Shepherd growls, a scowl on his handsome face. “No one else is in charge of your care. We will protect you.”
I swallow thickly, unable to meet his eyes. I was prepared to spend the journey here with him and Foster, but I do not know how I will resist the pull between us if I am stuck in this house with them for weeks on end. “Oh. I assumed… Do you not have work to return to?”
I can’t help but wince when I see Foster’s shoulders slump from the corner of my eye. “Our only priority for the time being is to take care of the three of you,” he tells me as we leave the car.
Taking care of us. Not protecting us or following orders from the DAU. If my heart races any faster, I fear it may rip from my chest. These men… they are too much.Too sweet. Too perfect.I don’t deserve the bond Fate has gifted us.
“Come on, let’s get the house aired out. It might be a little stale.” We follow Shepherd up the small set of stairs and around the corner to the front door. He unlocks it and takes the lead inside, eyes sweeping through the large living room-kitchen combo.
My nose wrinkles at the smell of dust that lingers in the air, the scent a little too reminiscent of Colin’s. With Kaitlin’s hand still wrapped in mine, we go around the room and crank open the windows. The summer breeze immediately helps to rid the space of the foulness.
While Foster and Shepherd open the rest of the windows, I take a few minutes to explore. A stone fireplace sits at the back of the kitchen-living area. The worn exterior fits perfectly withthe dark wood walls and weathered floor. To the right inside the front door is a kitchen. It’s relatively small with a corner sink, but the appliances seem newer, which will be nice for cooking.
On the left is a small dining area. Two large windows frame the wall, casting beams of sunlight onto the handmade wooden table. The only other furniture in the room is a high-back chair beside the fireplace and an overstuffed, medium-sized couch. It is bare, lacking any signs of life. I suppose that makes sense since this is a safe house and not someone’s home.
Still, the lack of personality makes the room feel cold and oppressive.
“The bedrooms are back this way,” Foster says, reappearing from a short hallway leading to the rest of the small house. Grabbing a bag of Kaitlin’s and my clothes, I follow him. There are four doors here, two on each side of the hallway. He cracks one open to reveal a bathroom. Relief floods me when I see the bathtub inside. Kaitlin doesn’t mind showers, but splashing in the bath is one of her favorite parts of the day.
A few more feet down the hall, he opens another door. This one leads to a bedroom. He drops the rest of our bags at the foot of the queen-size bed. “This will be your room. Shepherd and I are across from the bathroom, and the door across from this is a panic room. We’ll go over how to open it later when we run through safety procedures.”
Swallowing thickly, I offer him a tired smile. These next few weeks cannot pass quickly enough. I’m ready for all of this to be over. My children and I deserve the chance to live free of fear. A dream that won’t become reality until my father’s cult is dismantled. Running my palm along the plaid comforter on the bed, I lose myself in worries about the future. It’s only a tiny hand tugging at mine that pulls me out of my mental spiral.
I turn to see Foster watching me with concern-filled blue eyes. Part of me is surprised I don’t see his Alpha hoveringbehind him, but I imagine there is a lot Shepherd needs to take care of in securing the safe house before we settle in for the evening.
Needing the weight of his attention off of me, I suggest we grab the rest of our supplies from the car. After twenty minutes of carrying only the lightest bags inside, I settle Kaitlin at the dining table with her coloring books and unpack the groceries we bought on our way here. It’s almost five in the evening, so I take out stuff to make a simple spaghetti dinner for all of us.
The scent of garlic bread is heavy in the air by the time Shepherd returns. His short, strawberry-blonde hair is messy, and sweat soaks the back of his t-shirt. The material clings to his torso, revealing every delicious dip and curve of his body. My body heats, eyes locked on the rise and fall of his chest.
“Smells good.” His words break the spell our connection has me under. I startle, eyes flying to stare up at the ceiling.
“I-it, uh, should be done soon. If you need to wash up.” I stammer, cheeks burning with embarrassment. I hear him grunt before his feet move away. My eyes dart to where he walks down the hall, and I swear my heart is going to explode.
Foster laughs, pulling my attention to where he leans against the end of the kitchen counter. “Gorgeous, isn’t he?”
Covering my cheeks, I scoff and focus my attention back on the vegetables I was slicing for a salad. A warm body hovers behind me a second later. Foster’s long arm reaches around me, brushing against the side of my stomach as he grabs the knife. “I’ll finish this. You go relax.”
Shivers run up my spine despite the careful inch of space he keeps between us.
Fates, these men are determined to torment me.
Chapter Six
The sunbarely peeks over the treetops when I give up on sleep and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Foster is curled around a body pillow behind me, snoring softly. His tousled black hair falls across his forehead. My fingers gently brush his skin, feeling the tingles of our bond as I push it away from his face. Lying here with him in my arms is tempting. I doubt he will wake before late morning, so I could have hours of cuddles with my Omega.
But the sound of the bed creaking in the other room stops me.
I’m a light sleeper. A skill that has helped me throughout my career as an undercover agent with the DAU. You never know when a mission will go sideways. There have been plenty of situations where I have had to flee in the middle of the night after being discovered.
A downside of my inability to sleep heavily was hearing every time Hannah tossed and turned throughout the night. The thin walls of the cabin do little to dampen the noise. She’s been shifting every hour since retiring to her bedroom after dinner last night.
Sighing, I scrub a hand through my hair and climb out of bed. We should have grabbed extra pillows so she could use them to get comfortable. Lack of sleep cannot be good for her when she is already experiencing so much stress from fleeing New Hampshire. There isn’t much I can do about it now. Not until our supplies dwindle enough to warrant a trip into town. Being seen in public has to be a rarity until we are certain her family is no longer searching for her.
After I switch on the coffeepot, I slip into my boots and step outside. If I hurry through my check of the perimeter security systems, I can come back and make breakfast for everyone before Hannah has a chance to. Not that I don’t appreciate her cooking for us. I’d rather see her relax, especially if she isn’t sleeping soundly.
Cameras and motion sensors surround the cabin in a wide circle. I can monitor them from inside the panic room, but I like to do manual checks to make sure wildlife hasn’t knocked them loose. Squirrels, birds, and other small creatures sometimes take an interest in them, which can lead to the angles being messed up. And even a mistake as small as that can be crucial when lives are on the line.
Ensuring the safety of my pack is my highest priority, and that is exactly what Hannah and Kaitlin are. My pack. Maybe not officially yet, but one day they will be. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe until then.
