“Yeah, Mutt’s in Washington right now, keeping an eye on?—”
“Grace!” Adam barked, his sharp tone a warning most would heed.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! What?” She flung her arm in Becca’s direction. “She’s here now, and she needs to learn about us sometime.”
He shook his head. “She needs to be vetted first.”
“She’s not a terrorist, Adam.”
“How do you know?” Becca huffed. “Maybe I wiped out an entire country before breakfast.”
Gray snorted. “You were unconscious before, during, and after breakfast. Besides, if you were a terrorist, Jay wouldn’t have brought you here. So suck it up, buttercup. You’re one of us now.”
“Holy shit,” Cody deadpanned. Head swiveling back and forth between Becca and Gray, his expression matched his tone. “God help us all—there’re two of them now.”
Confused. The only word capable of describing her current state, Becca couldn’t figure these people out. Yeah, Eve’s assumption had been bang-on, and overwhelmed was an apt description. Stunned stupid worked too. So did disoriented, deflated, and utterly defeated.
She’d already lost her weapon. And despite the introductions, she still didn’t know which enemy she faced. Dogs, babies, crazy ladies named Gray, and cat snuggling beefcakes with appetites. What in the fuck had Jay dragged her into?
Seriously, come on. Adam and Eve? Had to be bullshit. Right? And all that talk about home and family and protecting each other—sure—until the yoga-clad sunbeam pulled the switchblade clipped to the inside of her pocket and tried to end Becca for the crime of existing.
Yes, she’d spotted the weapon. Hard not to. Eve wasn’t trying to conceal it, and while her entire persona projected peace, love, and a whole lot of namaste, the knife screamed, not afraid to gut any adversaries, pelvis to sternum if need be.
And the other woman—Gray—without a doubt, she used her tongue as her weapon. She could probably slice through the toughest hide with a single word if she wanted to. Heck, never mind using speech to communicate, she seemed like the type who could disembowel an entire community of asshats with one sharp look.
Except maybe her brother, Sam or Adam or asshat, depending on whoever held the talking stick. Which, in this circle, was apparently everyone, all at once. Not super conducive to putting two and two together to come up with a reasonable explanation for what episode of The Twilight Zone she’d been teleported into.
Jesus. No closer to figuring out who had abducted her, a knot of frustration tightened her chest. The more she tried to put the pieces together, the further away clarity seemed to drift. The only thing that made any sense, that felt right down to the very marrow of her bones…
Jay holding her hand.
His fingers pressed tight against the curve of her palm, he brushed his thumb across the top of her knuckles. Back and forth. A soothing habit she recognized from their past, yet somehow, the gesture held more weight, more promise, more significance in the here and now.
Impossible, she knew. But holy hell, the way he stared at her, like she was the last chocolate-covered Oreo in the package, and he had a craving for a cookie—safe to say—he muddled her thoughts. Even worse, he made her skin tingle, her nipples ache, and her non-existent womb tug with desire.
Only if you lie down with me.
Oh God! She tamped down a titter of excitement, of nervousness, of apprehension.
It’d been a long time since she’d been with a man. Seven years to be precise. Jay had been her first boyfriend, her first romantic partner, her first love outside of her family. Her always and forever. But after Maya…
After the baby…
She’d had zero interest in intimacy—with anyone—sexual or otherwise.
She didn’t give hugs, didn’t share kisses, didn’t touch others unless she had to. Not with kindness or loving intentions. The kiss with Nik had been the one exception, and even then, it had been something to endure while her mind had been focused elsewhere.
With Jay, things were…complicated.
She slipped her hand free, and it balled into a fist along with the other, her short nails cutting into her palms.
Yes, she had feelings—longings—but those were associated with the past. With what could have been. She’d turned off her emotions a long time ago. A necessity to survive without her parents, Jay, their baby.
Cold and calculated had been her default mode for so long now, the thought of allowing herself to feel again scared the shit out of her. Sure, she’d recently sprung a leak in her emotional pipeline, but the drips and dribbles she could deal with.
“Bec…”
Letting it all come back—the horror of the past, the frightening reality of the present, any hope for the future—would crush her. Nope. She had to stick to her plan. Find Maya. Stop Dominion. End the Imperium Council. That’s it.
