The Protectors Series Bundle - By Nana Malone Page 0,56

he could get to Symone before the rest of the Trackers did, he could convince her to help him get to his aunt’s and get Michael to safety. “I know what I have to do.”

All he had to do was find the un-findable needle in a giant haystack. Good thing, his specialty was tracking ghosts.

***

“I’m pregnant.” Cassie Reeser tipped her head up to look her husband Seth in the eye.

Mincing words wasn’t a strength of hers. She’d never learned how. She’d been holding onto this piece of information for days, trying to figure out how to tell him. For the last year and a half, ever since she’d escaped from her brother and they’d rescued the others from Peter’s experiments, she’d both looked forward to, and lived in fear of this moment.

Her pregnancy was one more step toward the fulfillment of Seth’s vision. If his vision was right, then it meant her brother hadn’t died in that explosion after all. It meant he was coming after them, and she’d be helpless to stop him from killing her and her baby.

But she couldn’t think that way. Seth was rarely wrong, but sometimes his visions didn’t happen exactly as interpreted. Cassie prayed this was one of those times.

The rest of their team was down by the pool and Jacuzzi so the house was empty. It was so rare they got a moment entirely alone anymore.

Seth’s mouth hung open, and he dropped the jar of Jalapeños onto the kitchen floor. Green liquid pooled as shards of glass scattered. “Say what?”

“You heard me. I said I’m pregnant.” She almost laughed as Seth went an unearthly shade of gray, then green.

“It’s impossible.”

He had a point there. Peter had supposedly sterilized her and the other female subjects, but given her rapid healing, anything was possible. She shook her head. Men. “You saw this coming yourself, but you’re telling me it’s impossible.”

He started to shake, and she frowned. He was starting to worry her. What if he didn’t want the baby? After all, who knew what kinds of powers their kid would have. Maybe it was all too soon. After the fireworks of the last eighteen months, they’d only just settled in to their lives.

She’d sold off and disbanded what remained of Gentech Labs. She’d severed all ties to Symcore weapons and had industry watchdogs hunting for any hints of a human weapons program. She’d paid some form of restitution to all the others her brother had hurt. Each of the kids, as she affectionately referred to them, was extremely wealthy and could do whatever they wanted with their money, powers, and newfound freedom. But only two had chosen to leave the compound, or the Lair as they’d taken to calling it—Symone and Jared. All the rest had remained. Cassie finally had the family she’d wanted.

She and Seth had gotten married six months ago, and they had barely had a chance to get used to living together. No wonder he was going into full freak out mode.

“Maybe I should get Lisa.”

Seth shook his head as if to clear it. “Leave Lisa be. She only gets to come out here once a month or so. Let her enjoy herself with the kids.”

After they’d watched her brother presumably die, Seth had been concerned about his longtime friend, so they’d gone back to check on the doctor. Lisa had been irritated that they risked exposure just for her, but once they were sure the danger was gone, she’d been coming out to the cabin more often. If it could be called a cabin. The high ceilings, modern furnishings, and surrounding guest cabins really qualified it as a resort, but that was semantics.

“What am I supposed to do? You’re scaring me. You already saw us having the baby, so I thought you’d be happy.”

Seth jerked his head. “Oh shit, sorry. For a mind reader, you sure suck at discerning my feelings. I’m thrilled. I’m just shocked and worried. In my vision, you looked older. I—um, didn’t expect anything like this. I just don’t know what to do.”

“How about we start with you holding me? And don’t you worry about my brother. We’re stronger than he is. No one is going to hurt me or this baby. Your visions have been off before.”

He frowned. “Rarely.”

“We can’t spend our whole lives worried about if he’s going to come for us. I’m not going to have him overshadow what should be a happy time. Until I met you, I didn’t think this was even