Page 87 of Redemption
That proves it right there!
I’m such a fucking idiot. I’ve interacted with Sadie numerous times since Jax got her. And, since we arrived here and could relax for a moment, she’s even settled her aggression towards me, choosing, instead, to seek me out for affection or to offer me support like I’ve seen her do for Jax. It’s almost like sheremembersme.
Fucking hell, I should have known.
Sadie’s whine draws out as she continues to seek my attention, but I can’t help but just stare at her. My mind is blown. Shot. Absolutely fubared. Still determined, however, her pawcomes up, landing on my thigh as her head tilts slightly to the side, her ears perking up as she tries to figure me out.
Flabbergasted. Now there’s a word that’s not used nearly enough anymore.
Refusing to be ignored, Sadie crawls over me and flops down onto my chest, her strong and sturdy body pinning me down to the point where all I can do is wipe my hands across my face until my brain rewires itself. With her steady weight bearing down on me, my racing heart slows just as Alessandra comes back, retaking her place next to me on the bed.
Ah, shit. This is just awkward as fuck now.
I knew she had three guys she was trying to get back to. Knew that she was in a romantic relationship with each of them, as well. I knew it, but it didn’t really sink in when the guys in question were nameless, faceless blips to me. Sure, I understood they existed, but I didn’t need toacknowledgethey did until I actually saw them face to face and confirmed their existence and thus my inevitable removal from the situation.
But these guys?
Iknowthem.
I know what they’ve done.
I’ve even...
“Can you do me a favor?” she asks, her question stilling everything in the muted darkness, including my rambling thoughts and impending panic attack.
With Sadie’s stubbornly relentless weight still pinning me down, I turn my face towards the love of my life, ready to give her mine this very second if she asked it of me. “Of course. Anything. Always.”
Alessandra’s arms pull into her chest as she folds in on herself. “Would you mind singing again? It seemed to help before, and I just think—”
“I’d love to,” I interrupt, more than willing to cater to her needs while simultaneously pulling myself out of this mental rut I’ve found myself in.
She quietly settles in, finding a comfortable position beneath the blankets, while I begin with a soft, lyrical melody. One that stretches the confines of the room into an infinite universe where worries are a thing of the past and love is abundant. The ebb and flow of the notes set a pace for her heart to mimic, for her mind to unfold and relax into. My gentle music continues, the words transcending what I feel for her as they whisper in the space around us.
Minutes go by, and then hours, but I continue serenading her as I have been each night until I hear her breathing slow. Her body visibly relaxes at the sound of my voice, and that, in turn, relaxes me. The fact that I can provide her comfort when she needs it most does something to me, filling a void I’ve been missing this entire time.
With one last decrescendo, I finish the song, drawing out the last note like I wish I could draw out tonight. But it’s an endless desire only meant to be cut short by inevitable reality.
When the horde finally decides to leave, my time with her will be over.
But tonight? As she lies here by my side, trusting me to keep her safe?
She’s mine.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dare
The residents of the Phoenix Rising community fill the pixelated screen on the drone’s controller; hundreds of men flood the roads and fields, with even more of them filing in and out from the surrounding buildings. After Alessandra’s outburst the other day, I’m surprised it still works but happy it does because it gives us a chance at a little bit of reconnaissance before we enter the lion’s den. Phoenix Rising is deceptively massive, containing dozens of places to conceal a person if need be. If I’m able to find the guys with this, it’ll make extracting them that much easier.
I change the angle of the drone slightly and fly out to the farther end of the community, surveying the southern quadrant before returning back to the main buildings located in the center of the town. We’ve been searching for hours now, but, unfortunately, even with my dated version of Jax, Hawk, and Cole, as well as the updated detailed descriptions Alessandra provided, it’s like trying to find three needles in a haystack. “I’m sorry, Al. I’m not seeing them anywhere out in the open. Normally, when we have new recruits, they’re taken straight to the Infirmary for testing and then relocated into their working units, but it’s been days since their abduction. At this point, they could be anywhere."
After Alessandra was able to get the supplies she needed, the alluring scent of blood that made the zombies go crazy dissipated, and, a few days later, the horde went right along with it.
Well, mostly...
I hate to say it, but I’m thankful the horde lingered for as long as they did. It gave me a little extra time with her. Especially since, after we finish this, I have no idea if or when I’ll be able to see her next.
Regardless of my open feelings towards her, she’s never reciprocated them. For all I know, once we’re done here, she may simply want to resume living out our lives on our own separate paths as we were already doing; a clean break, and then she’ll be gone, living the life she deserves with the people she loves and cares about. While I’ll be back to my normal everyday life as a recluse vigilante, surviving out the remainder of my days as a hollowed-out shell, knowing my soul is elsewhere.
