Chapter 21
Bristol, feeling pretty damn good at the moment, stepped forward to look down at Antwerp, his shoulder bleeding heavily, and said, “You’re lucky I didn’t have a chance to test my new drone’s aim. If I had, you’d be dead.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even see the drone.”
She crouched down beside him. “Yes, you do.”
His gaze locked on the bird on her shoulder, and he shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
“Not only is it, but it’s made in the same light material, so if you shoot at it, it will still lock on its target and come back on-target again.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not possible. It’s too small.”
She smiled. “Well, that was just one of the challenges I had to work on,” she said modestly. She pushed the button on the tiny remote in her pocket. The songbird rose up above her and locked on to a position over her head. She walked to the three military men and said, “Gentlemen, this is one of my latest models.”
They looked at the flying drone. She opened her hands to show them they were empty and said, “The older model was just delivered as agreed. But since then, I might’ve made a few modifications.”
The three men studied the small bird flying gently above her. “Will it lock on to anyone?”
“It can if you want it to permanently, but that would require an ID chip, or depending on what kind of characteristics, we can help it to identify a target and have it lock on somebody else.”
“How did it know you were being attacked?”
“In this case, I had the drone ready, willing, and waiting,” she said. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I’ve been sabotaged and kidnapped. This last week has been a living hell. I suspected there would be yet another attack here.”
She pulled a tiny little makeup case from her pocket. “This completely controls the drone’s actions. So I could’ve given the control to Devlin on the far side, or in a worst case scenario, it’s compelled to act when it sees a weapon directed at me within ten feet. Those parameters can obviously be changed, but I was in a bit of a hurry to make it battle-ready for this morning.”
She turned and realized everybody who had come in to save her bacon surrounded her. She smiled and said, “Sorry, guys, I never had a chance to show you this one.”
Ice stepped forward and said, “Can I order one today?” Her gaze fell on the bird in fascination. “Talk about a fantastic backup system.”
“Well, I still need to modify some things, plus I should set up a few more parameters. Getting a larger chip set would help too.”
One of the military brass said, “Tesla has arranged a meeting at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. I’m really looking forward to speaking with you.”
They turned as one and faced Brent’s boss. “I believe a conversation is in order.”
With a hard glance at Brent—being restrained by two security men, another two holding Antwerp—Brent’s boss nodded and said, “We better take this to my office.”
Bristol watched the crowd disperse, then she turned to the others and said, “Thank you so much.”
She was immediately wrapped in hugs. When the bird whistled higher in the air, several of them stepped back, and she laughed. “I promise he won’t shoot anybody.”
“I hope you’ll always have one of those around,” Devlin said. “I can’t be watching you all the time.”
She grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my birds around me at all times.”
Ryder started to laugh. “Well, if you are keeping the swallow, does that mean you’re not keeping Devlin?”
She glanced over at him and frowned. “Sorry?” she asked in confusion.
She didn’t understand when the giggles started between Tesla and Ice, or when Easton cracked up, laughing so hard he almost bent over double. Corey’s grin was so wide, she knew she’d become the butt of a joke.
She put her hands on her hips and glared at them. “What’s so funny?”
Tesla tried to explain in between the giggles. When Bristol finally understood, remembering the earlier conversation, she spun around and stared at Devlin. “You mentioned something about that before, but I hadn’t understood it was this big.”
Devlin looked anywhere but at her. Especially when Ryder added, “Of course, Devlin wouldn’t have anything to do with the Keepers or its romance legend because he was afraid he’d end up in the same situation.”
“You know,” she said to Devlin, “I should slap your face for that.”
His eyebrows rose. “You should slap mine? What the hell did I do?” he asked in outrage.
She smiled, walked closer and said, “Because, by denouncing the Keepers’ group and not believing in them”—she poked his chest—“you’re actually standing on the side of life that doesn’t believe in love or forever.” She poked his chest harder, forcing him to back up a step. “And I’ve got to tell you”—she poked him again—“that I love you. So I’m staying here, and I’m keeping you both.”
The group around them cheered.
He glared at everybody else, then looked down at her, giving her a lopsided grin. A smile that took away her breath—slow-dawning, so warm, caring, and so full of love.
He caught her up and swung her around in the air before placing her back on the ground, still holding her within the circle of his arms. “I’m damn glad to hear that,” he said. “I was trying to finagle my way into your life on a permanent basis.”
She laughed. “There’s only one way to do that—and that’s to become a Keeper.”
He lowered his head. Just before his lips met hers, he whispered, “As long as I get to keep you, I’ll be anything you want.”
And he kissed her, a passionate promise for a perfect tomorrow.