Page 19 of Endless
“Still want a shower?” I asked once I had enough breath in my lungs.
He huffed out a laugh, lowering to ghost kisses along my back. “Take one with me.”
I looked up at Shadow. “Sorry, you might have to rub me down again.”
“Oh no.” He grinned and swept hair out of my face. “What a shame.”
Eight
SHADOW
Ijolted upright in bed, my heart beating mercilessly at my sternum and my skin covered in a cold sweat.
Shit, that was a bad one. The worst I've had in a while.
I sought to ground myself and catch my breath while the nightmare ebbed away. The room was dark, but I saw Mari clearly, wrapped up in one of the others as they slept. I tipped my head back and found the headboard of our bed, curled my fingers to feel the sheets underneath me.
I'm home. I'm okay.
My throat was as parched as a bone, and I itched for some light and open space. Just to calm my senses so I could go back to sleep.
I swung my feet to the floor and found a pair of sweatpants to put on, then moved silently out of our bedroom and down the stairs. Once in the kitchen, I flicked on the light and filled a big glass of water from the tap. I drank it and filled it three times before pausing to take a breath.
Bracing my hands on the edge of the sink, I stepped back and tried to assess the sudden nightmare without spiraling into anxiety.
Had I been stressed lately? No, not really. My one shitty client was gone. The tattoo shop was always busy, but I'd been able to hand more work off to my apprentice. The kids seemed happy with school and all of their activities. Rori had her tantrums, but that was normal. Everything between Mari, me, and the guys was fine.
Was it the anniversary of something? Going to prison, getting out of prison, getting captured by the Sha, or confronting my mother's ghost?
I couldn't find something concrete to pinpoint as the reason for my first nightmare in almost a year. Dr. Ellis said they would show up randomly sometimes, but there was usually some underlying cause.
"Daddy?"
I whipped around to see a sleepy, bedheaded Rori blinking at me just outside of the kitchen. She had on her favorite llama-print pajama set and was already outgrowing it, hands and feet sticking far out of the sleeves.
"Hey, sweetheart." I straightened, stepping away from the sink. "What are you doing up?"
"Um." She rubbed her eyes and avoided the question, which meant she was probably reading picture books or playing after we said lights out. "Did the monsters try to get you, Daddy?"
I smiled at her. Gunner scared the kids with stories of monsters under the bed on Halloween, but she had no idea how real monsters could be.
"They tried but they couldn't get me." I lowered to a crouch, holding my arm out to her. "Come here."
Rori shuffled over and leaned heavily on me from how tired she was. I groaned as I lifted her up, holding her against my side as I came to standing.
When did I become a dad to five-year-olds? It seemed like we had just brought the twins home from the hospital. Rori and her brother used to be shorter than my forearm, their heads fitting comfortably in my palm with room to spare. I refused to carry them upstairs for weeks, terrified that I'd drop one of our infants.
Now my daughter was a hefty weight on my hip, her legs dangling past my waist, and squirmier than Freyja when she didn't want to be held anymore.
I tickled one of Rori's feet as I turned back to the kitchen, earning a few giggles and light kicks on my ribs. "Do you want some milk, Ror-meister?"
She nodded, settling down with her head on my shoulder."Lechita, por favor."
"Very good." I kissed her forehead, pleasantly surprised. "You'll have to tell Papi Jandro the new words you know."
I opened the fridge, grabbed the milk and her sippy cup, poured the milk and put the lid on, all using my left hand. I thought being ambidextrous came in handy as an assassin, but I found it much more useful in parenting.
"Careful now." I handed Rori her drink. "Don't spill."
