Page 159 of Body and Soul

But then Annie cleared her throat, and I remembered that we weren’t alone in the room and a proper reunion would have to wait. I pulled back from the kiss reluctantly, my face heating as I glanced over at Annie. She just smiled at us, her eyes suspiciously shiny.

“Don’t get too excited, boys,” she said, waving a hand. “I'm just thrilled to see my boys so happy.”

Beside her, Theo was grinning ear to ear. He shot me a wink and a thumbs up, the dork. I couldn't help but smile back, ducking my head shyly.

Shepherd kept an arm around my waist as he turned to face Dani again, pulling her and Noah into another careful hug. “I can't believe you're really here,” he murmured. “I don’t want you two to be out of my sight. I want you to come and stay with me. Please, Dani. At least for a little while.”

I frowned and clutched Shepherd’s arm. As good as that sounded, I was worried that having a new person and a baby in the apartment might upset the delicate balance of his life. Would they be safe with Keres? What if Dex came out? How would Dani handle suddenly having to deal with two kids, even if one of them was in the body of a thirty-something man?

I looped my arm around Shepherd’s. “Are you sure the others will be okay with it?”

Shepherd gave me a knowing look and nodded. “We’ll figure out a way to make it work. Won’t we?”

I nodded, and Shepherd turned back to Noah like he was enamored with the baby. I couldn’t blame him. As far as babies went, Noah was pretty cute.

“We should get going,” he announced. “It's been a long day for everyone and I'm sure Dani and Noah could use some rest in a proper bed.”

I nodded in agreement, exhaustion settling deep in my bones now that the adrenaline had faded. All I wanted was to collapse somewhere soft and sleep for about a week straight, preferably wrapped up in Shepherd's strong arms.

“You four go on,” Annie said, making a shooing motion with her hands. “I'm going to stay here a bit longer until Xander and Xavier are ready to head out.”

Shepherd frowned slightly. “You sure, Mom? I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone, especially after everything that’s happened.”

Annie waved off his concern. “I'll be fine. I'm a grown woman, in case you've forgotten. Xander and Xavier won't be far, and I still have River and Warrick around here somewhere. Besides, I want to catch up with Xion…If he wants to see me.” She smiled. “You focus on taking care of that sister and nephew of yours. And Eli too, of course.”

“Always,” Shepherd said solemnly, his arm tightening around my waist.

I ducked my head, feeling my cheeks warm. It was still a trip hearing Shepherd say stuff like that so openly. This whole situation felt surreal. Dani and her son were safe, me and Shepherd were together, and everyone was all right.

Shepherd exchanged a hug with his mother, who also got up to hug Dani and tickle Noah under the chin. I shook hands with Theo and we promised to catch up once all of this was behind us.

And then we left.

The hallway stretched before us, all bland beige walls and flickering fluorescent lights. The cheap linoleum squeaked under our shoes as we walked, the sound jarring in the tense silence. I couldn’t shake the feeling that anyone might step out to stop us at any moment, but no one did.

We reached the bank of elevators and Shepherd tapped the down arrow. We stood back in silence, watching the numbers light up as the car made its slow ascent. Every moment we were still in that place made my anxiety tick up higher, but I could only imagine how bad it was for Shepherd. Not only did he have to deal with that, but Keres was probably lurking close to the surface.

I remembered the sight of him covered in blood in that hallway, surrounded by all those corpses, his teeth stained red… There had been so much blood, painting the walls and floor in violent crimson. His face and hands had been coated in it, his eyes wild and feral.

I knew I should be horrified. Sickened. Any normal person would be after witnessing something so brutal. But I wasn't normal, was I? Living in a fucked up cult, enduring years of abuse, living on the streets… Those things changed a person. Twisted them up inside until they didn't know which way was up anymore.

Because the truth was, seeing Keres like that, knowing he would rip apart anyone who tried to hurt me... It didn't repulse me. It fucking turned me on. I was fucked in the head, but I couldn't deny the dark thrill that went through me at the memory.

Keres was a killer, a monster wearing human skin. But he was my monster. Mine and Dani's. He'd do anything to protect us, even if it meant painting the streets red with blood. There was something darkly intoxicating about that, about being loved so fiercely.

The elevator arrived with a soft ding and the doors slid open. We stepped inside, Shepherd positioning himself protectively in front of Dani and Noah. I stood close to his other side, craving his solid presence.

I snuck a glance at Shepherd out of the corner of my eye, trying to gauge if he'd picked up on my seriously inappropriate line of thinking. But he just looked tense and hyper-vigilant, his gaze locked on the floor numbers ticking down.

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors whispered open, revealing the polished expanse of the lobby.

I started and my breath hitched at the sight of a man with a red ponytail blocking our way forward. Before I could even process what was going on, Shepherd lunged forward and grabbed the man by the shirt, yanking him forward.

“What are you looking at, Boone?”

Boone? As in Boone Calhoun, the mercenary that had been hiding Xion all this time?

My heart pounded as I watched Shepherd yank the red-headed merc towards him, the dude's combat boots squeaking on the polished lobby floor. Holy fuck, Shepherd looked pissed. His jaw was clenched so hard I thought his teeth might shatter.

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