Page 58 of Rivers and Roads

“I want to live with you,” he said as he walked to the fridge and pulled out the milk. He gave it a sniff, then grimaced and set it back, reaching for the sugar on the counter instead. “But uh…”

“You want to wait until Danyal gets back,” I finished for him. He looked at me out of the side of his eye, and I snorted a laugh. “You don’t even have to say it. I assumed you would.”

“I just…can’t imagine what shit he’s going through, and I don’t want him alone when it’s over.”

I closed the distance between us and laid my hand on his hip, leaning into his space. “Zane, I wouldn’t let him suffer like that, okay? If we need some big-ass compound for us, and Talia and Cameron and the munchkin, and Danyal, we can do that. There’s room to do that.”

His eyes glowed a little brighter. “How the fuck are you real?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” I drank another long gulp, then set my mug down and let him kiss me again. “And as much as I want to encourage all this,” I reached down and groped his half-hard cock for emphasis, “we have places to be.”

He groaned, thrusting against my hand, but he nodded his head. “I know. Talia has been bombarding the bond all fucking morning, so we should stop off there first. Then I gotta get to Council.”

“And I’m stopping by the hospital,” I told him. When his eyes widened, I waved him off. “Nothing’s wrong, but I still got some of that Omega shit in me, and I need to find out if it’s going away.”

“Do you want it to go away?” he asked.

I was surprised by the question, but even more surprised by my answer. “I don’t know. I don’t…hate it. I don’t feel weak or not myself, so…” I trailed off with a shrug, and he looked at me again for a long time. “Do you hate it?”

“You could have nine arms, Orion, and I wouldn’t hate it.”

I almost choked on my tongue as he gripped the back of my neck and tilted my head to the side with his thumb. I let him nose along my shoulder, licking the spot he’d mark, and he let out a groan before ripping himself away.

“Come on, before you start something you know you can’t stop.”

We showered quickly, then he threw on his old sweats, and I hopped behind the wheel, heading over to his place. The streets were a little busier than usual, people coming and going, and I wondered if that was a good or a bad sign. Were they fleeing? Or just making plans for what was coming up?

We’d been cut off from the events in Corland for long enough, it felt alien, and I hated it.

“You know what they did with my Jeep?” he asked when I pulled into his empty driveway.

I shook my head. “When we went out there, it was abandoned on the side of the road, and I didn’t even think about having it towed back. Kor probably took care of it, but…”

But he was gone.

Zane let out a quiet sigh and opened the door. “Yeah. I’m gonna have to break in too. God only knows what those sadistic fucks did with my things.”

I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Zane had been grabbed with his house keys and phone. I felt a ripple of fear creep up my back, and I grabbed him before he got to the door. “Maybe we should get someone to inspect the place before you go in.”

He stared at me with a frown. “You don’t think…”

“I don’t know what to think, but I do know he had a couple of Wolves with him when he grabbed you. Kor was able to scent them. And I know they were able to cross the city line without anyone being aware of it. Our security right now is pretty shit, and I don’t want to take the risk of them setting a trap.”

His jaw tensed. “I just can’t imagine them sticking around for something like that. And if they did, anything they could possibly set up here, the two of us can handle.”

I didn’t like it, but I had to trust him. Things had gone well so far anyway, so he was probably right. Danyal had been staying in the house for a while after Zane had been taken, and he was fine. Or at least, he was fine until he decided to try and enact a rescue plan all on his own.

With a breath, I gestured for him to go ahead, and he nodded. Making a fist, he punched through the small, decorative glass window in the door, then reached his hand through. He scrunched up his face as he searched, and then I heard the lock turn.

We both waited, holding our breath, and when nothing happened, he relaxed. His hand closed around the knob, and he looked back at me as he opened it.

The gods only knew what I might have said in the moment. Some sarcastic thing to make him laugh, because making him laugh made me feel strong and wanted. But I didn’t get the chance. There was just enough time for us to hear the boom, and then to feel the heat, and before the pain really set in, everything around me went black.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

ZANE

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