Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(102)

So what are we to each other?

“You have a girlfriend? You’ve been off in some kind of prison camp, have obviously been through hell, and you come back with a girlfriend? While I’ve spent the last eight months dying inside, you’ve been hooking up?” She gave him a shove and Quinn stumbled back.

Anger is good. I can deal with angry Sasha. That’s our thing anyway. I just can’t deal with hurt Sasha.

“Sasha, it’s not going to change whatever this bond is we have now,” Quinn said.

“Wow, she’s pretty feisty. I like her,” Santi said.

Sasha shot her a glare that could have melted glass. “I—”

“Can we argue later, Sash?” Quinn asked. “Right now, I’m just really happy to see you.” He reached to cup her face. The gesture was so familiar. He’d done it a thousand times—with Santi and with Sasha, and he could tell Santi didn’t like it. At all.

Caught between two strong-willed women. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Come on, you two,” Darius said. “Santi … uh, you should probably stay here.”

“Fine by me; I’m exhausted. It’s been a really long … year.” She stretched out on the bed with a yawn.

Quinn met her gaze and she smiled. They were okay. We’ll be okay.

He trembled beside Sasha as they Followed Allie and Darius through the hallways of their childhood home. The memories of this place were distant to him now. He would need to explain that to Sasha soon. She had to understand how that night at the ball felt like a million years ago to him now.

“It’s okay. You’re home now,” she whispered. “Life isn’t going to go back to the way it was before. We’re not those people anymore, Quinn.” She squeezed his hand. “But we can build a new future. A new normal.”

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. She gets it. He took a moment to really look at her. There was a hardness about her that wasn’t there before. Sasha was as changed as he was.

“What’s this?” Gregg met them at the door to his office, the phone halfway to his ear.

“Sorry, Dad,” Darius said.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gregg’s jaw dropped. “You too?”

“I sense lots of group Syntrophos classes in our near future,” Darius said.

“We’re going to go.” Allie pulled Darius toward the door. “We’ll talk tomorrow, Sash.”

“What’s a Syntrophos?” Quinn asked.

~~~





CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE





Sasha: Fall—The New Moon


Kelleys Island, Ohio


“Say something, Da,” Sasha said.

Gregg stood at the bar in his office, staring into the amber liquid in his glass. He glanced up at her, his eyes filled with sadness.

“I should have seen this coming. This explains everything I’ve watched you two struggle with in your relationship.” He sighed as he crossed the room to sit in his worn leather chair. “I should have recognized it and prepared you for it.”

“What does this bond mean, Gregg?” Quinn asked. “In all my studies, I’ve never heard of a Syntrophos bond.”

“Quinn, you have loved my daughter since the moment you met her,” Gregg said. “And you’ve been torn apart for eight months. I can imagine how gut-wrenching that has been for you both. Especially with not understanding the nature of the relationship that has been building between you for years. And I don’t think either of you realizes how long those eight months have been for the other, nor what you’ve been through in that time.”

“How could you possibly know about Michael?” Quinn asked.

“He attacked Aidan tonight,” Gregg said.

“Aidan?” Sasha jumped to her feet, worried something terrible had happened to her brother.

“He’s fine. We were able to save him in time but we’ve taken Michael prisoner. He won’t be hurting anyone with his gift ever again.”

“What did this man do to you?” Sasha glanced at Quinn. There was no doubt he was different. Older somehow. Has this time away been more than it seems for him too?

“The first three months at Soma were a nightmare.” Quinn sighed. “Michael was one of the ‘trainers’ there. His psychological gift made those three months feel like five years of torture.” Quinn turned to Sasha and took her hand. “In my mind, I feel like I’ve been away from you for nearly six years, Sasha. That last night at the ball … it’s a distant memory for me.” His voice trembled with regret.

“It’s been nearly four years for me,” she whispered, squeezing his hand gently. She couldn’t imagine the torment he’d suffered. How difficult it likely was for him when he realized those years didn’t actually happen.

“How?” Quinn gasped.

“The Senate sent me away to train as a Chola assassin. I was gone for six weeks, but time moves slowly in the Chola Valley. To me it was three years. Three very long years.”

“The Chola Valley? I’ve read about that place. Sasha, the training there is brutal.” Quinn pulled her into his arms and held her. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.