Assassin's Promise, The Red Team Series, Book 5 (34 page)

She crossed her arms and lifted sad eyes to Greer. “That’s the end of this community. The adults who survive will do time for their crimes. The kids will be taken away to foster care if there aren’t enough remaining adults to care for them. It’s the end.”

“We don’t know that. The FBI will have to investigate.”

She blinked tears away. He pulled her into his arms. “It doesn’t answer the question of what happened to their teenagers,” she said.

“It doesn’t.” He nodded toward Lobo. “Maybe the FBI can get that out of them.” He looked at her, lingering longer than he should have. “I wish I didn’t have to leave.”
 

“It’s important. Go. I’ll be fine until you get back.”

He waved Kelan forward. “Stay with Remi.”

Kelan nodded. “You got it.”

* * *

Mandy’s stomach tightened and a cold sweat broke out on her face and arms. She looked around the room at the women who had become her friends, along with the Jacksons and Doc Beck. She was breathing too fast. She crossed her arms over her stomach and tried to calm herself, but the moment she’d been dreading had come, as it had to sooner or later.
 

“Mandy? You okay?” Ivy asked, frowning at her.

Mandy stood, then felt faint. The room got wobbly. She ran out of the living room, past confused and worried faces. She tried to make it to her room, but her stomach only let her get as far as the hall powder room on her way.

She bent over the toilet and lost her lunch. Someone came in with her. She didn’t look over that way, couldn’t face whoever it was. When her stomach quit fighting her, Mandy took the cool wet towel she was handed, then looked up.
 

Ivy was leaning against the sink. Mandy flushed and washed her hands, splashing cold water over her hands and face. She took a dry towel and mopped her face.
 

“Hey.” Ivy put an arm around Mandy’s shoulders. And then the tears came. Foolish, useless tears. “What’s going on, Em?”

“I can’t get the shot.”

“Why?”

Mandy looked over at her friend as she tried to draw enough air to tell her.

“Oh, God. You’re pregnant.”

Mandy squeezed her eyes shut and held the towel to her face with shaking hands.
 

“Does Rocco know?”

Mandy shook her head. “I’ve tried to tell him half a dozen times. I can’t tell him when he’s stressed. And I don’t have the heart to tell him when he’s happy. Those moments are so few.”

“Maybe this will be good news.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. How can I know?”

“You have to tell him.”

“I’m scared, Ivy. I’m such a coward.”

“I can be there with you, if you want.”

“I didn’t do this on purpose.”

“I never thought you did. But honey, what happened? I thought you were on birth control.”

Mandy shook her head. “I was, but it was making me sick. I kept spotting. I’ve tried several different doses and brands—since long before Rocco. When none of them worked without problems, Rocco and I decided to just use condoms.” She met Ivy’s eyes. “One of them broke.”

Ivy didn’t even try to fight her smile. “This the best news ever. I’m so happy for you both. I know it’s stressful now, but it will work out. Trust Rocco. Trust yourself.” Ivy rubbed her arm, dispelling the persistent chill Mandy had been feeling.

“You think it will?”

“I know it will.”

“But Rocco still has issues…”

“That man loves you. He’ll pull it together.” Ivy’s smiled widened. “And you aren’t the only one who can’t get vaccinated.”

Mandy’s eyes widened. “Are you pregnant, too?”

“I don’t know for sure, but we’ve been trying, and I’m a few days late. I can’t risk the shot right now, until I know for sure I’m not.”

Mandy laughed. She hugged Ivy. “I would so love to be pregnant with you!”

“We’ll get through this. I promise you. Should we go break the news?”

Mandy shook her head. “I don’t want to tell anyone before Rocco.”

“Don’t think that can be avoided now. We’ll make them take a vow of silence until you and Rocco talk. Same for me with Kit. He doesn’t know either.”

Mandy took a fistful of tissues, then faced Ivy and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Max stood in the hallway right outside the bathroom, his arms crossed, his legs spread. “S’up, ladies?”

Ivy giggled and Mandy started crying. “We can’t have the vaccine right now,” Ivy told him.

His brows lowered. “And why would that be?”

Ivy wrapped her arm around Mandy. “We’re pregnant.”

Max’s brows shot up. “You’re fucking with me, right?”

Mandy shook her head, looking at him over the wadded tissue she held to her nose.

“Aw, hell. Do the guys know?”

Again Mandy shook her head.

Max sighed. “Fuck. Me. All. To. Hell. You know I gotta tell Kit.”

“No, don’t! I want him to hear it from me first,” Ivy said.

“We don’t have that luxury now. I don’t know what his plans are, but he needs to know I couldn’t get the entire household vaccinated.”

“Then let me talk to him when you’re finished.”

Max dialed Kit. There was a pause. He looked at Ivy. “We got a situation here at the house. There’s two people I can’t get vaccinated. Seems one’s pregnant and the other’s sorta pregnant and their men don’t yet know.” He grinned. “Yeah… Basically my reaction. Who? Uh. Well. The confirmed pregnant one is Mandy… Yeah… I’ll let you talk to the other.”

Ivy took the phone Max handed her. “Kit?”

There was a long silence.
“Oh, hell. I gotta sit down, Iv. Hold on.”
 

She could hear him walking somewhere.
She gave a shaky laugh. “Look I didn’t mean for you to learn this way.” Ivy drew a jagged sob. Mandy rubbed her back. Max shook his head and folded his arms. “I-I had a whole fun reveal planned. I just wanted to make sure I really was pregnant first—”

“Baby, I was hoping it was you.”

“You were? Kit, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. We’re ready for this, feel me?”

“But now, with the smallpox—”

“Just means we take extra care of you. It’ll work out, Ivy mine. Tell me, though, what makes you think you’re pregnant?”
 

“I’m a few days late. And I took one of those over-the-counter tests, which showed positive. I just won’t believe it until I see a doctor. I didn’t want to get your hopes up until I knew for sure.”

Kit chuckled.
“Goddamn. This makes me so happy. You can’t even know.”
She heard his sigh.
“I need to ask something of you. A couple of things.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to stay put at the house. My sister, too. Just until we know for sure this thing is contained here at the community.”

She looked at Mandy, who was watching her tensely. “We will.”

“And I’d prefer if we could keep this on the down-low until Rocco’s gotten his news. I don’t know how he’s going to react to being a dad again. I don’t want our joy to affect him in an unintended way.”

“Of course.”

“I’m going to send him home. The sooner we can break the news, the better.”
He sighed again.
“Honey, I wish I could be there, but I can’t come home right now.”

“I know. I know. It’s all right. Everything’s fine here.”

“No hugging Casey, now. At least, not for the next month or so until her shot has fully healed.”

“That’s going to be hard.”

“Yeah. I’ll give her your hugs for you until then.”

“I love you, Kit.”

He huffed a little breath. She could just see his expression.
“I love you, too, babe. Hand the phone back to Max.”

She handed it over to Max. He arched a brow at her as he asked, “So, boss, we cool?” A big grin split his face. “All righty, then. Roger that. I’m out.”

Max looked at the two of them. He smiled and held out his arms for them. “It’s going to be okay. I’m happy for you both. Mandy, I think you know you’ve got a challenge with Rocco, just because of everything he’s been through. We’ll help you through it, though.”

Mandy sniffled and nodded.

He looked down at her terrified face. His thumb forced her face upward. “Be full of joy. This is good stuff. Everything else will fall into place.”

Ivy reached across Max’s chest to squeeze her wrist.

Mandy dabbed at her red eyes. “I am happy.”

Max laughed. “I can see that.”

* * *

Hope hurried to catch up with Max before he took the elevator to the bunker. “Hey, Max!”

He stopped outside the bedroom with the secret bunker entrance. He smiled, then frowned at her bandaged arm. Holding her elbow, he bent and kissed the edge of her shoulder. “These shots hurt like a sonofabitch. Sorry you had to have one.”

Hope shrugged. “No worries. It’s better than the alternative.”

“S’up?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Lion. Have he and his boys been vaccinated?”

“They have.”
 

There was something he wasn’t telling her, but she knew better than to ask for details he couldn’t give her. “Good. I was thinking, if we were to ever get him and his pride off the WKB compound, now would be a good time to do that, under cover of everything that’s happening.”

Max stared at her. She could tell his mind was running through various scenarios. “You’re right. I’ll bring it up with Kit and Owen.”

She squeezed his hand, wanting to say more, wanting assurances he couldn’t give. “Thank you.”

Max smiled and leaned over to kiss her. “I’ll take your mind off your sore arm later,” he said, still grinning.

“I’m counting on it!”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mandy was in the corral, brushing Kitano, when Rocco came looking for her. Though the horse was still skittish as hell, her being able to groom him was a big step forward. He had an uncanny ability to sense her moods. He didn’t seem to mind her brushing him when she had something she needed to think through.
 

“Keep that up, and Kitano will be one ugly horse. You’ll have brushed him bare.”

Mandy spooked at the sound of Rocco’s voice. Kitano gave an agitated shake of his head. She patted his shoulder, releasing him, then walked over to greet Rocco. She stepped on the lowest plank of the corral fence and leaned up to kiss him.
 

He was just showered. He’d shaved. His cheek was soft. His hair was still damp. His eyes were wrecked. “Was it bad out there today?” she asked.

“Very. Smallpox isn’t a naturally occurring disease. Hasn’t been since it was eradicated worldwide. Someone infected the people of the community. It was like a war zone, with the CDC and other medical staff, the FBI, and Army there. When I left, they were setting up a field hospital inside the community. They’d decided it was best to keep the outbreak contained in place, at least until they better understand the full extent of it.”

He touched her arms carefully, just above her elbows. “What’s got you upset? Did the vaccination hurt?”

“I didn’t get the vaccination.”

“Why?”

Mandy stepped down from the fence and started toward the stable. Rocco followed her inside. She set the brush down on a shelf, then turned to face him. “Because I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, his face looked like marble, pale and hard. She wondered where his mind slipped away to. Perhaps to his wife, Kadisha, and the last time he’d been given similar news.
 

“Okay,” he said at last.

“Okay? That’s it?”

“How are you feeling?”

She folded her arms and dropped her gaze to the middle of his shirt. “I’m a wreck, honestly. I cry at everything. I’m starving, but when I eat I get sick. And I’m terrified of losing you.”

She felt his arms slip around her as he moved closer to hold her. “That makes two of us.”

She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her forehead against his chest. “You aren’t going to lose me.”

“Marry me.”

Mandy didn’t answer immediately. “No.”

“Why?”

She leaned back so that she could see his face. “Rocco, you’ll be an amazing dad to our baby. I’ve seen you with Zavi. I know this for a fact. But marriage needs to be for us, about us, not an obligation because of an unplanned baby.”

“That doesn’t make sense. I’m asking for us. You, our baby, Zavi—you’re my family. I want us to be together.”

She put a hand on his chest. “I don’t know how to explain it. Could we just take this slow?”

“No. I want you to be my wife before the baby comes.” When she held firm, he pulled back, then shoved a hand through his hair as he turned away from her, facing the entrance to the stable.
 

He looked at her over his shoulder. “Have you seen a doctor yet?”

Mandy nodded. “I went to the OB/GYN at the clinic.”

“How far along are you?”

“About seven weeks.”

He turned toward her slightly, his hands on his hips, his head bowed. “Can I…participate in your pregnancy?”

“Of course.” Mandy smiled. “I want you to.”

“I couldn’t with Kadisha. Those were women’s things. And I was a warrior and out fighting.”

“You’re still a warrior and still fighting. But I want you with me the whole way, as much as you can.” She went over to stand in front of him. Lifting his hand, she set it on her belly.

“You don’t seem different.” He gave her a tentative smile.
 

Her eyes teared up. “You’ve had so much on your mind. And honestly, I was terrified of telling you…I couldn’t let you see how it affected me.”

His face hardened. “Is that why you don’t want to marry me? Because I’m a freak?”

Mandy frowned. “Rocco Silas. When have I ever thought you a freak?”

He drew his hand away from her and scrubbed it over his face. “So what now?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged. “Nothing changes. Except my body. And maybe we should get some nursery furniture.” She ventured a smile, but he was miles away from her, even though his body was inches from hers.

“Can I go to the doctor’s with you next time?” he asked.

“I’d like that.”

He nodded and looked at the dirt under his feet. “Have you eaten today?”

“I had lunch, but lost it a while ago when the vaccinations happened. I couldn’t face dinner.”