Oh, wait. That was when they were going to want Trez.
Whatever.
It would be somewhere else.
As she hesitated, he said, “You wouldn’t have to serve anyone. You could be free.”
You could be with me, he thought.
Which was, yeah, nuts, but time was feeling really damn short lately, and he just didn’t want to wait about anything. Especially anything that was on the feel-good instead of the get-you-in-the-nuts scale.
“You’d be safe,” he repeated. “On my life, I would keep you safe. And there’s a whole world out here, things for you to do and places to explore, schools to attend. The humans are mostly idiots, but they’d leave you alone.”
In a flash, the fantasy spun out like a gold thread, images of him cooking for her at Sal’s, introducing her with pride to his waiters, maybe bringing her to the compound for a meal.
He studiously ignored the whole run-from-the-s’Hisbe thing.
“iAm,” she whispered.
Shit. That tone of hers said it all.
And he wasn’t going to hear it. “You could have a real life out here. You’re so much better than just a maid for other people. You could really live.”
With me, he finished to himself.
Oh, God, he was so done-for with her. And whereas he might have chalked it up to his finally getting laid, it was so much more than that. In his soul, he somehow knew her.
Over on the side table, his phone went off with a text.
“Think about it,” he said. “I know it’s a lot—so don’t give me any kind of answer right now. Head home, and be safe—I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Getting to his feet, he escorted her out to the living area and over to the glass sliders. A moment later, she was gone as if she had never been—and for a moment, he wondered if he wasn’t imagining all this.
It just seemed surreal.
Was he really falling in love here?
Closing things up, he intended to go back to his room and make the bed—mostly so that if s’Ex showed up, there wouldn’t be a lot of awkward convo. Instead, he just stayed at the sliders, staring out into the night, his brain chewing on what-ifs and how-’bouts.
The sound of his phone ringing back in the bedroom got him refocused, and he strode to the thing, going down the hall and through the doorway, heading over to the bedside table, reaching out for the glowing screen.
Picking it up, he accepted the call. “Rhage? Everything okay—”
“Trez needs you. Right now.”
“Is it—”
“Yeah. She’s in the clinic.”
iAm closed his eyes. “Tell him I’m on the way.”
As he hung up, he fucked off the messy bed and ran for the glass doors. Once out in the cold air, he tried to dematerialize, but his pounding heart and scattered emotions got in the way of his focus.
It was only by picturing Trez having to deal with a tragedy alone that he was able to pull his shit together, and a moment later, he was on the front steps of the Brotherhood mansion. Bursting into the vestibule, it took for-flippin’-ever for a doggen to answer the door, and iAm barely said two words to the male as he broke into a run.
It was a case of full-tilt down to the training center, and when he finally leapt out of the supply closet and careened through the office—
iAm skidded to a halt in the corridor.
There must have been … forty people outside the exam room, some sitting on the hard floor, others walking around. V was smoking while Butch was tapping one foot like someone had plugged his ankle into a socket. Phury was pacing like crazy; Z was stock-still. Bella was rocking Nalla in her arms. Payne was shuffling cards incessantly. John Matthew was holding hands with Xhex. Qhuinn had his arm around Blay. Autumn was holding Tohr around his waist as if she were the only thing keeping him off the concrete floor. Rhage was alone, standing far from the others. Even Wrath was there with Beth and L.W. and George.
All of the Chosen were present. Every single one of them, including Amalya.
And Rehvenge was closest to the door into the clinical space.
iAm closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe they had all shown up.
When he started walking forward, people embraced him, reached for his hands, squeezed his shoulders. He did his best to thank them and respond, but his head was spinning. When he got to Rehv, he just shook his head.
“What happened?”
“She collapsed—or whatever you want to call it—about twenty minutes ago. They’re working her up. He’s been asking for you.”
Those amethyst eyes had a sheen of red in them.
iAm could have used a minute to collect himself, but he’d already missed how much? God only knew what was going on in there, and there was only one way to find out.