Page 11 of Flawed Revenge

Their gazes met, clashed. Leo opened his mouth as though to say something, but then snapped it closed again. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, and yet, at the same time, she was afraid of the answers. Afraid to learn that Leo had never loved her, that their whole relationship had been a lie. Maybe even afraid to learn that he wanted to step up and help take care of their sick child, stay in her life if the transplant worked, and Ariella got better.

One thing Kate was sure of was that she would never put her heart on the line again when it came to Leo.

Ever.

The pain he’d caused ran too deep, and there was no excuse he could give to soothe that pain. She was only there to find out if he could save her daughter’s life. After that, if he insisted on remaining part of it, then she’d deal with that when it happened.

Right now, getting him tested to see if he was a match was all that mattered.

When she went to climb into the car, Leo’s hand snapped out, closed around her bicep. His hold was gentle yet firm. And when she forced herself to meet his gaze, she found it swimming in pain, guilt, and regret.

Good.

At least he felt bad about what he’d done.

“Katie-Bear, I'm sorry,” he whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears, blurring the image of the man standing before her. How many nights had she lain awake over the last ten years, dreaming of him saying those exact words to her?

Too many to count.

But now that he’d said them, Kate found that it didn't change anything. Nothing could. He was still the same man who she had loved with every fiber of her being, who had thrown her away with such cruelty and demanded she end the life of their unborn child, and she could never not see him as such.

“It’s too late for apologies, Leo,” she whispered back as she tugged her arm free and climbed into the car.

Chapter

Four

March 14th

5:52 A.M.

Lion hadn't been able to get Kate’s words out of his head.

Not that he’d expected her to accept a single apology, especially without any explanation about why he’d behaved the way he had. But it still hurt hearing her tell him it wasn't enough.

Which made him feel selfish.

That day, he’d been unnecessarily cruel, unable to properly control the anger at that point in time when it was still so fresh. Add in his terror that he would wind up killing the woman he loved, and he obviously hadn't been thinking clearly.

Going back in time and stopping himself from making this mistake wasn't possible.

Fixing it might not be either.

But he had to try.

One thing Lion was absolutely certain of was that he would not give up on Kate or their daughter. Ariella was the sweetest little girl he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. It was more than clear that Kate had raised one hell of a kid. The girl was polite and friendly, she hadn't complained a single time, even though they could all tell she was tired and in pain. She’d taken her medication like it was nothing, asked lots of questions without digging into anything deep, like why he’d never been part of her life, and smiled at everyone.

It was safe to say that he wasn't the only one enamored with his newly discovered daughter.

On the other hand, Kate had been quiet and withdrawn, never toward her daughter, but it was clear she had zero interest in bonding with him, his teammates, or their partners. She wasn't outright rude, of course, his Katie-Bear was too polite for that, but she was being overly polite with everyone. He understood they were all strangers to her, even him, given it had been more than a third of her life since he dumped her, but he’d hoped the others at least might stand a chance of getting her to open up.

To change her mind about staying.

Because he knew that as soon as they did the test and found out if he was a match, she was either gone as soon as she learned he couldn’t save her child, or as soon as a transplant worked. Maybe she wouldn't stand in the way of him building a relationship with his kid, he got the feeling that anything Ariella wanted she got, although the girl was far from spoiled, but it wasn't enough.

He wanted both of his girls in his life.