Page 78 of Hawk's Cry

“Hey.” Eli steps in front of me. “Liv’s tired, she’s been through an ordeal. She needs to unwind and get some rest. Can you hold your horses until the morning?”

“We only just found out she disappeared.” Zoey stomps her foot, just like she used to when she was a child.

“And now she’s back,” Sophie says calmly. “Eli’s right. You can catch up with her tomorrow.”

“We’ve been planning your baby shower,” Hilda says, her eyes gleaming. Then she turns her teenage eyes on Mom accusingly. “Of course we didn’t know you were missing at the time.”

Mom shrugs and looks at me. “Had to keep them amused somehow. And that was supposed to be a secret.” She mock slaps Hilda on the ass.

Dad and Mom’s house is getting crowded as two more people push in.

“You okay?” I’m asked again, this time by Amy.

Again I explain I am, but am worried about the effects of the drug Archangel gave me.

Amy purses her lips. “If the baby’s moving and nothing seems abnormal, it shouldn’t be a problem. This late in your pregnancy the baby’s well protected. But I’d go to the hospital tomorrow just to make certain.”

Eli’s tensing beside me. “Can you all just give Liv some space? What she needs most is some rest.”

At last they realise what’s best for me. “Well, we’ll say goodnight.” Which is a misnomer as it’s already daylight outside. I turn to walk out of the house to go home.

“Er, Liv.” Eli stops me. “Our house…”

Shit. I’d completely forgotten.

“Has a bed.” Wizard comes up alongside us. “Sent the prospects down into Tucson. They’ve already brought it back and got it set up.” He passes Eli some keys. I recognise the ring that they’re on. They’re the keys to our house.

I feel tears at the back of my eyes, as emotion floods through me. I’ll stay by my man’s side through anything and go anywhere life takes us, but here is where I really want to be.

Wizard bends his head and speaks into Eli’s ear. Eli nods and grins evilly. Then, at last, he puts his arm around me.

Leaving my mom and dad’s house, we walk past the next two, then up to our own front door. Eli bounces the keys in his hands for a moment.

His reluctance to open the door worries me. “Do you think this is a backward step?” The significance of Wizard handing them to him hadn’t been lost on me. It’s not just the house to stay in tonight, I suspect he’s given us the chance to move back to the compound.

Now just staring at the keys he’s holding, Eli starts to speak, “I fucked up, Liv. I dragged you down with me when I reached the lows of my life. If I hadn’t had run from my problems, Archangel would never have gotten near you—”

“He might,” I snap, interrupting him. “I’m not chained to the compound, Eli. I go out. Amy works at the hospital, other girls have jobs. He could have taken anyone, but he took me, your wife. And if anyone was going to turn the tables on him, that was going to be you.”

“But it was you who was taken, and I made it easy for him.”

“You won. That’s the main thing. Archangel’s not a problem anymore.” I turn him around so he has to look at me. “Did you lose any men?”

He shrugs. “No.”

“So, whatever you did, worked. I’m safe, the baby’s safe, and we can come back here, if that’s what you want.”

Now his hands clasp my arms. “There’s nothing I want more, Liv, but there’s a lot to sort out. The club won’t want me back. I can’t just pick up where I left off. I’ll still need a job.”

“All that will sort itself out in good time. But we’ve got our family back, and you’re with me. And soon,” I grin, “our daughter will make three.”

He shakes his head and raises an eyebrow. “Not having a girl, Liv. You know this.”

When I start to chuckle, knowing his feelings only too well, I stop when he again says my name.

“Liv.” The seriousness of his tone worries me.

“What?” I reply, uneasily.

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