Leap of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #4)(98)
At the silence, he checked the rearview mirror.
Owen stared out the side window, face unreadable.
Gawain’s chest constricted. His littermate was so fucking unfamiliar with love.
“I know,” Owen said, finally. “I know she cares about people. About us. It is one of the things I lo…”—he cleared his throat and said even more firmly—“love about her. She has reasons to be afraid.”
“Aye.” They needed to discuss what to do. But between Gawain’s business and Owen being cahir, they’d never be left undisturbed. “Let’s go up to the lake and think this out. Figure out how to reassure her that everyone will be safe.”
There was silence from the back.
Gawain parked and got out.
Joining him, Owen gripped his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Brawd, if we cannot find a path to safety, if she would feel more secure elsewhere, then…we’ll go too. Our place is with her.”
Love swelled as Gawain stared at the determination in Owen’s face. “Aye. This is the trail we’re on. We’ll run it together. All of us.”
*
When Darcy slipped into the lodge, tears were streaming down her face. At the sound of low voices, she froze and realized the dining area was filled with males, including the Cosantir. They’d see her if she went up the stairs.
Shay or Zeb would follow her to see what was wrong.
Hands over her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud, she veered into the library room to the right. There, she curled into a chair and let the tears fall.
Gawain and Owen wanted her—to stay, to live with them. Oh, if she only could. Love for them pounded through her with each beat of her heart.
She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she were hugging them close, as she had last night when she’d finally gotten to snuggle, kiss, and touch to her heart’s content. Licking and tasting. Feeling the implacable hands guiding her to please them. Being teased and driven out of her mind until pleasure seared away everything. Being held between their solid male bodies. Hearing Owen’s rough laugh and Gawain’s smooth chuckle.
She loved them—her Owen, so tall and deadly, and her Gawain as muscular as the biggest mountain lion.
To live with them? That would be a dream come true.
And then a nightmare if the Scythe found her hiding in Cold Creek. Horrifying images shattered her. The cahirs would be the first to fall—her cahir. Gawain would charge into battle, too. Her friends, the townspeople, everyone would die—or worse. The Scythe would capture some. Put them in cages. Nightmarish memories and fears blurred together until she felt screams building up in her head.
No, no, no. The minute the villagers were free, she had to leave with them. She and her villagers would hide…somewhere…and this town would be safe.
She’d have to stay away from Owen and Gawain until then, or her resolve wouldn’t hold. Because there was nothing she wanted more than to be with them. Forever.
With a determined breath, she wiped her eyes. Be strong. It was her job to ensure that her males—and yes, all of Cold Creek—were safe. “Take care of them for me, Mother of All.”
Chin up, she walked out of the library and across the lodge. She didn’t know where Owen and Gawain had gone, but since neither male had carried a phone on their trip, the Cosantir didn’t yet know they’d located the shifter-soldier camp.
In the dining room, the cahirs were gathered around a table. Like a caged animal, the Cosantir paced back and forth beside the windows. Everyone looked up as she entered.
“Darcy.” Alec’s expression was grim. “Where is Owen?”
The room stank of fear and anger. “What’s happened?”
Alec made an impatient noise.
“Owen and Gawain dropped me off and left. Maybe they went to their house?”
Calum paused in his pacing, glanced at the big grizzly cahir, and tilted his head toward the door. Ben hurried past her, pausing long enough to pat her shoulder gently.
“What’s happened?” Darcy repeated.
Calum looked at her, rage streaming from him. “The Scythe took Victoria.”
The words took a second to penetrate, then stabbed deep. No. Oh, no, no, no. Not Vicki. Dear Mother of All, she was pregnant.
The front door of the lodge opened, and someone strode quickly across to the dining room.
The scent of human reached Darcy, and she growled before recognizing Vicki’s former boss, Wells.
The spymaster stepped past her and spoke to Shay. “The sergeant is missing?”
“Aye.” Shay turned to the Cosantir “Wells is in one of our cabins here—for the cubs’ birth, and I asked him to join us now. We could use his help.”
Visibly struggling for control, Calum was staring at a wall map of Seattle. Without turning, he merely nodded.
Darcy’s hands clenched into fists, hating the Scythe with every drop of her blood.
Joining his brother, Alec leaned against him, silently sharing fears, strength, and support. After a minute, he cleared his throat. “Brawd, can you tell Wells about the note?”
Calum took an audible breath. When he turned, his lean face was icy cold. “A typed note addressed to me was found on the counter in Angie’s Diner. It says they have Victoria, and if I don’t turn myself over to them, they’ll kill her and the baby. A van is waiting for me on Main Street.”