“Bees! Hat!” she yelled, and her critters obeyed, going into their hive. “I’ve been yelling for over a mile.” Colel’s face was bright red.
“Sorry. Couldn’t hear you.”
“Yeah. No kidding. Which is very unfortunate.”
“Why?” he asked.
Colel gave his shoulder a push. “Because then you might’ve heard me telling you not to leave. Oh, and to help me fight off Fina’s sisters!”
He frowned. What was she talking about? “Weren’t you behind me the entire time?”
“No, stupid! Fina’s ankle wasn’t broken. She was just taking one for the team so we could get away.”
Huh? “No—but—she…” He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I could hear the lies in her words, and if you’d been paying attention, you would’ve too. Broken ankle? Seriously, Brutus? That girl has a thing for you and just wanted you to go on ahead. She threw herself under the bus. I stayed and tried to reason with Fina, but she wouldn’t have it. Then the trackers arrived and took her.”
“What?”
“Yes. And look.” Colel showed him her arm. “One of them scratched me with something and knocked me right out. A poison or something. I don’t think I was out very long though.” She smacked her hat. “Thanks a lot, guys! Little bastards,” she grumbled.
Meanwhile, Brutus’s head began spinning. It simply wasn’t possible that he hadn’t detected her lies. He was an immortal soldier who’d interrogated hundreds of foes. He could sniff out BS from a mile away. Yet I fell for it.
He shook his head. Perhaps Fina was right about one thing; his ego was bloated. And wily, cunning woman that she was, she knew how to use it to achieve her goals.
Brutus took the kitten and shoved it at Colel. “See to it that Señor Gato gets a good drink of water and some food. Please call my men back in Sedona and check in on Niccolo.”
“Where are you going?” Colel asked.
“Where do you think?”
“Alone? But, Brutus, you are no match for those women. You will die.”
“Then I will, but at least I’ll die with honor.” He started walking away.
“But, Brutus, we are—”
“Good luck with the apocalypse! Kiss your bees for me.”
Was he mad? Colel shook her head as Brutus’s mighty frame disappeared into the dense, sticky rainforest. Those women were absolutely going to tear him limb from limb, and there wasn’t a darn thing she could do about it.
“But, Brutus!” she called out. “We’re only five minutes from the old base!”
No reply. He was either out of earshot or ignoring her.
Ugh! Why don’t they ever listen? Her plan was to fly north to the new base and gather reinforcements. The women who had Fina were traveling on foot, so Colel could probably cut them off before they reached their village. Once they had Fina back, the soldiers could start rounding up the other ninety or so women, which had to be done anyway before they flipped.
Dammit. “Now what am I going to do?” She looked down at the sleepy little creature in her arms, nestled against her chest. Brutus was going to try to rescue Fina on his own, which was a super lame idea. My plan was way better. He’s going to get himself killed!
“Why do men have to be so stubborn?” she asked Mr. Furface.
The cat simply stared up at her.
“All right. Let’s get you a snack and some water.” Perhaps along the way, she’d come up with another plan.
Who am I kidding? Mr. Gung Ho is going to try to be the hero. She knew the man. The need to protect and fight ran deep in his veins. He was complicated that way. Decapitate your foe. Sure! Run headfirst into battle with a stick and some chewing gum, MacGyver style? Yep! Fix you a cup of chamomile and run you a bubble bath because you’ve had a very bad day because the bees are dying and you don’t know why? You betcha! Knit a sweater for your hive because you have to go to Canada in the winter and try to help the bees who’ve caught the flu? Better believe it!
Brutus did have a huge ego, but that was what made him so special. His ego was fueled by the need to serve others without regard for his image or what anyone thought. To him, tough meant something completely different compared to everyone else. Brutus would just as soon make you soup as he would disembowel your enemy. No difference to him.
Whichever woman landed him, whether it be Fina or some other, she would be the second luckiest woman on the planet. Colel was the first, in her mind. Her mate, Rys, was in many ways like Brutus, a selfless giver and tough as nails.
“All right! Let’s get a move on!” she barked at her black-and-yellow army. “We need to think of something before Brutus ends up dead.”
The swarm exited her hat and hovered in front of her face.
“Yes. Give me your ideas.”
The bees conversed among themselves for a long moment before giving her their advice.
“No. You can’t be serious.”
They swarmed and riled. In all honesty, it was not her first choice, but maybe they were right.
“Well, you guys have always been a little crazy, but I don’t see another option.” Colel just hoped it wouldn’t make things worse.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I don’t understand. I thought for sure we’d have tons of matches by now.” Sitting outside on the deck of the plush guest bungalow overlooking the jagged red cliffs of Sedona, with his laptop and breakfast martini in hand, Zac scratched the side of his head. It was a crisp cool sunny morning, the day full of promise for turning the corner in this insane situation. Or so he thought.
He threw back his martini and set the empty glass to his side on the small wooden table. Dammit. What did I do wrong? The daily meeting with his brethren was in less than five minutes, and his plan to deliver a huge blow to the Universe’s scheming had not panned out.
“It is okay, Mr. Zac.” Tula appeared on the cedar lounge chair beside him, wearing a yellow sundress with white daisies and a high neckline. Her blonde locks were braided in two pigtails. She looked utterly delectable.
“You’re back. I missed you.”
“Yeah, I had to recharge a bit. Takes a lot out of me to materialize now.” The sound of her voice dipped.
Fuuuck. She really was fading. And now, he was failing.
He blew out a long breath and closed his laptop. “No. It’s not all right.” This was supposed to work!
Russian babes!
Immortal men!
Boom! Sparks leading to salvation.
“I’ve failed again, Tula.” He bowed his head and covered his face. “I can’t seem to do anything right.” Except look really hot and tempt females. Okay, and men, too. And the occasional unicorn.
“That’s not true, my love,” she said sympathetically. “You love me, and I couldn’t ask for anything more right now.”
He turned his head, the frustration bubbling over. “No, Tula. I have fucked everything up since day one. I wanted you because I couldn’t have you. Then I needed you, but didn’t think about what you needed. Then Cimil took you away because she knew I was too dense to see who you really were to me. I flipped and went to kill you, only to realize you were my mate, and ended up killing you anyway! On accident, yes, but what is an accident? Nothing more than a failure to see a potential outcome of one’s actions.” He groaned out a breath. “Cimil hid you from me because she knew how everything would turn out.”