Page 104 of Revenant

Jameson places a cup of juice, a glass of water, and a mug of steaming tea in front of me, and a smile creeps across my face at the way he’s spoiling me. When he mutters milk under his breath, his face tight in concentration, I capture his hand and tug him toward me. “Jameson?—”

“Let me get you some milk.” He pats my hand and tries to pull away, but I refuse to release him.

I push to my feet and slip my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest. “Everything is perfect. Thank you. Come eat with us.”

Jameson leans back, searching my eyes, as if checking my sincerity, maybe checking to ensure I’m happy. I stretch up onto my toes and brush my lips against his cheek. “What you did is amazing! I would have been happy living in a car, as long as we were all together. The home you created is beyond my wildest dreams, and I love it.”

The man clears his throat, fussing distractedly with the edges of my pink hair, fidgeting in my arms as his expression switches between uncertain and shyness. “Yeah?”

“No one could do it better,” I assure him, pleased when he stills and gazes down at me with pale blue eyes full of adoration. Then my stomach growls in a demand to be fed, and he scowls at me.

“Why aren’t you eating?” He pulls back my chair, and I land with anoomphwhen he virtually shoves me into it and pushes the chair close to the table.

The guys waits as I pick up my fork and take a bite. Only then does everyone else join me, most of them shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they can scoop it. Only Ellis and Hicks have any semblance of table manners, and even that is pushing it. The men are leaner than I remember, sharper and more savage, like they were honed to a dangerous edge and every bit of civilization was stripped away.

It saddens me that their lives were destroyed because of me, and I nearly choke on the small mouthful of scrambled eggs when my throat tightens. “What happened to college and the house you owned?”

The twins and Gunner keep eating, completely unconcerned. Ellis slows and takes a sip of coffee, while Hicks sets down his fork and wipes his mouth with a napkin before speaking. “We deferred a semester and decided to switch to online classes. We are subletting the house to a group of students.”

I underestimated how far they were willing to go for me, and I’m beginning to suspect that I’m the only one who is surprised. If they asked it of me, I wouldn’t have hesitated to do the same, and a strange warmth fills my chest at knowing, no matter what happens, we are in this together.

“What else is bothering you, little vixen?” Ellis asks, watching me over the rim of his cup. Steam slightly fogs his glasses, but that does little to dull the sharpness of his warm brown eyes.

“What if they come after us?” I shove food around the plate, then glance around the room, tears stinging my eyes at the thought of being forced to leave our home.

“I’ve taken measures to keep that from happening,” Ellis says, and my attention snaps back to him, slightly reassured by his calm expression. “I’ve reviewed some of the files, and they are very incriminating. A lot of influential men are listed as backers. If they don’t leave us the fuck alone, I threatened to release the information to the public.”

“Blackmail?” My fork clatters to the plate, and I can only gape at him in shock. I lower my hands, twisting them together in my lap, my stomach churning at the thought of anyone retaliating against the guys. “What if that pisses them off more? What is to stop them from killing us and starting over from scratch?”

My breathing is so rough that my chest tightens, and I fear I’m seconds away from hyperventilating. Ellis roughly pushes back his chair, the scrape of wood screeching against the floor echoing in the room, and he hurries to my side. He drags my chair away from the table, then kneels in front of me.

“I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but I am something of a genius. I would never do anything that would put you or the others in more danger.” He squeezes my hands reassuringly, and I grip him back, clutching him close.

The others gather around us, touching me, as if lending me their strength, and I feel better at their nearness. “Explain it to me?”

“We can’t guarantee they won’t start the experiment over, but I set up code to monitor their systems. If they trigger my program, it will download a worm that will basically nuke their databases and alert us of any infraction.” His eyes glow faintly, static filling the air, and I know he’s fully capable of pulling that off with his genius. He brushes his thumb back and forth over my hands almost hypnotically, and I relax back in my chair.

“If you haven’t deduced it yet, our families are kind of high profile.” Jaceson leans forward and kisses the crown of my head. “We aren’t people who can go missing without questions being asked. Our families might be shit, but they would raise a stink if anything happened to us.”

“Not to mention, we aren’t without allies,” Gunner says in a gruff voice. He places a hand on my thigh, a tiny blush reddening his cheeks at the contact, and he squeezes my leg comfortingly.“No one would dare come after us, not without risking the truth coming out.”

“And if it’s not obvious, we are scary motherfuckers, especially with our new enhancements. You just don’t realize it because we are well-behaved pussy cats around you.” Jameson winks and blows me a kiss before a fierce expression takes over his face. He slips a possessive hand around the back of my neck and squeezes. “No one will take you from us again. We won’t allow it.”

Though reassured, not even the guys can account for every eventuality.

“We also have a backup plan.” As if sensing my doubt, Hicks tightens his grip on my shoulder, and I lean into his touch. “Gunner and I planned to teach you how to fight before all of this started. It’s even more imperative now. We thought we would offer the same to the other inmates.” A tiny smirk quirks his lips. “We will become the very thing they tried to create—our very own unstoppable army.”

My eyes widen in surprise, and a responding smile blooms across my face. “If there are similar research labs, we can hunt them down and rescue others like us. We can keep ourselves safe.”

“Exactly.” Hicks reluctantly draws back, his fingers trailing down my arm in a caress that leaves me shivering. He glances toward the door, then back at me, looking uncertain for the first time. “Would you like to join me when we talk to the others?”

“Yes, please.” I shove to my feet, eager to check on them. If I’m worried about our future, I’m sure they are as well.

“You can leave in ten minutes,” Gunner says, standing to his full height and crossing his arms over his chest with a forbidding stance. “Eat first.”

Dutifully chastised, we all sit back down and eat. It’s not long before we are all suiting up, none of us wanting to be out ofsight of the others just yet, maybe not for a long while after what happened. Instead of driving, we decide to walk. Gunner forges a path through the snow. Ellis and the twins follow him, while I remain beside Hicks and the delicious warmth that radiates from him.

The air in the mountains is bitingly cold, the trees only offering moderate protection from the wind. I’m wearing so many layers that I’m practically waddling.

---