Atonement (Earth Evolution Series Book 3) Read online

  “I would normally agree with Jared on his not wanting you to go. Wait, before you argue with me, let me add that I don’t want any of my family down there right now. It’s dangerous with the resistance rebels being out of control.” Devlon told her.

  Jared smiled and looked at Lily smugly like he got his way but his father soon told him differently.

  “Unfortunately, a situation requiring validity has come up and the only person qualified to validate it is—you, Lily.”

  “What am I supposed to validate?”

  “It’s a who, not a what. There is a man in the northeastern tunnel tribe that claims he is Shawn Thomas Tyner.”

  “That’s not possible!” Jared looked at Lily right as her face turned pale and she began to fall down. He caught her just in time.

  “No.” She whispered before she passed out.

  Chapter 19

  Traffic was hell. All the cars were stopped, and people were making it worse by getting out of their vehicles and standing in the middle of the roads. Thomas was crying in the backseat and her air conditioner hadn’t worked in months. It was sweltering. Why the hell was she out here trying to get to the outer edge of the city? Oh yeah, her husband left a cryptic message to leave the house immediately. Her phone rang interrupting her thoughts.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you? Are you out of the city yet?”

  “We’re stuck right in the middle of downtown because of the traffic. What the hell is going on Shawn?”

  “Honey, you don’t have much time left, get to shelter. The subway is your only chance now. Take Thomas and get below ground before it hits.”

  “Before what hits?” She held the phone with one hand as she got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door to unbuckle Thomas from his car seat.

  “The nukes, honey. Half the world’s nuclear weapons have been deployed. You have less than twenty minutes before they strike.”

  She halted what she was doing. “Shawn, what about you?”

  “I’m in the air. It’s too late for me, but if I do nothing else, I want to make sure you and Thomas survive.”

  Tears were pouring down her face as she held Thomas on her hip and clung to the phone-her last connection to life as she’d known it. “Will we see you again?”

  “Doubtful. Just know you have been the best wife, better than I deserved. I wish I could have been a different husband, more supportive. I’m sorry about that. Tell Thomas that I wish I could be there for him as he grows up. I love both of you. Do whatever it takes to survive and be happy. Goodbye.”

  *****

  Lily opened her eyes and looked around, she was so confused. Why was she laying across Jared’s lap and why were his father and brother staring at her strangely.

  “What…” She started to ask but as she sat up everything came rushing back. She remembered the fight with Jared and then his father telling her about—Shawn. “It can’t be true, Shawn’s dead.”

  Jared rubbed her on her back soothingly. “Doesn’t the Earth government have records on their computer system to verify this is a false claim?”

  His father sat across from Lily and shook his head. “Lt. Colonel James tried to access the files, but the male refuses to leave the tunnels and refuses to allow us to take DNA samples. He would only agree if his wife is brought down to him.”

  “No, if he wanted to see Lily he had every opportunity over the years to seek her out. She will not go back down there for some crazy false claims.” Jared growled out angrily.

  Lily was in shock but there was no way she would let Jared make decisions for her. She had to stand up for herself. “You don’t decide that Jared, I do. I need to go and see for myself if it’s Shawn or not. I owe it to him and I owe it to Thomas.”

  “That male is not your husband!”

  “You don’t know that!”

  “Kyle, walk Lily back to her quarters while I talk to Jared.” Devlon ordered.

  She could tell Jared wanted to say more but she was grateful for Kyle blocking him off. She left Devlon’s quarters feeling shell-shocked. “How could it be Shawn? After all these years? It just doesn’t make sense.”

  Kyle patted her back reassuringly, “We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  If it was Shawn, what the hell was she going to do about Jared? She didn’t want to lose him but she owed her loyalty to her husband. Was she still married?

  *****

  “What the hell!” Jared kicked the couch making it move a little across the floor.

  “Easy son.”

  “Who is this guy?”

  “That’s what you’re going to find out.”

  “Why couldn’t you have told me and let me handle the situation without involving Lily?”

  His father approached him and stood in front of him. “What would you have done if you went alone and found that this man is who he says he is?”

  Jared’s first thought was he would kill him. How could he think such a thing? He was a dedicated mediko, he was supposed to heal people, and save lives not take them out of spite or jealousy. He looked away. His father put his hands on his shoulders.

  “I don’t think you would have killed him, even if you wanted too. I just don’t want to put you in temptation’s way. Taking Lily with you will be a way to keep your temper under control. One look at the man and she will know right away if he is who he says he is.”

  Jared knew his father was right, but he didn’t like it. He sighed. “I just don’t want to lose her.”

  “You’re in love with her?”

  Jared nodded. He felt uncomfortable talking to his father about it. “I am. She’s my hala asawani. I don’t think I could live without her.”

  “Then I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you don’t lose her.”

  Jared stared at his father in disbelief. Not even a year ago he was living with his father and brothers and fighting like crazy. Now, they had all grown much closer, becoming the family his mother always wanted for them thanks to Maggie and Rachel and Lily.

  “I appreciate that, but Lily’s right. This has to be her decision to make. If the man is really her husband, I have to face the fact that she may choose him.”

  “Nonsense, no one would choose someone else over one of my sons. I have to be honest though, you may have to fight for her, not physically, but emotionally. Make sure she knows how you feel so that she can make the decision that is right for her and Thomas.”

  “Thanks Dad.” Jared moved toward the door.

  “Jared.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you son and I couldn’t be more proud of you and I know your mother would be just as proud.”

  Jared felt emotion choke him. He went back to his father and gave him a hug, something else they had rarely done as adults until Maggie insisted they started it up. They pounded each other’s back and cleared the emotion from their throats.

  “See you later Dad.”

  “Good luck tomorrow.”

  Jared had just exited his father’s quarters when he bumped into someone. “Mediko Lazar, are you following me?” He wanted to tear into her because the female had upset Lily.

  “Of course not, I’m having dinner with Devlon.”

  The way she looked in the skintight almost transparent outfit left no doubt that dinner wasn’t all she would be sharing. She had slept her way through all the Estros. Gross. He moved around her but stopped. “By the way Lazar, you won’t be coming tomorrow.”

  She turned a bright red. “Why not? Is it because of that Earth bitch?”

  Jared clenched his fists keeping himself from lifting them. He would never hit a woman, no matter how much she infuriated him. “You don’t ever call her that. You’re off of my mediko team.” He turned and walked away.

  Halfway down the corridor he heard his father addressing Lazar. “Are you messing with my family?”

  “Of course not, Devlon. I just hate that they have taken up with those—aliens.”

  “Those
aliens are my family. I’ll be transferring you to another ship tomorrow. Goodnight.” Then the sound of the door closing he could make out. Jared smiled in victory.

  *****

  Earth subway tunnel

  “They’re coming tomorrow. Are all our men in place?” Frazier Collins asked his second in command.

  “Yes, no one will be able to come or go through this tunnel without us knowing about it.”

  “How are we doing on weapons?”

  “Running low, we need a new shipment, but our contacts have said that all supplies are being heavily watched now. What we have may very well be all we get.”

  “Then let’s make it count for a while.”

  Chapter 20

  Lily knew she should say something to Jared. They had things they needed to discuss, but she was too consumed with worry over possibly seeing Shawn again. How would she react? What would she say?

  “How are you handling all this?” Quinn asked, sitting down next to her on the transport.

  She glanced up and saw Jared frowning at them, but he sat down next to his brother Kyle without speaking. “Fine, nervous—scared.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find out if this guy is the real deal. If he’s playing you, we’ll take him up.”

  She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Do you mean, take him out?”

  “Your slang is so confusing. Why would I take him out?”

  “Where would you take him up?” She countered. She giggled and he laughed. Some of her tension left her. They talked for about fifteen minutes about different things. Quinn was easy to be around, she felt like he was a little brother to her. He made her laugh when she didn’t think she could.

  Lily was grateful not to see that bitch Tinley there. She believed Jared that there was no longer anything between him and the pretty mediko, but Tinley was definitely trying to stir up trouble. She also didn’t like that he had tried to be with the woman not so long ago.

  “It’s about time you came over to get your woman.” Quinn said, surprising her.

  Lily looked up to find Jared standing there glaring at his cousin. Quinn got up and slapped Jared on the back before walking over to take the seat next to Kyle. She felt her heart race when Jared sat down next to her.

  “I’m sorry we fought.” Jared said softly.

  “Me too.”

  He reached over to take her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “No matter what happens today, I will always be there for you and Thomas.”

  At that moment, she knew without a doubt she was in love with Jared Estro. No one made her feel the way that he did, especially Shawn. He was putting aside his own feelings for her sake. He was the absolute best.

  “Jared, I—” She choked on her tears with thoughts that she might lose him. Life without Jared in it seemed so dismal.

  “Shhh…I’m a big boy and can handle whatever happens.” He raised her knuckles to his lips and kissed them.

  He could handle it, but could she? She felt like her heart was being ripped apart. It was almost just as bad as the day the nukes hit and she realized that Shawn was dead. She couldn’t reassure him like she wanted to. So, she did the only thing she could do, she got up and climbed into his lap wrapping her arms around him.

  “You’re amazing Jared.” She kissed his lips softly then laid her head on his shoulder.

  *****

  Jared held Lily in his lap and felt his heart tighten with emotions. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her. She and Thomas had come to mean the world to him, he wanted to make them his family. They already were family in his mind. How was he supposed to walk away from that?

  “It’s going to be okay Lily, I promise.” One way or another, he would make sure that the best outcome happened for Lily and her son. He glanced over at his brother and cousin. They nodded at him. He had his family’s support in this. He may need it if things went badly.

  *****

  Twenty minutes later they landed outside the subway entrance. Lily waited with Quinn and watched as Jared led the other medikos out and began to organize his team. Something odd occurred to her.

  “Hey Quin, why is there so much security here this time?”

  Quinn shuffled side to side not looking her directly in the eyes. “We’re just giving some warriors time off the ship and out in the field.”

  Okay that kind of made sense, but still something seemed off. The way Jared and his brothers were so overprotective, the increase in security, the secret meetings that Maggie told her about; they were preparing for something or about to do something. Jared motioned for her and Quinn to join them and they started to walk to the entrance.

  She looked at Quinn as he kept by her side. “Aren’t you going up there with Kyle?”

  “I’m your personal guard for this mission. Where you go—I go.”

  “Is that necessary. I promise to stay where security can see me at all times.”

  “No go honey, get used to seeing this handsome face all day.”

  She half laugh, half snorted. It was hard to be mad at Quinn, he was just so easy going. Honestly, she felt a little safer knowing that someone was with her. Living the last few years in the tunnels she had to be tough, but she’d also had Maggie and Corey at her back. They’d looked out for each other.

  Speaking of Corey—she spotted him waiting just ahead. He was wearing a Drastan warrior uniform and standing next to a very attractive Drastan female warrior, who was ignoring Corey completely despite him flirting with her. She recognized the woman as the one Commander Devlon and Liam assigned to be Corey’s trainer, Lt. Saber. Corey frowned as soon as he caught sight of Lily.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” Corey stormed up to her glaring at Quin.

  “Nice to see you too, Corey.”

  He looked at her apologetically. “Sorry Lily, I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I’m really glad to see you.” He hugged her.

  She thought she heard something like a growl coming from where Jared was standing. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he quickly turned around to talk to another mediko.

  She couldn’t think about all that right now, she had bigger concerns to deal with, like whether this guy claiming to be her dead husband was really Shawn. In her heart, she didn’t believe it. It didn’t feel real to her, but her mind questioned the possibility. What if he had made it to a different part of the subway system or to one of the domes?

  “Lily.”

  She blinked turning to look at Corey. “What?”

  “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to question you being here like that. It’s just kind of dangerous right now with the resistance rebels causing problems. I thought you finished a week ago and went back up to the command ship. That’s what Maggie told me anyway.”

  “I did, but someone requested that I come back down.”

  Corey raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “Shawn, well, someone who is claiming to be Shawn. He refused to undergo DNA testing unless I came down to meet with him.”

  Corey looked pissed, “That’s bullshit. I can’t believe that Doc over there would allow you to come down for this nonsense.”

  Corey referred to Jared as Doc all the time, which irritated Jared for some reason.

  “I was overruled.” Jared answered coming up behind her.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m a big girl and make my own decisions. This concerns me, not either of you so back off!”

  Jared sighed. “See what I’m dealing with here.”

  Corey chuckled. “Yep, she and Maggie were always so stubborn whenever I tried to get them to be cautious. They would go against whatever I told them not to do. I had to get clever and use reverse psychology on them.”

  “Reverse what?”

  “I would tell them not to do something that I really wanted them to do. Knowing how stubborn they were, they always did the opposite of what I said, which was really what I wanted them to do in the first place. Maggie was the worst; I had to do a lot of arguing with her. She just
didn’t seem to understand that she was a woman and needed my protection.”

  Lt. Saber glared at Corey while Jared laughed. Lily crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m telling Maggie you said that. She is so going to kick your ass.”

  Corey shrugged. “She’s too pregnant to do anything right now.”

  “She can get Liam to kick your ass for her.” Lily smiled when she saw Corey’s smirk fade.

  “You don’t need a man to teach him a lesson, I’ll do it for you.” Lt. Saber said, shoving Corey’s shoulder making him stumble. She stomped off in the direction of Kyle and the other warriors. Lily couldn’t help but notice how Corey’s eyes stayed glued to the other woman’s ass. She shook her head. Corey was asking for trouble with that one.

  “I like her.” Lily commented.

  Quinn agreed with her. “Yeah, Lt. Saber is fierce.”

  “How well do you know her?” Corey sounded jealous.

  “We’ve been on the command ship serving the tour for the same amount of time. I’ve trained with her a few times.” Quinn answered.

  Lily was about to warn Corey not to challenge a Drastan warrior like Quinn because they were stronger, but she took a second look at her old friend. He had changed tremendously these last few months. His body was firm and muscular. His red hair was shiny and bright but cut in a shorter style. His soft brown eyes were always his best feature but now they stood out, balanced by his handsome face. His smile was killer. Corey was just as big as any Drastan warrior and just as good-looking. She bet that Lt. Saber noticed that too.

  Jared growled next to her and she turned to glare at him. “Is something wrong with your throat?”

  “Stop eyeing other men.”

  He was jealous of Corey? She tried not to laugh, but she smiled. “I’m not interested in him or any other man. Just you.”

  She noted how some of his tension left at her words. This must be tearing him up inside just as much as it was she. They needed answers; they all deserved the truth.