Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) (45 page)

She looked up and stared at his scarred face, leaving him to turn away from her questioning and prying eyes. Without a word, Josie ran down the hall and into Nick’s room, needing to snuggle in his blankets.

I stalked back into the gym, slamming the door behind me.

“Let’s do some heavy bag training before I blow my fucking lid.” Elaina grabbed the tape and began the daunting process of taping my wrists and hands.

“What happened?” she asked, finishing with the right hand and moving on to the left.

“Gunther threw James into the wall and almost tore his throat out. If I didn’t go out when I did…” I shook my head. “It would have been a bloody mess to try to clean up and explain. Christ.” I shuddered, thinking of the possible aftermath. “I walked him to the cafeteria, scolding him for behaving that way. He apologized.”

“Good. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he did that. He’s got to control himself.”

“James is messing with his family. In case you missed it, Gunther is extremely loyal.”

“I had no idea.” She winked at me.

“Quinn was standing there when I chewed him out. Without saying a word, he walked past her and into the cafeteria.”

“Oh no…” She finished my left hand and I took my fighting stance.

“Yeah. I don’t know. I’m just hoping they can patch it up. I don’t want to deal with him if they aren’t together.” I threw a couple jabs, catching the bag as it rebounded. “It’d be a nightmare. She’s the only one who can keep him together.”

I threw a couple more jabs and added a few roundhouse kicks. Then I beat the fuck out of that bag, getting out some aggression.

In the meantime, Elaina decided to attempt a pull-up or two. I saw her struggling and started laughing.

“Asshole,” she growled.

“Try a chin-up, love.”

She managed three of those, but I still laughed. She glared at me, and I decided it would be a great idea to continue what I was doing before I got myself into deeper trouble.

Once I had exhausted my body, we decided to head back to our room to wash up.

Just as we were heading down the hall, Gunther popped out of his room with a big cheeky grin on his face.

“All good, mate?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. She heard me yelling at James, and it made perfect sense to her. He’s such a prick,” Gunther growled. “Thankfully, she doesn’t want him back because I may have had to kill him. She’s just been struggling emotionally since Grey was born. But she’s talking about it now.”

Relief washed over me, thankful they patched it up because I didn’t want to deal with Gunther being a miserable bastard for the rest of our days.

“Gotcha. Well, it’ll all work out for you. You two are meant to be together.”

“I’ll be right back. I need a snack or something. All those pull-ups made me hungry,” Elaina smirked.

I shook my head and waited until she was out of earshot. In a lowered voice, I said, “Listen, we need to figure out what’s going on. I don’t think we can put off planning any longer. I was thinking you and I could walk down and investigate. Check for any other signs of them. Maybe–”

Gunther interjected, “I don’t know. I don’t think we can afford to get caught out there alone.”

“We need to do
something
. We can’t just stand by and watch them come to us. It would be devastating if he came here. He probably has enough people and firepower to take us out in a snap.”

“Let me roll it over in my mind a bit longer.”

“I think we need to take action sooner rather than later,” I insisted.

He scrubbed his face. “What the fuck am I going to tell Quinn?”

“So, tell me. What are you guys whispering about?”

“Christ, woman!” I shouted when Elaina snuck up on us. I watched her unwrap a cereal bar. “Nothing, just eat.”

She glared at us again, the wheels turning in her mind. “I will get it out of one of you,” she said, poking me in the chest.

“There’s nothing to get out!” I snapped.

She waved her finger between Gunther and me. “I’m not stupid. You two are up to something.”

He shook his head. “Well, that’s my cue to leave.” He pushed off the wall and headed back into his room.

Mara opened her door and stepped out, staring at Elaina and me.

“Fuck me,” I mumbled. “Not what I need right now.”

“I’m telling you, Henry,” Elaina whispered. “If she tries anything, I will take her out back and show her how a New Yorker does it.”

I raised my eyebrow. “The same New Yorker who can only do three chin-ups?”

“Asshole,” she snarled.

I smirked. Mara was still staring and Elaina decided her husband needed a big old kiss. She grabbed my chin and turned my face to hers, planting a big wet kiss on my lips, making me groan.

“Don’t do this to me here. I’ll throw you against the wall, pin your arms above your head, and ravage you,” I promised against her lips.

“With her watching?” Elaina batted her eyelashes at me.

My soldier twitched. “Maybe then she would realize I only want you,” I groaned as I nipped her bottom lip.

“I doubt that. She’d probably think you were putting on a show just for her.”

I barked out a laugh.

When Mara walked up to us, both of us stiffened. I gripped Elaina’s forearm, trying to keep her under control. “I would like to apologize so…” Mara paused for dramatic effect. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think he really was into you, but I see that he is.”

“Damn, Henry,” Elaina gasped. “We are at the gates of hell and all I see are ice rinks.”

I laughed again while Mara glared at us. “Apology accepted,” I said.

“I’m tired of being the outcast.”

“So you are only apologizing for your own good? Wow… How fitting.” Elaina glared back at her.

“Fuck you, Elaina,” Mara growled, turning around and walking away.

“Oh, love, you kill me sometimes.”

Then Elaina switched topics. “Now, tell me what you were talking to Gunther about.”

“I can’t, love.”

Her famous glare slapped me across the face. “Do you really want to play that game with me? You must have forgotten with whom you are fucking.” I didn’t say a word, and I didn’t plan on it until Gunther and I figured the mess out. “I see.” She yanked her arm free from my grip and headed toward our door, glancing over her shoulder once before ducking into the room.

I stood in the hall for several seconds, wondering what the hell had just happened. “Fuck me! I can’t win.” Like the bloke I was, I blew through the door after her. “Elai…,” I stammered.

Confusion ran over my face. My wife was lying naked on our bed, erotically posed, waiting for me.

“Lock the door.” No fucking problem. I reached back without taking my eyes off her. “Now, come over here, big boy.” She patted the bed.

I was already raring to go. I kicked off of my trainers as I walked toward her, sat, then tugged off my shirt. She straddled my lap and kissed me like she hadn’t ever before. A groan came deep from within my chest.

When I tried to touch Elaina’s chest, she pulled away and slapped at my hands. “What are you doing?” I asked.

She smirked, the devil glinting in her eyes. “Patience.”

She allowed me to grab her face and pull her close, placing another hard kiss on her sexy lips. With a few tugs, she worked my shorts off and started kissing my body. I decided to lean back on my elbows, watching what she was doing. Every now and then, she would glance up and catch me with my mouth hanging open.

Her tongue circled around my soldier, causing me to throw my head back and groan. That mouth of hers did the most amazing things to me.

“Oh fuck, Elaina…”

Over and over again, she circled me, ensuring I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Then she crawled up, straddling me. Diving into her chest, my hands slid down her curves, working my way behind her to grab onto that amazing ass. Ready to pound into her, I started to lift her, but she pushed me away.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, panting.

“Tell me what you two were talking about.”

What…the…fuck…?
I let go of her ass. “Huh?”

“Has the virus taken your hearing, my dear husband?”

“Please, Elaina… It’s not anything I want to discuss at this particular moment.” I started lifting her, but she put a stop to it once again. I covered my face with my hands. “You have got to be fucking
joking
right now.”

“Tell me and you can have me any way you want.” That got my attention and I removed my hands from my face. With a wiggle of her brows, she whispered, “And when I say any way, I mean
any
way.”

I sat up on my elbows again, knowing full well I couldn’t say anything to her just yet. “I can’t do that.” She stood and grabbed her clothes. “Elaina, this isn’t fair. It’s a total dick move.” With a shrug, she pulled on her pants and shirt. “Come on, love.” She turned around and made it to the door. “Elaina…please don’t leave.” She had me in knots. Her fingers wrapped around the handle and, glancing back at me once more, she turned it and opened the door. “Fine! Come back,” I moaned.

Snickering, she sat beside me. Still naked, I covered myself with the blanket. Rubbing the top of my head, I said, “So not cool, Elaina. If he finds out I said anything to you…”

“I won’t say anything.”

“You have to swear to me…”

“Henry, who are you talking to here?”

“I’m not sure. Is it Sarcasm Elaina or Teaser Elaina?” I bit out.

“Oh, check and mate. Low blow, husband of mine. Keep in mind I can cut you off entirely.”

“Touché!” I laughed, but she raised her eyebrow. “Shit.” Concern spread across my face. “Wait… Are you being serious? You would deny me?”

“You want to try me?”

“Not really.”

“So talk,” she growled.

I let out a sigh while scrubbing the beard on my face. “You remember how that last round of undeads were all wearing the same outfit and none of them looked to have been bitten?” She nodded. “Well, that was the same uniform we wore in the program.” Elaina sucked in a loud breath. “Yeah,” I muttered.

“Do you two think they’re around here somewhere?”

“Yeah. I mean, they would have to be. He had to have injected them and sent them on their merry way to flush us out.”

“Holy shit, Henry. You think he’s here? How would he know how to find you? We could’ve been anywhere.”

“I don’t know. But we have to be more vigilant.”

“What does that mean?”

“We need to watch our backs more so than ever before.”

“Don’t you think you should tell the others?”

“I don’t want to scare anyone.”

“You have to tell them
something
! They could slaughter us in the middle of the night! You have to get everyone together.”

I looked off to the side. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Because you think I’m overreacting?!”

“Yes! Just let Gunther and I handle it. Once we think there’s a sure sign of danger, we’ll get everyone together.”

Elaina’s fists clenched. “Maybe you missed the dozens of uniformed undeads? You have to give them some sort of warning.”

“What do you want me to tell them?”

“Just reaffirm that everyone is sleeping with their doors locked.”

“You know as well as I do that locking a door isn’t going to make a bit of a difference. If he and his crew of headfucks want to come in here, they’ll find a way in.”

“I don’t know, Henry. Maybe see if anyone has any questions or concerns about our living arrangements. Prepare them better. Do
something.
You can’t keep everyone in the dark. If we get attacked and they find out you knew it was coming, they will revolt against you.”

She was right. “Goddamn it!” I slammed my fist on the bed. “We can probably do something like that. Let me go talk to Gunther.” I got up, pulled on my shorts, and headed out of our room.

“Nice ass, hot stuff,” Elaina murmured, following me.

As I knocked, I hoped I wouldn’t disturb the baby. Elaina waited behind me, tracing the lines of the tattoo on my back. Quinn opened the door. “Hey. Sorry to bother you. I hope we didn’t wake the baby.”

“No, he’s awake. What can I do for you?”

“Is Gunther around? I need to have a chat with him.”

“Hold on a sec.” She peered over her shoulder. “Gun, Henry wants to talk to you.”

Gunther came to the door, passing Grey to Quinn. “What’s going on?” He stood with his hands on his hips.

“Can you come with me for a minute?” Gunther glanced at Quinn and she nodded. I thought it was funny he was asking permission to leave.

“Quinn, is it okay if I hang with you while the men chat? I have a hankering to hold a baby.”

With a single nod of my head, I reminded Elaina to keep her mouth shut. The last thing we needed was Quinn freaking out.

“Of course. Come on in,” she said with a smile.

Gunther and I headed back to my room. When we walked in, I leaned against the desk, contemplating how we should approach the others. “I was thinking…”

“First time for everything, perhaps.”

I glared at Gunther and he laughed. “
Anyway
, I think maybe we should talk to the others.”

“No fucking way.”

“We won’t tell them everything. Just like a ‘let’s see how things are going…any questions, concerns, et cetera’. Maybe reaffirm they are to be locking their doors at night. Just like a community meeting.”