Andi
I PACED THE living room, unable to reach Dalton. He’d managed to block me, so I had no idea how Aspen was or what was going on with the tripwire.
“Andi?”
I turned to face Samantha.
“You’re really pale, honey. You should sit down.”
I shook my head. “The house is wired to explode, Samantha. I need to know if he’s okay.”
Her face contorted in horror. “What do you mean, wired to explode?”
I filled her in on what I knew, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, then looked at me. “Kade’s going to meet them.”
My phone buzzed just as I nodded. The call was from work. “This is Andi.”
“Hey, it’s Brooke. We have Aspen Westwood here. She asked me to call you.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s getting a rape kit right now. She didn’t want to call her parents. She just wants you.”
“Okay, Brooke. I’ll be down there in a few.” I hung up and grabbed my purse and keys.
“What are you doing?” Samantha asked.
“Aspen’s at the hospital. She’s asking for me.”
“You can’t leave, Andi.”
“Like hell I can’t.”
Samantha grabbed my arm and I stared at it, ungrasping her fingers with my mind and moving her arm away.
“Holy crap!” she said with a gasp.
“I have to go, Samantha. You can’t stop me.”
She sighed. “Fine. But I’m going with you.”
“Knock yourself out.”
Samantha let her parents’ know where we were going and then we headed to the hospital. Finding a parking spot close to the entrance to the emergency department, we made a mad dash for the building and I used my credentials to log in and find Aspen.
I led Samantha down to the private exam room and peeked inside. Aspen was curled in the fetal position on the large hospital bed, so I stepped inside the room and made my way to the bed. “Hey, honey.”
Her eyes came to me and the pain I saw was almost more than I could bear. She burst into tears and reached for my hand. I was flooded with images of her ordeal and cried out as I sank to the floor.
“Andi?” Aspen rasped.
“Let go of her,” Samantha demanded, rushing to my side.
Aspen released me immediately and sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m okay,” I said, and pushed myself off the ground.
Samantha didn’t touch me, but I could see her concern.
“I’m okay,” I repeated, and focused back on Aspen. “I need to make sure you’re all right.”
She nodded. “It was Jeremy. He was working with Jet.”
“Jeremy did this to you?”
“Yes. He’s not right in the head.”
“We know that, honey,” I pointed out.
“But he’s more like Jet now.” Aspen licked her lips. “I think he’s on drugs.”
I wanted to touch her. Reach out and soothe her fear, but I knew if I did, I wouldn’t survive it. “Okay. Don’t worry. We’ll find him. No one’s going to hurt you again.”
“It’s my fault,” she whispered.
“What is, honey?” I asked, sitting in the chair beside her bed.
“Jeremy. He said he had some things of yours… said you weren’t answering his calls. So I said I’d meet him. It was stupid.”
“None of this is your fault, Aspen,” Samantha assured her. “Jeremy is obviously demented.”
Aspen yawned and I took a moment to look at her chart.
“That sedative’s kicking in. You need to rest, Aspen,” I said. “Don’t worry about Jeremy and Jet. They’re going to be dealt with. You didn’t do anything wrong, honey, okay?”
She nodded, closing her eyes and pulling the covers up around herself.
Baby?
Dalton didn’t answer, and I tried not to panic.
Dalt?
Busy, sugar.
I relaxed and faced Samantha. “I don’t like this.”
“Me neither,” she admitted. “But we have to wait it out.”
“I’m not good at being the little lady hanging around waiting for her man to fix shit.”
“Neither am I.” Samantha gave me a sympathetic smile. “But in this instance, let’s give them a minute and we’ll make sure Aspen’s safe.”
Listen to my sister.
Suck it.
Love you, sugar.
Love you too. I sighed. It’s Jeremy, by the way. He’s the partner.
We know, baby. We’ve got him.
What do you mean, you’ve got him?
Can I fill you in when this stuff’s done, Andi? Really need to focus.
Fine. I made sure I stressed my irritation in that last telepathic message… I hated being left out of the loop. But I also knew he had work to do, and me peppering him with questions wasn’t really helpful.
“Kade says they have everything under control,” Samantha provided. She was pacing the room in between checking on Aspen.
“Dalton says the same. I just wish I knew the details.”
“Me too.” Samantha smiled. “Are you okay? You know, after what you saw?”
“Not going there right now. I’m going to need Dalton when I revisit that horror.”
“I’m sorry, Andi.”
“It’s okay.” I swallowed back bile. “I’m more concerned about Aspen right now.”
“I understand. But if you need anything, you let me know, okay?”
I smiled at my new sister. “Thanks, Samantha, I will.”
The rest of the night dragged as we waited for news from Dalton and Kade. Aspen, thankfully, slept… the sedative the doctor had given her working better than expected. I chalked this up to the fact she never took drugs, not even ibuprofen, so she was a lightweight.
Dalton arrived at the hospital at almost four in the morning and I met him in the hall, sliding into his arms and holding tight. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m good, sugar. How’s Aspen?”
“Asleep.”
“That’s good.”
I nodded into his chest. “What—”
“Where is she?” a deep voice bellowed.
I peeked around Dalton to see Doom making a run for us. I pulled away and shook my head. “You’re not going in like this.”
“Get the hell out of my way,” Doom ordered.
“Stop.”
He stopped.
“What the fuck?” he snapped.
“Andi,” Dalton warned. He can’t know what you are.
“Aspen is sedated,” I said, ignoring my mate. “She cannot be woken up or have undue stress heaped upon her because you’re in an alpha male rage. Take it down a notch and I will find out if she’s willing to see you.”
Doom closed his eyes and I released him from his hold, turning and stepping into Aspen’s room, and making my way to her bed. She was still asleep. I walked back into the hallway and faced Doom. “She’s asleep.”
“I’m going in.”
“Doom—”
“Don’t,” he said, his voice low and lethal. “I won’t wake her. I just need to see her.”
“Let him go, sugar,” Dalton said.
I bit my lip, but ultimately, I knew he wouldn’t hurt her, so I let him go. Dalton wrapped his arm around my waist and I was once again back in the protective hold of my mate.
We waited at the hospital until Aspen was released, at three p.m. the following afternoon, then I took Aspen home and we holed up (alone) while Dalton, Doom, and Kade dealt with Jeremy and Jet.
* * *
Two weeks later, Aspen was back at our townhouse (her parents had whisked her home two days after she’d gotten out of the hospital against her wishes), and she was working on putting the pieces of her life back together.
Doom was trying to help her with her healing… also against her wishes… and I heard her complain about him ad nauseam.
I did feel that she might have been protesting a little too much, but I stayed out of it because if I didn’t, she’d probably kill me. Aspen was fiercely independent, and although I was worried about her current state of mental health, Aspen was “not a victim,” so I had to keep my concerns to myself. That didn’t mean I didn’t keep an eye on her, however.
Jet and Jeremy were finally in (separate) places they’d never be able to escape from. Dalton had dug deep into the “how,” and, although nothing was confirmed, we could all guess the “why.” Jeremy had been planning his final “Operation Fuck with Andi” ever since the divorce papers were finalized. His visits to Jet had started shortly after and they’d managed to get orderlies, nurses, and even one of the psychiatrists to assist in the jail break. The men holding Aspen were hired “guns,” and all but one had been apprehended. It was disheartening to know how much people would do for the promise of money…even when there was no guarantee there would be money at the end (there wasn’t).
Wedding plans had commenced, and I was honestly over all of it. We were already married, and I felt like I was lying to everyone as I made ceremony plans.
“Look at it as two celebrations,” Dalton said, kissing me gently.
We were getting ready for bed and I was verbally processing all my worries. “But your parents don’t know it’s two… neither do Aspen’s.”
He chuckled, cupping my face. “You are going to have to figure out how to be okay with lying by omission, sugar. It’s important to keep your Oracle abilities—”
“Confidential. I know,” I interrupted. “But lying in any form has always been difficult for me… Oracle or not.”
“I know, baby.” He pulled me close, sliding his hand into my hair. “I’ve got you.”
“Thank you.” I dropped my head to his chest. “Did you talk to Doom about leaving Aspen alone?”
“Nope.”
I met his eyes. “What? Why not?”
“Because it’s none of our business.”
I frowned. “It absolutely is our business.”
“How do you figure?”
“She’s my surrogate sister and best friend, ergo, my business.”
“Well, unless she’s being threatened, it’s not my place to get between a man and his woman.”
“She’s not his woman.”
He raised an eyebrow in disagreement.
“He’s not,” I insisted.
“Whether he… or she… is or isn’t, still falls under the ‘none of my business’ banner.”
“You’re afraid of him,” I challenged.
Unfortunately, he knew my game and chuckled. “Nice try, sugar. I’m not getting involved in another man’s love life.”
“He’s irritating her!”
“Then she should tell him that.”
“She does. He won’t listen.”
“Not our problem.”
“Dalton,” I ground out.
“Yeah, sugar?”
I sighed. “Never mind.”
“Good choice.”
“You suck.”
“I do.” He slid his fingers under the straps of my cami and pushed them down my arms. “Quite well, as you’ve pointed out on several occasions.”
“Are you trying to distract me?”
Freeing my breasts, he cupped them, leaning down to run his tongue over one nipple, then the other. “You tell me.”
Guiding me to the bed, he pushed me down, placing one hand on my chest to keep me planted where he wanted me, while his mouth moved from my lips to my neck.
“Dalton?” I rasped.
He didn’t reply as he drew a nipple into his mouth and bit gently. I gasped at the sensation just as he pushed open my knees, sliding my thighs over his shoulders and beginning a delicious assault on my clit. I whimpered as he sucked, licked, and kissed his way around my most private area.
He slid one finger inside of me, and then two, before wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me further onto the bed, his fingers still doing unbelievably incredible things to my body. I gasped as his thumb found my clit and I could feel an orgasm building, but before it washed over me, he removed his hand.
“Dalton,” I hissed.
He chuckled and rose up above me, settling his hips between mine and guiding himself inside of me. I wrapped my legs around him and arched up.
“You good?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “More, honey.”
He grinned, covering my mouth with his and thrusting deep inside of me. He drew my nipple back into his mouth again as he surged deeper and deeper, faster and faster. I had no warning of my climax as the orgasm washed over me and I cried out his name. Never in my life had I come so fast, so hard, and I gripped his biceps as I caught my breath.
Dalton let out a grunt and I felt his cock pulsate inside of me before he rolled us onto our sides, staying connected to me as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Perfect, sugar,” he whispered, and kissed me deeply.
“Thoroughly distracted, honey.”
He laughed. “My job is done.”
“Well, it’s close to done.”
“What have I missed?”
“Babies,” I said.
“Right… your list,” he deduced.
On my list, four babies was number six.
“Yes. You’ve given me you, multiple orgasms—”
“Multiple orgasms wasn’t on your list.”
“It was in my head.”
He laughed. “Fair enough.” He rolled me over and kissed me. “Baby making attempt four-hundred-seventy-six commencing… now…”
As he made love to me again, I reveled in the perfection of a life interrupted, because it had been interrupted so beautifully by the words on my heart.