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My stomach twists into tight knots, raveling like a winding thread attached to my now-mutilated womb.

I open my mouth around an agonizing moan that fractures to a scream as the orgasm slams into me. Hot cold tingles explode beneath my skin. “Titus! Oh, God!”

He presses his forehead into my collarbone, his hand cupping my jaw, and his curses echo around us.

If there was ever any doubt about what I feel for him, it’s now permanently seared into my heart.

I love him.

Forevermore.

Chapter 45

For the next week, Titus and I waste the hours together, bathing, eating, sleeping and making love. With every blissful climax, I’m drawn closer to him, and further from Remus. The shadows remain on the fringes, as I suspect they always will. All I can do is learn to coexist with my fears, and hope that, one day, the demons of my past will tire of me. That maybe my will to keep fighting will become exasperating for them.

And in the meantime, perhaps the fissures and cracks will begin to seal, to heal, as the love burgeoning inside of me pushes against my ribs, filling the spaces that were once empty.

For now, I’ll try to meet each sunrise with a sliver of hope on the horizon.

“He’s returned.” Atticus’s voice bleeds through the half-cracked door, as I stand in the bathroom, patting my hair dry with a towel. Believed to be relaxing in a bath, I tiptoe toward my pile of clothes to dress quickly. I very much doubt Titus would’ve opted to meet with Atticus inside the cabin, had he thought I might hear them, but remembering I left the hairbrush in the bedroom afforded me the opportunity to catch the most important part of their conversation.

The part I’ve waited for.

“Where?” Titus asks.

“They’re holed up in the convent. Extra forces were dispatched after the attack, to protect the labs. They seem hellbent on turning the place into the next Calico.”

“Before, you said they’re building the labs underground?”

“Yes. Before they decided to turn me over to the docs, they put me to work, hollowing out the tunnels.” With a voice as deep as Titus, it’s hard to distinguish Atticus at times, so I tiptoe closer to keep up with the conversation.

“Just like Calico.”

“Seems they didn’t learn their lessons the first time.”

“And you’re certain Jack is with them.”

“Oh, yeah. I dream of the day I can wrap my hand around his throat and--”

“No.” I step out from my hiding place, where the two of them can see me. “My vengeance is long overdue.”

In spite of the efforts he made to help free me from Remus, resentment still burns in Atticus’s eyes. “Your vengeance? Last I remember, you sided with the snake-eyed prick and had me sent to Purgatory. Do you have any fucking clue what they do to a man in Purgatory?”

“It wasn’t my decision. Had it been up to me, you’d have been put to death, and we wouldn’t be here arguing. I wanted the man who killed my father then, as I do now that I know for certain who he is.”

“Well, I’m sorry to inform you, sweetheart, but you’re in no shape to exact vengeance. And I’ve waited too long for it.”

“Atticus …” The warning in Titus’s voice is telling of the irritation simmering inside of him.

“Brother, you know damn well this is my revenge.”

“She is as deserving as you. Purgatory was no easy fate, I know this. But she’s been through hell and back. A hell we’re both familiar with.”

Atticus’s brow flickers, as if the understanding slapped him in the face right then. He doesn’t dare turn his gaze toward me, as if he can’t bring himself to look at me now. “Their men have the perimeter heavily guarded.”

“Then, we’ll need to take them by surprise.” The way Titus paces the floor in thought reminds me of my father during the times I snooped on his secret meetings with his officers. “Penetrate their defenses. Jack will undoubtedly hide behind his men. He values his life too much.”

“I agree that the element of surprise is a wise approach. But, how? We don’t have the manpower, or technology, the way the rebels did when they attacked Calico. The small band of vicious women isn’t going to breach any more than the main entrance, and we’ll have Legion pouring in from all directions.”