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HAVING A MATE DID SOMETHING for Zealish’s confidence because he no longer avoided the outside. He actually volunteered to help Thane with patrolling the homeless who’d camped on the edges of the gate. Of course, he usually volunteered on the days Everly and Angela chose to visit with the children, but still. It was progress.
Today, however, wasn’t a day she and Everly were visiting. There had been too much unrest lately and more guards than usual were patrolling the outside. There was a new religious sect who would come out daily, march with their signs, and denounce science over the Lord’s word. They seemed to think the Xeno Sapiens were an abomination because of the way they were brought about instead of being naturally born citizens.
Like they had a choice.
But she and Everly had kissed both Zee and Thane and made them promise to keep Everly’s camp extra safe by patrolling there.
And they spent their time in Pax’s lab.
Pax and Steele were hard at work in the deeper recesses of the lab, but several of the multiples milled about the other section—including their favorite, Happy. Well, calling him their favorite didn’t seem to be fair, since they were all Pax—a part of Pax. But since it was Happy who was the most outgoing and the easiest to talk to, they seemed to hang with him most.
He winked at them. “Pax needs a girlfriend,” he whispered. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
“The best,” Everly snorted.
“What?” His eyes gleamed as he looked innocent. “What was that snort for?”
“It would have to be a hella strong woman to put up with all of you,” Angela said, waving her arm at the other three shards that milled about.
Number Five winked at her. She liked to think of that one as Sexy. Lusty. Sometimes plain ole Hotness. He exuded raw sex appeal. But hell if Pax would ever allow one of his multiples to be referred to that way.
“Yeah,” Happy sighed. “I guess it’s a bit too much to hope for.”
“Well, maybe if the lot of you would stay inside him,” Angela said.
“Inside? Pfft. What’s the fun in that? It’s boring inside Pax. We have to be let out to play once in a while.”
“But maybe not when a love interest is around,” Everly said gently.
“Or we could pretend to be Pax,” Happy said, grinning. “I think I’m best at it.”
“You are not,” Sexy called, stretching out and calling attention to the musculature of his torso and chest. “I am.” He grinned when Angela tore her eyes away to see Everly in the same predicament as her—staring at the sinful, sex-god version of Pax.
“Well, it’s not like a love interest would ever come around here anyway,” Happy grumbled. “Pax never leaves the depths of the lab for two minutes.”
“It’s okay,” Everly said, placing her hand on his forearm. “If it’s meant to happen, it will. Her path will cross with yours somehow, someway.”
“That’s right,” Angela said cheerfully. “Look at all the traps Zee was digging while half his brain was sleeping. Unconsciously searching for a mate. Little did he know he would have broken my neck had he caught me instead of Thane.”
“Well, that’s morbid,” Happy said. “Maybe I’ll hold off on the whole mate concept.”
Angela laughed.
“Systems are on red alert.” The computer voice boomed overhead. “Attention. All systems are on red alert.”
Steele burst from the back room, barely giving them a glance as he ran from the lab.
“What’s going on?” Everly murmured.
“I’m not sure.” Happy narrowed his eyes. The other multiples stopped what they were doing, their heads cocked toward the lab where Pax still was.
With a shared look between them, the other three multiples in the room began putting away their stations and then left toward the hallway that stretched to Pax’s personal lab.
“Aren’t you going?” Angela asked Happy.
“No.”
“Any ideas as to what’s going on?”
“That newest hate group is having an episode right outside the main gates. All available personnel has gone, but Robyn doesn’t want everyone to leave their posts in case it’s a distraction. So Pax will stay here as he normally does. I’ll stay out here with you two.” He grinned easily. “And your mates have both communicated that they are on the outside with Everly’s kids.”
Everly sighed. “I’m glad they’re safe.”
Just then, Pax burst from the office. “Watch them,” he warned before running out the main area the same way Steele had earlier.
“What the—?” Everly said. “Pax never goes out into the line of fire.”
“No,” Happy agreed, his face looking somber. “Someone requested him.”
“He’d changed clothes,” Angela said.
“Come again?”
“He was wearing dark gray, nearly black, when he left. But I’m sure he was wearing solid black when we came in this morning.”
“Hmm.” Happy’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “That can’t be good.”
