she was whispering, as if whoever was entering could hear her.
“Let me see.” Fane wanted to look through her eyes. He didn’t want to distract her, but he wanted to see the face of one of her captors. His wolf would remember and would hunt him down.
A moment later, Fane was no longer looking out the window of the Colorado pack mansion. Instead, he was staring at a door that was opening. In walked a man—judging by his pale skin, a vampire. He held a bag full of baby supplies.
“For the mutt,” the vampire sneered.
His mate didn’t respond. She simply watched as the male placed the bag on the floor next to a bassinet. Fane found it odd that Alston had provided such things for them. At least they weren’t in a damn dungeon surrounded by rats. As soon as the vampire left, Jacquelyn shut down that part of their bond, and he was looking out the window again.
“That’s unexpected.” She said what he’d been thinking.
“He probably believes if he keeps you happy, you’re more likely to comply with what he wants,” Fane said.
“Well, I’m not going to refuse the stuff. Slate needs more than I can give him. All I can do is feed him. One diaper isn’t going to last long.”
She sounded relieved. Of course, she’d been worried about how she was going to take care of their child. Fane hadn’t even made it that far in his worry. He had been stuck on them not getting hurt.
“Slate’s asleep.”
“You sound tired. You should get some rest. Keep the bond open, all of the way, Jacquelyn,” he warned. She had a habit of trying to protect him by shutting the bond down when she thought something might upset him.
“I will,” she promised. “Are you going to be alright?”
She’d seen him in the past when she’d been hurt. He hadn’t taken it well, even when it had only been the vivid imagination of the In Between. But for her, he would keep himself in control. He would be what she needed him to be, what Slate needed him to be. “I will be. I will see you soon.”
“Of that I have no doubt, my love.”
“I really hope Jen hasn’t done anything stupid,” Sally said as she paced the room. It wasn’t a cell, which was nice, but it wasn’t anything more than four walls, a door, a bed, and a bedside table.
“I think we would know it if she had,” Costin said. “Nothing Jen does is ever quiet.”
“Good point.” Sally stopped and stared at one of the walls. On a whim, she reached up her fist and knocked. A moment later there was a return knock. Her head turned as she grinned at Costin. “They’ve put us in a room next to each other.”
“How do you know that’s Jacque or Jen?” he asked as he sat with Titus in his arms. Their son was sound asleep, for which she was thankful. He’d been through an ordeal and needed an escape. Sleep was a great escape.
“Listen,” she said and then knocked a pattern. Dun dun dun dun-dun.
The return knock was dun,dun, as though answering a question.
“What was that exactly?”
“It was what we would tap on each other’s windows when we snuck over,” she explained with a smile.
“What does it mean?”
“Each knock is for a word. The single knocks are ‘give me the’ and the double knock at the end is ‘all-clear’.”
“And her two knocks?”
“Two knocks is ‘all clear.’ One knock is ‘no.’ Which means get your butt gone.”
“Why did you all sneak out?” Costin asked. “Wouldn’t your mothers have let you go over to each other’s houses?”
“Not always, especially on school nights. Regardless, it seemed more exciting to sneak out.”
“Is that what Jen said?” Costin’s grin made his dimple appear.
Sally rolled her eyes. “Yes and because keeping Jen happy was easier than arguing with her, Jacque and I just did it. Pick your battles, Jacque always said.”
“What about cell phones? Couldn’t you have just texted each other when you were outside?”
“Remember Jen likes military operations? There are no cell phones in war,” Sally said.
“War?” Costin laughed.
“The war on the parentals, as Jen called it. Easier not to argue,” she reminded him.
“So is that Jen or Jacque on the other side?”
“I have no clue. We didn’t make a signal to distinguish who it was.” She stared at the wall as if she could somehow look through it. Sally wished they knew morse code. Why didn’t they know morse code? That was a