Chapter 51 - Sam

The next morning, Sam splashed cold water on her puffy eyes. She’d only cried when talking to Brooke, but that would be enough to make her look like an insomniac drug addict for the rest of the day. When she went back into the bedroom, Greg was still sitting on the recliner where he’d slept, elbows on knees, face buried between his large hands.

“What is it, Greg?”

She’d thought he was tired or pensive about last night, but something else was going on.

He straightened. His black hair was standing up. His angular face touched by a hard-to-define emotion. In one lithe motion, he left his seat and stood in front of her.

“I don’t want you to think I’m . . . saying this because I’m worried about Ashby being back and . . .” He trailed off.

“And what?”

“And whether us being together is right or wrong.”

“Wrong? You think it’s wrong that I choose you?”

Greg opened his mouth and babbled something. No real words came out, though.

“You didn’t just hesitate, you didn’t!” Anger spread from the center of Sam’s chest and moved outward.

He looked her straight on, the clear blue of his eyes startling against the pinprick of his depthless pupils. “I would be with you even if the entire world was against it. All I need is a word from you and that, I have. I know you chose me, and I don’t take that lightly. But I also know how hard this must be for you. To go against your instincts even if they’re not as strong as before, to feel responsible for Ashby’s suffering when you have the power to offer redemption. I know it isn’t easy, and I know it isn’t wrong, in spite of everything.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

Greg put a hand on his chest. “It’s not a full warning, but I feel something isn’t right, like the day we were attacked at the soup kitchen. I don’t know for sure, but there might a threat, danger of some kind, and I think we should leave. Now.”

“Leave?”

In spite of everything, the thought of leaving hadn’t even crossed Sam’s mind and now, at Greg’s suggestion, the idea felt repulsive to her. It became clear why he’d started by saying he didn’t want her to think this had anything to do with what happened with Ashby. Because this warning seemed too convenient, like he’d made it up.

She turned her back on him, considering. He wouldn’t lie to her. He had felt something, and why not? If Ashby had found her, wasn’t it just a matter a of time before Veridan and Danata did, too? Something occurred to her then. Something that broke her heart, even if it had no right getting broken.

“Do you think Ashby told his mother where to find me?” she asked.

“No. He wouldn’t do that.”

His answer surprised her. She smiled. Of course he wouldn’t lie. He never had.

“Then where is this threat coming from? How did they find us?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe one of the others. Joao? Calisto? We know nothing about them.”

Sam faced him again and said the next words with conviction so there would be no doubt. “I won’t leave. I won’t run away again. This is where I need to be.”

Ignoring her instincts about Ashby but heeding the ones about New York was the epitome of hypocrisy, inconsistency, madness, something. But there it was. She was meant to be here. She had a purpose, a very good one. Most people did things without one of those. Now, for a change, she might as well be different than the rest.

Greg must have seen something in her eyes, because he didn’t argue. Instead, he simply said, “I understand.”

“Good. Let’s go then. I want to help Nadine and Dan with breakfast. Then after that, I’ll help whoever my instincts guide me to.”

“But I thought you would wait until we figure out—”

“I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t heal more than one person the same day. I’m pretty sure that’s why I got so weak.”

Greg frowned, clearly unhappy with this explanation. She waited once more for him to argue but, for a second time, he simply agreed. She loved him all the more for it. Everyone deserved the right to make their own decisions without a boyfriend or girlfriend trying to be the boss.

As they headed for the door, Sam stopped him and placed a hand on his cheek. “Thank you.” She kissed him gently on the lips and inhaled his masculine scent. “I know this isn’t easy for you either.”

He smiled, his handsome face changing, lighting up his eyes to the most beautiful blue imaginable. “If I can get paid in kisses, I’ll be all right.”

“No problem,” she said and kissed him again.

They made it to the shelter just in time to help Nadine stir a huge pan of powdered eggs and laid deli slices of ham on top of cheap white toast. Elizabeth and Bruce tagged along, eager to help while Mateo stayed back with Jacob while the child caught up on much-needed sleep. Though he promised they’d be there in time to share breakfast with everyone.

The feeling of easy camaraderie that usually developed among people while working toward helping others came out. Bruce and Dan joked around and told stories about their childhood. Nadine showed Elizabeth how the French press worked and set her to making “nice” cups of coffee for everyone.

Sam fell into a comfortable rhythm stirring the eggs when needed and helping Greg with the muffins. The moment was almost perfect, ruined only by Greg’s occasional looks toward the door and the constant frown across his brow. Sam figured his uneasy feeling hadn’t passed, but he would be sure to let her know if it escalated to a full warning. So she tried to enjoy the company and the work.

She needed little to be happy, and right now, she was.