“Sonny?”
She gave one mug to Nile. “She’s right. I watched Sonny run right past you. At first, I thought he was being typically stupid, chasing those guys down. But, he wasn’t. He left Rain.”
“No...he didn’t.” Jake let them know he was awake.
Maya went to him.
“Of course, he went after them. He’s a vicious mutt.” Dylan tried to stay calm. “Did they shoot him too? Did anybody search?”
“We did,” Nile said. “We didn’t find Sonny or his bike.” She took a deep breath. “We found the empty fixer vial and motorcycle tracks that led to the highway.”
There wasn’t any more to say about it. Maya and Nile knew what Sonny had done. Jake and Dylan knew what he hadn’t done.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When they were alone, Jake dialed Sonny. “Where the hell are you?” He put him on speaker.
“Getting this shit taken care of. Is Dylan okay?”
“He’s fine no thanks to your sorry ass skipping out on us.” The lack of judgment in his tone proved it was the last thing he thought.
“It was either solve the problem or get Dylan a band-aid. I was out of stickers.”
“Naw, Jake’s vomit creeped you out,” Dylan joked.
“That too.”
“Seriously,” Jake said, “you did the right thing. Stay gone. They’re helping us for now.”
“They are going to do more than help you,” Sonny said. “They are going to fix you, and Maya too. I guarantee it.”
“Whatever you’re thinking, Sonny, stop it.” Dylan cut him off. “We’re working through it. Shooting me was most likely a warning. Those lunatics are panicked. They’ll come after you.”
Jake said, “What do you have in mind?”
Dylan did a double-take. “Have you lost yours?”
“You haven’t felt what I went through. I want to make sure you never do. I don’t want their temporary help. I want it fixed. If Sonny has a way to do that, I want to know about it.”
“Now, we’re talking,” Sonny said. “The cure is in their blood. I know how to make them give it to us.”
“No. No.” Dylan shook his head. “I don’t want any part of this.”
“Too late, Dylan,” Sonny said. “You already are.”
“We can’t live like this,” Jake reasoned. “We have to get home. Get back to work. We need to be done and we have to get Maya out. She’s out of chances, Dylan.”
“So you want to toss the one they are giving us?” Dylan turned away.
“They need us to face the accused. They are extending our time for themselves, but what are they giving us?” Jake took the phone off speaker.
IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT when Dylan sent the text. Are you awake?
Nile replied in under two minutes. I am now.
I’m awake, bored, and lonely. How can I find you?
I’m not letting you come to my room.
I’ll wander the halls, opening random doors until I see you.
Don’t. Just don’t.
I’m in the hallway. Left or right?
Omg. Go left. Take the elevator to the 4th floor. Go left again. There’s a balcony. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.
She was there when he arrived. He held her and kissed her like he’d dreamt of doing. “I need to kiss you every day.”
Breathlessly hanging on to him, she said, “You should kiss me every day.”
“Can anybody see us here?”
“There’s a camera in the hall, but there’s no reason for anyone to monitor it. And, it’s dark; I think we’re safe.”
That was enough assurance for him. He backed her against the wall and freed her breast from her tank top. He suckled her as he eased his hand into her pajama pants.
It didn’t occur to Nile to resist. It felt too good to stop him. Being mindful of his bandaged body, she held him to her and let him have his way.
Raising her leg, he entered her slow and savored her heat. They were quiet—low moans and soft sounds. Locking eyes as they locked hearts and became one.
Their lovemaking didn’t last long—it wasn’t meant to. But it fulfilled the need to reconnect their spirits.
When he could think again, he led her to the lounge. The moon was full shooting silver light across the vast lawn. The former plantation house was a modern-day castle overlooking gardens and sprawling hills that bordered the graveyard. Illuminated tombstones dotted the horizon.
“This place is beautiful.”
“Um-hmm.” Her mind hadn’t quite caught up. “How did that happen?”
He laughed. “You’re sexy as hell and I’m insatiable.”
“But, I’m not an idiot. At least, I didn’t use to be. Originally, I wanted to have sex with you to get you out of my system. Now, I want to do it because it feels good.”
“That’s the reason to do it.” He kissed her fingers.
“But you’re not getting out of my system.”
“That’s the plan.”
“We do have reality to consider.”
“I could be dead, but I’m not. There’s my reality. I’m here, not suffering because of you. That’s the only reality I care about.”
She grinned, then made herself focus. “Still, there are other things to consider. You have a whole life...not here. We can’t ignore that.”
He didn’t say anything.
“What?”
“I know you’re talking. I hear words. But, you’re not wearing a bra and nothing is more important than that.”
“Stop it.” Not her tone, not her body language, not her grin: nothing about her was against his attention. “We have to talk about something serious.”
“Why?”
“Tomorrow is going to be terrible.”
He sobered some. “What’s happening tomorrow?”
“People will be here begging for our help. Many of them will be angry and accusatory as if we don’t have the right to protect ourselves. Not only that, they are going to blame you and Jacob.”
“I didn’t tell anybody to shoot me.”
“We didn’t give anybody the right to our blood, but they’ll be here demanding it, anyway.”
“So give it to them.”
She rolled her eyes. “So give them yours. It’s clean at the moment. One to two hundred people. Go ahead and drain yourself for them.”
“Point taken. I knew it was dumb when I said it.”
“Why say it?”
“I don’t know. The solution should be easy. But, it’s not, is it?”
“Not even close.”
He sighed. “This might be a betrayal, but I should warn you. Sonny isn’t gone, not fully, anyway. He may try something to force your family.”
“It will be his mistake. And, now, I’m confused. You had that information five minutes ago.”
“Okay?”
“You know someone who wants to force us to do their will and yet you casually suggest we give in and bleed.”
“Why do you always make me feel bad?”