Epilogue
"Damn."
King cut a sideways glance out of his one remaining good eye to Juarez, who stood next to him in the large open doorway of the drawing room that lay just off the grand foyer. "What?"
They each leaned a shoulder against the door frame and stared at the gatheringwithin.
"Our compound has turned into a chick factory." Juarez’s tan face pulled down into afrown.
"Can't kick them out," King replied and folded his arms across hischest.
Juarez frowned. "I know, no one tied to us is safe. Not with Rainier outthere."
"And Dawson," King said quietly and balled his hands into tight fists. "That traitor is out forblood."
King had no intention of allowing Dawson to harm anyone else in this compound. He’d taken them by complete surprise in the warehouse. Everyone on the team had thought him dead, killed in the lab under General Rainier’s supervision. But they wouldn't be caught by surpriseagain.
King’s right eye itched beneath the black patch covering it and he resisted the urge to reach up to scratch the reminder of what his teammate had done to him. Dawson hadn’t killed him with that bullet, but he’d sure as hell disabled him. King couldn’t shoot the way he was used to. He couldn’t fight how he’d been trained. He couldn’t do shit right because he’d beenblinded.
This weakness ate at his confidence and made his blood burn with anger. "We should be searching for them; with the gold, Rainier has the resources to set up a new researchfacility."
"Hey, you two, come join in," Melissa called out. She and her sister Whitney perched beside Hicks on the love seat, Diggs sat on the chair opposite them with Audra in his lap and Reaper knelt on the carpet next to the overstuffed recliner where Caroline sat propped up by a pillow with her hand draped over her swellingbelly.
"We’re good," Juarez called out inreturn.
King never sat around eating appetizers and sharing drinks with friends. He didn’t have friends. But the women had insisted on a group gathering today to celebrate the good news that Caroline was having a babygirl.
The scene playing out before him too closely resembled a family and King didn’t do families. He preferred being on theoutside.
A muffled crash sounded from upstairs and everyone looked at the ceiling, but no onemoved.
Ever since Quantum had woken from the coma, he’d been different – any hope the team had held out he'd return to normal slowly died a little bit more every day. Quantum used to be the one man on their team they could all talk to and joke with in any circumstance. But now he couldn’t tolerate a single man on theteam.
Only Melissa and Trigger could approach him withoutincident.
Trigger actually seemed to prefer Quantum’s side to everyone else, but today he lay at Audra’s feet, watching the others in the room with a guardedlook.
The silence stretched out and King let out a muttered curse. "I'll go check onhim."
Melissa got to her feet, a small smile on her lips and tight lines around her eyes. "No, let me." She crossed the room and paused in the doorway between King and Juarez. "We don't need to distress him any more thannecessary."
Every man on this team upsetQuantum.
Though neither of them said it, the words hung between them heavy withsadness.
King nodded and settled his shoulder back against the door frame, watching as she disappeared up the staircase behindthem.
"I hate this," Juarezsaid.
"We alldo."
"King, Juarez, please join us." Caroline's soft voice filled the room. Reaper reacted by inching closer to his fiancée. King couldn’t help but feel a tug of protectiveness for her. She’d been put through an altogether different kind of hell by Rainier and had barely escaped with her life after the general had drained her blood to create theserum.
He shoved away from the door frame. Juarez blew out a huff and followed suit, neither of them could deny her in her condition. She'd come close to losing the baby once already, and although he didn’t have one, she was as close to family as it could get in King’smind.
Each and every man in this room felt the need to protect her, and if that meant doing as she asked to keep her from getting upset, well they’d do that, too. King came to stand behind the couch, Juarez right besidehim.
Caroline gave them a weak smile. "Thank you. You two belong in here." She glanced at Reaper, who scooped up her hand and stared right back with openadoration.
