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"Exposure," said the one she didn't know, his urgent tone tinged with a Slavic accent. "Fucking Crimson dealer busted out a window. Dante had to take the bastard down in direct sunlight."
"Why?" Tess asked, watching Dante shift on the backseat, feeling his agony and the concern that emanated from both of his grave companions. "Why would he do this? Why would any of you do this?"
With small but determined movements, Dante managed to strip off one of his gloves. He reached out to her from where he lay.
"Tess... "
She took his hand in hers, watching his strong fingers engulf her own. The emotion that traveled through their connection reached deep inside her, a warmth--a knowledge--that stole her breath.
It was love, so profound, so fierce, it rendered her speechless.
"Tess," he murmured, his voice little more than air. "It was you. Not my death... yours."
"What?" She squeezed his hand, tears welling in her eyes.
"The visions... It wasn't me, but you. I couldn't--" He broke off, inhaling sharply through obvious anguish. "Had to stop it. Couldn't let you... no matter what."
Tess's tears spilled over, running down her cheeks as she held Dante's gaze. "Oh, God, Dante. You shouldn't have risked this. What if you had died in my place?"
His lip lifted slightly at the corner, baring the edge of one sharp, gleaming fang. "Worth it... seeing you here. It was worth... any risk."
Tess grasped his hand in both of hers, furious and grateful, and not a little terrified of how he looked, lying in the back of the vehicle. She held on to him and didn't let go until they had arrived at the compound. Chase parked the SUV in a cavernous hangar filled with dozens of other vehicles. They all got out, and Tess just tried to stay out of the way while Dante's companions lifted him out of the car and moved him to a bank of elevators.
Dante's condition seemed to be worsening as each minute passed. By the time they descended and the elevator doors opened, he could hardly stand up on his own. A group of three other men and two women met them in the corridor, everyone flying into swift action. One of the women came up to Tess and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm Gabrielle, Lucan's mate. Are you all right?"
Tess shrugged, then gave a vague nod. "Will Dante be okay?"
"I think he'll fare better if he knows you're near."
Gabrielle gestured for Tess to follow her down the corridor to the infirmary, the very wing where she had fled Dante in fear earlier that day. They entered the room where Dante had been brought, and Tess watched as his friends removed his weapons, then carefully stripped him out of his fatigues and boots and placed him in a hospital bed.
Tess was moved by the concern of all in the room. Dante was loved here, accepted for what he was. He had a family here, a home, a life--and yet he'd risked it all to save her. As much as she wanted to fear him, to resent him for everything that had gone between them, she couldn't. She looked at Dante, suffering in sacrifice for her, and all Tess felt was love.
"Let me," she said softly, moving to Dante's bedside. She met the worried faces of the other people who cared for him--the warriors gathered around him, the two women whose tender gazes said they understood what she was feeling. "Let me help him... please."
Tess touched Dante's cheek, stroking his strong jaw. She concentrated on his burns, letting her fingers trail down over his bare chest, over the beautiful markings that were blistered and raw, churning with angry color. As gently as she could, Tess placed her hands on the seared flesh, using her gift to draw away the radiation, take away the pain.
"Oh, my God," whispered one of the warriors. "She's healing him."
Tess heard the awestruck gasps, the words of hope that traveled among Dante's friends--his family. She felt some of their affection pouring over onto her, but as welcome as the warmth of their regard was, Tess's entire focus was on Dante. On making him well.
She leaned over him and pressed a kiss to his slack mouth, unfazed by the rasp of his fangs against her lips. She loved him wholly, just as he was, and she prayed for the chance to tell him so.
Dante was going to live. His UV burns had been severe--easily life-threatening--but his Breedmate's healing touch had ultimately proven more powerful than the death that stalked him. Like the others at the compound, Chase had been astonished at Tess's ability and at her clear devotion to Dante. She had stayed by his side every moment, caring for him as he had done for her when he'd rescued her from the Rogues' attack.
Everyone agreed they would make a good match: both of them strong as inpiduals; together they would be unbreakable.
With the worst of the storm past and the compound settling down into a peaceful sense of calm at the arrival of night, Chase's thoughts turned homeward too. His own journey wasn't at an end yet; the road ahead of him was murky and uncertain. Once it had all seemed so clear to him, what his future should hold, where he belonged... and with whom.
Now he wasn't sure about anything.
He said his good-byes to the warriors and their mates, then left, heading out of the Order's world, back to his own. The drive back into the city was quiet. The wheels of his borrowed vehicle were spinning, the road falling away behind him, but where was he going, after all?
Could he really call the Darkhaven home anymore? With his senses honed from the short time he'd spent in the company of the warriors, his body weighted down by all the metal he was carrying under his coat--the sundry blades, the Beretta 9mm that had somehow become a comforting presence against his hip--how could he ever expect to integrate back into the staid life he'd once known?
And what of Elise?
He could not go back to that tormented existence of wanting a woman he might never have. He'd have to tell her how he felt about her and let the chips fall where they may. She had to know everything. Chase didn't delude himself with the hope that she might welcome his affection. In fact, he wasn't even sure what to hope for. He only knew that the half-life he was living was over, starting now.
