“Yeah, Eric and I are acquainted.” Owen remembered their first conversations over the comm system, Eric often siding with Owen when it came to thoughts on how to keep a pregnant Alace safe. “Our first encounter couldn’t have gone better.” Jealous Eric would always be Owen’s favorite, because it meant the man was still as deeply in love with Alace as he’d ever been. “But if anyone deserves a happy ending, it’s Alace Sweets.”
***
Alace
Head in her hands, she massaged her scalp with stiffened fingertips, running the sequence of events back through her mind.
“Alace, it’s done now. Do you want to go downstairs or come to bed?” Even without turning around, she could picture Eric’s expression. Supportive concern and his love for her was a rock she’d break against if she were too near him right now.
She started the process of securing her workstation, first checking the entire video collection had uploaded to a cloud server, then verifying her address seeker was working on hits to the previous location. She’d written a quick script that would attach to every individual trying to gain access and snake back to their location. IP addresses weren’t as anonymous as most folks thought, and even the ones who’d used an anonymizer weren’t immune to the script. If it encountered a secure VPN connection, the script would write a sequence of malware bytes to the computer, inserting in the registry of the computer to make them harder to eradicate. That malware would then replicate itself, turning on various functions until it was a working keylogger that would dial home upon demand.
With the battery removed and laptop stored, she locked the drawer and stood, still facing away from Eric. “Shower first, then bed. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
“Alace.” She hadn’t taken a single step yet, and Eric was already on to her. The mattress moved, covers rustling, and then his warmth enveloped her. Even before his arms encircled her, before his feet braced hers on either side, before his lips pressed to her temple—she felt owned and possessed, supported in ways she’d never be able to put words to. “Beloved, it’s okay to be upset.”
“I’m not angry.” He scoffed gently, mouth against the side of her throat. “I’m not, not really. I could have been, had already decided to be pissed as hell that Owen would put me in the position he did, risk the team by going off on his own and being a hero. I was talking to Doc and redirecting August, and all the time I was writing my speech in my head, calling him reckless and careless, angry he didn’t care about what we’ve been building.”
“What happened? If you aren’t angry now, what is it? What are you feeling?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a lot less familiar than anger. When Doc told me where Owen’d gone, it was like something broke loose inside me. He said Owen was upset, something I’d already discerned from my own read of his behaviors earlier in the evening. By that point, by the time Doc called, I had already seen the videos.” She twisted around, peering up at Eric’s face. His arms tightened around her, holding tight.
“His little girl. The girl he rescued only weeks ago. Eric, one of the videos was of her. It had been taken only hours before he got to the compound, and I know Owen had already been beating himself up that she suffered the assault after he knew the location. He’d known where Kelly’s little sister was for a day or more but held off until he could get things sorted. And then the video happened.” She shook her head, staring at Eric.
“As soon as I realized he knew about the video, I understood he wouldn’t wait for long, but I didn’t expect him to go off on his own like that. He didn’t have a strategy at all, exit or otherwise.” Alace fought for control of her face, hating how her chin trembled. “He didn’t call me. Not first, not before, not even last. Why didn’t he call me, Eric?”
“I don’t know, Alace.” He bent to press his cheek to hers. “And you won’t know until you ask him.”
“I should have asked tonight. Just now, I could have asked.”
“It’s harder when you can’t see him, read him. Not only his face with the video but everything. You’re a master at interpreting someone’s body language, and if you’d asked tonight, you’d be cutting off that avenue of information.” Eric swayed back and forth, moving them in a slow rhythm. “I bet when you do talk to him, though, you’re going to find there’s nothing malicious in his reasons. That it wasn’t a lack of trust in you and your partnership. He values you and your opinion, Alace. But more than that, he likes you.”
“I thought we were friends.” She hated how her voice shook.
“You are friends. I consider him a friend, and I don’t have the same kind of relationship you do. He and I aren’t close, but we’re friends.” Mouth next to her ear, he reassured her, his certainty a force to be reckoned with. “If he knew how he hurt you tonight, Owen would be devastated. He will be once he sees. Trust me, once he realizes what he almost threw away by not thinking, he’s going to be pissed at himself.”
“This all feels so stupid.”
“Feelings are harder than facts. Feelings are messy, unpredictable, and sometimes uncomfortable.” Eric leaned back, his expression soft and sweet as he stared at her. “And they don’t come with instructions. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be scared. It’s not stupid, not at all.” Brushing the tip of his nose against hers, he smiled. “It’s human, Alace. It’s human.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” The single word—that fucking, fucking word—held enough confidence and assurance much of the tension in her muscles melted away. “And it needs to be said. Alace, it’s okay to be human.” He gave her a squeeze and touched her lips with his. “We’re all human. Now, go get your shower, and if we’re lucky we’ll have a nap before the lovely Lila decides it’s time to eat.”
It’s human to feel these things. Something she knew intellectually but always felt on a plane above. “What you said helped. I just—I don’t want to lose him, Eric. I told him, I told him when we set out that he couldn’t start down this path with me and then change course.”
“Then remind him of what you both will lose.” He gave her a nudge. “But do it tomorrow after sleeping.”
“Yeah.” She straightened. “The important thing is he’s home safely.”
“And Shiloh is safe. Among the most important things are the facts Shiloh and Kelly are safe and experiencing the true love of a family for the first time ever.” Eric glanced towards the bassinette and back to Alace. “It’s never too late to love.”
Shiloh. She remembered the little girl dangling from her arms upside down, trusting Alace wouldn’t drop her, would hold her tight, keep her safe. Everything in that child’s life had been topsy-turvy for so long, like that nerve-jangling dangle, and things were barely beginning to right themselves around her. “I get why Owen would have reacted the way he did. He was protecting his family. Instinct, to take on the largest and closest perceived threat.” She turned to look at Lila, sleeping with arms thrown over her head, open and vulnerable.