I slumped in my chair, relieved to see him wearing a grin as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Hopefully, his handsome smile meant the chip was history.
Jo turned in her seat and followed Sam’s movements as he came over to me. “Sam, how did it go?”
He kissed me on the cheek, then slid into the chair next to me. “Perfect, sis.”
“Is the chip gone?” I held my breath.
Jo studied Sam as if she was speaking to him telepathically or reading his mind.
“It’s one hundred percent gone. No more fucking chip. I am free of that piece of shit.”
My muscles loosened. “Thank God.” No more worries about someone controlling him or the freaking thing turning on and him becoming a monster.
Jo sighed heavily. “So, everything is good?”
I wagged my finger between them. “Okay, Jo gave me the impression you two didn’t want me to see something in the exam room. What was it?”
“Just a minor complication.” Sam’s hand landed on my thigh. “Nothing to worry about, baby doll. And before you protest, I told Jo to lie to you. I made a command decision for your health. Remember, no stress.”
I wasn’t exactly enamored with him keeping things from me, but this was one situation that I couldn’t fault him for it. He was protecting me.
“You didn’t tell me to lie,” Jo said. “I did that on my own. You just told me to handle it.”
“You look like nothing is wrong,” I said, “and if we’re laying our cards out on the table, I didn’t really want to know. Though, I’m curious what the minor complication was.”
“My vision,” he said. “The chemical they used fucked with it. But again, it’s all good now.”
I bobbed my head. “You’re right to have kept that from me. I would’ve freaked out. Then killed your vampire ass.” No lie there.
“On a better note, are you ready for Maine?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Hell yeah.” I couldn’t wait to dip my toes in the sand and ocean, breathe in salty air, and sit by the fire with Sam.
27
SAM
Ijogged along the rough shore of the Atlantic, the brisk wind in my face, my bare feet digging into the sand, and sweat covering my body. The temp at six in the morning was a balmy forty degrees Fahrenheit. Not as warm as Layla would like it, but she didn’t care as long as we were by the ocean.
She and I had arrived late last night. We’d finally left the base after a week of dealing with shit. I would’ve stolen her away sooner if it wasn’t for my short stint of blindness. Doc wanted me to hang around to ensure my eyesight was back to normal. I’d suffered blurriness for two solid days. The great news was—a scan confirmed that the fucking chip was history.
Peter was brilliant for coming up with the process. Granted, the risks were quite hefty. When I’d opened my eyes and met complete darkness, I practically died, especially when I’d heard Layla’s voice coming toward the room. I loved my sister for reacting on her feet. I didn’t want her to lie, so I’d admitted to Layla that I had. If she would’ve yanked out my nutsack, then so be it. But her health was important. I also adored Jo for stepping up and owning her shit.
With all that out of the way, it was time to pamper my huntress for a solid two weeks. We both needed the quietness and to reconnect with each other before the babies came. Layla wanted Jordyn to tag along, but she said no.Thank fuck.I hadn’t swayed Jordyn’s decision either. Whether Jordyn knew I was proposing or not, she wanted time to herself. She was struggling with Junior’s death and her decision to make a deal with their wicked witch of a grandmother.
Activity in West Virginia was quiet. Adam Emery was up to something with his bag of tricks. Anytime an enemy went dark, they were planning. The challenge we faced was the different motives of the players involved. Harriet had her own agenda, which was mainly to find a cure for her blood cancer. Intech and its sister company, Camden Industries, developed weapons and computer software for the Department of Defense.
If the U.S. government got wind of Adam’s vision of super soldiers, vampires, shifters, and any supernatural creature would be in jeopardy, especially those with special powers like mine.
The other viable and maybe lethal threat was Roman Brown. The head of the blood cartel would sell his soul to make money. Well, not his soul, but other people, including Abbey, vampires, or shifters—anyone who could bring him tons of cash. He’d said he had his own plan brewing.
I slowed to a walk about forty yards from the house. The light was on in the kitchen. George had gotten up before me. Webb’s dear friend and father figure was a century-plus-old vampire who lived at the house when Jo and Webb weren’t there. Normally, he wouldn’t hang around, but this time, we needed the security. Besides, George was a great cook, and since Layla was eating for five, we had our own personal chef.
As I climbed the stairs leading up to the large two-level deck, my phone rang. I plucked it out of a zippered pocket on my gym shorts and swore, answering Tripp’s call. He would only call if I had hostiles heading my way or about something that affected Layla and me.
“Sorry, man,” Tripp said. “I need to give you a heads-up just in case Jordyn gets wind and calls Layla.” He pushed out a breath. “The team in West Virginia caught Noah Aberdeen. They found him in the mountains near that cabin Layla was at. He’s feral. Remember Blake Turner? Well, Noah is worse off.”
“Motherfucker. Noah was the first candidate of Carly’s concoction just like Blake was for my uncle Patrick. Is Noah dead?” If not, someone should put him out of his misery. According to Blake’s autopsy, he’d died because the change from human to monster fucked with all of his organs, and eventually, his heart gave out.
