Page 37 of Flawed Revenge

An hysterical giggle bubbled out, and Leo shot her a worried glance.

Quickly nodding at him to let him know she wasn't about to fall apart, even if it felt like she was, she crushed her mouth to his once again in what would almost definitely be their final kiss.

Then she pushed out of her seat, went to her daughter, and dropped to her knees in front of Ariella’s seat.

“Did you hear that, sweetie-pie?” she asked as she slipped off her daughter’s headphones and took the iPad from her hands, tossing both onto the seat behind her.

“Something’s wrong,” Ariella said. Her gaze darted between her and Leo, then swept through the rest of the plane, where everyone else was likely just as panicked as she was.

Or maybe not, given they were all so much stronger than her.

Lying right now would be stupid. Ariella would find out the truth anyway when the plane crashed into the ground beneath them. “Yeah, sweet girl, it is. The plane is going to crash,” Kate announced, deciding it was best to just rip off the Band-Aid and be done with it.

“We’re all going to die?” Ariella asked, her bottom lip wobbling.

“Thunder is going to do everything he can to get us down safely,” Leo spoke up, coming to his knees beside her. “And we’re together, the three of us.”

That probably shouldn’t be a comfort, because she certainly didn't want her daughter to die, or the man who had owned her heart since she was just a little girl. But it did bring comfort. Because she wasn't alone. The people she loved most in the world were right by her side.

“Brace for impact,” Thunder yelled, and before she could even blink, Leo picked her up and deposited her in the seat beside their daughter.

After he’d buckled her in, making sure that Ariella’s seatbelt was tight across her hips, he took his own seat again. There were only two feet separating them, but it was two feet too many. Kate wanted to be in Leo’s arms when she died, wanted Ariella wrapped up between them.

“I love you both. I'm sorry I couldn’t protect you,” Leo said, his hands reaching out to grasp hers and Ariella’s.

“No, Daddy!” Ariella protested immediately.

“Absolutely not,” she added as she could feel the plane hurtling toward the earth much faster than it should be. “This is not your fault.” It was hers. She had to be the one who had brought this mess to everyone’s doorstep, and now they were all going to die because of it. “But we love you too,” she said, wanting him to know again that despite everything, the lingering hurt and anger, the confusion and uncertainty of the future, she loved him and would until she took her last breath.

“Always mine, Katie-Bear. Always. Nothing ever changed that. That man could turn me into a monster, but he couldn’t take away my love for you.”

Those were the final words she heard before the inevitable happened.

Blinding pain tore through her body.

Screams filled the air.

Then … nothing.

Maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours later, the pain was back.

Vicious and unrelenting.

Stabbing through her body with each breath she took.

But …

She was alive.

How the hell had she survived?

That was some pretty awesome flying from Thunder if he’d managed to get them to the ground without killing everyone on board.

Ariella.

Her daughter’s name screamed through her mind, and somehow Kate managed to ignore the pain and the heaviness that clung to her limbs, pry open her eyes, and jerk upright. Well, she tried to jerk upright, but the seatbelt held her in place, and instead she just stumbled, setting off a fresh wave of pain.

It was like being in a horror movie.