CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ivy woke with her arms wrapped around Quinn’s stuffed Spiderman. Her dreams had been of ZQ. Of lying in his bed in his arms, talking, kissing, and making love. Leaving her dream world and entering reality was an empty awakening.
She shifted her leg and was pleased the pain had lessened from yesterday. Athena sat in the corner on a large leather, wing-backed chair, chewing her fingernails. Ivy swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
“Morning. Are you the nurse on duty?” She glanced at ZQ’s alarm clock. It was shortly after ten-thirty. “At least it’s still morning.”
“You need to use the bathroom?” Athena stood to help her.
“You know it.” Ivy made slow steps, testing her leg. There was soreness, but nothing unbearable. She did have a slight limp. Best of all, her head was clear from the drugs.
“Need some pain meds?”
“Nothing stronger than Advil®, Athena. I hate feeling out of control.” Having relieved herself, she brushed her teeth and washed her face.
She limped to her bag of clothes and pulled out clean things. “The house sure is quiet. Where’s Quinn? Let me guess, he’s out with his pony. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten the honor of sleeping with Spidey.” She plopped on the bed and sighed. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to be with my son again. I suppose by now you know he’s ZQ’s child.”
“Yes, once ZQ saw the picture of you and me taken on New Years Eve, he nearly passed out. I thought he was having a coronary. He asked about your child and stormed out for fresh air.”
Ivy pinned Athena with a stern look. “Did he try to deny his son?”
“No. Not for a minute. He explained to Quinn where he’d been. Showed him his fake foot. The two hugged and that was that. An instant connection. One that went both ways which is why—”
Unease sent a shiver of fear through Ivy’s system. “Why what? Where’s my son?”
“He sneaked onboard the helicopter.”
Ivy stood, shock claiming her. “What do you mean? Go get him off before he starts messing with the controls.”
“ZQ was knifed with a blade dipped in some exotic frog poison. Grey called JJ for advice. Junebug overheard and took the phone, telling Zane she was coming along to help him. That families stick together. Quinn must have been eavesdropping and got a wild idea to go along, too.”
“That nosy stinker. How much danger is he in?”
“He should be okay. No one thought to check for him. He’d evidently hidden among the stuff they’d loaded onboard the helo last night so they could take off before dawn this morning.”
Ivy dropped her face into open hands. “I don’t believe this. How did he get the door open?”
“Damned if I know. When I couldn’t find him in his room, I searched the stables and the shed where the goats sleep. I called and called for that boy. A sick feeling came over me and I pulled out my cell. I asked Dust if Quinn was with them. They’d discovered him a couple hours earlier. His giggling gave him away.”
“Couldn’t they turn around and bring him back? I want my son!” Tears prickled at the backs of her eyes. Good God, would this nightmare ever end? Was a measure of normalcy too much to ask for?
“Ivy, honey, ZQ’s in trouble. JJ was able to get some strong antibiotics an online article suggested. He went through Clint, the U.S. Marshal they all know. Clint used his influence to get a doctor to write a prescription and call it in to an all night pharmacy. Girlfriend, you have no idea what all went on in this household while you slept. It was crazier than a two-for-one bra sale at Victoria’s Secret.”
“I have to admit, they’re a good group of guys.” Ivy pulled back her bandage and examined her wound for something to do while she thought over all Athena had told her. “With all that commotion, it made it easy for Quinn to slip away and hide. He just met his father. I can understand he’d want to make sure he was fine, especially after worrying over me for days.” Ivy reached for a clean bandage and covered the bullet wound, wrapping gauze around her leg.
“This was a shock I wasn’t expecting. You know how I dislike surprises, Athena. I’ve only ever had two I’ve come to love. The second best one was meeting you. The first was finding out I was pregnant.”
Athena hugged her. “I love you, you know. I was so worried when I realized you were gone. Abducted by who knows who. I went on a rampage and scared Grey. Most of our men are out on other missions, so he called ZQ. We had no clue about the connection.”
Ivy pulled back to stare at her best friend. “How many adults do you know who date and don’t tell each other their full names? Or share any deeply personal information about each other? We were so crazy in love, we were plain stupid with it. I couldn’t reach him, even though I knew he was a SEAL on a mission. He couldn’t reach me even though he knew I’d passed the bar. We hadn’t been honest about our real names. What a couple of morons.”
Athena nodded. “I agree. That was pretty stupid.”
“You said a mouthful, sister. Tell me, what do you think of this place?” She was finally dressed and had begun the process of brushing her hair.
“It’s quiet and beautiful. Everyone’s friendly. Junebug is a trip. Talkative. Sweet. Dotes on Quinn. Man, can she cook. She told me she’s been begging ZQ for grandchildren for years, but he told her it wasn’t happening. She had a feeling it had something to do with the picture of you he kept under his ink pad on his desk. From time-to-time, she’d find him passed out in his office chair a glass of whiskey in one hand and your picture across his heart.”
Ivy wiped at a tear. “Don’t tell me things like that. We’ve been apart for so long. Surely his love has faded.”
“Oh? And how about yours for him?”
Seeing him again, being held in his arms, and hearing his voice had stirred so many old emotions. Her love for him had always been there. That’s why she never dated. Who could ever measure up to her giant warrior? Where he was concerned, this intelligent, logical woman had been blinded by love. “I need coffee and toast. Show me to the kitchen.”
Athena smiled. “Don’t have an answer for that one, hunh?”
****
ZQ was punching out ten push-ups, using the last of his energy to make them somewhat passable. He was in such a sour mood, he could skin the scorpion that skittered across the ground in front of him. Off in the distance, he imagined the whoomp, whoomp, whoomp of a helicopter.
Grey stood and watched. “Here comes our ride, man.” He waved a red shirt to alert them.
ZQ collapsed and rolled over, trying his best to stand. The poison’s fire still raged through his system, but not as hot. His vision, though, was blurry. And, damn, the weakness.
The helicopter landed and his crew circled the bird, weapons at the ready watching for the enemy while JJ ran for him. The medic picked him up and carried him over his shoulder to the helo.
“Daddy! Daddy! It’s me, ZQ2!”
He rotated in JJ’s grip and got a blurred glimpse of his little boy. “What the fuck is my son doing here? Make him stay back out of danger!” Was he really seeing him or had he progressed to hallucinations?
“He snuck on board sometime during the night, hid and didn’t reveal himself until after we were in flight. Oh, by the way, your mom’s shit-faced. She and her old buddy Jack had a hell of a ride.” JJ and Grey situated him on the medic’s padding. The rest of the team jumped onboard and Dust got in the pilot’s seat. The helicopter was airborne within a couple minutes of landing.
His son dropped on top of his chest and ZQ enveloped him in his arms. Right now, his vision was a little too blurry to clearly see his boy, but the feel of him was soothing.
“I had to come help. Don’t be mad, Daddy. I was worwied. I weft Spidey to look afta mommy. I came fow you.” The little stinker pressed kisses over his face. “He’s got a tempatuw, JJ. He needs watah.” He extended his skinny arm for a bottle.
“Can you get him to swallow two of these big pills with the water, ZQ2?” JJ opened a bottle and shook two big capsules into his little palm.
“Yup. Got it.”
Damned if the kid didn’t. He moved off him so JJ could check his vitals. He pulled a wet wipe from a box and started wiping off ZQ’s face and neck. “Feel good, Daddy?”
“Yes, son. You’re a big help.” He wanted to smile. What a kid.
His little chest puffed out. “Gwandma says families stick togethew. That’s why I comed.”
He ought to be pissed. Mad as hell. Over to his left sprawled his mother, passed out, hugging a bottle of whiskey and snoring like a chain saw. His son was hopping from one side of him to the other to bathe his head and shoulders. But damn if the whole situation wasn’t comical as hell. One of those stories you’d tell over and over as the years went by.
“Hey, what’s with your new name? ZQ2?”
“It’s my nickname ‘cause I wook wike you.”
“Little man, use this sterile wipe to clean your daddy’s hand really good. Then go over it with another one. I need to stick an IV stent into it. And if you’re quiet, you’ll get to watch.”
ZQ woke when they stopped at an airport for refueling. He raised on his elbows and glanced out the window. He smiled; his vision had cleared. His son marched in the middle of his men and Grey, just as badass as any four-year-old could be. His mother was hurrying to the restroom, definitely on a pottie run despite the stagger in her walk.
Had anyone thought to tell Ivy they were on their way home? He dialed Athena’s number. “Is Ivy nearby?”
“Hold on. Is Grey okay? I want him healthy when I kick his ass.”
“He’s fine, hon. Let me talk to my beautiful woman.”
“Zane? Are you okay?” Jesus, how many times had he longed to hear Ivy’s voice?
“Well, I’ve had a special short medic working on me. He’s fine and I wanted you to know.”
She started crying.
“Baby, don’t. Our son’s okay.”
“What about you, you big dummy?”
“I did what I needed to do. I took out any future danger to you or Quinn.” He chuckled.
“Or ZQ2, as he tells me he’s called now. We’re at an airport getting refueled and he just paraded to the restroom with the team as if he were one of them. You’ve done such a good job with him. JJ put him in charge of giving me antibiotics and pouring water down my throat to swallow them. Hell, I’ve nearly drowned twice. We’re fine. Tell me about you.”
“A little limp. My back’s still sore, but getting better. I had Quinn by c-section so the pain’s not as bad as the aftermath of that. Nothing I can’t handle.”
And everyone claimed women were the weaker sex.
“Ivy, will you stay at the ranch for a few weeks so we can talk? Get reacquainted. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you over the years. Consider it. Tell me what I have to do to convince you to stay on in my life.”
“I’ve changed. I’m not the same woman you knew in Coronado.”
“Same here, baby. Age, circumstances, experiences can’t help but change a person. That’s why we need to talk, reminisce, and share what we want for the future. Think on it. Please?”
“First off, what do I call you? Quinn? Zane? ZQ?”
She had a point there. “We really screwed up, didn’t we? By being so focused on protecting our security levels or our future professions, we were never really honest with each other about our names. Sounds so damn silly now. Call me Zane or ZQ. Honey would be nice.”
“Honey? Oh, you’re pushing it, buster.”