Yield (40 page)

I wrapped up the knife again and set it aside.

“Glass?”

“Yes?” I kissed her cheek.

“Do you think we could try, as in...try to have a baby? Before I start university next year?”

She had London lined up for university. “Won’t it interfere?”

“It would, but I don’t care. I can defer again if I have to. I’m in no hurry to get my degree, but I would...” She wriggled in my lap. “I’d really like to start a family.”

What a big idea for this night. The best idea.

“Yes. Wren...” I breathed in, with my nose on her neck and my arms close about her. “Sweetheart, I’d like that too. I really, really would.” I chuckled, thinking back. “It’s lucky then wasn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“That we forgot to use a condom earlier.”

“What?”

“I told you that you had cum dribbling from your pussy.” I started laughing again and couldn’t stop, even when she tried to elbow me. “I did!”

“Bad man. I’m definitely with a bad man.” Then she laughed too. “And I love you for it. Guess the cage was a hit. Made you get all impatient.”

“Oh yeah. It sure did that.”

I held her tight, squeezed her to me. The two of us keeping each other warm on a cold night, with the stars above. Romantic. Like something out of a movie.

Sometimes it takes a long time to find the person you’re meant to be with. I’d finally hit the jackpot.

A memory nudged me. Here I was like this, with Wren, and I’d still not told her how I’d deceived her. Bad. If I didn’t say this now, it’d bother me for the rest of my days. “Got something to tell you. I hope you won’t hold it against me, though I guess I’ll understand if you do.”

“Oh? What is it?”

It would kill me if this broke us.
Here goes.
I relaxed my arms and made myself not hold her to me like she was my personal life buoy.

“It’s about your father. I lied to you, by omission. I didn’t tell you I was leading the men who shot him.” When she only tensed and stayed silent, I went on. “We were rescuing Pieter and Jasmine. I know she’s on your bad list too. Now...” I held up my hands, letting her loose to jump up if she wanted to go. “Now say what you need to.”

She sat up and looked at me. I searched her face but didn’t see anger.
Thank god
.

“I knew most of that.” She shook her head. “I knew. I should’ve told you that Moghul revealed this. He thought it would make me like him more, I guess. I don’t blame you. I don’t. My father was a douchebag of the worst kind. We both know that. I’ve heard what he was doing to Jazmine when he was killed. Horrible.” Her face screwed up into an expression of distaste. “It just took me a while to see that looking for his killer was ridiculous. I had to connect the dots in a way that made sense to me. He was my father. No matter what sort of person your father is, you’re connected to each other. All my emotions were so messed up after he died.”

“That’s understandable, Wren.”

“And that you
might
have killed him? It’s like knowing you put down a rabid dog that used to guard me. Sort of. Kind of.” She frowned. “One that bit me too. I hated him some of the time. Jazmine?” She shrugged. “What she did to my brother was terrible and from what I heard from Pieter, she paid her dues many times over. I know Pieter loves her. Still, if I ever meet her, I may do something awful to her. Providing Pieter lets me. But you, Glass, I forgive you. How could I not forgive my man? Does that help you?” Her voice cracked as she spoke. She stroked her hand down the side of my face then smiled. “Say yes?”

“It helps. Pieter told you about her?” Damn that man.

“Mm-hm. I promised him I’d wait for you to bring it up. He seemed to think that best.”

“Okay.” Pieter had overstepped. He should’ve told me. He’d read Wren correctly though. In some ways, she’d forgiven Jazmine. “I don’t think I’ve quite earned you. But I don’t care. Come here.” I wrapped her in my arms again and squeezed. “My heart’s galloping off into the sunset right now. I needed to say that.”

Wren giggled. “Love you,” she whispered.

“Me too, baby, me too. Which reminds me. You know we’ve skipped a step?”

“Oh?”

“We should get married first
then
have babies.”

Wren giggled. “I guess I got carried away too.” She elbowed me in the ribs. “Well?”

“What?” I angled a brow at her.

“You’re supposed to get down on your knee and ask me.”

“It’s too damn cold, besides, I like this method.” Then I pushed her off my lap and pointed. “Kneel.”

Her eyes went wide but she shuffled to her knees and waited expectantly. At least she wore jeans.

I leaned down and cradled her face in both my hands, smiling when she turned her head and nuzzled into my palm. “I don’t have a ring yet, but imagine one. Do you, Wren, my little submissive girl slave, wish to marry me...one day soon, before I change my mind?”

She twisted her mouth and harrumphed. “Please. No joking.”

Ah.
I cleared my throat. “You know I adore you, girl. Will you marry me?”

“I –”

“Wait.” I shook her head with my hand, thinking back to the cage and us, to everything. Impromptu too, but I figured this would mean as much to her, if not more. “Will you also accept my collar?”

“A collar? Really?”

“Uh-huh. I want to make sure I can chain you up, so you don’t run off with a furniture salesman.”

“Shhh!” Wren frowned adorably. “Seriously. Ahem. Yes, Glass, Sir, my man who I adore with all my heart. Yes to both. I want to marry you and, yes, I want to accept your collar.”

“That smile is so beautiful, better than any Mona Lisa.” I traced her lips. “It lights up my world, you know. Come back up here before you freeze.” I patted my lap.

She climbed up and snuggled in again. After a while she stirred, lifted her head from my chest, and shivered. I rubbed my palm up and down her arm.

“Best we go in. Too cold out here for a little thing like you.”

She shifted on my lap. “Could I see your knife again? Before we go in?”

“Sure. Anything for you, my love. Anything, at all. If it’s not a real antique, I thought I’d get your name engraved on it.”

“I’d love that. Thank you.”

She tugged the blade from the sheath again and moonlight flowed along the metal.

“Beautiful,” she said softly.

If this wasn’t the civilized twentieth century, I could see Wren as some warrior princess leading a charge against her enemy – her teeth bared and her screaming.

What man didn’t want a wild warrior princess kneeling at his feet?

Chris

I sat back in the broad leather chair, put my elbows on the arm rests, and surveyed the computer screen with all the opened docs as well as the ‘real’ paperwork on the desk.

What did you do with something like this? There were places as far afield as Europe, Russia, and South America. Christ, I was just an accountant.

I tapped my fingertips together, feeling like that big glowing eye from
Lord of the Rings
.

Sauron?

Yeah. Him.

To be or not to be. To keep this empire of evil, or not? I needed time to decide.

I had plenty of time.

I sighed and rolled the chair back, walked to the door, and exited. From the sounds, dinner was being prepared in the kitchen.

I locked the door. Some things were best kept private.

The End

Following this is the alternative Thorn Path ending.

Wren

The man was bluffing, but would Hugh forgive me, if he wasn’t? If he could, Hugh would tell me to do this. He mightn’t even be alive. I might give myself up for nothing. He’d tell me to do this. I just needed time. The airport security or the police would be here soon.

Unable to speak at first, I shook my head while staring into the angry face of the man holding the gun to Hugh.

“Last chance!”

I found my courage and screamed, “No!”

At the bang of the gun, I jerked.

No. He wouldn’t have. No. I refused to believe, clinging to hope. No one was that barbaric.

But he had. He released him and Hugh slid down the smeared window, boneless, and vanished from sight.

I’d killed Hugh. How could I have done that? What sick, spineless person was I to do that?

My hand was at my mouth and I choked in sobs, my nose bubbling with snot, as I watched his blood move down the glass.

“Next!” The man outside had a little girl, his fist curled in her floral dress, and she screeched as he sat her on the trunk, with a thump, and as he shook her to get her to be quiet. “Next!” He yelled to me. “Out now or she is next. Then I get another, another, another.”

At the last words, despite the girl’s cries, a hush fell inside my head, dislocating me from the outside.

I couldn’t do this, condemn her too. Couldn’t let him kill a bunch of kids, while I sat in here safe. Why should I be worth more?

I shifted along the seat toward the door, watching him follow me, the gun swiveling so he could turn.

I put my hand on the door lock. Whose hand was that? It couldn’t be mine. It seemed a million miles away.

“The gun! Put it on the floor.”

The Beretta shook while I stared at it. By putting it down, I was sealing my fate. I listened for sirens, for any sign of help coming.

“Want me to start shooting kids!”

I didn’t look at him, but I placed the gun on the floor, then I unlocked the door.

*****

“She’s gone, man.” Jurgen’s words made me angry enough to punch him, but I didn’t.

I leaned forward, staring through the windscreen and down the street to the car park entry.

The police swarmed over the ambush site, lights flashing, uniformed officers checking for evidence. An ambulance had taken away one man but the rest of the bodies had been left, clearly dead. Most of the casualties seemed to be Hugh’s men. I had no idea how the attackers had managed it.

Outnumbered? Out planned? Maybe betrayed?

Who had diverted us? Hugh, or whoever our enemy was? Wren was gone and from snatches of overheard conversations from onlookers, she’d been their goal. For some reason Vetrov, had let her go, then come back for her.

“She’s not gone, Jurgen, just missing. This time I’ll find her.”

“Sure. We will. I want to get these guys too.” His quiet assurance helped. He looked up from where he’d been reading something on his phone. “Remember how you told me to give Pieter the notes with all the answers Wren gave us?”

I waited, frowning.

“Well, Pieter texted me before we started this, as we were rolling out the gate. The name Chris, he remembers it from when he was working for Vetrov in North Queensland.”

“And? We need more than just that.”

“I think we have that more. Jazmine has seen the notes too. He asked her about the name and it triggered a memory. Chris helped her and Pieter escape. She thought he was a good guy, in a way. The other guards at the time said he was supposed to be an accountant on Magnetic Island. Pieter’s found an accountant who works there with that first name. It has to be him. He dug, found out when he graduated from university, found an old picture on the net. It’s him. And Zoe, the other name Wren heard Chris say, that was one of the other girls held with Jazmine.”

I sat back. “Shit. We can do this. I can be in Australia tomorrow. At the island the day after. I can pay this Chris a visit. He knows Vetrov. He has to.”

“Yes. And we’re coming with you. Me, Pieter, Sam, anyone else I can convince, along with all the weapons we need to take out this bastard.”

I stared. “You’ll be fucked if the cops find you.”

“You think that’s going to stop us? We have to get Wren back. Shut the fuck up and plan shit like you always do.”

“Huh.” I sucked in a breath then grinned. “Doing it. Get us back to the compound. We’re going hunting for bear and Goldilocks.”

“Now you’re talking.” He started the engine. “I always wanted a bearskin rug.”

Think positive. Planning was the key. I was getting her back, no matter what I had to do.