Page 45 of Flawed Revenge

“You can't even stand up,” Kate protested.

“I can,” he assured her, somehow managing to surge to his feet through pure determination. These were his girls, and he was going to take care of them, help Kate with their daughter, and never leave her again to shoulder the burdens alone.

“If you feel like you're going to pass out, sit down. The last thing we need is you falling and hitting your head again,” Voodoo warned just as the lights flickered on.

“We got light,” Blade called out before appearing at the front door. “Generator is running.”

“There’s a fireplace, I’ll get us a fire going for heat,” Dragon said.

“I’ll sort out food,” Cassandra said, already opening the packs and rifling through them.

“I’ll help,” Maya said, reaching for the other pack.

“Blade and I will help, Voodoo,” Thunder said as the two men stepped up to join Whitney around the table where Indigo’s pale form was lying.

As Lion reached for Ariella, scooping his daughter into his arms, his anxiety eased when the little girl wrapped her thin arms around his neck, her hands clutching the battered teddy bear that had thankfully also survived the crash. Kate wrapped a steadying arm around his waist. She was really too small to keep him upright if he fell, but he loved that she wanted to be there for him.

Loved that his entire team had rallied together and were working together to protect and care for each other. They were a family, and it was a miracle that they’d all survived that crash. But as he made his way slowly up the stairs, he knew they were by no means out of the woods. Not only was Indigo’s life hanging in the balance, but until they knew if their home really had been compromised, and the plane sabotaged, they couldn’t know if they were just sitting ducks waiting to be attacked.

March 17th

7:57 P.M.

So many things could have gone wrong today. Kate knew she’d never get out of her mind the terror she’d felt when Thunder told them the plane was going down. It stole her breath, constricting her chest and filling it with more pain than broken ribs ever could.

Although broken ribs certainly sucked.

Still, as far as injuries went, it could have been so much worse. Everything could have been so much worse. But everyone was alive. Voodoo had been able to find Indigo’s internal bleeding, stop it, and save her life. The poor man was exhausted. When he wasn't keeping vigil at Indigo’s side, he was making the rounds, checking on Leo, who had been sleeping a lot but seemed to be improving, checking on Rose, who was conscious again and had thankfully suffered no life-threatening injuries, although she was covered in vicious-looking bruises and not able to move well.

Ariella’s cuts had eventually clotted, and while scared and extra clingy, both of which were perfectly understandable, she seemed to be doing okay. Everyone else was dealing with their injuries the best they could, saving their limited supply of painkillers for Rose and Ariella. Kate didn't care that each breath she took felt like a thousand knives sticking into her lungs, there was no way she was depriving her daughter of anything that would ease her suffering even just a little bit.

Although she wished Leo had agreed to take something. She hated seeing him in pain. Even now, as she perched on the edge of the bed, watching him and their daughter sleeping side by side, her chest ached a little more because she couldn’t take this pain for him.

Way too wired to sleep, she was keeping watch over her little family, while Steel, Dragon, Blade, and Thunder kept watch for real, since no one knew if their plane had been sabotaged. Praying no one would be tracking them to this abandoned farmhouse was about all they could do right now. With too many injured people, they couldn’t move, and they had no way of communicating with anyone because everything had been destroyed in the crash. They were lucky enough that Voodoo had been able to find enough medical supplies to save Indigo’s life, and that some of their suitcases had been salvageable.

“You should be resting.” Leo’s voice startled her, and she found him watching her.

“You should be resting,” she countered. Those minutes when she hadn't known if he was dead or alive, but feared the worst because they’d just plummeted out of the sky and slammed into the hard, unforgiving ground, were some of the worst of her life. Every time she thought of them, emotion threatened to choke her.

“Been resting most of the day,” Leo reminded her. “Have you even closed your eyes for an hour? A minute? A second?”

“Busy watching over the two people I … love most in the world,” she said, holding his gaze as she spoke so he knew that she was serious. That her love for him wasn't just still there, but it was enough to get past everything and focus on a future full of possibilities instead of a past filled with pain.

Shifting carefully so as not to wake their sleeping child, Leo reached across the bed to palm her cheek. Nuzzling into his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world, and she didn't even try to fight against her instincts. Her heart knew she was making the right decision, not just for her future but for her daughter’s as well, even if her head understood it would take time to rebuild the relationship they’d once shared.

“I love you, Katie-Bear. Always have, and always will. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you for the things I said that day, and I will die before letting anything happen to you or our little girl,” he vowed.

Tears swam in her eyes, and she choked on a sob. “You better not go and die when I've just got you back.”

The hand cradling her cheek stroked her temple. “No intention of dying now that I have you back,” he soothed. “Would never be stupid enough to lose a second chance at a life with you. I love you so much, babe. And I could have lost you today.” His fingers tightened against her skin, almost hard enough to leave bruises.

“But you didn't,” she reminded him, lifting her hand to press against his. “I’m right here. Ariella is right here. All of us are right here.”

“Trying to believe that, Katie-Bear.”

She was trying to believe it, too. Only there was too much distance between them. Kate wanted Leo’s naked body plastered against hers, skin to skin. She wanted to feel him buried inside her.

They couldn’t do that, though. Not now. Not when Leo was still recovering and needed rest, not when Ariella was fast asleep and shouldn’t be left alone. Not when a whole house full of people were also resting or keeping watch.