I pull Mia to the side as she strides by with Rev.
“You don’t have to do this.” My voice shakes as I say it.
“You can’t stop me.” She laughs and looks eerily like my mother, like me—and twice as defiant as both of us. “Don’t worry, Skyla. I’ll stick close to Rev.”
Rev backs up and nods. “And I’m not letting a damn thing happen to her.” He looks from Logan to me. “Good luck.”
They take off, and it’s just Marshall, Logan, and me on the front lawn of his estate.
Marshall pulls me into a tight embrace, and those feel-good vibrations of his pulse through me in throbbing waves. My belly warms, and I can feel the new life surging deep inside of me. Another token of Logan’s love.
“You will do well.” Marshall lays his hand over my forehead. “May the good Lord hem you in with His presence. May He go before you and after you. May He grant you victory over your adversaries and my own. May this day be forever known as the turning point for your people and my kind. You are destined for victory, Ms. Messenger. Your mother has all but ordained it. However, it is entirely up to you bring it home.” He reaches over and smacks Logan hard on the forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Geez.” Logan takes a staggering step back. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“I give my blessings the way I see fit.” Marshall lifts a brow. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that comment earlier about the beating you think you’ll be delivering.”
“It’s coming,” Logan says, plucking me from Marshall’s arms. “But first, it’s time to get this done.”
Logan and I walk down to his truck under a sky full of clouds that hang low, ominous as purple welts.
I pull out my phone and stare at it a moment too long before texting Gage.
We need to talk.No sooner do I hitsendthan the dancing ellipses erupt on my screen.
My phone pings.When and where? I’m there.
Logan and I take a deep breath.
Rockaway. Give me fifteen minutes.It feels as if it takes all of my strength to send that text, but I do and then I stare at the screen until he texts right back.
See you there.
“So it begins,” I say, looking into Logan Oliver’s beautiful eyes. “It’s happening.” I shake my head. “This is our moment. We have one chance.”
He shakes his head ever so slightly. “This is your chance, Skyla. I’ll hold down the fort. You take as long as you need.” His eyes rake over my features. “Do what you need to do.”
We don’t break our gaze for a very long time. It feels as if everything we’ve ever been through is culminating into this one moment, and now we find ourselves dancing on the edge of a very sharp razor.
Logan lands a searing kiss to my lips and my entire body enlivens. My womb hums with the delight of our love. Logan and I made our way back to one another. We are building a family—the way it should have been from the beginning, but destiny had other plans, unusual plans that came with their own rewards and treasures. And although we took a side trip, we are right where we belong, and we will never be moved apart again—not by my mother or any of the intentions she might have for my future.
A rebellion has been born within us. Logan and I are forging our own path, one that doesn’t include her say in it.
I love you, Skyla, I love you more than the heavens love the sun and the moon.
I know.I kiss him deeper.I love you with all that I am, all I was, and all I will be. Without you, there is no me.
He warms my back with his hands.And in a strange way, it’s Gage who completes who we are. Let’s bring him home.
We take off for Rockaway to do just that.
Deep purple clouds sit heavy up above, like a blanket ready to dissolve under the weight of the water. And down below, the sand glows like crushed amethysts under their duress.
I walk barefoot across the icy beach as the wind blows my hair wild, and my dress puffs up like a parachute around my waist. Evergreens and rolling oaks line the outer banks of the beach, along with rocky crags. And that’s exactly where those carefully chosen members of my private reserve are currently lying in wait. Logan promised he wouldn’t take his eyes off of me—that is, until Gage and I disappear.
But Gage won’t be coming alone. I have no doubt Gage’s minions follow him whether he wants them to or not. They are Demetri’s private patrol, his detailed security that have strict orders to protect his son where ever he goes.
Gage Oliver has a target on his back—one from my people and me, and one from his father and his minions.
