.”

“That’s not possible.” His mom clearly didn’t realize how firm my father’s hold on this state is. “Our women are safe. It’s our number one tenant, our--”

“Mom,” he says gently. “You are amazing. You do courageous work, but Warren Thorne is coming to Alaska, and no amount of border patrol will stop him.”

“If someone kills him, they will be sent to Washington D.C. for trial. They’ll be executed. Do you understand that?”

Salinger nods. We both understand her completely.

Whoever pulls the trigger on my father is essentially signing his own death warrant.

A shiver races through me. Am I really going to let Huxley go ahead with his plan? Not that I’ve been given any choice in the matter. I’m pretty sure me being here in the bunker isn’t just to keep me safe, but also so that I don’t meddle in what will most likely be my husband’s most dangerous mission yet.

When Sal and I are alone again in his old bedroom, he wraps me in his arms.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

“That there has to be a better plan than Huxley potentially being sent to the electric chair.”

“I know.” He presses his forehead against mine. “And I’m working on it.”

I twist my fingers in his shirt and glance up at him. “What does that mean?”

He kisses the tip of my nose. “It means you need to stop worrying.”

“That’s not possible. Not when--”

He silences me with a kiss. Soft. Sweet. Full of promises and hope.

“The only thing you need to be worrying about right now is getting some rest.”

“But I’m not tired.”

“After our little game this morning you should be exhausted.” He drags his mouth across my jaw.

My core clenches with anticipation as his fingers begin to unbutton my blouse.

I can feel the hard length of his erection pressed against my hip.

My husbands are insatiable, and I love it.

“Are you sure you have to go back to the compound tonight?” I whimper.

“Are you going to miss me?” He smirks down at me.

“Maybe a little,” I tease.

“Good.” He kisses me hard, then pulls away. “But someone else is staying with you tonight.”

I frown at him. “Who.”

As if on cue, there’s a knock on the bedroom door.

Huxley is standing there when Salinger opens it. His hair stands on end like he’s been tugging at it, and there are dark circles under his eyes, but he smiles when his gaze lands on me.

“Hey,” he says coming in and pulling me against his chest like he needs what little strength I can supply.

I cup his jaw in my hands and search his eyes. “You don’t have to do this. There’s gotta be another way.”

His forehead drops to mine. “Can we not talk about that tonight. I just want... I just need...”

Salinger coughs. “I’m going to leave. I have some things I need to discuss with my mom.” He gives me a weak smile, one that’s full of the same worry I feel. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow.”

Huxley doesn’t let me go, not even when the door clicks shut and we’re alone. He just keeps holding me like I’m a lifeline. Maybe I am. Maybe I’m the only person who can convince him not to put his life in danger.

“Hux--”

“Tia, please.” The words are desperate. “Just... just be with me.”

Emotion builds in my throat and I can hardly swallow past the lump formed there. “Okay.”

I take his hand and lead him to the bed, lying down beside him. Slowly, I work the buttons of his shirt, undressing him in silence, his blue eyes watching my every movement.

My mouth trails kisses across his chest and his abs as my fingers undo his slacks. Not rushing, I take my time discarding my own clothes, then lie in his arms, our bodies entwined as he begins to kiss me.

Huxley has never been one to make love. I know my husbands. What they like. All their kinks, and what drives them insane. But the way he touches me now is different. Like he’s memorizing every inch of my body.

When he finally sinks into me, I swear there are tears in his eyes, but he shuts them, hiding his emotions from me.

“Huxley.” I place my palm on his cheek, my hips moving in a slow steady rhythm with his. “Look at me.”

When he does, I suck in a breath at the love I see shining there.

Love and sorrow.

“I never thought...” His cock fills me, but so does the pain I hear in his words. The desperation. “I never knew I could feel this. You’re everything, Tia. I want you to know that. No matter what happens...”

“Shh,” I drag my thumb over his bottom lips. “Everything is going to be fine.”

I know it’s not something I can promise. But we both need the hope now.

Holding his gaze is like holding his heart in my hands, and I swear I see straight into the man’s soul as we come together, our bodies exploding in pleasure, mixed with a knowledge that we may not have many more nights like this.

“I love you, Tia,” he whispers against my ear, pulling me back against his hard body, and wrapping the covers around us.

“Promise me something,” I say, twining my fingers with his.

“What?”

“If you think your plan won’t work--”

“It will.”

“I mean, if it comes down to his life for yours,” I twist in his arms so I can see his face. “Don’t do it.”

He gives a small shake of his head. “That’s the price.”

“Then it’s too high.” Tears blur my vision.

“I need your strength in this, sweetheart. Your support.”

“How can I support you going on a suicide mission?”

His lips twist up slightly. “You’re one to talk. How many risks have you taken?”

“That’s different.”

“No. It’s not.” He pulls me tighter against him. “If I don’t do this… if I can’t protect you and our children, then what good are a thousand tomorrows.”

“And what good are those tomorrows without you beside me?”

He sighs, his touch so gentle. “Do you love me?”

“You know I do, but--”

“Then just love me, Tia. For tonight, just love me.”

Tears blur my vision as he kisses me again, and I give him what he needs -- my love.