“This whole thing’s a clusterfuck,” Jake grumbled.“Notthis,” he clarified.“Not the part we did.I mean what they did running the lab, and what they did to these poor people and others.It’s… Frankly, I needed a break.It’s alot.I don’t know if there’s enough therapy in the world for this.”
Trevor stopped him before they headed inside.“What you’re about to encounter will be equally shocking.”
“Fuuuck me,” he said.“Just what I need.”
“Please, try to stay calm.”
As he followed Trevor down the renovated corridors, he felt… something.
A tickle of an idea he immediately stomped into submission because he damned sure didn’t need to get his heart broken when there was so much to do.
Peyton stood outside the room when they walked up.Without a word, he opened the door and led Jake and Trevor inside.
Trevor closed the door behind them, and as Peyton stepped aside, Jake got a look at the person in the bed?—
He didn’t realize he was screaming, hell, he didn’t realize he’d practically run across the room, until Peyton’s hand clamped onto his shoulder to quiet him as he flung himself at Maya.
Peyton touched her shoulder, too, and her voice immediately softened as they clung to each other.
“Sorry,” Peyton said, smiling.“The rooms aren’t soundproofed, and I don’t want the children to be scared.We shuffled beds around so she could be by herself and give you two privacy.We’ll leave you alone.Let us know if you need anything.We’ll have someone stationed outside her door to bring you anything you need.”
Jake was barely aware of them leaving as he cradled Maya’s face in his hands and stared at her, unable to believe his eyes, now hating himself for not stopping to look at every hostage they’d rescued before leaving the lab.But he’d been so busy helping Lowri, Aaron, and the others identify items in the lab to take that he’d not thought about it until that plane had already departed.
“I love you so much!”he said, kissing her, his heart pounding so hard he wasn’t sure it might not explode right there in his chest.
“Ray told me you and Carl died.”
He shook his head, tears blurring his vision.“That fucker is dead,” he said.“Ray, not Carl.”He laughed.“We have a son-in-law, and—holy shit!”He pulled out his cell phone and, not even caring what time it was in Florida, placed a video call.
Carl answered, looking groggy.“Dad?You all right?Did everything go okay?”
Next to Jake, Maya let out a soft cry and stared at the phone.“Carl?”
Carl’s jaw dropped.“Mom?Is that you?”
“Yes!”Jake said, openly weeping.“She’s alive!I just found out.She was rescued from the lab…”
Jake wasn’t even sure when, but someone brought in a charger cord for his cell phone because it was almost dead as the four of them—including Mateo—talked and cried and laughed and cried and…
Well, a lot of crying.
Alot.
And now he wished Trent had saved Ray’s head so he could kick it around and piss on it.
Carl
Carl didn’t know that ecstatically happy and unbounded joy could also simultaneously feel functionally numb.
Mateo’s grin looked permanently etched across his face as he dashed out of their room to update Tamsin on what was going on and that the noises she was hearing from them were happy ones—and yes, that Aisling was fine.
They were on the phone for over two hours when they had to end the call so they could check his mom’s vital signs and give her medicine and food.
Carl sat on the edge of their bed, still in the boxers he’d been wearing when the call awakened him, and he stared at the phone in his hands.
“Please tell me that just happened,” he said to Mateo.
Mateo playfully punched him in the arm.“Happily ever after, motherfucker!”he shouted, bouncing onto the bed and sitting next to him.“We gotta get a bigger house, you know.No way inhellare we letting them out of our sight for a long-ass time.Theywilllive with us.I don’t care if we need to beg Peyton to Prime-order them to, theyareliving with us.”
