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“What are you doing all the way over there?” she asked, getting out of bed and coming to join him. Being careful of his injured shoulder, she curled up in his lap.
The bonding link was strong between them, and he could easily feel her love for him and the grief she felt for her own loss of his brother as well as his.
“I think it might be a good thing that you and Mason didn’t get to know each other better. I think the two of you would have ganged up on me.”
She smiled and he could feel her grief lighten. “Absolutely. We’d already talked about it, and from now on we will only have potpies that I make the pastry crust for.”
Carson laughed. “Oh yeah, I would definitely have been outnumbered.”
“I keep asking myself how I could miss someone I had barely known twenty-four hours…”
“Mason was like that. He decided almost instantaneously whether he liked you or not. I, on the other hand, take the more conservative approach by pulling you from a certain death and then robbing you of your humanity before declaring my undying devotion. You know, the much longer week or so.”
There was a knock on the door and both Colby and Doc Hadley entered the room. Doc took his vitals, reminded him to take his antibiotics and pain pills if he needed them and to call him if he didn’t continue to improve.
When the doctor left, Colby turned to Amelia and Carson. “I know you said it wasn’t necessary, but I sent a group of men to see if we couldn’t recover part of Mason’s body. There was nothing there.”
“Maybe you weren’t at the right spot,” said Carson.
“No,” Colby said, shaking his head. “That isn’t it. We found what was left of the snowmobile and a bunch of body parts, just none belonging to Mason.”
“Why take just Mason’s?” asked Amelia.
“I suspect they want to know if it was him or me. Problem is, we’re identical twins—the DNA is a perfect match,” explained Carson.
“That was my thought, as well. I’m not yet sure how we can exploit that to our advantage, but I think we may finally have put them on their back foot. Deke says I need shopping lists from both of you. I take it you’re amenable to using the lighthouse as a base?”
Carson nodded. “I am. I want to look at the living quarters, but my guess is we’ll be able to get who we need out of Iceland. I also want to ensure that anybody else who wants out—like support personnel—can get out.”
“I can make that happen,” said Colby. “You two take a couple of days and get settled in. We’ll start coming up with a game plan to get your people out.” He looked at Amelia. “Don’t let him do that.”
“Do what?” they answered in unison.
“Blame yourselves—either of you—for Mason’s death. He knew the risks when he joined us, as does everyone else. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me,” Colby said, turning on his heel to leave and looking like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Colby?” called Amelia softly. The lynx-shifter paused but didn’t turn around. “It wasn’t your fault, either.”
CHAPTER18
CARSON
Carson stood at the end of the dock, watching the orcas peacefully patrolling the water. There was a lot of work to be done in order to defeat the Shadow League, but it would help take the edge off his and Amelia’s grief. Mason wouldn’t have wanted sad faces or sad songs. They were planning a small celebration of his life with just a few people with whom he’d been close. They planned to make several kinds of potpies. He could almost hear Mason chuckling in the background of his brain.
The playground had never been a fun place for kids like Carson—undersized, intelligent, nerdy, shy—it hadn’t mattered that he was a shifter. The only thing that had helped was his taller, stronger, louder twin brother. The bullies in school quickly learned that Mason had no trouble defending his younger twin. Carson had often found himself trying to help some of the other, less physically adept kids, which meant Mason had to defend them, too.
“Sheesh, Carson, it’s bad enough I have to protect you. Now you’ve got me protecting every single geek in school.”
“If not you, then who?” Carson had asked quietly. “I’m lucky. I have you for a brother, but a lot of these other kids don’t. And while bigger and stronger might work in elementary school, there will come a day those of us who can think faster than throwing a punch will prevail.”
Mason looked shamefaced. “I guess you’re right. The days of warrior culture are rapidly declining. I just want you to remember that when I need you to take an algebra test for me.”
Carson grinned at his twin. “I got your back, bro.” That’s what Mason had always said to him. And he’d been right. There wasn’t a single time that Mason hadn’t had his back.
When Carson’s lazy hormones and growth genes had finally decided to kick in one summer, having each other’s back had taken on a whole new meaning. Over and over, they had substituted themselves one for the other for a myriad of reasons. A hangover, a date with two different girls at the same time. They had learned the nuances and differences in the way they could move so that no one could tell them apart.
“I got your back, bro,” he said quietly. “I will find those responsible and make them pay.”
No one had ever been able to tell them apart, except Amelia. She had known the man who shared his DNA and his face was not her mate before he’d ever had a chance to try and fool her. Mason had said Amelia in sweatpants, rolled down to her hips, a tank top, and a shotgun was about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. At first he’d wanted to punch Mason and then had realized that while true, Mason was just giving him shit.
