Chance: An Action & Adventure Romance Novel (Sacrifice) (16 page)

“
I thought I'd lost you forever.”

“
I was told you were dead,” I responded.

“
What?”

“
I came back for you. Six months after I left the safe house... You weren't there. The kid who used to hit on me all the time said you went out on your own and went and got yourself killed. I... I thought you were dead.”

“
Was it Feliciano?”

I nod my head at him because my throat won't allow me to speak. I'm barely keepin' a loose fuckin' hold on loosin' my shit.

“
That motherfucker. If I had known that I'd have prolonged his suffering.”

“
What?”

“
Found out about five hours ago that he was an informant for the Sapient. He betrayed all of us and was going to hand Dora over to them. That's how they found us,” Aiden explains.

“
You give it as good as you got?”

“
You know it.”

“
Thank fuck.”

Aiden chuckles and crushes me into his side and we both turn back to the bed where Dora is layin’.  Her eyes are open now and it's clear to see
there are tears in them. Aiden releases me and rushes to her side.

“
Shh, it's alright darlin'. I'm here.”

She shakes her head at him and looks directly at me.

“
Beauti...ful.”

Her voice breaks in the middle but I understand her still. She saw the exchange between Aiden and me. All this cryin' is takin' a toll on me and I have to look away from her. Turnin' to Aiden I lift my chin and smile.

“
Take care of my sister in law,” I tell him with a grin

Walkin' out of the door of the medical facility Aiden calls out to me.

“
It's not just you and me anymore, but we still need to stick together.”

His words stop me in my tracks so fast it feels like my heart stopped beatin'. I can tell by his tone that he's afraid I'm goin' to leave. He doesn't know me anymore and that actually hurts. He'll learn. I ain't goin'
anywhere.

Turnin' my head back to him I smile and call back to him,
“
Always.”

Chasca

Takeo had brought me to our room to relax for a bit after healing Dora. Even with his help I always ended up exhausted afterwards. While walking back to the medical facility I decided to step outside for a breath of fresh air. What was weird was that there were close to twenty black cars outside. Some were trucks and some were SUV’s.  My best guess is that these were what The Sapient showed up in.

I was admittedly a little pissed off that I was forced to go to the safe house when all the shit went down, but I also understand it. Takeo and I have been actively trying to have a baby.  The possibility alone had me shutting my face and doing what I was told. For once…

“Oh my god! This is so cool!”

A tiny army of Al’s robotic animals march out from under all the trucks and SUV’s. Not just kittens.  There are little dogs, bears, squirrels, and I think I saw a giraffe. It’s an adorable little army! The door opens behind me and I hear my beloved’s deep voice sound from behind me.

“What are you yelling about, little one?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Before Takeo can make it to me, I run over to the vehicles and scoop up a tiny robotic panda and run back over to him.

“Look. Aren’t they precious?”

Takeo looks at the tiny robot in my hands and then back at the cars before his face drops. He growls deep in his throat and snatches the panda from my open palms.

“Hey!” I snap at him. That’s my panda, damnit!

“Quiet!”

Takeo hurls the robot back at the cars and in one swift movement, steps in front of me, lifts me off my feet and runs full force towards the door. Just as it slams closed and I’m about to lay into him there is a violent explosion, followed by a series of smaller but still impressive sounding explosions.
What the shit?
Takeo tips his angry face down at me.  As I open my mouth to comment he beats me too it.

“Quiet.”

Whatever.

Aiden and Angelo come running towards us and stop when they see Takeo’s face.

“What the fuck was that?” Angelo snaps.

“Al!” Takeo calls at the top of his lungs, which let me tell you is fucking loud.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Al hesitantly make his way towards us. He’s wearing that sheepish smile that I love so much.

“Alright, alright. Before you gentlemen get all pissed off, allow me to explain.”

All three men stare at him in silence, each with their own disapproving expression. I really wanted to laugh, but I know they’d turn their stares on me if I did.

“I spent a good portion of my morning planting AER’s all around the compound. They were programmed to intercept any intruder.”

“So what the hell were they doing while we were getting shot at?” Aiden asks.

“Well… you see, when AER’s are placed in large groups like that, they tend to get…distracted.”

“Distracted, how?” Takeo asks the next obvious question.

“They were playing.”

Even though I had pressed my lips tightly together to avoid it, a giggle still escapes as I watch all three men bring a hand to their faces in a collective face palm. Al and I make eye contact and we both burst out laughing. When we finally get it together I see that Takeo is smiling down at me and Aiden and Angelo are glaring at Al.

“Get your ass out there and clear up the mess you made. I’ll be out there when I’m done,” Takeo says, still smiling at me.

“Get done with what?” I ask.  He hadn’t told me he had something to do.

“With you.”

“Oh.”

He he. Awesome
.

Chapter Sixteen

Dora

The next day Aiden is waiting on me hand and foot.  I have to admit, it feels nice. I can tell that he is kind of making Liza mad. That's her thing and he's totally stealing her thunder. She gives him a dirty look and he just glares back at her.  If it didn't hurt so much I'd be laughing at them. Everyone had come to see me a few times, even the guards I didn't know. It was all very sweet and I really hoped they kept me around awhile. A part of me felt really foolish. When I thought I was going to die I confessed to Aiden that I
loved him and he hasn't spoken of it since. I think the expression is “the elephant in the room.”  From my perspective the elephant was overweight and crushing me.

In the middle of the night I wake up because my side is aching and as soon as my eyes open I search the room for Aiden. He is sprawled out on two chairs.  One chair is at his back and his feet are resting on the other.  He looks dead to the world. I know he's beyond exhausted.  He did not sleep at all the night before. He was awake with me. Even though my side aches, I decide to bear through it and wait for sleep to claim me once more.

Just as my eyelids begin to grow heavy a deep, male voice wakes me.

“
Ones capabilities do not define them. It is their actions that make them deserving.”

My eyes snap open and I jerk to a sitting position and instantly regret it. Groaning, I fall back against my pillows, but I've already woken up Aiden.

“
Are you okay?”

“
I'm fine... I heard... I swear...”

“
What did you hear?”

“
Never mind. It must have been a dream.”

Aiden doesn't say anymore, but he's alert and smiling over at me. His smile makes me shift a little in my bed. I can feel my face flushing as I smile back at him.

“
What you did... I know... I understand why you did it...” Aiden starts, but hesitates as if processing his thoughts while speaking.

“
I...” I manage to get out before he cuts me off.

“
But do not
ever
do that to me again, darlin'.”

“
It was the right thing to do.”

“
No. You do not tell me you love me for the first time when I don't have a chance to say it back to you.”

My mouth drops open and I'm gaping at him. He leans forward and takes my hand in his and whispers softly to me.

“
I love you, darlin'

“
I... I love you too.”

“
I know.”

Aiden leans over and kisses me so deeply, so sweetly, that I'm a little dizzy when he pulls away.

“
We're gonna’ have to keep that cell of yours. It's a good place for you to learn how to control your abilities. Can't have you stubbing a toe and killing us all.”

“
You want me to stay?”

“
Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?”

“
Because I'm a...because I can hurt you.”

“
Dora, I know how you see yourself. But I can promise you that no one here sees you that way. You are not a monster or a plague. Your abilities weren't something you chose. We all love you and to us what you can do is irrelevant. We are just hoping that you would want to stay with us.”

They want me here. They want me...
He
wants me. Warmth rushes through me just as the tears hit the back of my eyes. I choke out a sob and I'm instantly surrounded by Aiden's arms. He's even careful not to hurt my side or my shoulder.

“
Is my Dora gonna stay?”

“
Try and stop me.”

Liza

What an interesting turn of events. I am quite pleased to see that Aiden has found his love. Dora is utterly perfect for him. She is indeed the other half of his soul and it is very easy to see that they will flourish from one another. What I am not particularly pleased about is the mess that was made of our compound. Those insufferable Sapient practically destroyed our training facility and the front drive is still littered with various debris from the explosion. Granted that was all Al’s doing, but who can really stay mad at him for an extended period of time?

I am very lucky that my abilities are not obvious and more often than not dismissed as coincidence.  When I chose to halt the moving vehicle so that Aiden could apprehend the Sapient, I willing revealed myself to him. There was no need to tell him that when we were in the parking lot that day that I caused the Sapient's bag to split.  I know he is not suspicious. Some things are better left unexplained.

The physical mess is inconvenient but the plethora of emotion turbulence residing in the compound has left me feeling uneasy. It is not what is on the surface that is the issue. It is the secrets locked away.  More precisely, the secrets she would never admit that have the potential to change things. Or more accurately, someone. 

Maddix

My back slams into the padded floor for the third time in a row and all I can think is this son of a bitch don't know how to fight fair. Climbin' to my feet I bounce twice to get the spring back in my step and catch him off guard with a round house kick to the side of his face.

“Score!  One for me,” I call.

“One to three,” Angelo retorts.

What-the-fuck-ever.

Droppin' low to the floor I sweep my leg out and take him off his feet. His back hits the padded floor just as mine did three times before and I can't resist the urge.

“
In your fuckin' face! Yeah!”

I know better. If this was a real fight and not just trainin', I'd have kept my mouth shut. But there's somethin' about this dude that makes me want to rub it in. Still, I shoulda' been payin' attention.

“
Not such a bad ass now are....”

Before I can even finish, Angelo’s shoulder slams into my abdomen and we both hit the ground. He knocked the wind outta' me and his body still has me pinned to the floor. I ball up both of my fists and punch him once in the jaw. His jaw is like a fuckin' rock and my hand is throbbin' when he grabs my wrist and pins it to the mat above my head. He lifts his body off of mine and I suck in precious air just as I realize he's goin' for my other
wrist. While his big muscular body is lifted above mine tryin' to grab my flailin' arm, I pull my legs up and wrap them around his neck. It's a very awkward position, but he knocked the wind outta' me, it's only fair that I cut off his air supply. I lock my thighs around his neck and he releases my wrist. With a jerk of my legs, I send him rollin' over to his back.

I'm cuttin' off his air supply and his body starts shakin'. What the fuck? This crazy bastard is laughin'? Really? I loosen my grip just enough for him to be able to take a breath and when he does the fucker is still laughin'.