Rush (Roam Series, Book Four) (19 page)

I lowered my eyes to Eva’s bracelet. Cole followed my gaze.

“You’re protecting something that you can’t understand. The dreams are
delusions
. They fuck with his mind.
He’ll betray you.
He’ll hurt you all, and he’ll ultimately end this world. I can’t let that happen.”

Narrowing my eyes, I took a steadying breath. “
Who
are
you? I know that immortal men breed immortal children, and if West isn’t your father, then it
must
be Troy.”

He threw me a speculative glance. “My father is the other Alter. I thought you’d gathered that already.”

Exhaling slowly, I searched his face again, finally piecing together what my mind was too slow to guess.

He’s Logan’s son. Logan, of 1955.

All of Logan’s children would be immortal… because of his immortal soul.

“You were there when your father killed them?” I reached for my phone, my leg bobbing nervously on the seat.

“I followed him that day. My mother begged him not to go. He’d told us about Troy, the nightmares, the coordinates… and his ‘obligation.’”

“You watched him die.” I pulled up West’s last text, trying to type without looking at the screen.

“I watched him murder Anastasia Perry while she was nine months pregnant, and then her husband. The owner of the gas station came out and shot him before he could turn the gun on himself.”

The photos.
I cringed, the crime scene flashing through my thoughts. “And you knew he’d be born again.”

He turned his left arm upward, and I focused on the tattoo on his skin.
Exactly where the coordinates appear.
The numbers were smaller, but looked familiar. “I had this done so that no matter how many years passed, I’d never forget that day. North Carolina.” He gestured to the location on his arm.

“
Wow. Dramatic. Do you also journal about your tortured existence?”

His eyes snapped to me as I finished my text to West.
The words were ready to be sent as soon as we landed.

He’s on the plane.

“This is a joke to you?”

“No, but you don’t seem to be listening to me.”

“I’m talking, but
you’re
not hearing. He
will break
. The nightmares will change him.”

“
Troy’s
gone. The
nightmares
are gone. He doesn’t even have the
coordinates
anymore! Like I told you in Ohio- you’re in over your head. We’re handling this, dude.
Back off.
”

He dropped his eyes to my hand, and I spun my engagement ring so that the diamond was hidden in my palm.

Leaning towards me, his breath was hot on my neck. I stiffened.

“It’s Rush, isn’t it?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting blood.

He shook his head, exhaling with a sardonic laugh. “You
have no idea what you’re doing, sweetheart.”

His endearment conjured up images of 1940s noir films with cigar-smoking gangsters. “Don’t call me that.”

“So he’s your fiancé.”

“No!” I jerked away as he moved closer.

“He knows who
she
is, then?”

I couldn’t hold back my temper another second. Turning to face him defiantly, I squeezed the arm rest. “
He’s known Roam
all of his life.
They were… going out… before she met West.
He loves her.
He saved her life, and he helped her fight Troy. The past is the past, Mr. Mathison, and you don’t belong here. Logan does.”

He moved a fraction of an inch closer to my face, and my heart thundered in my ribcage.

“For every second he lives, she is a second closer to death. And now, so are her children. Do you want to be responsible for all of that?”

“Don’t say another word to me. When we get off of this plane, my father will be waiting.”

“And not your fiancé?”

“Logan is in Afghanis
tan, fighting for
peace
. Get the
fuck
out of my face.”

The man in the seat ahead of me turned slightly at my profane language, and I shot him a mind-your-own-goddamn-business look and tucked my headphones back over my ears.

Cole was silent for the remainder of the flight. He stayed right behind me as we exited the plane, shifting his carry-on over his shoulder and reaching for mine.

I snatched the backpack from his hands, trying not to run through the mass of people to get to the escalators. When I caught West’s expression, his controlled wrath sent a shiver down my spine.

“Where is he?” West demanded, and I spun around, searching the crowd.

“He was just here-…,”

“Get in the car, Violet, and lock the doors.” He pressed the keys to my palm, and I nodded, running toward the front of the airport. I saw the white BMW that Eva dubbed our ‘ocean car’ sitting in the parking lot, and I locked myself inside, waiting.

After more than twenty minutes, I watched West walking to the car. I hurried to buckle my seatbelt
as he threw the car into gear.

“Did you find him?”

“No.” He stopped at the red light, reaching for me. I folded into his hug as he kissed the top of my head. “Are you okay?”

“I need to talk to Logan.”

“Tell me what this guy said.”

I talked about Cole the entire way to the beach house, leaving nothing out. West listened semi-patiently, waiting until I wa
s finished to ask questions. “…and I told him Logan was in Afghanistan, and he was a good person.”

“His son was there.” West nodded once, staring straight ahead. “I remember the boy.”

“I guess Logan gets to have a kid after all.” I corrected the position of my diamond ring, spinning it around on my finger.

He pulled onto our road, turning to me as his eyes softened. “Still an issue?”

“Yes.” I focused on the ocean shore, so thankful to be back.

“I haven’t earned the right to give you advice, Vi. But I’m going to anyway.” He pulled into the garage, turning off the ignition and focusing on me. “Work this out before the wedding. It’s not fair to either of you to get married when you’re both not in agreement on something so big.”

I swallowed, looking down at my hands.
Thanks to you, I can’t have kids, West.
The resentful part of me cowered to my logic.
It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know that.

“He’ll get over it eventually.”

“You need to talk to each other.”

“
West,” I let him take my bag. “What are we going to do about Cole?”

He shifted the bag over his shoulder. “I’m going to find him- before he finds Roam.”

Logan

“Here comes the bride!”

I tried to escape my bunk before the inflatable doll smacked me in the
face. Somehow they’d gotten their hands on a white, lacy veil, and Thompson was straddling me in seconds.

“What the fuck,” I laughed, bucking at him. He howled
, and I tasted plastic vinyl as the bug-eyed sex toy was shoved my way. “Come on, dude!”

“
Corporal Rush-
this
is your official bachelor party,” He retorted, and Mackelby jumped in behind Thompson, dry-humping the both of us. I kicked them both off of me, batting at the doll.

“Fuck you both,” I
grinned, reached for my bag and joining in their laughter.

I thought of my platoon’s impromptu send-off, cringing to think of what Violet’s expression would have been if she had seen what they’d done to her photo.
I’ll miss these assholes,
I thought with a smile, anticipating kissing my future wife for the first time since Christmas.

The last mile from the airport to Cam
p Lejuene was the longest, harder than the entire eighteen-month deployment. I knew everyone would be waiting for me; Eva had become my shadow when we were together, and Roam would have suffered through the numbers changing several times over the last twenty-four hours.

As we
climbed off of the bus, all I could see was Violet’s face.

I didn’t have to look at Roam to know she was crying. Violet tore through the crowd, and I dropped my duffle bag in time to catch her in mid-air. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, and I caught her lips in mine before she could speak.

“
Don’t stop kissing me,
” she managed between breaths, and I balanced her easily in my arms. My calloused fingers threaded through her masses of curls as I tucked her against me with my other arm. I thought back to the night of our first kiss and our clumsy make-out session on the stairs, turned on just at the memory of kissing her tattooed skin.

Only three years… and we’ve changed so much.
I was no longer that skinny kid from Ohio; I held her effortlessly, and could have carried her for hundreds of miles if that meant keeping her in my arms forever.

I thought of the year that time had reversed
. The memories of Violet’s face in my dreams had haunted me, day after day. I hated that I’d spent an entire year screwing around with Roam (but never quite getting to
actually
screwing), knowing how Violet had suffered and missed me.

I planned to make up for that time-
and more
.

“
It’s okay,” I ignored the people around us, holding her face in my hands and basking in the taste of her mouth. She clung to me, and I moved soft kisses to her cheeks. “It’s okay, Vi.
I love you… God I missed you…,
”

“
Eva, wait,” West tried to catch her before she wriggled away, running to me. My sunglasses did little to darken the effect of her flaming red curls.

“
Cor-per-al Rush,” she stood ramrod straight and saluted me with the wrong hand. I smirked, settling Violet back to her feet and squatting before my soon-to-be sister-in-law.

“
Have you been good?” I demanded playfully. She curled her tiny lips inward, raising those green eyes to the sky.

“Yes?” She answered, and I chuckled, scooping her into my arms.

“Red, your nose just grew
ten inches.
”

“
Come and meet Christopher!” She caught my hand, and I turned back to Violet, who now had her arm linked firmly in my elbow and two permanent tears in her eyes.

“Christopher Logan Perry,” Roam carried the baby in her arms, and instead of reaching for him, I held my arms out to both of them.

Her long, dark hair was pulled into a messy bun, and the sunshine in her skin sent unexplainable relief coursing through my veins. Her body was softer, curvier, and her shoulders rolled back with the confidence she’d lost during our time in the castle.

The image of the bruised, sickened waif she’s become during our imprisonment was forever burned into my memory.
I let my eyes wander over her body for a second longer than I should have, suddenly remembering that it was no longer okay to appreciate the way her chest now filled out her tee shirt. “You look good, Cam.”

“So do you,” she acknowledged, patting my bulging upper arm with a grin. “Now, they’re impressive.”

I laughed, raising my eyebrows at the baby in her arms. Even in all of the commotion in the tearful reunions and laughter around us, the boy slept soundly, his blonde-brown cap of hair matching his long lashes. “Congratulations. Finally.” West appeared at her side, and I reached for his hand.

He pulled me into a half-hug, patting my shoulder once. “Welcome home, Logan.”

My senses prickled, and I narrowed my eyes, turning back to Violet immediately. “What’s wrong?”

She and West exchanged a glance, and Roam tucked the baby closer into her arms.

“We need to talk. But first- let’s all go home,” West gestured to the BMW SUV. I exchanged good-byes with a few of my men before following them to the car.

What now?

As we pulled onto the highway, I sighed. “Okay, listen. If it’s Troy again, I say we go all
Friday the 13
th
and chain him to the bottom of Crystal Lake.”

“
Logan
,” Violet’s reproving voice as she covered Eva’s ears made me flinch, but Eva pushed her sister’s hands away.

“Sorry. You can tell me later.”

Violet scooted closer to me (which was almost impossible without sitting in my lap) and I tried to control the urge to kiss her more thoroughly.

She tilted her face to whisper in my ear. “
You have a son.
”

“What?” I jerked back,
my hand automatically covering her tight, flat stomach.
I just saw her at Christmas… she’d be seven months pregnant by now! Was the baby born?