Page 63 of Protected By the Convicts
Chapter Fourteen
HANNAH
“It’s time, Hannah,” Ky’Li said the day after her attack. She was walking away from the colony and three of the most important people in her life. Ren, Sersie, and Vaughn were returning to their house, to their lives as part of the Narkos colony, which never intended to let them leave.
“I can’t,” she whispered leaning in against Ky’Li. “I can’t leave them behind.”
“They can’t come. Dresden would hunt them. And they are our only source of viable water.”
If she left them, she’d likely never see them again.
No, that couldn’t be right. She’d find a way. Somehow. She’d be on Narkos too, separated by jungle. Her and Ky’Li disappearing was only temporary. It had to be. She wouldn’t survive without them, and it had nothing to do with the damn water supply either.
Vaughn, Ren, and Sersie stood opposite her, all with solemn expressions. Her stomach sank. She couldn’t leave them. It would be like leaving three-quarters of her soul behind.
Hannah stood there, unable to move. Ky’Li brushed past her and stood before Vaughn. He bowed, deeply and held it longer than he needed. Ky’Li had always respected Vaughn, but still, it warmed her heart to see this display of acceptance. As Ky’Li moved to Sersie next, Sersie’s eyes jumped to Hannah. He’d been protesting this plan the most, but in the end, he had agreed. Her men had agreed. . . Finally, she had the unit she’d always wanted, only to be the one tearing it apart.
Another nod, from Ky’Li to Sersie. “Stay strong, Sersie.”
Ky’Li approached Ren last and offered his arm for a handshake. A custom not of Daraan but of Argus.
Ren stepped back. His piercing blue eyes drilled into her with an anger she had never quite been able to remove from his soul.
“I agreed we’d do this. I didn’t agree it was an end,” Ren spewed. “We’re a family now, Hannah. You said as much. Ky’Li’s ceremony said as much as well. And family doesn’t walk away from family. They fight for one another.”
“Did I say I was renouncing you as a brother, Ren?” Ky’Li said, his shoulders straightening with pride as he extended his hand to Ren once more.
“No.”
“Then I will not say goodbye, but safe travels. And when the gods permit, our family will be whole once more.”
Family? Ky’Li had referred to them as a family? Hannah had to hold back her tears. This wasn’t right. They shouldn’t split up. Not now.
Ren nodded as he accepted Ky’Li’s hand. “Till that day then, Ky’Li. You better fucking protect her, or I’ll come after you.”
The corner of Ky’Li’s mouth kicked up. “I’m starting to like you more each day.”
Ren folded his arms over his chest. “I think I liked it better when you called me an asshole.”
“The day is young.”
Hannah wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. “Ky’s right,” she said, wiping a tear away. “This won’t be forever. It can’t be. I need—” She got too choked up to finish.
“Indoor plumbing?” Sersie joked, jumping in to rescue her, like he had rescued her that first day with her unit. He’d taken that first step of kissing her—a kiss that had been chaste and yet daring but not demanding—when she barely knew any of them.
“A chiller and stovetop,” Ren added. “So, you can kill the local wildlife with that ranishka you make.”
She laughed and covered her mouth. “I need—”
“Don’t say you need us,” Vaughn said.
She stepped straight up to Vaughn. “I most definitely need you. You are my everything. You have been since the day I saw you trying to help everyone regardless of who they were. You never believed I could pick you for you. While it’s true that I may never have picked you out of a crowd had I not seen how much you cared about others, it doesn’t matter how you came to be in my life, only that you are.”
Vaughn ran his thumb over her lips as his fingers traced the curve of her jaw, as if he were memorizing her. “I refused to say goodbye.” Vaughn kissed her long and hard. “I will see you again, Hannah. I don’t know how or when, but I will see you.”
She swallowed hard, unable to even remember the words she’d rehearsed in her head a thousand times over. There was no way she could put her love into words, but she had to say something. The devastation in the hard set of Ren’s eye was killing her. And her Sersie. . . If this unit broke apart, she wasn’t sure he’d handle it well. As for Vaughn. . . He gave so much and yet asked for so little. God, how could she leave him behind? How could she leave any of them?
“I’m not done with you three. I want you in my house, my bed, my life.”
