PS01 - Tall, Dark & Lonely (46 page)

Ephraim snapped the man’s neck. He lunged at the next man. A bullet hit him in the side of his leg. “Don’t stop no matter

what!” he yelled at Chris. Another bullet tore through his right bicep, but he didn't let the pain slow him down.

Madison looked over at Chris as he fired his guns. His left hand wasn’t as fast as the right one but he seemed in control. She

heard more shots fired behind her. They had to take the men out before one of them got killed.

Ephraim moved towards the last man standing. The man was already hit several times, but wouldn’t stop firing. Chris cried out

in pain the same time as the man fired another round before Ephraim could grab him. He took out the man with a quick snap of

his neck.

“Chris!” Madison screamed.

“Oh fuck,” Chris muttered. He was hit in the same shoulder again as well as the stomach. The gun in his left hand dropped to

the ground. He kept the right one pointed at the slump bodies on the floor even as it shook. He was going to pass out soon and

he was fighting it. She could see from his face that he wasn’t quite there anymore.

“Chris!” Joshua screamed.

Madison turned to see Caroline sitting on the ground. Heavy white smoke rose from her body. Some of the smoke cleared from

her hands with a quick movement. Madison saw the gun too late.

Chris slowly swung his hand around. He muttered a curse and flung himself in front of the kids, taking her down to the floor and

out of the line of fire. Several things seemed to happen at once. Ephraim roared in anger, continuous gunshot echoed throughout

the room, Chris’s body went limp and then jumped several times as if it had been struck violently. The last thing to occur was

the front door slamming open.

Ephraim jumped over the small group, taking a bullet from Caroline’s gun in his leg before it could hit its intended mark.

Caroline screamed in pain as she turned to face the intruders.

Eric stormed in, aiming a crossbow at Caroline. He pulled the trigger, sending the arrow flying through the air. It hit her in the

heart, slamming her backwards, but not before she managed to pull the trigger one last time. Ephraim dove over her falling

body, taking the bullet in his chest that was meant for Eric.

He saw Eric flinch as he expected the shot to complete its aim into his head.

“Fuck,” Eric muttered unsteadily, taking in the scene. Men and women stormed the house as Eric helped Ephraim to his feet.

“It’s Chris.” Ephraim ran half stumbled back to the group. Eleanor was fussing over Chris’s body. He could already see that

Chris was unconscious and loosing far too much blood.

Eric dropped by Chris' side. “I need a medic!” he yelled.

Another man dropped next to Chris. He opened a backpack and began securing the wounds. “Two in the shoulder, one in the

back, one in the stomach, one in the leg and the last one on the side of his neck.

Madison reached up and took Ephraim’s hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze and sighed with relief that he couldn’t smell her

blood. Chris had saved their baby.

Ephraim watched helplessly as the boy who'd become his son lay dying on the ground. There was nothing he could do to save

him. “Joshua’s been shot!” Jill’s voice broke through his pain.

He reached out and yanked a very pale Joshua from the middle of the chaos. He was covered in blood, from the smell of it

Chris’s blood. His eyes ran over the frightened little boy. “Where?”

“My tummy hurts,” he cried. “Is Chris going to be okay?” His chin wobbled.

“I hope so.” Ephraim yanked the vest off the little boy and sighed with relief. Joshua had a hell of a purple bruise on his

stomach, but no penetration.

“Looks like the vest saved him,” Eric mumbled as he poked his finger into the vest where the bullet entered. “He needs to go to

the hospital as well.”

“Chopper’s here.”

“That was quick,” Madison said through sobs.

“When two Sentinels are in danger we don’t play around. I’m just sorry it took so long to get here. We had a false alarm in

Boston. We were halfway there when your calls for help came through. We double checked the situation in Boston by phone

and found out that it was bogus.”

“A trick to divert you,” Eleanor guessed.

“Yes, ma’am. I do apologize,” Eric said.

She waved him off. “Just get my grandsons to the hospital and you’re forgiven.”

“He’s packed up, let’s move him out,” the medic said.

Several men moved in. “I’ve got him.” Ephraim scooped Chris up, ignoring the pain that shot throughout his body. It wasn’t as

bad as it could be since he'd overfed. His wounds were already healing.

He looked at the men evenly who were still reaching to take Chris. “He’s my son.” They nodded and moved back as he ran

with Chris in his arms to the waiting chopper. Eric ran behind him carrying a crying Joshua.

Ephraim held Joshua in his arms while they strapped Chris to a board and started an IV. “He needs blood!” the medic yelled.

Eric held out his arm. “Take it! It’s our blood he needs anyway! If they give him human blood it will kill him.” The medic

nodded his agreement. Ephraim and Joshua watched as the medic attached an IV from Eric to Chris.

“Ephraim!” Madison yelled over the sounds of the chopper. He turned to see her healthy and well. “We’ll meet you there!”

He nodded.

“I love you!” she yelled.

“I love you, too. Be careful.”

“I will.” She turned.

“Oh, Madison?”

“Yes?” She turned back.

“When this is all over and Chris is better be prepared to have the spanking of a lifetime for not listening to me
and scaring the

hell out of me
!”

Her mouth dropped open to argue, but she only nodded. It was the smartest thing she’d done all day, except for agreeing to

marry him of course. He watched her as the helicopter rose.

She went back towards the house. There were dozens of Sentinels running around now. He knew his family would be safe. His

eyes moved to Chris. His color was coming back.

“It’s the blood. It will help heal him quickly. My blood is stopping the bleeding, see.” Eric pointed to a still white bandage on

Chris' neck. The bleeding was stopping. He just prayed it was enough. He couldn’t lose Chris.

A loud steady beep went off from one of the machines they had Chris hooked up to.

“Shit, he’s coding!”

Ephraim heard Chris’s heartbeat sputter. “No! Chris, no!”

“Clear!” The medic shocked Chris.

His heart flat lined.

Epilogue

“Dad?” Ephraim looked up from his infant son. Joshua strolled into the nursery and sat down in the other rocking chair.

“What’s up, little man?” he asked, gently rocking the baby in his arms.

“Nothing, I just miss Chris.” He looked around the baby’s room and frowned. “Whose idea was it again to go with a teddy bear

theme?”

Ephraim chuckled. “Your mother’s.”

“Figures. Mom’s always been partial to teddy bears. She used to buy me clothes with teddy bears all over them.”

“I’m sure you looked cute.”

“I did,” he agreed, giving Ephraim a grin that would one day make the girls melt at his feet. Ephraim knew that day was coming

soon. At eleven the kid was already too damn good looking and charming for his own good.

Jill walked into the room. “Madison is asking for you, Dad.”

He nodded.

It was funny how quickly and eagerly Jill and Joshua came to regard him as their father. Joshua easily made the adjustment to

place Madison from sister to mother. Jill hadn't. She was too old for that change and saw Madison as a sister and friend, but

still allowed Madison to adopt her. She said it just felt right.

“Do you mind taking little Marc Christopher for me?” He stood up and carefully handed his son over to Jill.

“Of course.” She smiled at the baby. “Hey, baby brother, you are so cute.”

“Of course he is. After all he’s named after me,” Chris said as he walked into the room. He messed up Joshua’s hair on his

way to his youngest brother.

“Hey, little man. Did you miss me while I was out on patrol?” Marc gurgled and grinned hugely. “That’s what I thought.” He

kissed the baby's head.

“Well?” Ephraim asked.

“Nothing to report. Quiet as a church. How did your patrol go?” Chris asked as he rubbed the ugly pale scar on his neck.

“Fine. Nothing. Are you still sore?”

“Yeah. The muscles are tight.” Chris winced.

“You know I’ve been waiting for you all night,” Joshua complained.

Chris’s lips tugged up into a smile. “I can see that.”

“Let’s go, I only have a half hour before I go to bed.”

Ephraim cleared his throat. “More like you were supposed to be in bed an hour ago. It’s ten.”

“Aw, Dad!”

“Go.”

“Damn it,” Joshua muttered. Chris hit him upside the head gently. “Watch it, punk.”

“You’re the punk,” Joshua said with a fond smile.

Chris walked with Ephraim across the hall to their new room. Madison insisted before Marc was born that they move their

room closer to the rest of the family. He agreed after she twisted his arm, literally.

“So, Dad, I was thinking.”

“Yes?” he asked cautiously. It was always a good idea to be cautious when it came to his seventeen year old son’s "thinking".

He swore if he asked for a third tattoo again he was going hang Chris by his ankles in the foyer and leave him there.

“I was thinking instead of taking my own Sentinel home next year I’m going to hang around here for a while and make sure

everything’s okay.”

Ephraim hadn’t expected that.

“Chris, I would love for you to stay, but I don’t want to hold you back.”

“You’re not holding me back, Dad. You know as soon as I leave they’ll set up another Sentinel home close by to protect

Marc.”

Ephraim sighed. “I know. We thought of moving to start over somewhere else, but this is our home. Madison and your

Grandmother want the kids to finish growing up in one home. No more moving around.”

Chris smiled easily. “I’m not complaining, Dad. I don’t want to move out just yet. I would like a few more years with my

family before I have to go out on my own.”

Ephraim cupped Chris’s neck. “Are you sure? You know I will never stand in your way.”

“I’m sure, Dad.”

“Okay.” He pulled Chris into a bear hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep we have a vamp nest in Concord to help

clean out tomorrow.”

“Night Dad.” Chris headed back to the nursery where he would most likely stay for the rest of the night. The kid was a natural

when it came to kids. Ephraim hoped he wouldn’t have too long of a wait to find his mate.

He turned to head into his room only to pause as spotted the pictures that covered the hallway walls. A sad smile tugged at his

lips as he looked at the enlarged photo of him with his two brothers when they were children. His eyes shifted to the next

blown up photo of him standing with Marc and his family. Marc looked so happy with one arm around his shoulders and his

other cradling his youngest child.

Ephraim chuckled, wondering what Marc would have thought about the hectic day Madison gave birth. Marc would probably

be jealous as hell that Ephraim was the one that delivered his son into the world. Not that he had much of a choice since

Madison went into labor downstairs while she was watching Chris struggle to re-learn how to walk.

It was the best day of his life seeing his son take his first step again after seven months of surgeries and grueling physical

therapy. The doctors hadn’t held out much hope that Chris would ever walk again. Hell, more than half of them didn’t think

he’d make it through that first night, but in the end Chris proved them all wrong. He’d never been prouder of Chris as the boy

dragged himself across the floor and then forced himself through the pain to walk up the stairs in order to get help for Madison.

He reached up and traced a finger over Madison’s smiling lips in their wedding photo. She looked so happy in his arms. He

just hoped he could keep her that way forever.

With a smile he walked into their room and closed the door. He wasn't too surprised to find Madison on the large bed, waiting

for him.

Ephraim pulled his shirt off and crawled across the bed predatorily towards the beautiful woman in his bed. “Is this what you

called me for, my beautiful wife?” He gently pulled the sheet covering her body away, exposing bare skin. He licked his lips as

two gorgeous breasts were revealed.

“Perhaps.” She laid back as he crawled over her.

“Perhaps?”

She laughed. “Well no, I wanted to tell you that Father James told me that another Priest will be joining the household

tomorrow. He’ll be taking over my old room.”

“Ah I see, then you don’t want any of my wares tonight?” he said, wagging his eyebrows.

“I didn’t say that.” Her fingers found the zipper of his fly and gently pulled it down. Her hand brushed his already hard shaft.

She reached in and pulled it out.

Ephraim’s hips pushed forward, knocking her hands out of the way so he could enter her in one smooth thrust. Madison’s fangs

dropped immediately. “You are far too good at that, Ephraim.”

“And you feel too damn good, darling,” he growled.

“Yeah?” her voice was thick and husky.

His head dropped back in pleasure as he moved inside of her. “Oh yeah, you feel wonderful.”