13
Karolena had officially lost track of time. It had definitely been more than a couple days since her entire universe had shifted. Less than a week, she was pretty sure. It was hard to tally given her initial shock, jet lag, the stress of trying to blend into a strange land, her rush to find work, and then the utter relaxation that had followed once the Shields had convinced her she’d landed in a safe haven.
She’d slept hard those first few nights after she’d confessed who she really was and Legend and Tavish had claimed her as both their assignment and their pleasure. Since then, she’d spent her days exploring an entirely different world full of possibilities. Plus sitting for interviews to divulge everything she could about Vladimir’s operations. And cleaning.Blech.
It was the only part of her experience at Shields she didn’t enjoy. The good stuff, like Legend and Tavish taking her to new heights every night—and a few times during each day, too—and actually having people around that she was coming to think of as friends far outweighed her annoyance with the number of times she’d wiped fingerprints from the stainless fridge in the communal kitchen.
So when James announced to everyone gathered in the common area that he had something to show them outside, Karolena set her trusty mop down and wandered out to the parking lot behind Shields headquarters along with Laurel and Aven, probably the pair she’d spent the most time getting to know aside from Legend and Tavish. It was nice to have someone who understood how difficult it was to transition to a new normal, though she hated that Laurel—and one of her boyfriends, Jace—could relate to her trafficking trauma. Aven was a great listener and seemed eager to hang out, having only recently moved into Shields headquarters herself. She seemed a bit lonely, though Karolena figured that made sense since Aven was the only single resident at the moment. Karolena was happy to keep her company and hopefully return a tiny bit of the kindness they’d shown her.
The guys followed right behind them, shooting the shit with Laurel’s other boyfriend, Nolan, plus Ace and Liam. Despite how casual they seemed, Karolena noticed Legend subconsciously pat his holster, where he wore one of his guns at his hip. She was sure every other agent was doing the same since a couple of days ago Devra and Morgan had successfully delivered their message to the men who’d been looking for her.
Karolena blinked against the harsh glare of the sun like a bear emerging from its cave after hibernation.
“You’ve been cooped up a while now.” Aven handed her a pair of aviator sunglasses. “Here, take these.”
“Ah, thanks.” Karolena sighed when they diminished the impact of the laser-like rays.
“How are you handling that?” Laurel asked quietly. “It bothers me, even now, when I’m unable to leave somewhere.”
“Fortunately, Legend and Tavish have been distracting me, but…this does feel awfully nice.” Karolena breathed deep, inhaling the crisp scent of the greenery she had spied from the windows above and the tracts of pine trees she knew weren’t too far away.
Aven hummed. “It does. Don’t forget you can set up therapy and Jordan will cover it. Kennedy has the info.”
“I already started a couple days ago.” Karolena wasn’t going to pretend like she didn’t need help adjusting. “It’s going to take a while to work through everything, but it’s helping to have someone impartial to talk to about all the transitions I’m going through.”
“Don’t forget we’re always here for you too.” Laurel gave her a quick hug. “It does get easier to believe this is real and that no one’s going to take it away from you after a while.”
Of course she’d nailed it. Karolena had woken up in a cold sweat most mornings, afraid it had all been a spectacular dream and she was still a prisoner in her previous miserable existence.
Aven agreed. “There’s a reason I fly things. I like to be self-sufficient more than I should. Probably because I could never count on anyone until I met these folks.”
Before Karolena or Laurel could ask any follow up questions to her revelation, they were joined by more and more people. It shocked Karolena how sprawling their network of friends was; the Shields had to know at least half of Middletown.
“Hey, Blakely!” Aven waved to one of the newcomers, then introduced the other woman to Karolena. “This is Legend and Tavish’s girlfriend, Karolena. Karolena, Blakely is our resident tattoo artist. I didn’t realize you would be here today. Who’s getting new art?’
Trying to keep up with the conversation while jotting a note in her mental contact book about Blakely—remnants of her faux-socialite past—Karolena didn’t have a chance to process thegirlfriendlabel right away. Was that what she was?
She glanced over her shoulder at Tavish, who shot her an encouraging smile, but she wasn’t sure if he’d heard Aven’s declaration or if he was simply kind and supportive in general.
“No one.” Blaklely beamed. “Dave told me the permit finally came through for my parlor, even though neither of us was able to reach my dad to find out what the holdup on the permits was or how it finally got resolved. He’s been handling all that stuff so he must have squared it away, though it’s weird he didn’t let me know. Anyway, they’re going to break ground this afternoon. Finally!”
Karolena ran through her previous knowledge. Dave. He was one of the Powertools. The construction workers James and his spouses had a polyamorous relationship with. If she remembered right, he was the big guy—who kind of reminded her of Legend, in a gentle giant sort of way.
Blakely pointed at the cement truck pulling into the lot then. It parked in the far corner where it was easy to maneuver without risking clipping another vehicle and out of the way. Its drum rotated slowly as Dave got out from behind the wheel and ambled over to them with a limp he couldn’t quite hide. He was accompanied by a tall, handsome man named Joe, whom she’d met before. He was married to Morgan from the bakery on the corner, so he stopped by often after visiting her.
“That’s fantastic. Congratulations.” Laurel turned to Aven and Karolena. “We should go over to the construction site after this for moral support since her dad isn’t going to be there.”
“Thanks for inviting me. I would love to, but I’m probably not allowed.” Karolena tried not to pout. “I’m surprised these two even let me out long enough for this.”
Of course she’d heard the full details of Ruby’s prior kidnapping by then, but everyone was on full alert and they weren’t about to let her straggle. Surrounded by this many Shields, she was well-protected.
“Okay, James, what are we here for?” Jordan asked from where he stood nearby, hugging Wren from behind.
James beamed, practically bouncing in his neon pink, high-top canvas sneakers, skinny jeans, and sky-blue tank top with white edging. Before he could explain, the roar of engines blasted through the streets, waking up the sleepy town, bouncing off the brick facades of the stores that lined the main street. A flash of green caught Karolena’s attention just before a tiny, ridiculous vehicle zipped into the lot and screeched to a stop a bit away from the crowd, near where Dave had left his truck.
The rest of the entourage, including a gleaming purple muscle car and a man riding a navy blue motorcycle parked before yet more people joined their growing audience.
The bright green car with flames painted over the hood and down the sides was hard to look away from. A tall black pipe stuck out from the far side of its front. Its wheels were enormous for how compact it was. Dark windows obscured the interior. A man climbed from it and jogged toward them before tossing the keys to James.