Page 20 of Deathless
I eyed the sun outside the window as I stuck my feet into my boots and hurriedly laced them up. “Let’s go. We should’ve left by now.”
Tezca went down the stairs first, followed by me and my two men. Malik waited for me in the kitchen, eyes shifting from the jaguar to me with a small smile and shake of his head. “You Wilders and their animals,” he chuckled.
“What?” I took a bite out of a piece of toast on the counter and washed it down with some black coffee. Malik was a longtime family friend and colleague of my mother’s. Naturally,he was a regular at our house parties. “Our biggest animal was a Doberman, this guy belongs to him.” I patted Tezca’s flank and nodded at Santos.
“I seem to recall a rooster that was definitely larger than expected.” Malik shuddered as if the memory traumatized him.
My laugh nearly had me choking on my food. “Foghorn was just intimidated by you. He thought you were going to steal all his ladies.”
Malik chuckled, setting down his own coffee cup. “You doing alright, Rori? Torr was pretty concerned.”
I nodded, trying to look as earnest as possible while my mens’ eyes bore into me like lasers. “I’m good, I swear. Just had a bad dream and a dry throat. Had a little coughing fit when I woke up is all.”
Malik was too damn smart and observant. I knew he could tell I was still rattled, but I wasn’t about to explain the gods business to him. He might physically prevent me from leaving.
“You’re sure? I understand you’re going out for a few days?”
“Yeah. I promise you, I’ll be fine, doc. I wouldn’t put my people at risk.”
He spent another good, long minute observing me before nodding. “Alright. Be safe out there, young lady.”
“I’ll be back before you know it.” I gave him a quick hug before scarfing down more toast. “I know these guys can be a handful.”
“Oh, they’re no trouble. This group is surprisingly open to talking about their experiences. I’m seeing lots of support and camaraderie between the fighters. I’m thinking of hosting a group session soon.”
“Really? That’s great.” A physical weight seemed to lift from my chest. I was really hoping the fighters wouldn’t be extremely closed off or worse, hostile to Malik.
As if bubbling up out of nowhere, I got an urge to ask about Hudson’s progress but ultimately chose not to voice it. With a final squeeze of Malik’s arm, I headed for the door. “See you when I get back.”
Torr, Santos, and Tezca followed me out to where my handpicked team was waiting.
“Took you long enough,” Val griped. “I could’ve slept in another half hour if I knew you were gonna drag ass.”
“The president arrives when she is ready,” quipped the Saint, sitting astride one of the borrowed motorcycles.
“No shit,” Val grumbled.
LJ sat quietly on his ride, arms crossed in front of him while he stared daggers at the Saint.
I turned to Torr first, lifting on tiptoes and throwing my arms around his neck in an embrace. “Keep an eye on the Bull,” I whispered in his ear. “We need to know if they’re shady together or if one of them is instigating something.”
“Okay.” That was the only thing he said before crashing his mouth to mine, stealing all my air and apparently the bones in my legs as I wobbled. His forehead pressed to mine when he broke away. “For fuck’s sake, be careful out there. Call me if you can.”
He knew the likelihood of having a signal was slim, and he was worried enough to want a call anyway.
“I’ll try.” I cupped his face, running my thumbs over those sharp cheekbones. “I love you, Torr.”
His lips tensed. Relaxed. Tensed again. He was trying to say it back.
Eventually, he gave up.
“You better fucking come back to me,” he growled. “If I hear nothing for one week, I’m riding after you.”
“You won’t have to,” I assured him, pushing his hair off of his forehead.
“I can’t fucking lose you. To them, their god, or whatever—”
“You won’t.” I gave him another kiss, rising on my tiptoes to make it forceful, harder. Pulling away slowly, I was already smiling when we separated. “It’s gonna take a lot more than some angry cunt of a god to keep me away from you.”
