Page 67 of Emerald Waves
I’ll deal with the eye rolling later.
Giggles escaped before I had a chance to stop them.
I felt that giddy emotion. Naughty boy.
Maybe, but I’m your naughty boy.
And I couldn’t be happier about that. Be home shortly. Love you.
Love you.
The bassinette and surrounding shelves Caro carefully carved into the rock of the horde walls took my breath away. Such precision and care were given to the place where our egg, and later our hatchling, would lay while we worked.
“Our precious gift,” I said as I rubbed my belly, “you’ll have all the love and more. We can’t wait to meet you.” It was odd though, aside from that first bout of morning sickness, I’d not experienced anymore, unlike poor Alex. He was miserable until the eggs came. It was almost like my single episode was for nothing more than to serve as a baby announcement.
“Cheeky little one.” I swear, I heard a giggle but was likely only kidding myself. Our egg was far too tiny to project. Wasn’t it?
The alert for the cameras in the underground garage went off as the vans came into view on the large screen Caro had installed in the horde for just this purpose. Every camera on propertycould be viewed from this computer solely dedicated to the safety and security of the compound.
“Emerson,” Baird greeted me as I met them in the foyer. “Caro believes there isn’t anything missing, but said he’ll leave it to you to determine that. Where should we unload?”
I led them to the library, deciding at the last minute that was the best place until I could catalogue what they’d brought. “In here will be perfect. I’ll grab my laptop and verify each piece as I unpack them.”
“Sounds good.” Baird was a man of few words. He left and the others followed him out to begin the daunting task of unloading. I’m surprised what was left fit into both vans. I could’ve sworn there was more there.
“You didn’t lift anything, did you?” Caro greeted me with a kiss.
“Nope, at least not anything more than a book or two at a time.” A huge pile sat beside me on the desk, but it’d not made it there all at once. “I’m going through the files I keep, making sure it’s all here.”
“And?”
I glanced around at the huge pile of boxes. “It’s a work in progress.”
Caro’s laughter filled the room. “Duly noted.”
But there was more going on than this. “What did you find?”
He lifted me and sat with me on his lap. A move he’d perfect as of late, and I loved it. “Well, I did destroy the tunnel, which was great. But what’s a bit jarring is the lack of evidence they left behind.”
That truly was unsettling. “Have the two captives said anything more?”
“No, not at all. They’re demanding Larkin bring them their missing omega. Needless to say, his response was quite colorful and impressive.”
“Oh my.” Larkin will forever be my savior, having found me at my worst and raised me as his own. “He’s a good man.”
“The best. But now we’re taxed with what to do about the two scouts in custody.”
“If only there was a way to deprogram them. Unlearn what’s basically been beaten into them.” That really had my mind going. “Huh, do you think there’s the slightest possibility of creating a rehab program for them and any others we come across?” While they were awful, vile creatures, I despised the idea of taking a life unnecessarily.
“That’s not a bad idea, my love. I’ll talk to the brothers and get their take on it. If they feel it’s doable, it’ll be a task for Raven and her coven to tackle for sure.”
“Hopefully it didn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Caro
After three weeks of hovering around the house, mostly over Emerson, who finally threatened to tie me to the bed if I didn’t let him get some work done, I decided it might be a good idea to tackle the now empty archive building that still needed to be demolished.
