Page 74 of After the Fall

“I figured I’d sleep in the cottage since…” My eyes darted to the large four-poster bed that was thankfully still made. One less temptation.

“Harper.” He sighed wearily, and with it, I could feel my walls breaking down. “I know that none of what’s happening is… ideal,” he frowned. “Come daylight, Fiona will take you and Savannah to our village in Stirling County. It’s the safest place for you both.”

“The village?” I gasped. “But I thought it was forbidden for a human to….”

“Now’s not the time for rules,” he interrupted. “Besides, since when do you ever follow them?” He smiled meekly, though his eyes remained dark and hollow.

“Yes, but…” I rubbed my arms, the anxiety coursing through my veins.

“If we fail tomorrow, then the village is the safest place for you girls. The city won’t be safe, and if this army gets into a buyer’s hands…nowherewill be safe.”

“But…” My voice broke. “If you fail, that means…” The Band-Aid that I’d stuck over my broken heart ripped off as I realized what Wyatt was saying.

He nodded grimly. “If things don’t work out tomorrow, then you should know… I wouldn’t change a single thing.” He took a step toward me. “I’d give up my family all over again, if it meant getting the chance to know you.” My breath hitched as he took another step closer. “I’d climb a million mountains, fight a thousand wolves.” He was suddenly standing before me, and all the hairs on my body felt alive, tingling with anticipation. “I’d find ways to make you fall in love with me, again and again, even if it meant just holding you for one night,” he growled, his eyes filled with lust and something darker.

Time froze. And then suddenly, our hands were everywhere, the electricity of our bodies a raging inferno. Buttons poppedand zippers broke as we tore into each other’s clothes, our bodies greedy for one last touch, one last taste. My silk dress ripped, dropping to the floor, as he lifted me to the bed, my body already aching with need for him.

After, as we lay wrapped in each other’s arms, tangled in the sweaty sheets, I thought I heard him whisper, “I’ll always love you.” I wasn’t sure if it was real or in the dreams that came too quickly. Then I gave in to the sleep my body needed, while wishing that tomorrow would never come.

THIRTY-EIGHT

WYATT

The sky turnedpink then orange as the sun rose over the rooftops. I hadn’t slept. I couldn’t. Harper’s breath was heavy with sleep, but her rest alternated between peaceful-looking slumber and violent nightmares. Every time she twisted in the sheets, I rested my hand on her body and she returned to her steady, even breathing.

She needed rest, and I needed to know that she was safe.

The Buck knife clipped to my belt felt like an old friend. As the sun made its appearance, I pulled out my satellite phone and tried to reach Jax one more time.

It rang and rang. I let it continue, the phone loose in my hand, the ringing disappearing into the background as I tried to imagine life without Harper – or her life without me. After this was all over, it was going to be one of those scenarios. If Joe and I were successful at dismantling Genocorp, Harper would need to stay as far away from me as possible.

The marriage comment from Joe had shocked me, but I brushed it off. He still wasn’t right in the head. We both knew that the best thing for Harper was for her to move on with herlife, continue her career, and have babies with a man who didn’t leave fifteen-inch footprints in the mud.

The other option, if Joe and I failed… I shuddered. I couldn’t think about it. We had to succeed, not just for Harper, but for humanity. It was a lot to put on our linebacker shoulders.

I hung up the phone and stared at it. It seemed futile, but I pressed redial. This time, Jax’s voicemail picked up immediately.

“Buddy. I don’t know where you are, but if you get this message, I want you to know…” I gulped. I needed some red moss to get rid of this… emotion. I cleared the lump out of my throat and hesitated. If this was the last thing Jax would hear from me, I needed him to hear the truth.

“Shit’s going down here, Jax. If you don’t hear from me again, don’t come back. Stay far away from Stirling County and even further away from Seattle.”

My finger hovered over the red disconnect button.

“I love you,” I added and then stared at the brick of a phone in my hand.

Harper didn’t know the details of the plan. If she did, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep. Her father was going to make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter. I’d been resistant to the idea, but as the night wore on and we tried to formulate a plan that didn’t involve trading Joe Davis for Atticus, I knew that it was the only way.

Joe Davis loved his daughter, and so did I. The respect I felt for the man had multiplied tenfold. Because Joe had deleted the files with his research, Genocorp needed either him or the hard drive. I didn’t know where he’d stashed it, but the plan was to keep the drive safe and trade Joe for Atticus.

My eyes stung as tears welled in my lids. I hadn’t expected to… feel… about this part. Joe was planning to sacrifice himself in a way that would ensure that Genocorp could never studyhis body. Their army of hybrids would never progress past the flawed prototypes that they had. The rogue from last year was what we would be dealing with, more animal than human – strong, but a creature that could be killed; a creature that didn’t know how to use modern weapons or strategize attacks.

We would launch our own attack when the time was right. The wolves were on their way to get more weapons. They might be hot-headed and a little crude, but they had deeper black-market connections than we did. It was scary exactly how much firepower the Dakota wolves could get their paws on.

Harper murmured in her sleep. We’d fucked up by fucking, but at least we both knew that it was the last time. I sat on the bed and rested my hand on her hip. Her eyelids flickered and she whimpered. I moved my hand to her heart, closing my eyes to better hear the beat beneath my palm.

I didn’t want to wake her, but her heart sounded weird. I leaned down to rest my ear on her chest and let out a sigh of relief when the thumping underneath her breasts sounded normal again. My hand moved to her stomach and I traced a circle around her navel.

“I’m going to miss you,” I whispered.

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