Chapter 21: Chapter 21

It was as if the universe was laughing in her face. All her life had been a struggle, and now this.

“Babe, it’ll happen. You just have to give it some more time. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Garrick didn’t know shit. He was always so calm and cool and collected, the voice of reason that she didn’t care to hear right now.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s barren. I’m going to die an old maid,” Ginger said, on the verge of tears.

“An old maid you are not,” he insisted. Standing behind her, he rubbed her shoulders, giving her a much comfort as he knew she could handle.

Ginger wasn’t a hugger. At least, not when she was an emotional wreck verging on a nervous breakdown. “Everyone is off getting pregnant and popping out babies. Even Taco has one now, and he didn’t even want one.” She stared at the test strip that seemed to be shouting she wasn’t pregnant. She resented that negative line. “Maybe I’m just not meant to be a mother.”

“Don’t say that, babe.” Garrick kissed the back of her head. “When the time is right, you’ll get pregnant. It’ll happen. Just try to have some faith.”

She turned in his arms and glared up at him. “How can you say that? It’s been months. We’ve been trying day and night, and don’t get me wrong, I love having sex with you, but I’m tired.”

Garrick hated seeing her feel defeated. She knew that. He needed to always be strong, and in that mission, he needed to be strong for her too. They’d been trying for a while to get pregnant, something that should have been a piece of cake. Ginger was sure that the moment they started trying it would happen, but no such luck.

The idea of contacting that fertility doctor Gabby had referred her to was sounding better and better every day. She just hated the idea of going. It felt like she was giving up, as if she was admitting that something was wrong with her. She just wanted to be like everyone else. Was that really too much to ask?

“Woman, I’m not even close to being tired. Any chance I have to get inside you, I’m all over it,” Garrick told her, grabbing her face in both hands and forcing her to meet his eyes.

She could see the sadness in his, the emotions he kept in check for her sake. He was determined to be strong enough for both of them. God, she loved him so much.

“You can’t change biology,” Ginger told him, feeling the sinking depression welling up inside her. She’d been fighting it for so long, but today was particularly hard for some reason. Maybe because in less than an hour, she was supposed to leave town. Garrick had reserved a hotel room for her at some fancy place a few hundred miles away, and she was supposed to hold up there until he came to retrieve her.

This war was tearing everyone’s family apart. Casting everyone to the wind. She hated it, every second of it. Couldn’t wait until they could all get back to normal life again.

And she was terrified that this time something would happen to Garrick that he couldn’t come back from. That was the worst of it all. The stress of trying to start a family with the man she loved before he went off to fight a war that never should have been. She felt sick every time she allowed herself to think about it, which was becoming more frequent by the day. Especially today, when they had to actually say goodbye.

It was going to kill her.

“There’s nothing wrong with you. Not with either of us,” Garrick insisted. That was something he’d been saying since she’d mentioned the fertility treatments. Ginger wanted to believe him, but she was beginning to wonder. Maybe he was too old, or her past had caused more damage than she’d realized.

All she knew was that she was reaching her breaking point—fast. Seeing Taco’s little boy had been the icing on the cake for her. Until then, she’d been holding it down pretty well, telling herself that she wasn’t a jealous bitch every time she looked at Gabby. But she couldn’t deny it anymore. She was jealous and envious and every time she saw that big, fat negative sign she wanted to scream and cry and throw a fit over the injustice of it all.

A baby. That’s all she wanted. A little person that shared the same DNA as her and Garrick. A little person that was the perfect combination of the two of them, a living, breathing representation of the love they shared. And for some reason, it just wasn’t happening for them.

Maybe it never would.

“Listen, after this whole thing is over and the dust settles,” Garrick continued, his tone soft and filled with confidence, “I’m going to knock you up. You hear me?” he asked, bending his knees, his brows lifted as he tried to catch her gaze. “I’m putting my baby in you, Red. There’s no if about it. This time next year, there’s going to be a little redheaded brat crawling around this house and you’re going to be fat with his or her brother or sister. So I don’t want to see you moping around. It’s going to happen. Believe it.”

She tried to smile for him, but it didn’t feel very convincing. Still, she tried. “All right.”

“Say you believe it.”

“I believe it.”

“Better. Now promise me that you’re going to take care of yourself while you’re away. I won’t be able to focus on what I need to do here if I think you’re curled up in a bed crying all damn day and night.”

Ginger’s eyes prickled with unspent tears at his words, because that’s exactly what she’d planned on doing. “I promise.”

He stared into her eyes as if he didn’t believe her. Hell, she didn’t believe herself either. “I’m going to check in on you every night before I go to bed, understand? And you’re going to tell me how your day was. I better hear you’ve been out exploring and having fun without me.”

“I promise, I won’t let you down,” she swore. But they both knew it was a promise she probably couldn’t keep. She would try though. For him, she would do her best.

Garrick got a familiar look in his pale blue eyes, and instantly, Ginger’s body responded. She didn’t wait for him to make the first move. Instead, she slung both arms around his neck and lifted onto her toes, kissing him with relish.

Garrick didn’t miss a beat. He met her with equal enthusiasm, his strong arms banding around her waist and lifting her off her feet so she’d have to wrap her legs around his hips. Then he carried her into the bedroom where, instead of laying her out on the bed, he pressed her up against the wall beside the door.

“One more time before I hit the road, Red. What do you say we make this one count.”

She grinned against his mouth. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

***

Luciana was a just god among her people. In fact, she often thought of herself as similar to Xerxes, the Persian god. He was a fair and just ruler, guiding his people. Without him, they would have been nothing. They wouldn’t have carved a name for themselves in history, just as without her, her men would be lost to the sands of time.

All she commanded of them was their total and unwavering allegiance, and yet here they were, conspiring against her behind her back. Did they not think her intelligent enough to see their lips moving and know they spoke her name? Did they think her too ignorant to hear the whispers and not know they were about her?

Ever since she was a little girl on her papa’s knee, Luciana had been brave and fearless. She expected nothing less of herself, as she was the daughter of a powerful man, the leader of a powerful army. She was The Mantis. Luciana dared anyone to look into her eyes and call her anything less than their queen.

Luciana sat beside Manuel in the back of the blacked out SUV as it sped down the country backroads, kicking up plumes of dust and gravel. Thanks to word from their informant, they were headed for the compound, hoping to catch the Spartans off guard. The pricks had already managed to send off their families, but no matter. She’d catch up with them soon enough. At the moment, her full concentration was on the Spartans.

It was still early morning, the sun faint on the horizon. She had plenty of time to exact her revenge. Today they would give no quarter, just as the Spartans had granted them none when they decided to attack her home.

The shifting of clothing beside her reminded her of her other little problem.

She looked to Manuel. He’d been quiet all morning, just as she had been. Neither had spoken a word, dressing and leaving the mansion in silence together. Today would be their day as well—their last day. After the Spartans were handled, she planned to finish the task and tie up some pesky loose ends.

She was staring at one now. The final loose thread that needed to be trimmed.

So handsome, so confident.

A serpent among tall grass, waiting for its moment to strike.

“If you ever think to betray me,” she said, her droll but confident voice shattering the pall of silence that blanketed the back seat, “I will chop you to pieces and feed you to the dogs.”

Manuel didn’t even flinch. The epitome of ease. Turning his eyes from the scenery speeding by outside the window, he cast a sinister smile her way. “I would expect nothing less, mi amor.”

She tipped her head to him and looked away. “I’m glad we understand each other.”

“As am I.”