Page 56 of The Hitman's Omega Priest
He sat up so fast Bishop reached to steady him. Kensley grabbed Bishop’s shoulders, pulse racing. “Malori had two children while he was held captive, Bishop. We have to help him find his kids.”
Bishop’s lips parted as his eyebrows rose. A fresh wave of horror washed over his expressive face, brightening his eyes with tears. “Two? Motherfucker, I can’t believe that.”
“He’s so exhausted. And the last time they took Malori away and brought him back…I don’t think all of him came back. He was so empty last night. Today, I think Decker was going to kill him, rather than take him with us when we left the compound, but I shot him before he could. Decker, I mean. He shot Malori, and then Malori shot Decker until the gun was empty.”
“I don’t blame Malori one bit. Decker was evil. I don’t have the words for Malori’s situation. I’d heard that brothels like this existed, but only as nebulous stories. I’d never met or spoken to anyone who had actually been to one. Everything was third or fourth hand. I cannot begin to fathom Malori’s pain. Having two children stolen from him. How long was he there?”
“About three years.”
“So he was pregnant roughly half the time he was held captive? Fuck me.”
“I promised we’d find his kids.”
“We’ll do everything we possibly can, I swear.” Bishop’s lips twitched. “Judging by the way King hasn’t left Malori’s side, I have a feeling King will move heaven and earth to find them.”
Kensley blinked a few times while the thought turned over in his mind. King hadn’t left Malori’s side since their escape, and it hadn’t occurred to him it was anything other than King’s overprotective streak. “You think so? Malori’s a lot younger than him. He’s younger than me.”
“I’m speculating. But we will help Malori, as best we can. He has a lot of healing to do. So do you, Kens.”
Kensley shook his head. “Not like him. Sure, I was stressed out and bored, and I nearly had a fear-induced stroke those ninety minutes I was drugged, but I’m okay.”
Bishop rested a palm on his forehead, a hot, comforting weight. “Maybe you’re okay physically, but you’ve been wounded here, sweetheart. You’ve been terrorized, and that leaves a mark. It doesn’t go away just because your body isn’t damaged. Your mind needs time to heal, too.”
Those wonderful, comforting words squeezed a few more tears from what Kensley thought were exhausted wells. “It’s hard not to compare Malori’s trauma to mine and to come up short. But I do hear you. It’ll take time.”
“And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“Good. We need you.” Kensley couldn’t take the slip back, and he silently prayed Bishop didn’t?—
“We?” Bishop seemed poised to brush it off as a slip of the tongue, but Kensley must not have managed his expression well. Bishop’s eyes narrowed. “Kens?”
“Look, she was probably lying to keep me from hurting myself.” Kensley took one of Bishop’s hands and pressed it over his lower belly. When he found the words, he spoke them to their hands. “Marta? The lady who held me after the island? She said I was pregnant.”
“P-p-pregnant? That’s impossible.”
“Not when it comes to a true charum. Apparently, finding each other and our bodies recognizing each other…it can trigger my fertility period. And considering all the sex we were having all over the island, it’s possible I am pregnant, but I have no proof.” He chanced looking Bishop in the eyes.
Eyes shining with so many things Kensley couldn’t hope to name, but above all he saw love. “You could be pregnant?” Bishop’s voice was soft, so full of awe it couldn’t hold the weight of it. “Really?”
“It’s possible, but I don’t kn—umf.”
The force of Bishop’s kiss stole his words and his breath, and then Kensley was on his back, surrounded by Bishop’s familiar, comforting body. The embrace wasn’t sexual, despite their positions. It was love and comfort and joy and acceptance, all rolled up into a hug and a kiss. A long, reassuring hug and kiss that Kensley never wanted to end.
“My God, I can’t believe this,” Bishop said, hot breath puffing against Kensley’s damp lips. “Our baby.”
“Marta could have been lying. I was all alone in this hospital-style room, no one to talk to, no idea what they might do. She probably thought I’d behave if there was a baby at risk, especially wondering if you were dead or not.” A new blast of fury over thatmanipulation heated his chest. “Fuck, I hate her for that. I could have fought harder to escape.”
“Maybe. But then you never would have led us to Malori and the others who were being trafficked.”
“You’re right. And even if Marta was lying and I’m not pregnant, I’ll never regret helping set the others free. If all that happened to Malori, then I can’t imagine what the rest suffered.”
“Don’t. Don’t stress over it, because you can’t change the past. Please, take comfort in knowing you have positively affected their futures.”
Kensley leaned into Bishop’s chest. “I can do that. But what if Iampregnant?”
“Then we’re going to be very busy in nine months, aren’t we?” he replied with a soft rumble of laughter. “It’s been a long time since I gave any real thought to having children, and now it’s an imminent possibility.”
“And a terrifying one, considering King’s enemies are still out there. Are the people who tried to kidnap me at the abbey connected to Marta or Decker?”
