Page 106 of Malachi
“Yeah,” Talia agreed with a coy little smile.
“No kidding,” Ruth added, smirking.
“So yeah, I guess it’s just sort of animalistic. Lots of fighting, chasing, hair pulling, biting—”
“Biting? That’s kinky,” Delilah grinned salaciously.
“Where do you think the marks come from?” I tossed back with a wink.
“Eden Temple, ladies and gentlemen. She may have been the last to join the race, but she’s gaining speed,” Delilah teased. I shot her a look, moving the collar of my shirt to the side to show the blackish purple mark just peeking up from my cleavage where Malachi had bitten me quite beautifully just two nights ago.
“Holy crap! That’s not a little love bite. That’s — that’s—” Naomi stammered, her eyes wide as she took in the black and purple mark.
“Malachi doesn’t half ass anything,” I said, the grin having never left my face.
“It certainly doesn’t seem like it!” Ruth teased as a ringing noise sounded from Talia’s bag.
“Oh, sorry, guys. Zeke insisted I carry it with me while he was away.” She shrugged, brushing off the cookie crumbs from her lap before reaching for the phone and answering. “Hello, beloved, how are —”
Her voice cut off abruptly. I could feel the air almost literally being sucked out of the room as the blood drained from her face and her entire demeanor changed.
“I understand. I love—”
Her voice cut off again with a broken sob.
“He hung up,” she commented almost lamely, as though she couldn’t put more than a few words together sensibly in the aftermath of whatever her husband had said.
She stood slowly, immediately buckling until she fell onto the floor.
“Talia!” Delilah cried out, dropping her cookie to the floor as she jumped up from her seat.
“Oh my God!” Naomi whispered under her breath with worry.
“Talia!” Ruth shouted.
“We need…,” Talia began, struggling to find words, her breaths coming in short, gasping pants.
“Deep breaths,” Ruth guided her, taking a hold of her chin and forcing the shaking woman to look at her. “That’s it. Deep slow breaths.”
“There isn’t time.” Talia’s voice wavered with every word.
“What do you mean, there isn’t time?” Ruth questioned, her brows furrowing as we all closed in around Talia’s crumpled form.
“Talia, what did Zeke say?” I asked, feeling fear grip around my heart like an icy threat of death.
“Plan B. Go,” Talia whispered, looking up at each of us.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
One heartbeat turned into another.
Silence prevailed, each of us afraid to do more than breath for a solid ten seconds.
Then all hell broke loose.
“Get the bags,” Ruth barked out a command. “Eden, help Talia. Let’s go, ladies!”
