Mending the Rift (11 page)

They were almost done when Nicholas entered the kitchen, sniffed the air, and made an appreciative noise. “Is there some chicken breast left over?”

Luca nodded, and Nicholas prepared a sandwich for himself. He brought it to the table, sat down, and started to eat.

“Let me guess,” Luca said, his lips curving upward, “you just happened to pass the kitchen.”

“I did, and since I know you have an appointment in less than an hour, I was wondering if you’d like some company,” Nicholas replied.

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“I’m finished for today. That’s the good thing when you only work half the hours; you have lots of free time for other things, like, let’s say, accompanying your pregnant son to his doctor’s appointment where it might be possible to find out about the baby’s gender.” Nicholas blinked his eyes in mock innocence. “Please? Can I go with you? I’m dying to know.”

Keith snorted as he brought his plate to the sink. “What about Gregory? Is he going to be accompanying us too?”

“No, he’ll be waiting for us there,” Nicholas replied sheepishly.

Luca shook his head, chuckling. “You’re all developing into mother hens. Do you know that? Marcus will be there as well, of course.”

“Oh, good, so it’ll be a family meeting.” Nicholas crammed the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth, took his and Luca’s plates, and put them in the dishwasher. He glanced over his shoulder, asking, “Is it all right if we tag along?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. The more the merrier, right?”

Keith tapped the communication piece on his breast pocket and ordered the driver to be ready with the car in ten minutes.

KEITH SLID
onto the passenger seat after Luca and Nicholas had climbed into the back of the car. The driver, Anthony, accelerated and drove the car to the iron gate, which swung open slowly when he pressed the button. Two guards stood at the gate, waving at them as they drove through. Another car with two more bodyguards followed them.

Luca rubbed his belly and looked out the window. The scenery flew by, but he didn’t notice much of it. Here and there were still some crumbled remains of houses, but overall, Cologne had been rebuilt and didn’t show much sign of the war that had rocked the world centuries ago. The infrastructure was good, and most streets were in sound condition. Yet Cologne wasn’t the metropolis it had once been. Too many lives had been taken during the war. The population had dwindled from over a million to ten thousand. Injuries, sickness, and other factors had reduced the population further.

The Northern Confederacy had followed a strict policy that every available breeder had to carry at least five children. They’d supported the male breeders when the genetic mutation became public, even though many people saw male breeders as an abomination—and even went so far as to chase and kill these men—and established them as a valuable part of the Northern Confederacy’s population. The government didn’t differentiate between heterosexuality and homosexuality, as long as fertile couples produced offspring.

Luca jerked when Nicholas took his hand and squeezed. He turned his head toward his dad and forced a small smile on his face. “I’m okay, just thinking.”

“You don’t have to keep up a façade for me, Luca. It’s going to be okay. You’ll get a look at the gender of your baby, and—if my eavesdropping skills serve me right—you should be married in three days. Marcus finally has every detail covered, and the rest of the family is already on their way to celebrate with you.”

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Like I said, I still don’t know for sure. Marcus is probably going to tell you at the doctor….” Nicholas trailed off and wrinkled his nose. He expelled a sharp breath when Keith snorted, then continued. “Perhaps I should’ve kept my mouth shut and not spoiled the surprise, but I thought that might ease your mind a bit.”

“I’ll pretend to be very surprised.” Luca grinned at his dad and gave his hand a firm squeeze.

Nicholas coughed and shifted in his seat. “I’d appreciate that, especially when your father’s around. No one needs him making a scene at the doctor’s office.”

“Well, if you’d just stop running your mouth quite so independently, you wouldn’t need to worry about Gregory’s reaction,” Keith threw in, grinning widely.

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Nicholas shot back.

“That’s why your mouth is so independent, Dad.”

“Fine, have fun at my expense.” Nicholas withdrew his hand, and he slipped his lower lip out in a pout. Seconds later, he stole a covert glance, first at Luca, then at Keith. Luca slapped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud, when Nicholas burst into giggles. “Sorry, that was bad, wasn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Luca said. “You—”

A loud popping noise cut Luca off, and a moment later, Anthony struggled to keep the car on the road. Luca clutched the handle above him and braced his feet as the car lost speed. Despite Anthony’s best efforts, the car lurched from side to side, before it spun around several times.

By the time the car stopped, Luca’s stomach was ready to jump out of his throat. Only the clicking sounds of the cooling engine broke the silence surrounding them. Anthony was hunched over the steering wheel, panting heavily.

Keith turned to them, his face very white, and asked, “Are you two all right?”

Luca sucked in a deep breath, mostly to suppress the urge to vomit all over the place. A seat belt snapped open, and Nicholas scooted over to him. His dad cupped his face in his hands, and Luca gazed into anxious dark blue eyes. “Luca? Everything okay?”

“Yes.” Luca’s tongue felt heavy as he spoke. “Just shaken up. What happened?”

Anthony unbuckled, then opened the driver’s door, allowing fresh air to filter into the car. “The left front tire popped. I’ll change it.”

“You two stay put,” Keith said as he hurried out of the car, taking in their surroundings. The second car of their security detail stopped behind them, and the men stayed inside the car after a quick talk to Keith.

A few other cars passed them, slowing down as they did so. Anthony opened the trunk, rummaged inside, and then jogged back to the road to put up the warning triangle. Keith’s stance showed he was on high alert. His hand hovered above his holster as he spoke quietly into his communicator.

Luca expelled a sharp breath that sounded more like a hiss, and slumped against the backrest of his seat. “That was scary.”

“It was.” Nicholas withdrew his hands but remained close to Luca. He scanned the area restlessly, and his posture screamed tension.

“Dad? What’s going on? Keith said not to worry and that Marcus is on edge because the marriage hasn’t been finalized, but the more I think about it and the way you all behave, I believe there’s something you’re hiding from me.”

Nicholas cast him a guilty look before he forced a small smile on his face. Luca could always tell when his father lied, or tried to—he wouldn’t keep eye contact, and his smiles didn’t reach his eyes. Whenever Nicholas smiled, his eyes sparkled, and more than once, Luca had been witness to men and women alike swooning over Nicholas’s eyes.

“We’re not hiding anything,” Nicholas replied.

Luca punched his dad’s shoulder, which at least got him full eye contact. “Dad, seriously? Do you all think I’m an idiot? I admit so far I was inclined to believe what everyone told me, but now, not so much. Why am I the only one left in the dark?”

Nicholas rubbed the spot Luca had hit. “Your father’s going to kill me if I tell you. He doesn’t want you to be upset because you’re pregnant, and who knows what could happen, and blah-blah-blah. Marcus is of the same opinion, and they made me swear to keep my mouth shut.”

“Now I’m really freaked out.” Luca protectively curved his hand around the light swell. “Dad, come on. I have a right to know if I’m the target of something or someone.”

“That’s what I said too. Your father and Marcus felt differently.”

“Since when do you do what others want from you?” Luca asked.

“I’ll have you know I actually do follow orders, and if your father wants me to do something in a certain way, I usually try to appease him.”

“Emphasis on try, huh? Please, Dad. What do I have to do for you to tell me? Beg?”

Nicholas shook his head. “No. No, I’ll tell you, but if you hear your father yelling tonight, you know what you got me into. Smith fled this morning. No one has any idea about his whereabouts, and no one knows how he broke out. There’s no evidence how he did it, but it seems as if he had help from someone. He might try to kidnap you, and we’re all jumpy because of that.”

Luca’s hand on the swell tightened as he swallowed a cold lump of fear. His palms grew sweaty while he processed his dad’s words. Was Smith so unhinged he’d do him harm? Or worse—what if he decided to harm the baby? Or Marcus?

Luca tucked up his legs and curled his arms around his knees. It wasn’t more than a gesture, but just for the moment, he needed the illusion, to be able to keep his little one safe. Luca croaked, “But why would he do that? What’s wrong with the man?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. He never gave a reason for his behavior, and they’ve interrogated him several times. Either he doesn’t know what’s gotten into him, which could be possible. After all, he’d been looking forward to becoming a father. Or he’s somehow capable of withstanding all our methods and drugs, though we have no idea how he’s doing it,” Nicholas replied.

“But if he’s drugged, shouldn’t that have showed in the drug scan?” Luca frowned at his dad.

“If it’s a drug we know, yes. I don’t know, Luca. I’m grasping at straws because I still don’t understand how your father and I could’ve been so wrong about him. He was nothing but polite and nice all the times we talked to him. We’ve never misjudged a potential marriage partner so badly.”

“You didn’t pick him for me, though. Whithers assigned him to me when he had enough of me denying all requests,” Luca said, pondering the possibilities.

Nicholas rested a hand on Luca’s knees. “Harold Whithers was as shocked as we all were about his behavior. Although…. Smith wasn’t the one that was next on the list. I don’t remember seeing him come up at all. Maybe we should talk to Whithers, try to find out why he chose Smith as your partner.”

“That would be a good idea, I think—”

Nicholas’s eyes grew wide when he gazed at Luca. Before Luca had time to ask, his dad grabbed his arm and towed him to his side of the car. He slammed the door open when Luca heard Keith shout, “Run!”

HEART HAMMERING
in his chest, Luca followed his dad’s lead. Nicholas turned toward the nearest escape, his shoes pounding on the asphalt. Luca clutched his dad’s hand as he raced along. He jumped when several shots rang through the air. Pained screams stung his ears, and only Nicholas’s firm grip on his hand prevented him from stopping and turning around.

“Keep running! There’ll be a police station at the exit,” Nicholas shouted.

A car engine roared behind them, spurring Luca to run faster, even though his lungs already burned. Brakes screeched as a vehicle cut off their escape route. Nicholas spun around midrun, almost causing Luca to lose his footing. In the last second, he remained upright, and caught a glance at his dad’s terrified face.

Luca’s legs lost contact with the ground when someone tackled him. Crying out, he went down. An enraged scream to his left told him his dad fared no better. Luca was roughly yanked up by the scruff of his neck, and before he had a chance to kick, a tight ring of cold steel closed around his throat.

“No!” Nicholas shouted. When Luca glanced over and took one step in his dad’s direction, the ring around his throat buzzed. Luca clutched the steel around his neck when the ring constricted, leaving him dizzy, dark spots dancing in his vision. He couldn’t breathe, and panic started to set in.

“Stop that,” a deep voice growled at his right side. “We’re not supposed to harm him in any way.”

“Pity,” another throaty voice answered.

The pressure around his throat lessened, and Luca gulped deep breaths. His vision cleared, allowing him the sight of several men clothed in black, guns and rifles strapped over their shoulders. A hand clamped on his arm and dragged him toward a waiting black van. Balking, he dug his feet into the ground. The first man with the growly voice rounded on him and grabbed the steel ring. Luca locked his knees so they wouldn’t give out. The man was much taller and broader than him. He didn’t stand a chance of fighting the hulk off if it came to that. He pressed both hands against his belly, against his better judgment, hoping he’d be able to protect his baby. Something flickered in the hulk’s eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Luca to understand what he’d seen.

“Do yourself a favor and don’t fight us, or we’ll be forced to use the device around your throat. As you’ve already experienced, it’s very uncomfortable.” The man patted Luca’s cheek, then gave a curt nod toward the van.

Luca stole a glance over his shoulder and recoiled. The man with the throaty voice bared his teeth. His face was deeply scarred, and part of his left cheek seemed to be missing. Luca swallowed a whimper when the man shoved him forward. The fingers digging into his flesh would surely leave bruises.

“Oh, and don’t think about using your communicator, we’re interfering with them,” his captor said. Luca stumbled to a halt when the man yanked him back against his chest. Luca collided with rock-hard muscles, and this time a whimper tumbled from his lips. The man ripped the communicator from his jacket, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it, until only small pieces remained.

Tears welled up in Luca’s eyes, and he struggled anew against his captor’s hold. With a swift move, the man whirled him around and slapped him across his face. Luca lifted a hand to touch his burning skin, while trembles surged through him. He hated how much his voice quavered, but why should he try to hide his fear? Anyone with a bit of a brain could see he was scared stiff. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”