Liam shifted into his wolf form and led them safely down the trail until they were only a hundred yards away from the church. Lina knelt down to stare into his eyes. “Go soon. The sooner, the better. The Abernathys are in too much disarray now to track your return. By the time they know you’re back, they’ll have already located your daughter. And then she and her men will need all the help they can get. Okay? We’ll see you again really soon. You can trust the Lyall clan, I swear it.”
Liam nodded. He nuzzled her hand and let out a soft chuff of thanks before turning on his heels and sprinting back up the trail.
Lina sighed and let Zack lead her the rest of the way out of the jungle. Back in the Rover and heading toward San Miguel, Zack shook his head. “Jan and Rick are not gonna believe this.”
“Especially since you can’t tell them. Or Kael, or Uncle Andel, or any of them.”
He looked surprised. “What the fuck? Why not?”
“Because they can’t know. Any of it. Not yet, anyway. Only you and I are strong enough to keep this secret. If any hint of Liam’s whereabouts gets out, his life is in danger. He has to get to Florida safely. The cockatrice are already plotting their next move. If the Abernathys find out too soon how deeply we’re aligned with the Lyall wolves, it could bump up their timeline. We can’t have that happening. That’s still the one biggest advantage we have over them and the cockatrice. The cockatrice think the Lyalls’ pack involvement is limited because of the stuff that happened with Bertholde and Lenny back at Yellowstone.”
“Then why couldn’t Liam come back with us?”
“It’s not the right time. He has to make the journey on his own.” She settled back in her seat to try to nap. She felt a little nauseous and chalked it up to misplaced morning sickness. Dammit, she couldn’t even enjoy being pregnant without all this bullshit.
“Then when is the right time?”
“After the Highland Games.”
“The what?”
Lina felt exhaustion suddenly take her over as her adrenaline rush of the past several hours sent her crashing. “The Arcadia Highland Games. That’s when they meet Elain. Now get me the hell out of this place. I need a Big Mac and a latte, stat.”
“And who is Elain?”
“She’s their One.”
“Okay, ask a stupid question—”
“Zack, please!”
He let out an aggravated sigh. “Sorry. Fine. I’ll drop it.” He went quiet.
She glanced at her left palm. In the dim light from the dashboard, she could just make out the faint lines of the ancient scar Baba Yaga had etched into her flesh so many lives ago. She rested the back of her hand against Zack’s thigh as he drove. He reached down with his right hand and laced his fingers through hers, with their palms pressed together. She felt a slight, pleasant tingle pass between them.
Somewhere, in the distant recesses of her mind, Lina thought she heard the crone’s pleased cackle.
Chapter Four
Lina sat on a bench in the baggage claim area at Tampa International and waited with their luggage while Zack retrieved their car. Thank goodness they’d brought his car to the airport and left it in long-term parking instead of having Rick or Jan or even Kael drop them off.
That reminds me. She pulled off all the luggage tags from Bolivia, routing them through Miami International on the return trip.
That would be hard to explain. She dumped the tags in a garbage can next to the bench.
Zack pulled up and shooed her into the car. “I’ll deal with the bags, Momma Goddess. You go sit and look pretty.”
She groaned. “I have to tell the guys.”
“That’s not a bad thing, you know.” He dumped their bags into the trunk, climbed behind the wheel, and pulled out into traffic to exit the terminal.
“They’re going to want to baby me.”
“Again, that’s a bad thing how?”
She shot him a dark look. “Since when do I like being babied?”
“True. But I’d be willing to bet after a few months you’re going to enjoy the crap out of it.”
She put her hand on her still-flat belly. “Why’d it have to be twins?”
He grinned. “I get to be an uncle! Spoil them rotten, get them all wound up on sugar, then hand them back off to you.”
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“The side of fun.” He grinned.
They reached the house an hour later, just after dark. Rick, Jan, and Kael all walked out to greet them and help with the bags. “I made dinner,” Kael said.
Jet lag and leftover morning sickness nearly upended Lina’s stomach. “Thank you, sweetie. But I think I just want a shower and lie down for a while.”
Jan frowned. “Are you all right, lovely?”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. Fuck it, might as well get it over with. “No.”
“What?” Jan and Rick said together.
“I’m pregnant.” She shot a look at Zack. “Twins.”
Jan and Rick’s eyes widened. “What?” they exclaimed together.
“Pregnant. Twins. What part didn’t you understand?”
They immediately engulfed her in a hug that nearly smothered her. She finally pulled free. “Seriously, guys. I’m sorry, but I’m not in a lovey-dovey mood right now. I’m sweaty and tired and my stomach’s not doing so hot. I need a shower and a few minutes to myself. Okay? Please?”
“Okay,” they both echoed. But they hovered inches behind her all the way up the stairs to their room and were annoyingly attentive.
When she stripped to get in the shower and they both started getting naked, too, she held up a hand. “Guys, seriously. Please? Just ten minutes alone? Okay?”
They both looked crestfallen, but nodded. She kissed Jan, then Rick. “I don’t think either of you want me throwing up on you,” she tried to add for humor.
She stepped into the shower and scrubbed, shaved, and washed her hair. Then she stood there and let the water sluice over her. It felt so good to be home.
She found both of them sitting on the bed when she emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her. She felt bad about being so short with them before.
“Guys, I’m sorry I’m in a bad mood. It’s not y’all’s fault.”
“Aren’t you happy you’re pregnant?” Jan asked.
“Yes, I am. I’m just tired and it was a shock.” Okay, need a better explanation than that. “Going to Seattle was emotional. I needed to do it,” she quickly added, so they wouldn’t bust Zack’s balls for the trip, “and I wanted to do it. And it was sort of a shock learning about my pregnancy from a vision.”
Rick frowned. “What kind of vision?”
Sin of omission. “Stuff is about to start happening again in a couple of months. We have a lot of things going on, and I guess it just wasn’t the fairytale revelation I’d thought it might be.”
She hugged and kissed Rick, then Jan. “I love you both. Yes, I’m happy we’re having…babies.” She sighed. “That was a shocker, too. I wasn’t expecting twins.”
“Twins run in our family, lovely,” Jan said. “We told you that.”
“I know. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen to me.”
“Can we get you anything?” Rick asked.
“Some peppermint hot tea and a grilled cheese sandwich would be nice, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Both men jumped up to do it, making her laugh. “Please don’t hurt yourselves fighting each other to take care of me.”
“We’ll be right back,” Jan said.
She smiled and stretched out in their bed after locating the remote. The shower had gone a long way toward making her feel better. Truth be told, she’d missed the heck out of her guys and did want some snuggle time.