Jaded Hearts
Chapter 99

Taylor

“The vitamins the doctor gave me are little miracles. I feel so much better now,” I said with a huge smile.

“I’m glad to hear that, tesoro. How’s the nausea?”

“Better. The juice does help, but not as much as it did when I was pregnant with Gigi. Cooking two at once is not a walk in the park, and we’re just getting started.”

“I know you can handle it.” He looked at his phone, then helped me to my feet.

“You’ve got to go. Tyson’s probably waiting for you already.”

I hadn’t even noticed the time, but I was supposed to be going to the city with Tyson. He wanted to check in on his mom. “Crap! Thank you for reminding me.”

I gave him a quick k**s and rushed off to Tyson’s house. “I thought you’d ditched me, gorgeous.”

“I’m so sorry, but we still have plenty of time to make it. I’ll take full responsibility if we’re late,” I said, breathless.

“Relax, baby. It’s nothing to stress over. Let’s go.” He helped me in the truck, then took my hand once he was behind the wheel.

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

“I don’t plan to talk to her, but I am a little nervous. I haven’t seen her in so long. I just hope she’s doing alright. I’ve been depositing money in her account every month since I left, but I don’t even know if she uses it.”

“You’ve done everything you can, so that’s all you can do.”

As we drove, I made sure to keep talking about fun and happy topics to keep him distracted. I felt terrible that he was having to go through this. No one should have to suffer for doing the right thing. After about an hour, we arrived at a quiet neighborhood outside of Jade City.

The houses were small, neat, and very well kept. Tyson had done a really good job picking this place for her. He parked on the curb, cut the engine, and just waited. After a few minutes, I turned to him and took his hand.

“Which house is it?”

“The blue one over there with the flowers. She’s always loved gardening. I’m happy to see she’s still at it.”

The house he’d bought for her was adorable and seemed like the perfect place for a single woman to live out her years.

“So, what would you like to do? I know we’re not here to actually talk to her yet, but what would you like to happen?”

“I don’t even know, sunshine. Maybe if I could just see her and know she’s alright, then I’d feel better.”

“I can go knock on the door and run away. We used to be good at that when we were kids,” I joked.

“First off, it was you and Mo who did that s**t. Don’t make me an accomplice to your nonsense. And second, it’s 2020, baby. You’ll be on camera, and there is no way in hell she wouldn’t recognize that gorgeous face of yours.”

“Whatever. You slummed it with the kids a few times, and you know it. So, what ideas do you have?”

Before he could answer, the front door opened, and Gloria walked out in her sun hat and began pruning her rose bushes. We quietly watched from afar, and I noticed the small smile on his lips as she moved along. A soft breeze blew through the air, through the rolled-down windows of the truck, and over to the house. It took her a second for the scent to register, but when she did, Gloria stood straight up and looked over at us, locking eyes with her son.

They held eye contact for a second before she looked over in my direction. I saw the recognition in her bright hazel eyes when she smiled at me. She blew a k**s in our direction, then headed back into the house.

“Wow. She looks so happy and so beautiful,” I said.

“Yeah, she the second most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he chuckled.

“I’ll make sure to tell her that when we all finally get together.”

He laughed out loud then blew out a breath. “She doesn’t hate me, does she?”

“I don’t think a mother can ever hate her child, but I won’t speculate what was going on in her mind after you killed your father. You’ll have to let her explain it all to you.”

He watched the house for a few more minutes, then started the engine and headed for home.

“So, I was thinking about the living situation for the baby, and I’d like it if there was a nursery at my place. I want my son and me to be as close as possible.”

“Of course, there will be two nurseries. You won’t get a free pass on late-night diaper changes and feedings, but how are you so sure about the baby being a boy?”

“I just feel it. I’ll take a little princess for sure, but I’m getting little prince vibes.”

“It doesn’t matter what we have. I’ll do whatever we need to do to make sure you two are as close as possible.”

His phone beeped, signaling an incoming text message.

“Would you check that for me? It could be something important.”

I picked up the phone and saw that the message was from Aires.

“Aires. I don’t know if I want to know what this message says.”

“I understand. I can just call her when we get home, but staying in the dark won’t change what’s coming. You need to be ready just like the rest of us.”

I knew he was right. Ignorance was bliss, but it was still ignorance, and that never won any wars. But at the same time, I wanted to enjoy my bubble of happiness. I’d finally had everything I could ever want. I didn’t want to think of the possibility that I could lose it all.

I opened the message and read it out loud:

“I’m heading back. Drew still can’t shimmer, so Edwards and other higher members of the coven boarded a plane bound for California early this morning. Once I know where their new base will be set up, I’ll stop by and update the team.”

A shiver washed over me. This was all too real. Vampire Drew on another continent was one thing, but having him back here so close to home was another. I wanted to take my family and hide in a dark cave somewhere until this was all over.

I placed a protective hand on my still-flat tummy and began to pull and roll my l*p. I hated this feeling.

“You trust us, don’t you, gorgeous?”

“You know I do.”

“Then relax. You, Genesis, and those babies you’re carrying are all safe. Nothing will come close to happening to any of you.”

“I appreciate the thought, but you can’t promise something like that. We can try all we want, but there may come a time when my life is in danger before this is all over. All we can do is be prepared and make sure I have the tools to best defend myself.”

“I absolutely can promise it, but okay. If it makes you feel better, I’ll make sure you have everything you need if you’re ever cornered alone.”

“It does. And since we’re in the city, how about we swing by Mr. Chow’s before we head home? I think the babies are in the mood for Mongolian Beef.”

* * *

Tyson

I agreed to become a member of the pack, but I didn’t want to make too big a deal about it. The ceremony was short and sweet in Xander’s office, then rolled right into a briefing with Aires and the guys.

She pulled up a satellite image of a large cliffside compound just outside of Los Angeles. It was tucked away in the hills to the point that no neighbors could “accidentally” see anything you didn’t want them too—the perfect place to hide in plain sight.

“This is Edwards’s newest base of operations. He recently purchased it since his last home was blown to pieces. Drew is there, along with all the important coven members, so I guess to put it in your terms, this would be his new packhouse,” Aires stated.

“Have you found any weak spots yet that we can exploit?” Alexi asked.

“Honestly, their biggest weakness is Andrew. He’s the second in command but knows little to nothing about how to run a coven. Also, there’s plenty of frustration within the lower-ranking members towards both him and Lancaster due to his appointment. It was a huge mistake to place this kid in charge; that much is clear.”

“Is that how you’re managing to get all this information?” I asked.

“It’s making things easier. I’ll say that.”

“How can we draw them out? We don’t want to fight them on their own turf. It gives them the advantage. So, what can we do to make them come to us?” Xander asked.

“You’ll need to offer them something they want. Bait.”

“What do you mean by that? What do we have that they want?” I asked.

“It’s simple. You give them your women.”

“Excuse me? You can’t be serious,” I replied.

“I’m very serious. Alaia killed Lancaster’s father, Morgan pushed Taylor to finally leave Andrew behind, and Taylor has been his obsession for years. The ladies are their main objective. The rest of the pack is just icing on the cake,” Aires calmly explained.

“I understand what you’re saying, darling, but there’s no way in hell we’re handing over our women like sacrificial lambs. Lancaster and Drew would have to kill each and every member of this pack before they ever touch those three,” Kade added.

“Well obviously, but understand this: Lancaster may be terrible at choosing his team, but he’s not stupid. He knows that the five of you, and your ability to work together seamlessly, is what makes this pack so strong. But really, your women are what make you strong. If you were to lose them, it would crush you. Then, crushing Blue Mon would be no harder than stepping on a bug.

“He doesn’t want to go against the full power of the pack; he’d surely lose. But a pack that has just suffered the loss of their Luna and Beta and Gamma females would be a walk in the park.”

“Your logic is sound, Aires, but we’ll have to see if we can replace another option first. The ladies are too important, even if we’re just pretending to leave them vulnerable. Lancaster and Drew know what the girls mean to us, so obviously, we wouldn’t be dumb enough to leave them unprotected. Especially not with one pregnant with twins,” Xander reasoned.

“Of course, Alpha. I will replace out if there’s anything else that would appeal to the two of them enough to draw them out in the open.”

“How about we offer them me?” Matt said.

“Or me,” I immediately replied.

* * *

“Taylor’s going to lose her mind when she replaces out we’ve offered ourselves as bait. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing we’ve ever done,” Matt said as we left the office.

“It was a better idea than offering her or any of the girls. No risk, no reward.” I shrugged.

“Let’s hope she sees it that way.”

Sunshine was in what would become the new nursery, staring at the blank walls and rubbing her belly.

“Tesoro? Is everything okay?” Matt asked as we stepped into the room.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to get some inspiration for the nursery. I’m hoping that these little ones will lead me in the right direction,” she said.

When she realized that both of us were there, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. “What’s up with you two? Are you here to help me conceptualize the room too?”

“Not quite. We just left the briefing with the team and came up with an idea to get Drew and Edwards in a vulnerable position.”

“I love the sound of that. Tell me more,” she said as she turned to face us.

Matt and I went over the highlights: Aires wanting to use the girls, us all firmly refusing, then Matt and I offering ourselves instead.

It was clear she heard what was being said, but she wasn’t computing. “So instead of setting a trap with the three of us, who aren’t little lost lambs in need of rescue, my husband and my boyfriend, the fathers of my children, decided the better option would be to sacrifice themselves. Have I got that right?”

“For the most part, yes. But we’re not sacrificing ourselves, gorgeous. We’re making them think they have the upper hand, making them think that they have weakened us,” I replied.

“By putting yourselves in a position where you could be hurt, captured, or killed?”

“Possibly, yes.” Matt nodded.

She started laughing—hard. I remember this from years ago. It meant she was pissed the hell off, and the only way to keep herself from blowing up was to laugh.

“Baby, please listen to us,” Matt began.

“No. I won’t listen. Not to this—it’s stupid and reckless, and you both know it. Both of you. So, what? I’m supposed to raise three children on my own? Be a widow? Lose my mate and my partner? What sense does that make?! None! Get out!”

“We need to talk about this,” I tried to reason.

“We don’t need to talk about s**t. Not when the men who possess my entire heart are trying to put their lives in danger. No. Get out. You two are killing the vibe in here and stressing me the hell out. Somebody has to look out for these babies.”

She turned back to the empty room, dismissing us both. We knew it was best to let her cool off, so we left the room and closed the door behind us.

“She’s upset, but she has to understand why we’re doing this. I’m going to head back to my place, but let me know if you need me for anything.”

“So, I get left to deal with the angry pregnant woman?”

“She’s your wife, man. Isn’t this part of the deal?” I chuckled.

“Sure, but she’s pregnant with your child too, so settle in. It’s going to be a long night.”