TW// again? Unfortunately, yes. Some contents in this chapter can be a trigger. Please be advised, this is a completely fictional story, but if it gets too heavy for you, feel free to skip ahead.
"Steph—"
"Please—"
"You are not coming," I tell her for the third time. I'm trying to keep my cool but I can feel it slipping away from me. "None of you are."
I'm trying to track Lee, but I can't. Gracie's scared and crying. Somebody took her daughter from her, again. Sierra is just trying to keep the remaining kids happy and calm. Mom and Vivienne are trying to comfort Grace while Sloane is badgering me about going on what could very well be a suicide mission.
"You're making me feel helpless. I can help." She says again. "I'm not disabled."
"Sloane LaRue," I breathe with a deep sigh. "You are not helpless." I take her face between my hands and she holds on to them. To me. I can already see the worry in her eyes. I can feel her angst mixing with my own. She just wants to help, I know that. But, "You are pregnant and sick. Bringing you with me will not help me because you're my weakness right now. I need you safe, I need this baby safe, and if I take you with me, I'm risking all of that. A child for a child. No. You are going home to rest in bed."
I kiss her forehead as I stand up. "But—"
She starts, but this is not up for negotiation. Not even Sierra and Grace are coming. After what I saw happening in the vision, it's better to have none of them with me. They're all safer this way. I shake my head at her protest and turn away. "Can somebody talk to her? Please. She won't listen to me, and—I can't..."
The urge I have to pull all my hair out right now is enormous. I pace back and forth in the parking lot trying to track Lee again but I'm still getting nothing. Her signal is glitching. Not offline, not online either, just stuck in a weird limbo. Useless. Absolutely fucking useless!
The first thing I did was call Harvey. He's back at HQ canvasing this entire city but he has nothing for me yet. It's only been forty minutes but she could be anywhere. Maryland, Virginia, DC. Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey. She could be right under my nose. But I wouldn't know. I'm sure she went through the spinning doors. She went out behind Wren, before Grace. I made sure not to leave any of them behind, so where the fuck is she?
I can't even feel her. Within ten minutes, I was disconnected from her like a bad internet connection and all I can hope for is that she was alive.
The screeching of car tires alerts me and as I look towards the entrance of the parking lots, I see a black SUV approaching. It comes to a stop at my feet, the door flying open. Andrew hops out tossing me the keys. I catch them with one hand as they head for my face. "CCTV shows that somebody took her from the airport." He says as he walks up to me. "It was a woman. Dirty blonde hair, slim build. We didn't catch her face, but she was wearing a dark brown leather coat, distressed jeans, a black sweater, and black combat boots."
"Okay...but when did all of this happen and I didn't see?"
"Spinning doors. Wren walked out Grace walked out but Irelee never made it out. The woman blocked her, chloroform, and they went right back in."
"So, they're still here?"
"No." He shakes his head.
"We searched every single security camera in this place. They all conveniently went out just right after they re-enter the airport. There are no signs of them."
"So, we have no leads." My throat is already clogged. "Perfect."
"We have an Amber alert out for her," Andrew says giving me a sympathetic look. "It's not much but it's something. I can come with you on this case, LaRue. You need some backup."
I shake my head. "No. Just, uh, get them home for me, please, and shoot anybody who sets foot on my property."
Silence took us over, but it was short-lived as a message dinged on my phone. I tap to open it, unfolding a location. Nothing more, nothing less. Phone number: unknown.
"Is that Victor?" Andrew asks.
"I hope."
He nods. "Weapons are in the trunk. Whatever you need. Captain is putting together a team if you need backup."
I nod and as I look back towards the two cars waiting with my family, I sigh. Grace hops out and comes up to me. "You know I'm not staying here, right?"
"Oh, yes, you are." I give my keys to Andrew and turn away to mount the SUV.
Grace follows, but I close the doors. I roll my window down and she's glaring at me. "You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing while my daughter is missing!"
"No, I don't expect you to do that, but that's exactly what I want you to do. I'm begging you to. Grace... You are all rage and anger right now and you will do nothing but get yourself killed."
She laughs humourlessly. "I will kill everything and I'll start with you if you don't open that damn door!"
I roll the window up again, insert the key into the ignition and roar the engine to life. She glares at me, her green eyes starting to glow under that intense glare. I pretend I do not see as I back out of the driveway. A striking pain shoots through my head making me groan. Stop the car right now!
My foot touches the break before I even realise it. The car comes to a stop, the doors unlocking. A minute later, she hops in beside me. I turn to glare at her. "I do not appreciate you ordering me around!"
She did her seatbelt, not giving one fuck. "Yeah, yeah, tickle me with your spear later about it. Right now, I just want to find our daughter. Drive!"
I start the car again, successfully making it out of the parking lot. "Get your claws off of me!" The compulsion she had over me slowly starts to dissipate. My jaws clench. "I despise you so much for that."
"You despise anything that stands against you. Nothing new."
We did the three-hour drive-in silence. Neither of us even stopped to eat anything. Grace kept checking the tracker, refreshing, and refreshing, but it still shows nothing. I could feel her stress, her anxiety, and it only doubles as we pull up to the building. It is gated and armed guards let us through after I give them my name, requesting to see Victor.
We drive up a long driveway towards a five-story building. Another set of guards stops us, signalling me to park to the side. I did and glance at Grace. She meets my eyes and a moment passes that we just spend sitting in silence looking at each other. I know she knows that I'm scared to go in there. Especially with her. After what I saw, I'm terrified.
"Grace," my voice is pleading. "whatever happens in there, I need you to stay calm. Please."
"I can't—"
"You have to!" A tear falls from my eyes to land in my lap. "Whatever you see, whatever you hear, regardless of how bad it is you have to stay calm. I'm begging you. Please—"
She grabs the side of my face, pulling me into her until our noses brush. She's on the verge of tears herself. Her hand finds mine, closing tightly around it. "I hear you."
"I can't watch you die, Grace," I tell her truthfully, the words coming out in a choke. "I can't lose you."
"I'm not going to die. I promised you forever, remember?"
I nod. Her lips press against mine and it's comforting. Reassuring. She pulls back, wiping my tears away. "Let's go get our daughter."
It takes a few minutes to suppress the tears and regain my composure. Once I did, we are out of the car and headed towards the building. The two guards accompanied us, one walking behind, one in front. When we reach the entrance, they scanned a card to open the door. Another two guards waited there, taking over from the ones who walked us to this point. They strip us of everything: phones, car keys, my gun. They wanted to take our wedding rings too, but I summoned the spear, holding it at one of the guard's throats. He backs off and signals for someone else to take us upstairs.
Everywhere we turn, there are guards. Two at every door, every elevator, every stairwell. They line the hallways like statued soldiers, with loaded rifles in hand. Two of them lead us up to the fourth floor. Grace is still holding my hand as we come up to another 'check point'. We get searched again and again; they want to take our rings.
"If I have to tell you one more time, that the only way my ring or her ring is leaving our fingers," I say, loud enough for everyone to hear. "is if we're dead? You are not going to like it."
"We'll just take you to Victor." He decides.
"Smart choice."
He glares at me as he moves to take the lead. Grace is at my side, taking in as much as I am. She speaks in a silent whisper. "Did you see this part in your vision?"
"No?"
"When did it start?"
"Could be minutes from now. Could be hours. I don't know."
We approach a door guarded by another two guards. They swipe a card, put in a code,] and then hold it open. As we slip through, I can see four guards on the far end and a middle-aged man dressed in a black button-down suit and black slacks standing between them. He wears a pair of shades and has a half-burnt cigarette in his mouth. The door closes behind us as we push forward.
"I think it starts now. " I hurriedly get out. "It starts now."
She nods.
"Welcome!" he claps his hands together with a booming smile while his eyes take us in as if we were prizes he acquired for Christmas. "Ms LaRue—Mrs LaRue. My apologies. It's so nice to finally meet my admirer."
"Where is my daughter?"
He stares at me for a while, then his smile fades into a frown. He removes his cigarette and takes a step forward. "You know, I've heard you're not the friendliest. Not very good at first impressions, but you can at least try."
"She'll be friendlier after we see our daughter. Know that she's alive."
Victor raises a brow when Grace speaks. "Well, hello there, Graciela. Forgive my manners," he did a small curtsey before her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness. "
"She's the Queen." Grace gives him a disapproving look. "How dare you bow before me before you acknowledge her as Queen."
"Hmmm. Doesn't matter." He dismisses. "Come with me if you want to see the child." He starts off the way he came but comes to a stop at the door. One of the guards hands him something. The collars? "But, I need you to put these on."
He spins back to face us and it's indeed the collars. "Here we go," I mutter under my breath.
"What are these for?" Grace asks him even though she already knows.
So far, so good. I need everything to go completely different.
I look around and we're in the same top security building. Men in uniforms, armed with weapons, lined the halls. We're currently in the same hallway, preparing to enter the same room. When I look back at the closed door it all fits right in. I face forward again to see a man holding up three collars, but I know those aren't any collars and since Sierra isn't here, we'll only be needing two. I hope this means Grace doesn't die.
Victor just smiled. "I'll take you as a threat otherwise and then you won't get to see your beloved daughter. The choice is yours." He holds up the collars to us.
Grace glances at me. I nod and she reaches for it, closing it around her neck. "Done. Take me to her." She said, calmly. Too calmly.
Victor clicks his tongue, looking at me. "I still have one left."
I grit my teeth and yank the collar from his hand, aggressively closing it around my neck. He nods and leads us away from the hallway full of men. A metal door with a glass window stands in our way. Victor punches in some keys, swipes a card and we watch the door slide open.
In a single line, we follow him inside the room. It is small and white. My eyes scan the room before I could stop myself, noting the sixteen men that line the walls. No, this is all wrong. "There are more guards," I tell Grace. "Why—How are there more?"
"How many more?"
"Just two."
She nods and makes a note of it. One of the guards stops us before we get too far in. "This is far enough."
Victor is on the opposite side of the room already, bringing Irelee into view. "Mommy!" she screams when her eyes lock on Grace.
Grace perks up, her heart beating with life again. She takes a step forward and I seize her wrist, stopping her. If I didn't, one of the guards would. She swallows painfully beside me, but she wore a look of understanding. My heart gallops as Victor speaks.
"Ramone," he orders. "Cuff them. I don't want you two to get any ideas. Try anything and that collar around your neck will paralyze you and inhibit your abilities."
"It's not supposed to do that." Grace realizes.
"No," I confirm in a low whisper. "But it will and it's hella painful. It lasts like five minutes but for some reason, it doesn't affect you past a minute. I'm not sure why, but it will still weaken us so very badly that we can—"
"It's okay." She tells me.
Victor pauses and when he speaks again, his voice was cold. "Try anything and your daughter is dead."
We simultaneously tensed, our hands forming fists behind our backs where they are shackled. Grace's heart beats wildly as she stares nonchalantly, but I know she is scared, raging. I can feel her wrath, but she's trying, so I'll give her that. Her wicked eyes meet and lock with mine, her jaws clenching and unclenching a series of times.
"What do you want with my daughter? What use does she have to you?" her voice is venomous.
Victor laughs, and it makes my ears hurt. It's even more boisterous now. Vulgar and insufferable. I really wish he'll catch a fly down his windpipe and drown on his own spit.
"It's an insurance policy." He says grimly. "You hold up your end of the bargain and the child goes free. Unharmed."
"We have no bargain." Grace snaps.
Victor turns his black eyes to me. "Do we have a bargain, Emilie?"
I glare at him, avoiding the eyes of my wife. "You do not scare me, Victor." Oh God, it's the same. "Using my family against me, my children—"
"You know, Emilie." he starts in that condescending tone. Hmm hmm, nope. I never want to hear that tone again but he continues talking. "You could be powerful. A force to be reckoned with. You could bring this entire world to its knees and make them bow to you. But you choose to be weak. Pathe—"
"Pathetic. Yes, yes, I know," I give him a bored expression. "Are you done with your feeble attempts at trying to stroke my ego—"
He comes up to me, his black eyes holding mine. He still reeks of tobacco and cigarettes but this time, there was also the slight stench of pee.
Ew.
He grips my chin with his hand, challenging my gaze. "You're pathetic!" He spits in my face. My eyes are closed as it lodges itself to my face. I was not looking forward to this. This I could do without. It's way worse than my vision because I think he may actually be sick. It looks green. My stomach churns with disgust, and I try to fight the urge to gag. I try not to flinch. Not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but I couldn't control the shudder of disgust that ripple through me. My jaws clench with my hatred. My skin crawled as the fluid slowly, torturously slow, began to creep down my cheek.
Please don't go in my mouth. Please don't go in my mouth.
Despite how much I want to shed my skin and toss it like it dirty laundry, I open my eyes and glare at him.
"Family makes you weak, моя дорогая королева (my dear queen)."
"Family doesn't make you weak, Victor. You are just weak. With or without them."
A hefty slap meets my cheek, twisting my face. I feel the strain of the muscle in my neck, the pain of my burning flesh. "How dare you! Join me, Emilie, and I will make you great."
My body shudders with disgust all over again now that his palm has spread his disease even more over my face. "You can't make me what I already am!" I see fire as I turn back to face him, but I swallow my wrath, even as it is itching to be unleashed. It burns on the inside, like flaming lava inside a volcano, and the pressure is just building and building every second that this man is in my face. Every second that he threatens my kid, my wife. I draw a deep, slow, calming breath that didn't calm me whatsoever, and give him a bored look. "You could never persuade me, Victor. If you've never heard about loyalty, then here's your definition. This is what it looks like—"
"—sad–"
"–I will never work with you. Ruin lives, kill good innocent people in cold blood. You don't care about this country and its people and you don't care about me. That's the difference between me and you, Victor, I have a heart and you don't. But let me tell you this, my heart can stop beating if I want it to and just like that, I can be a cold, heartless bitch. So, if you want to live, I suggest you give my daughter back to me. I'm very, very pissed off and you don't want to see me lash out."
He flinches a little at my tone, his hand slipping away from my face, but as he turns and walks back to my daughter, his posture remains menacing.
Beside me, Grace's heartbeat increases, her breathing frantic and on the verge of hyperventilation. "Emilie," she breathes quite distressingly.
"I know, baby, but you have to stay calm."
You don't hear the things in his head. She's six! She's my baby.
I turn my eyes to her. Her eyes are already glowing, her lips quivering. I know I won't be able to stop her so might as well help her. Alright, in my vision, you rushed this and it didn't end well so this time I want you to think, Grace. If you're going to attack, I'm begging you not to until it's absolutely necessary, but if you need to, remove the collar first.
She nods beside me and then I see my dark-haired wife flick her shackled hands over her head, breaking the chains that restrained her with one swift movement. Her head snaps up to Victor, her eyes glowing green with her fury.
Oh fuck! She's really mad! But this is the same thing. "Grace!" I say in a whispered shout.
A few guards grab at her but she is as swift as I remember, catching the first one by his forearm and slamming him into the ground. Her feet stamp on his chest, his ribs cracking.
I stare in shock at her before finally snapping back to reality and as the guard who secured my arms head towards her, I retaliate, sending a powerful kick to the side of his head. He collides with a wall before splatting to the ground. I swing at the other one who attacks behind me.
For a second, Victor looks terrified.
"Baby, the collar." I remind her. My voice comes out begging, my heart thumping.
She grips it, pulling and a second later it shatters into pieces. I breathe, relieved.
"Come to mommy, baby!" Grace coaxes as she casually flings the lifeless body of a man whose eyes she just ripped out to the floor.
The man who's holding my daughter re-enforces his hold. I glare at him, teleporting over. "Let. Her. Go!" I order in my Royal tone.
I've never used it on a human before but I am sure from my vision that it's effective. He starts trembling in his shoes, a streak of dampness soiling the black trousers he wore. His arm loosens around her neck before falling away.
"Come here, babe." I reach for her as she steps forward, but Victor reaches out and grabs her. We were threading lightly because of this thing on our necks. We were trying not to make any rash decisions, especially since that is around Lee's neck too and if that neurotoxin gets into our systems, we're defenceless. Grace is off the hook, which I'm happy about. But Lee is still very much in danger. I'm not out of the woods either but, I think I'm done holding back now. Within the blink of an eye, my spear is at his neck. I have a sturdy grip on Lee's shoulder and all guns are pointed at me. I'm not afraid, though. I find peace knowing that Grace is here and she'll slaughter everything in this room.
I hear the groans of a few men behind me, a couple of thumps and slams against the floor. Just as quickly as I'd reacted, I felt an endless amount of pricks from the collar around my neck, the jolts of it sending me to the floor. My head spun and my vision blurs while I twist in pain. My hold on Irelee loosens and he grabs her up.
"Did you really think I would let you in here with all that power? You just took out twelve of my men in less than a minute. Shackled. I don't know if I should be terrified or impressed."
"You better fucking run!" I growled.
He shrugs me off. "Pathetic. Look at you. You can't even move, so why should I be afraid of you?"
I chuckle at him, my glare cold. "Your neurotoxin will wear off soon, Victor."
"By then, your daughter will already be dead. I told you not to try anything, didn't I? Look what you made me do!"
"It's not me you should be afraid of," I tell him with a smile. "You wanted to see great power, now you got it. Good luck."
He looks around for Grace, but he doesn't see her. "What the—"
I could only lift my head a little, but it was enough to see him already with my daughter in the other room. Of course, he's already fled and that's why he's all that big talk. Through the glass door, I can see him shove her towards a cot at the back of the room and order more men to stand guard. As if they can protect him from us. From Grace.
"No."
I hear Grace's whisper and then the pleading cries of my daughter as she calls for us. "Mom! Mommy!" She made a sob that breaks my heart. "Mama, Mama!"
It takes all my strength to lift my head. It feels like it weighs ten tonnes and the jolting pain of the collar still paralyzes me. It burns and the fire never lets up.
"Mommy!" She cries once more. Hopeful, begging.
"I'm coming, baby." She grabs the man closest to her, her fist colliding with his chest before he could pull the trigger. When she withdrew her hand, it is bloody and holds a heart that is still beating. There are only three men left in this room now and we scare them shitless. The one closest to Grace aims at her and fires while the other two tried to shield the door Victor went through, their guns aim and ready.
Grace holds a hand up, catching the bullet in the palm of her hand. My heart momentarily stops until I realise there is no blood. Her shield is working. Thank God. Go get 'em, baby. She looks back at me and smiles then charges at another guard with a growl. One of my fingers moves, to my relief. It is just small twitches, but it is something compare to the complete paralysis mere minutes ago. The development gives me hope and I focus hard to move my arm next, a foot. Anything. Grace grabs the man who shot at her and drops him to the ground. Her foot sinks into the crease of his neck with enough force that separates his head from his body. Blood seeps out onto the floor and pools quickly. The light of life fades from his brown eyes but it isn't a grievous sight.
A series of shots are fired at her from the men by the door. The bullets seem to whistle through the air in slow motion, my scream vibrating out of my throat painfully slow as the red-hot spinning metal tastes her skin. My heart stops the second the first one touches her. The sound in the room fades into muffles. My body stills, frozen as my lungs refuse to breathe. It hits her with a force that sends it bouncing back off and hitting the ground. Another follows then another and another. Each of them ricocheted and hit the ground. I must've counted a hundred before their guns run dry. My heart finally starts again after what feels like a thousand years, a sea of relief washing me.
She turns to look at me, a menacing smile on her face. "Relax, babe. You look like you've seen a ghost."
Another round of bullets goes off. She turns, to face them, her eyes shining green. Three more men enter the room, their rifles aimed at us. The bullets stop mere inches away from Grace's face, then they are going back the way they came. They burrow themselves into two of the men's chests. The third one watches them fall to the ground before raising his gun. I only feel the whisk of cold air before I see another body crashing to the ground. "Baby," she says looking at me with excitement. "I'm channelling Sierra!"
She's channelling Sierra? What? How?
"I don't know." She tells me as she heads towards the door.
One look through the mirror and I see Victor already has my daughter's leggings off. The ground I lay against, I couldn't feel it anymore. I feel nothing but the heat of my own rage, burning like hot lava, ready to erupt. It is powerful enough to take me over and I let it burn away any resistance I have left. Any empathy. Any humanity. My vision flashes a soft shade of amber as I rise to my feet.
The shackles that oppressed me fall from my hands as I pull them apart. The pieces of metal fly about and collide with things. With a throaty growl, I'm at one of the men's throats, my fist smashing his head into the wall. Tiny chips of concrete separate and fall to the ground but his head stays stuck into the wall, nestled into a dent caused by the force of my strength. His brain and blood stain the white paint, looking something like an artwork worth a million dollars. The last man fires at me and I watch the bullets whistle towards my face.
I feel no fear as I face it and as they are inches away from my face, I snatch them from the air with one quick swipe. The metal, still hot, burns my palm as I play around with them in my hand. The man looked at me as if I'm the devil. At this moment, I am their devil indeed. For hurting my family, there will be hell to pay. With a menacing smile, I toss the bullets back at him. They soar through the air at the same speed as if fired from a gun, one landing in each of his eyes, pinning him to the wall, and the other, in his crotch.
Grace smirks at me. "Oriane, my love! Yes please!"
My spear appears in my hand as I smirk at her. Then we plunge forward together. With a quick upward swipe, the glass door is broken and I'm in there. The four men in the room aims at us. Their bullets lodged into the walls as we evade them. Grace took two, and I the others, my spear deep inside each of their guts one after the other. My head snaps to the cot, my spear disappearing as I go over there.
"Baby, do you want him?"
"You can have your fun, love." She tells me and I can hear her excitement doubling with something else. "It's been a while since I've seen you in action and I love it."
I grab Victor by his neck with both hands as I respond to her statement. "Control yourself, woman, this is a very serious situation."
He didn't see me coming, nor did he care. His monstrous being scornfully, repulsively pressed to my little girl. The composure I manage to keep this whole time finally slips as I pull at him. A casual movement that didn't feel like it took any strength at all from me. Yet somehow, his head detaches from his body, his spine along with it like some sort of a boney tail.
My eyes find my daughter as I toss it to the ground, scrutinizing her. Accessing the damage. Praying, hoping. I fall to my knees before her. She's laying frozen on the bed, bare. Naked. Her legs parted. I search for the tinge of blood. It isn't there. No blood? I search again.
Nothing.
I glance at Grace and see her pressing her boot heel into Victor's dead crotch. The flesh of his manhood squeezes under the pressure until it pops. I turn my face away, refusing to let any of it touches me. My stomach twists and a wave of nausea hits me. I turn away, retching over the bloody spinal cord. The blood alone threatens to knock me unconscious, but I fight it. "Now, why'd you have to do that?"
She shrugs at my question. "I forgot how soft you are, Emilie. Forgive me."
I scuff, reaching for my daughter. "Lee? It's Mama." She didn't move. She just laid there with her eyes close, fists clenched at her sides and streaks of tears falling from her eyes. I reach for her again but I hesitate, not wanting to cause any further trauma. "B-baby, can I touch you?"
She unclenched one of her fists and offer her hand to me in the simplest movement. My heart squeezes me as I take it and hold it between my own. My body shuddered with pain, anger. "Are you hurt?"
Grace comes over, studying her. She didn't ask questions before she's touching, examining everywhere. She nods at me that she's good and all I felt is relief. Lee doesn't look at me.
"You said you'd protect me, Mama." Her little voice comes to me barely above a whisper. But it cuts me as if it is knives lashing against my flesh. I wince as she continues. "You said you wouldn't let anybody hurt me. You lied–"
My throat ached. The heavy painful feeling in my chest worsens until I can't breathe anymore. The nauseous feeling is back. The repulsion. The disbelief. The anger, the pain. The panic. I'm overwhelmed. My brain feels like it's short-circuiting and still, I force myself to stay focused. To push everything else aside. "Irelee I'm—"
"You lied!" A fresh stream of tears flowed and she opened her electric green eyes to look at me. "You lied."
Grace looks at me with sad eyes. "Lee, don't be mean. Mama didn't mean to hurt you."
"She lied. She shouldn't make promises she can't keep."
"But she did keep it, baby," Grace tells her, consoling her. "You're not hurt."
"I got scared. He was scary and big!"
"I'm sorry," I tell her truthfully because I know they're just the thing she needs to hear.
I look to Grace and she reaches her hand to me and when I take it, she presses it to her lips. "She'll forgive you. She just wants something to be mad at for right now. I'm sorry."
Nodding, I reach for her collar and remove it as gently as I could, hoping she could feel how sorry I am. Hoping she'll know I never meant for any of this to happen. Hoping she knows I still love her and will always love her. "I'm sorry, princess," I tell her again. "I'm so, so sorry. Please, can I hold you?"
She finally nods. Without sparing a second, I pull her into my arms, whisking her away from Grace. I soothe her, holding her close to my chest and rocking her. She keeps her arms around my neck. I keep one arm around her as I continue to rock her. I reach for her leggings, but it is torn. Her underwear is torn and dirty. The sight of them makes me want to vomit again and the sprang of pain in my chest intensifies.
I swallow the pain, shrugging off my jacket and wrapping it around her almost like a blanket. "It's okay, baby. You're going to be okay."
"Are we going to have to fight our way out of here?"
I shake my head at Grace's question. "The FBI are on their way. Let them deal with the rest of this mess. I just want to go home."
She nods and with her hand in mine and with Lee in my arms, I teleport back to our house. We are in Lee's room and Grace disappears with her to her bathroom. I peek in and see her drawing a bath, stripping them down to get into it. With a stiff smile, I teleport to our bathroom, starting the shower before I even stripped out of my clothes properly. My shower is long, at least half an hour trying to get the blood and the grime off of me. I must've washed my face a hundred times just trying to get rid of Victor's scrimmage. When I am dressed again, I go back to check on Lee. I see her and Grace in the bath together. Grace is just sitting and Irelee is in her embrace and they're just holding each other, having a moment. I let them, turning away again. Almost immediately, my phone rings. It's Harvey. "LaRue, we have the location surrounded. Choppers, swat teams- a team is moving in on foot. What's your location?"
"Arlington, VA, sir. I'm home."
"Already—"
"In and out, sir. Victor's dead."
"Of course." He sighs, but he isn't surprised. "I'll let you know what the end of this is."
"Thank you, sir. You can burn that whole place down when you're done for all I care. I do have a request, though."
He hesitates, nervous. "That is?"
"I want out of the fields and I need to know which position you're going to give to me before Monday."
He sighs heavily. "LaRue," he sighs again. "Alright, I will have a talk with the president to see what's available. More than likely, you'll still be responsible for investigations behind the scenes, oversee your current group, including your current partner, and get a possible 30% increase in pay—"
"I don't need a pay increase. Take that 30% and donate it to the Alexandria home for girls."
I feel a whisk of air against my back and turned to see Sierra at the door. She has one hand on the doorknob as she holds it open. Her face lights up as she walks right in, throwing herself at me. "You came back!"
I hang up the phone and kiss the side of her head. "I promised you forever. Go hug your daughter, she needs it."
She looks towards Lee's bathroom door and then she's disappearing inside. I leave the room, going down the hall. When I reach the bannisters to look down into the living room, I peer down there. But I don't see Steph. My head snaps in the direction of our bedroom as I teleport there. Steph is lying in bed being a worried puss. All this stress can't be healthy for the baby. I spot the Xanax bottle in bed, laying against the pillow before her eyes. Her finger plays with it. Lord, I hope she took none of those.
I get into bed beside her, laying down to face her and shoving away the bottle.
"The way you worry worries me." She doesn't react to my statement and gives me an unimpressed look. A tear slips out of her eyes. I wipe it away. "How are you feeling?"
She doesn't answer, glaring at me.
I sigh. "Steph, come on. Don't be mad at me."
"I want to be mad at you. Let me be mad at you."
I shake my head. "Nope."
"Why?"
"Because you love me?"
She scuffs. "I wanted to come."
Caressing the side of her face, I say. "I know you wanted to come, and I would've let you if you weren't pregnant."
"But I can still help. You needed me more than anyone."
"You did help. You kept yourself safe," my hand finds her bump. She places her hand on top of mine. "and you kept our daughter safe. So, thank you. Now, you can cancel that plane ticket you bought to Pittsburgh. I know you bought one. Where'd you think you were going? Huh?"
Her face reddens as she picks up her phone. She taps at the screen for a few seconds then abandons it to look at me again. "You were in pain. I could feel it. Sierra could feel it."
"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
"Really?" She looked at me all unimpressed. "Do you have any idea how many times you died?"
My heart stopped. "What?"
"You died."
"I do not recall."
"Of course, not. I kept rewinding until you figured out how to save yourself. You don't learn from your mistakes."
I frowned at that. "It maybe would've been a lot easier if I knew that I was making mistakes and what they were. How did you know when to rewind?"
"Whenever I stopped feeling you." She whispered shakily. "It's like this hollow void of nothingness. A horrible feeling really."
"Did Grace—"
"Once... and Lee." She heaves a heavy breath. "Basically we kept going until everyone was safe. Sierra kept doing this meditation thing saying she was trying to reach Grace. I don't know how that went."
"It worked. Grace could channel her abilities."
"That's pretty cool."
"Yeah," I swallow the lump in my throat. "Well, thank you for having our backs," I hold up the Xanax bottle. "Now, how many of these did you take?"
"None." She breathes.
"Good girl." I smile, getting up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to flush these down the toilet."
Her eyes bulge. "All of them?" I hum. "But I need—"
I shake my head, stroking her cheek. "You don't need them. You're doing great without them and I'm so proud of you for not taking it. Especially while you're pregnant."
"I almost did. I was this close."
"But you didn't and that counts for something." I kiss the top of her head and she blushes.
"How is Lee doing?"
"Scared, but she's fine. She and Grace are having a bath."
She smiles. "Mommy-daughter moment. I'll go check on her when they're done." She plays with my fingers as we lay there. "I thought of a name today while I had all this time on my hands."
"Let's hear it."
She hesitates, searching my eyes. "Leia."
My breath hitched as I gaze back at her. She waits for my response, holding her breath. I swallow my emotions and lower my face to her bump. I push her shirt out of the way, revealing her creamy skin. "What do you think about Leia? Do you like it?" I caress her bump, waiting for a reaction. I feel the kicks and they make me smile. "Okay, I hear you. Baby Leia it is."
Sloane smiles. "Best mommy award goes to—"
"Mrs Emilie LaRue." I hear Grace say as she comes into the room bringing Irelee.
They join us in bed. Then Sierra joins us with the other kids. Amelia joins later. Then Mom and Vivienne. We pull out the sleeping bags and blankets, stole pillows from the other bedrooms and we all camp out in here for the night. Safe together as a family.
The LaRues.
-------------------
AN//
This is it. This is The End. 😭. Can't believe it's ended already. Damn. Would you believe that I already have something else, another idea, brewing? *Smiles sheepishly* I'll see you in the next one.
UPDATE!
My other idea is called DREA. We, now it's more than an idea. It's a whole vibe lol. Go check it out! Thank you so much for reading!"