Tia

I’m done being quiet and accepting that everything will all work out.

Emerson’s mother’s eyes keep flashing before my own when she found out I was carrying multiples. She was scared for me. Terrified, really. It doesn’t take a scientist to know where that fear comes from.

What would my mother say if she were here?

Be patient, sweet one.

Or would she say fight? Stand up and take what you want and live your life. Your one wild and precious life. I wish so hard that she was here now. That I had a mother’s wisdom to guide me.

On the island, I had Grace. I wish I could go back there now. To believe that her remedy could be my saving grace.

Maybe the flower is a miracle cure, but it could take weeks to complete the testing. Am I supposed to sit around and hope something happens when there is information my father has that we aren’t brave enough to go get? What if the magic elixir he has concocted needs to be taken before the tenth week, the twelfth? The twentieth? What if we’ve passed that mile marker and are already too late?

I press my hands to my belly. I want to live, I want to watch my babies grow. Thrive. I don’t want them to grow up like I did. Like so many children do these days -- motherless.

And I won’t sit idly by because my husbands have done the cost analysis on the situation and it’s all too high.

I love them, I do. But they are not mothers. They are not the women who will die at the hands of a scientific epidemic.

But I am.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I strengthen my resolve.

I will be a survivor, or I’ll die trying.

What I need is an ally. Someone willing to take a risk.

Pacing my bedroom, I run my hands through my hair, feeling unsettled. I know what I need to do, where I need to go, but how, exactly, do I get there?

A knock on my door startles me, and when I pull it open I’m surprised to see Huxley standing there, his face pinched with frustration and anxiety.

“Hey,” he says. “Mind if I come in?”

“Of course not,” I say, opening the door wider, and letting him in, honestly unsure of what he is after.

Even now, Huxley is such a mystery. Not like Banks, who held his emotions in and concealed his brutal past, but in an I have shady stuff going on kind of way.

I never have any idea what he is really thinking.

But I’d like that to change.

“So, that was intense,” he says, taking my hand and leading me to my bed. We sit on the edge of it and I groan at the memory.

“I know.”

He runs the pads of his thumbs under my eyes. “You’ve been crying.”

“I must look a mess.”

“You look hot.” His mouth twists in a crooked smile.

I tilt my head and give him an eye roll. “Hot mess is more like it. This pregnancy makes me emotional and angry and--”

“Stop.” He cuts me off. “You’re being way too hard on yourself. It’s okay to lose your shit every once in a while.”

I fall back on the bed, and Hux does too. Our fingers lace together and we turn on our sides, facing one another.

“It’s a lot of men to handle.”

He chuckles. “You’re doing a good job.”

“I don’t know.” I think about all my men. “Fallon is really upset.”

“He loves you.” Huxley tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear and his touch is warm and wanted. “He’s scared.”

My voice catches “I know. I am too.”

“We all show our fear in different ways. People need a chance to cool down. Most of the time they come around.”

“I hope so.” The idea of Fallon angry with me for much longer would be painful to accept. A tear falls from my eye, and Hux wipes it away with his thumb.

“Hey, look at me, baby,” he says, easing me closer to him. Our noses touch, making me smile despite everything. In a whisper, he says, “Let me help you.” He nudges his lips to mine, ever so softly. “Let me take you to get the file.”

He kisses me again, harder this time, and my leg drapes over him, his words penetrating my heart. He is the ally I need.

His hand is on the base of my neck, another on my breast. Our mouths open as the kiss intensifies. I pull back.

“You mean it?” I pant.

He nods. His eyes are locked on mine. “Yes. I’d do anything for you. Anything to make sure you survive. Anything, Tia.”

There’s an intensity to his words that startle me. And I believe him.

His mouth is back on mine and it doesn’t take long before our clothes are discarded on the floor and Huxley is sinking into me.

I moan against his lips, reveling in the feel of his cock opening me. My pussy clenches around him, and with each hard thrust, pleasure grows, expanding until I’m riding an orgasm that makes my limbs shake.

“Huxley,” I cry out, feeling his hot seed spilling inside of me.

There’s a knock on the door.

“Fuck off,” Hux growls out, his body going limp above mine, his mouth pressed against my neck.

“I need to speak to you both.” It’s Emerson’s voice that echoes from the hallway.

Huxley mutters a curse and rolls off me, but not before kissing me hard one more time. He doesn’t bother getting dressed before he opens the door.

Emerson shuts it behind him when he walks in. “Mind putting some clothes on?” His words are meant for Huxley, who just grins at him, but doesn’t make any move to get dressed.

I find my own clothes, and start to slide my panties back on. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow.” Emerson’s gaze turns to Huxley. “You coming with me?”

Hux drags his fingers through his dark hair and nods. “Yeah. But the two of us aren’t going to be enough. I can hack into the system. Create fake ID cards. But unless we know where we’re going, what we’re looking for, the mission is pointless.”

They both look at me.

“I’m coming with you,” I say.

I expect some argument, but I get none.

“Fallon is going to lose his shit,” Hux says, but as he says the words, I see the glint of mischief in his eyes, and I wonder if he doesn’t enjoy pissing Fallon off.

I don’t want to create discord between the men I love but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight for what I want.

It’s not just me who needs to survive. It’s also the fragile lives of the six babies growing within me.