Page 12 of Retribution

He laughed. “Boys? We are men. All men.” That they were. “No, I think fatherhood will fit everyone well. They are all excited, you know. They don’t want to mention it because they don’t know how you feel. But you, having a child, will put us all into a frenzy of protectiveness. They can’t help it. It’s ingrained, but no amount of tea is going to stop it.”

I smirked, knowing he was mocking our Lenin for his fix- all teas. “To be honest, I don’t know how I feel.” A twinkle began to spark before the corner of his lips tilted. He was fighting it, I knew. “Say it.”

He pulled open the door, “You feel extremely dicked down. That’s what.”

Then he laughed, walking away and leaving me wishing I had a different best friend and fewer men in my life. Damn them, damn them all.

Outside, Oak was standing with Lacy on his hip, the little girl looking at him with adoration in her eyes. Hero worship. I got it; I looked at every single one of my men that way a time or two only my hero-worship might be from something that involved a little less saving and a lot more work. Sex, I had sex on my mind, and I didn’t even know if I could blame the hormones because honestly, it hadn’t quite left my mind since the moment these men walked into my life.

“You’re looking like shit.” I jumped, not realizing Rolland had crept up on me.

“I’ve had better days,” I admitted.

“Your breath smells like vomit.”

“Your face looks like vomit.”

He shrugged. “Fair enough. I’ve brought an update.”

My body went rigid. An update? We hadn’t had much of those since we rescued everyone three weeks ago. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

“The wicked witch,” he smirked, “Is furious. Losing the other two lots of captives ticked her off, but my lot? She was draining our power. Sucking us dry, letting us recharge, then sucking us again. She’s still strong. Expect an attack at any moment, any time, anywhere. She’s on the hunt again. Already recaptured some of the Mount Rushmore people. Attacked the native tribe and took what she could.”

My stomach tightened, and another wave of nausea hit me. “Are they okay? The tribe?”

“Mostly. Two dead. She used a lot of smoke and mirrors. Truthfully, the natives’ powers are unmatched. We are the carriers of fate’s design, but the tribes? The tribes are the reincarnation of everything powerful. Water, earth, sky, sun, fire . . . it bends and wields at their side.”

“So she fears them?” This information was interesting.

“I don’t think there is truly anything she actually fears. But she lost a lot of power when you freed those from the Lion of Lucerne. She isn’t strong enough to take them on until she has them back.”

“I see.” I pondered this information. It could be useful, eventually.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

I turned to him, confused. “For what?”

“She used my power to confuse you in there. It risked almost all of our lives.”

“That wasn’t –”

“You can say it wasn’t my fault, but Ellis would have beheaded me himself if you didn’t come home. He adores you, you know.”

I watched him. Ugh, those damn suspenders. I was a weak human when it came to them. “I adore him too.”

He cleared his throat. “Good. Now that we have that out of the way, your breath is still awful.”

“As is your face.”

“What do you call that interaction you are doing with the timekeeper?” Lenin broke in, a tray of tea in his hand.

“Banter.” I laughed. “I call it banter; it’s how people form relationships.”

“I see.” He sat down the tray. “Then I should try it.”

I tried not to laugh at whatever attempt he would make. Banter wasn’t very Lenin, though he occasionally caught me off guard with his wit. “You should try it. I’d start with Ellis.”

Both Rolland and I laughed, knowing that Ellis would be the last person to banter with. He would roast Lenin so fast. “I feel set up.”

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