He truly does love them.
And he’s good with them.
“Luckily, they all know the rules and follow them,” Maverick says. “And a single word stops the game immediately. No questions. No hesitation. You can never be too safe when it comes to children.”
I remember last year…the night he told us about his wife and daughter.
I glance toward the hallway where the children disappeared, their laughter fading.
I can’t imagine what it must feel like to stand in a house full of children’s laughter when your own child rests in the ground.
To hear little feet running, and know yours never will again.
Chapter Fifteen
Abby
I am so freaking sick.
Not dramatically sick.
Not cute little sniffle sick.
Full-blown, head-throbbing, throat-on-fire, body-aches-like-I-got-hit-by-a-bus sick.
Luckily, I agreed a few days ago to work from inside the compound while the men sort out whatever secret-war-espionage-chaos they’re currently orchestrating. At the time, I rolled my eyes about it.
Now?
Bless their paranoid, overprotective hearts.
I knew I was coming down with something yesterday. I felt stuffy all day. That was it…just a little pressure behind my eyes, a faint tickle in my throat. But I knew.
You know when your body whispers,Oh, this is gonna be bad?
Yeah. That.
Now I’m wrapped in three blankets, sweating and freezing at the same time, staring at my ceiling like it personally offended me.
What I really need is medication.
Cold meds. Soup. Something that doesn’t taste ash.
But I don’t want to risk giving this to anyone else.
All it takes is one person catching this from me. One hug. One shared surface. One accidental breath too close.
Then it spreads to Max.
Then Lila.
Then Bree.
And if it hits Micah?
My stomach twists.
That boy cannot afford even something as simple as a common cold. His body doesn’t fight the way ours do. What’s inconvenient for me could be dangerous for him.
