If he makes one more move toward Wade, she’s ready to take one of his kneecaps. It might be an overreaction. In fact, it absolutely is. She’s aware of that. What is he supposed to think after seeing her injuries? He isn’t wrong to be concerned without any context, but her priorities lie with Wade. She’s had it with everyone assuming they know what’s best for her.
Luke gets up, wiping at the blood dripping from his mouth after Wade got in a sharp blow. “Why do you insist on protecting him while he hurts you? How am I supposed to see what he’s done and leave knowing something worse can happen? Is this why it didn’t work out with us? Violence turns you on?”
Her mouth drops open in shock. It’s a hit she never expected from him. Maybe her constant rejection has finally forced his anger. She hates how deep it cuts, or how easily she wants to cry. She’s spent so long trying to leave a violent past behind her, andany implication that Wade could bring it back is devastatingly absurd.
Luke’s regret at his own words is evident a moment later. He sputters out an apology and tells her he’s only worried, that he cares,that he’s frustrated.
“Please go,” she whispers sadly, relieved when he turns away and heads out the door with his tail between his legs.
She can only breathe again when he’s across the gate and on his horse, and the door is locked in his wake. She drops the gun into the corner only to find herself alone. The sound of Wade retching into the toilet tells her where he is, hunched over the bowl while his body heaves. She wants to rub a hand along his back, but doesn’t dare.
“He’s gone. It’s just us again.” Her reassurance doesn’t help.
He attempts to move past her toward the hall with unsteady steps, one hand darting out to brace on the wall.
“Can’t breathe,” he gasps. “Spinning. Everything’s spinni-”
One moment he’s upright, and the next she’s catching him as he falls. His head almost connects with the ground before she pulls him into her lap, the two of them landing in a jumbled heap.
She thought she could protect him, but she failed. Someone came right into their house and hurt him and she couldn’t do a damn thing about it. How the hell does she think she’ll be able to handle it if Silas actually shows up?
Wade’s capable of defending himself, yet she is the only trigger for his aggression. He won’t lash out on his own behalf. Didn’t flip that switch today until Luke touched her. If the enemy walks through that door, she fears he’d simply freeze.
“Wade?” she pleads, shifting him enough that she can stretch her legs out.
She’s coming apart at the seams. Leaving him alone to wake up a safe distance away is the smart thing, but it’s not what herheart allows her to do. He’s all twisted up and begging for a sore neck, so she gathers him gently to lie across her lap and in the cradle of her arm.
The dog shows up from wherever he’d been hiding during the scuffle to lie in the bend of Wade’s knees and rest a worried head on his legs.
They’ve been moving forward at such a fast pace that at times, she’s forgotten how difficult this is for him. When they went hunting just yesterday, it was as if nothing had changed. How foolish she’d been to assume, even hopefully, that they’d gotten past the worst of it.
She’s pushed him again and again to step out of his comfort zone. Now she questions every decision for the hundredth time. He agreed to everything, she reminds herself. She didn’t force him. That kind of logic fails to soothe her when he’s passed out with his head on her thighs.
“I’m right here with you,” she says softly, running her hand across his temple.
A multitude of worries harass her from every angle. Luke could come back with others and force them to leave the house under the pretense that he’s protecting her. Silas and his army could stumble across them, though she’s fairly certain they aren’t actually trying to.
Wade doesn’t share her optimism on that front. The concept of seeing his abusers again has already pushed him into a tailspin that’s landed him unconscious.
Still…she wants that fucking map. Needs to know the details of every sighting she can get her hands on. Revenge is still the endgame. Kara can’t lay a trap without knowing where to place the bait.
Chapter 14
His neck hurts, but there’s something warm under his cheek and a gentle hand stroking his temple.
The moment he realizes he’s on the floor in someone’s lap, he pulls back, but then Kara’s face comes into view. Wade wants to get away and fears the space between them at the same time. Grabs her arm on reflex at the last second as his back connects with the tub in a last-ditch effort.
He doesn’t want to start from scratch again. He’s already here, touching her as if it’s the most natural thing.
She lets him hold on to her like a lifeline while he struggles to put the pieces together of how they got here. Her hand covers his where it’s anchored at her elbow, urging him down until their fingers weave together instead.
“There,” she says, softly. “That’s better. Do you remember what happened?”
“Little bit. Never passed out like that before.” Even in captivity, he hadn’t fucking fainted. Been knocked out, absolutely, but blacking out while standing up isn’t a thing he’s used to.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like shit.”
