“We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Nomad declared as he stroked a hand over Cosmo’s hair. “And find a way to end this once and for all.”
“The only way that’s ever going to happen is if we find those council members,” Arlo declared with steely determination.
“And who, or whatever else, they’ve modified and have under their control,” Harley added, his tone chilling. “Where there’s one, there is sure to be a match. I’m certain they made pairs hoping they’d mate.”
“If that happens, there may be no stopping them,” Nomad muttered, worry etched into his tight features.
“Then we can’t let that happen,” Arlo declared as he stared back over at the two people who were the most important individuals in the world to him.
Nothing and no one were going to take them away, especially not some mutated stench bag. Not as long as there was a drop of blood, or a breath of air left in him.
Chapter Fourteen
Taggart
The noise of scraping metal and crunching brought Taggart awake. His eyelids seemed to have gained thirty pounds, and he struggled to lift them to see what was going on. The second it took to register where he was, everything that had happened came crashing back down on him.
Panic made him freeze. The feathers under his fingers fluttered, and his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, scenting lavender and something else. Relief came at how the air movedinto his chest, although his body felt like he’d had a boxing match with a concrete slab.
Soren moved, and his beak pressed against his bounding pulse. The reassurance helped.
“It’s alright, darlin’, Daddy is here.”
He peeled his gritty eyes open looking into Arlo’s worried gaze. “Daddy,” he cried, carefully lifting an arm while holding Soren against him. He wasn’t sure how long he slept after purging whatever he’d swallowed, but he felt weaker than a new-born meerkat.
“I’m right here.” Arlo took his hand and interlaced their fingers. “You gave us a scare.”
“I gave myself a scare,” he rasped past his sore throat. Though he’d take that over the other alternative.
He glanced about and witnessed Cosmo and his daddies cleaning up. “Is it gone?”
Arlo gave him a look he couldn’t interpret as he glanced at the door leading outside, then back to Taggart. “You don’t need to worry about it.He won’t get another chance to hurt you.”
The coldness of his voice made Taggart shiver under the blanket. “Okay,” he murmured, trusting Arlo. He felt bad that folks were cleaning up while he was lying down, only Taggart wasn’t sure his legs would hold him right then.
Don’t worry, darlin’, no one is expectin’ you to do anything after everythin’.
Taggart was grateful for that, but it didn’t make him feel any less feeble as he slowly came up to sitting using Arlo’s hand to anchor himself while Soren tweeted as they moved. His tiny, clawed feet digging in to keep his purchase.
Sitting up, Taggart debated whether he needed to shift, eat or go back to sleep.
“Let me carry you both to the bedroom, and I’ll bring you a tray of goodies.” Arlo deciding allowed his stomach to stopquivering, and he did exactly that, carrying Taggart like he weighed nothing.
Ten minutes later, snuggled in the middle of the bed, Soren having shifted, sat cuddled into his side as Arlo lay a tray over their laps. There were sandwiches cut into squares, fruit chopped into small pieces, chips in a bowl and two sippy cups with juice in.
“Slowly does it, okay? Daddy doesn’t want you to get sick, and your tummy might rebel…”
He didn’t need to explain further when Taggart could recall vividly how awful his tummy had felt while he’d been sick. He had no clue what they’d done to help make him sick and get the vile out of him, but the mask thing Soren had held close to his face when he’d vomited had worked. “It’s better now after Soren fixed me.” The more he spoke, the easier it felt, which helped take away the fear of what could have happened to him without Soren’s help. Death was something he’d given little thought to cocooned in his own little world, hiding behind his computers. Today had taught him a valuable lesson: none of them were safe until they got the bad people.
“Herbal medicines, I learned about them…” Soren snuggled closer, his body trembling and sniffing. “It’s my fault that thing is here—”
“No, you are not to blame for that… that monstrosity! Those fuckers on the council are the ones to blame for all this.” Arlo kissed Soren and then kissed Taggart. “What happened today just means we have to work smarter to get the answers we need to end this. But my boys need to eat, heal and rest.”
“I’ll make sure Taggart doesn’t overdo it,” Soren murmured softly.
Arlo eyed Soren with a softness coming into his eyes that made Taggart cuddle closer to Soren. “You have to heal too, little bird.You can watch out for each other while Daddy finishes helping with the… clean up.”
The way he said it suggested he didn’t mean the mess the fighting had caused. Taggart’s stomach went back to quivering as he worked to swallow past the ball of fear. “Daddy, be careful. It’s icky and dangerous.”
