Page 34 of Rough Choice

“Oh,” Kye said, leaning into it. The small gesture made his cock twitch. “Are you sure we can’t lift that ban on sex in the shop?” he asked, setting his socket wrench down and turning to look at her. Eliana was dressed in a turquoise blue dress with a bright yellow necklace. Her bare arms crossed over her chest.

“Since the last time when Luca walked in on us thinking someone was beating me, no, dear, we cannot lift the ban,” she said in a much more serious tone than she actually felt. Kye sighed dramatically and kissed her.

“I’ll settle for lunch then,” he said and went to wash his hands as she laid out the food on the small table next to his workbench. Soft but lively music was playing over the radio and when Kye returned from the bathroom, he’d pulled a white shirt on. “This looks good,” he complimented as he surveyed the sandwiches, fruit, and drinks.

“Thank you,” she said proudly, and they both began to eat. “How’s work?” she asked, glancing at the truck that was dripping blue fluid.

“Eh,” Kye said, shrugging, “mostly road damage, shouldn’t take long. Told the farmer I’d cut him a deal if he agreed to send us a shipment of the potatoes he’s growing.”

“Quite the entrepreneur,” she teased, and Kye shrugged again.

“It’s not like we need the money,” he said, taking another bite and speaking with a full mouth. “I just work to keep busy.”

“I know,” Eliana said and started picking at her sandwich, her eyes falling to the table.

“Something is wrong,” Kye said, noticing her change in expression. “Everything okay with Hela?”

“No worse than before,” Eliana set her food down. “It’s just that, you know I went into town earlier…”

“Did you see something?” Kye asked with a sudden hint of paranoia. While they were comfortable in their slice of heaven, none of them ever forgot they could still be in danger.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Eliana said but still didn’t meet his eyes. “I just, you know…” She was having a hard time finding her words, and Kye, sensing this, set his crust aside and took her hand.

“Tell me.”

“I went to see the local physician today. Nothing serious, just a check-up. Women’s stuff and all that…”

“Did the doctor find something? Are you sick?” She gave him an annoyed look. His insistence wasn’t helping her retell her story. “Are you pregnant?” he asked suddenly, eyes as wide as a deer in headlights.

“God, no, Kye I’m not pregnant…”

“Thank God!” he said, sitting back in his chair and clutching a hand to his heart. Eliana was more annoyed than ever.

“Well, she did ask if I needed a refill of birth control. I told her I needed to think about it, but I guess that answers the question!” she snapped and stood. Before she made it two steps, Kye caught her arm.

“Hey, wait,” he said, pulling her back. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I don’t want to accidentally bring kids in the world. If… I mean, when we decide to have children, I want it to be because we both agree, not because we weren’t being careful.”

“I can agree with that,” Eliana said, letting him place his hands on her shoulders, but her arms were still crossed. “Maybe that’s what I wanted to talk about, though. I’m not saying it has to be right this second, but… I don’t want to be that woman in my thirties who struggles to get pregnant. I used to think working with the law would take up my youth, but since I can’t officially practice in Belize yet I thought… you know… maybe a family?”

“A family? Like… like… like babies?” Kye asked, his face going pale.

“That’s usually what a woman gets pregnant with, Kye.”

“I… er… um…” He stepped back and scratched the back of his neck.

“Sir, I need to see you in the control room,” Luca called from the open doorway.

“Thank God,” Kye said under his breath. “We’ll talk more about this soon,” he said to Eliana. Giving her a quick kiss on the lips, he jogged off to join Luca, and they both disappeared down the cobblestone path. Eliana sighed in frustration and began packing up the meal they’d both barely touched.

“Not exactly how I wanted that conversation to go,” she muttered and slammed the food back into her basket.

“See, here? This is what I was talking about right here,” Luca said, pointing to the screen. Kye was leaning over the back of Luca’s wheeled chair in the basement control room, staring at the screen. “I was looking at the tapes from last night, something small was triggering the sensors. I figured it was just an animal. Obviously, it wasn’t anything big enough to set off the alarms, but then I saw this.”

The computer room housed over twenty-five monitors that were all synced to their own camera, and five of them alternated angels for more sensitive spots like the front gate and the two side entrances for their beach property. The main desk in the room, Luca’s command station, had all the bells and whistles anyone could need including a remote operation for the two drone guns at the main gate, and the master security alarm that would alert everyone on base as well as local authorities.

On the computer screen in front of them, Kye saw the heat generated an infrared image. Though it was off behind the tree line, it was clearly in the shape of a person. He could make out arms and legs, even though it was huddled at the base of a tree in a crouched position.

“Is this the only angle?” Kye asked, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the image.