Forsaken (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #3)(81)

I can almost hear everyone suck in air, as if leveled by the uncertainty I’ve delivered. Tellar stands and disappears beyond the counter dividing our War Room from the main kitchen. I watch my screen as the “sending” icon becomes “complete.” “It’s done,” I say, leaning back to run my hands down my legs. “And now we wait.”

Tellar returns, setting a bottle of tequila and five shot glasses on the table. “I’d say we all need this right about now.”

Everyone at the table comes to life at his offering, cheering him as he fills our glasses, the mood steadily becoming more optimistic. Surprising me, Amy accepts her shot without hesitation, her actions confirming she is not pregnant after all. I am both relieved and sad for her, but this isn’t the right time. Not yet. But soon, I hope.

Lifting the glass, Amy smells the tequila and crinkles her nose. “I have to warn everyone, I’m a lightweight and a giggler.”

“I’ll carry you, baby,” Liam promises her, a gleam in his eye that would have made me want to punch him two weeks ago. Now, I’m just damn glad she has a man who protects her and loves her.

I glance at Gia to find her watching me. Winking, I lean in close to her, nuzzle her neck, and whisper, “I’ll carry you, too.”

She gives me a playful scowl. “Oh, Chad, you have much to learn. I’ll drink you under the table.”

I lean back and arch a brow. “Really?”

“No,” she snickers. “But it sounded good.”

I wrap my arm around her and Tellar lifts his glass, while we all follow. “To f*cking up our enemies,” he declares.

“To f*cking up our enemies,” I agree, and everyone laughs, clinks glasses, and downs their shots, Gia and I laughing at each other as we do. We all stand, and I throw Gia over my shoulder and carry her to the bedroom.




EVERY NIGHT FOR three nights, I wake in a sweat, reliving the fire in my nightmares. Each time, Gia is there for me, kissing me, f*cking me, bringing me back to this world, and finally making love to me. And I am not alone, no different from everyone else. On day three, we are all sitting in the War Room when Amy has another blackout, her first in weeks, and scares the shit out of all of us.

It sets Liam into control mode, insisting we need a backup plan. He dials China again and intentionally puts a buzz out through his contacts that we are looking for a backup buyer. Bedtime arrives and we’ve still heard nothing.

On the eve of the deadline, when Gia and I finally enter our bedroom, she starts pacing, as if my habit has now become hers. I try talking to her. She paces more, and I take her to bed, where we don’t make love. We do a whole lot of f*cking. And then we do some more. And finally we curl up together and sleep. Despite that, I wake from a nightmare in the throes of flames and fire, and find Gia is not in bed, a cold draft alerting me to the open door leading to the deck off our bedroom.

I grab my jeans and pull them on, and I have no idea why, but a sudden shooting fear for her safety overwhelms me, and I dart for the door, shoving back the curtain. Gia stands at the railing in only my T-shirt, shivering in the cold wind blowing off the water, staring forward to where the sun has begun to break the horizon. Certain she knows I am here, I gently snag her wrist, and she jerks, yelping in surprise as I lead her inside and shut the door.

“Are you trying to freeze yourself?” I demand, grabbing her robe and wrapping it around her.

“Yes,” she replies, shoving her arms into the robe, her teeth chattering. “I am. I just want to feel something other than fear and worry.”

Understanding seeps through me, in a far too familiar way, and my hands go to her shoulders. “I get it, sweetheart, I do. Waiting sucks. It guts you. That’s why I kept treasure hunting all these years. I could find a way aside from mass murder to save Amy, and the cylinder, and those hunts gave me the rush I needed and a lot of money if Amy and I needed it. If we need it, Gia.”

“I don’t want money, Chad. I want a real life. I want to work in a lab, the way Amy wanted to live at archeological dig sites. I want to take a walk with you and not fear being grabbed and poisoned with arsenic.”

“I know. Just have faith. We aren’t doing nothing. This is going to work. I feel it. I know it.” I lead her toward the bed. “Come try and rest a little while longer.”

She shakes her head. “No. I can’t. I think I’ll take a run.”

Then my phone rings by the bed. I’ve carried it with me everywhere for days, and it had been quiet. I launch myself at the nightstand, grabbing it. I sit on the bed, and Gia goes down on her knees in front of me. Our eyes meet, anticipation between us, and I draw a breath and hit Answer to hear: “We are satisfied with the terms, but Rollin is recorded as dead.”

A crazy mix of relief and adrenaline rushes through me. “He was disinherited by his father. He’s trying to steal what we have to sell out from under his father.”

“Make the call to lure Rollin out now, then, and get me details. Preparations for the destruction of Sheridan and his consortium are already underway.” The line goes dead.

“Well?” Gia asks, on her knees beside me now. “What happened?”

“They’re in, sweetheart. We just have to set the trap for Rollin.”

“Oh my God. Could this really happen? Could it be over?”