Ginger nodded her head vigorously indicating she would help with her sisters, making them understand they would still be in danger and couldn't escape.
"If anyone comes after them, we'll need to be prepared. I think he'll send his elite soldiers Pepper referred to, or try to take us there in the laboratory. This could be a trap. In fact, there's a good chance this is a trap. No one has to go with me. This is my responsibility."
Ezekiel kept eating. So did Malichai.
"Really good breakfast, ma'am," Malichai said eventually into the silence. "I might be worried about gaining weight if I didn't have all these missions to run. Keeping blockheads alive gives me a mighty hunger."
Wyatt had known they'd go with him. They were a team, but more than that, they were family now. "I'll have to call in a couple of the others as well," he added reluctantly.
"Trap," Malichai said immediately. "And Draden."
"Mordichai," Ezekiel added.
"He's babysitting Joe," Malichai reported, chewing and swallowing so he could shovel more food into his mouth. "But he'll come as soon as Joe's clear."
He needed to lay it out. Pepper was not going to like it, but he had no choice, not if he was being fair to the others. "I know we need them, but Pepper's enhanced."
She made a sound. At once she curled into herself, her eyes jumping to his face. She gave a quick shake of her head. He could see the hurt in her eyes.
Wyatt stood up and caught his chair, dragging it around the table to set it next to hers. He sank into it and wrapped his arm around her. It has to be done. We have to work as a team in order to get them out. You know that. There's no shame in what or who you are, Pepper, but these men are my friends and they're riskin' their lives for us.
He took her hand and brought it to his mouth. She was still tense. Shivering. A little shocked, but she nodded.
"She was meant for seduction and assassination. She can' help who she is any more than we can. She's learnin' to tone it down and tryin' to shield everyone from her voice and her... uh... movements, but it's a process. She's one of us, and she'll need a little help from us. And she's mine. Exclusively. The mother of my children. I won' be happy if anyone else tries makin' a move on her."
"Yeah, Wyatt," Ezekiel said. "I think we got that about you and her."
Pepper frowned, looking puzzled. She opened her mouth to speak.
Don'. Don' say a word right now. I'm protectin' you and them the only way I know how. Just let me do this and we can sort the rest out later.
Her gaze clung to his. Studied him. She nodded. She really had no other choice but to trust him. She needed him.
What happens when I don't need to be rescued anymore, Wyatt?
She struck a target with that question. Just as he was in her mind, she was in his. He didn't give a damn and that was the truth. His dark gaze drifted over her, deliberately possessive. He brought her wrist to his mouth and slid his tongue over her pulse, felt her shiver and watched her eyes go an even darker purple.
Somthin' tells, me, sugar, you're always goin' to be gettin' yourself into trouble and I'll always have to go rushin' to your rescue. You got trouble stamped all over you, woman. Any man can see that a mile out.
He winked at her, and turned his attention back to the table. "So you understand the problem if we bring in more men."
"We'll help her," Ezekiel said. "So will they. If she's yours, she's ours."
Ginger had been watching carefully, and she signed to Ezekiel. Wyatt felt a lump rise in his throat. Ginger signed she belonged to Wyatt too and did that mean she was theirs as well.
Ezekiel nodded his head. "You bet, little lady."
Ginger laughed with delight. Evidently Ezekiel had the right answer.
"We'll need much more security to guard all three children and Pepper." Pepper. He had no idea what he was going to do about her, but she came with the package.
I'm not part of any package, she hissed into his mind.
He winced. He so deserved that. Sure you are, sugar. You're the hot part of the package, all spicy and exotic. Lookin' forward to tastin' that.
Her eyes went wide. Shocked. He grinned at her and prevented her from tugging her hand away from him.
"The number one thing we have to do is figure out how to make certain anyone who plans to be around the children is immune to their bites."
Ginger frantically signed again, her gaze jumping from one to the other.
"I know none of you want to bite, baby," Wyatt said gently. "But sometimes accidents happen. Pepper was very sick last night. She's still in pain. Those bites would kill Nonny, or possibly one of us. It's important we prepare for an accident just in case. No one thinks you would ever do something like that deliberately."
Tears welled up in Ginger's eyes. Nonny instantly got up and took the child from the high chair to cuddle her on her lap.
"There, there, little one, everythin' is goin' to be all right now. Your pere will take care of those bad men and you'll never have to be around them again."
The child signed. Wyatt tightened his hand around Pepper's. The floor shivered. Ginger's little fingers had said quite clearly, They hurt me. They hurt my sisters and Pepper.
"I'm sorry, baby," Wyatt said. "I didn' know about you or I would have come for you sooner. We'll get the others out and we'll protect you."
Ginger signed, When?
"You'll have to be patient. We have to know we can protect you and keep them from takin' you back. That means preparation, but it won' be for a few more days." Her face dropped, and he couldn't stand it. "As soon as possible, I promise, Ginger."
"For a temporary measure, we can try caps on their teeth. I'll have to study them to see how the venom is delivered. When we go for the children, I'll hit their computers and take as many files as possible to give us a jump-start. Trap is amazin' in a lab. He'll figure it out even if I can'. The problem is, everythin' we do is invasive to a degree. They've been studied enough."
Pepper hissed out a soft protest.
"It's for their protection. We have to develop an antivenom that will work for anyone in the household." Wyatt looked Pepper straight in the eyes. He had to brace himself. He'd been there before, floating through the night sky with her. "Were they successful when they tried making the antivenom from your blood? Did they test it?"
Is this a test? You said not to talk out loud.
He felt laughter start in his groin first. It traveled up to his belly. The woman knew how to start a fire. She had sass. I'll let it go this time.
Her fingernails dug into his palm, but he held on, pressing her hand to his thigh. She ignored him and refused to struggle in front of the others, something he noted for future reference.
Pepper cleared her voice and tried hard. The problem was, even in a conversation like the one they were having, her voice came out slow and husky, a whisper of temptation. It didn't matter what she said, her voice twisted its way into a man's gut.
"They tested the antivenom several times. Those bitten were far sicker than me, and all of them died but one. The idea was to build soldiers up, to give them small doses over time so that they had a natural immunity to both types of venom."
"Different snakes in the same families still require different strains of antivenom, don't they?" Ezekiel asked. He avoided looking at her. Instead, he concentrated hard on the tabletop. "I thought it mattered what type of snake bit you."
"Yes, that's true," Wyatt said.
"But," Pepper explained, "the idea was to make me a universal donor, so that any of the soldiers, no matter what type bit them, would be covered."