Page 99 of Smoky Lake

His head was throbbing. There was something he was supposed to know, something he’d learned right before he got knocked out.

He struggled to sit up, and she helped him. Her soft hair brushed against his cheek. It felt like heaven. “Have they found Victor?”

“No. Maybe he managed to slip away from them. We haven’t seen him.”

He remembered something else. “You said you met Lachlan?”

“Yes.” She flushed slightly. “He seemed to know who I was already.”

“That’s because I told him about you.”

“You did?”

“Oh yes. But he already knew you were important. He knows me. He knows I’ve never been in love with a woman before, not like this.”

Her eyes shone into his. A drop of chilly water dripped from the cave’s ceiling onto her hair. It looked like a jewel.

“He probably knows I want to marry you.” Quickly, he added, “If you’re not ready to get married, if you need more time, or if you never want to get married, that’s fine. I just want to be with you. And Ani?—”

“I might not be able to have kids,” she blurted. “I just want you to know that before you go too far.”

“There is no going too far. I love you. I will love you forever. That’s how I’m built. We can figure the rest out later, one step at a time.”

Her beautiful dark eyes filled with tears. “I love you too,” she whispered. “But what you said, about the family line…”

“Fuck that. Lachlan can step up. Or not. I don’t even care about that family line shit. I care about you and Lachlan and a few other people out there. I’d like to have a family, but how we get there doesn’t matter. Besides that, I care about protecting people from harm and being a good person, and really that’s all I need in life.”

She dropped her forehead against his. The contact sent energy rushing through him. He tilted his head back to claim her mouth. The kiss sealed their words into his heart and the world settled into place. Him and Ani. This was it. For good. The end.

And even though he was knocked flat on his ass in an ice cave, it was such a beautiful ending that it made every lonely moment on the way worth it.

Something prickled his nostrils, pulling him from that perfect moment. He sniffed the air.

Smoke.

He scrambled to his feet, remembering what he’d seen right before something had knocked him out. “Victor,” he shouted. “Are you back there?”

A tendril of smoke curled through a pile of rocks. “Just go…” came a weak voice from behind the rocks.

“What are you doing? You aren’t dumping the virus, are you?”

“No! God, no! I have to fix this.”

Gil exchanged a quick glance with Ani, who looked horror-stricken as she realized what was happening—that Victor had started a fire in there.

He reached a hand to help her up. “Victor, come with us. Let’s get out of here.”

“I can’t. I’m ashamed. I don’t know who I am anymore.” His heartbreaking wail echoed through the cave. Ani’s eyes went wide with dismay and she clutched at Gil’s hand.

“Victor,” she called. “It’s Ani. Listen to me. I know that feeling, when you don’t know who you are anymore. Sometimes life feels that way. But you can find your way through, I promise. If I can, you can.”

“You don’t understand. It was me. I did all this. It’s all my fault. They released the omegavirus to threaten me. They held those kids hostage because of me. They almost got my Milagrosporos. They stuck me back here because they thought I’d keep it all safe. But they’re wrong. I have to fix this.”

The smoke was getting thicker. Victor must be setting fire to his research, his samples, the equipment, everything.

Gil wondered if he should climb over those rocks and physically manhandle the scientist out of there. But he wasn’t sure he had the strength at this point.

“It wasn’t just you.” He coughed and waved smoke away from his face. “Nyx said it was the Milagrosporos affecting you. It gives you delusions, makes you paranoid.”

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