Page 59 of Flawed Revenge

Something pierced his neck. The sharp sting enough to draw his attention.

A bullet?

No.

There was no wet, sticky blood flooding down his skin. Instead, heat bubbled inside him. It stole his strength. It bled out of him in a different way than the blood he’d just shed.

More shouts.

More gunfire.

The world began to fade, he staggered, and dropped the body he’d been holding. Wrong. The heart still beat. Had to stop it. Had to kill. Had to shed blood. It was the only way to quiet the beast, to give it what it wanted so it could he shoved back into its box.

Had to regain control.

Only way to get to his girls.

Unable to remain upright, Lion swayed and then fell.

Fought the darkness that was encroaching.

His girls.

Couldn’t fail them.

They needed him.

Wasn't there.

Hadn't been there.

Had let them get kidnapped right under his nose.

Failure.

Again.

Nothing.

March 19th

5:36 A.M.

Kate’s head jerked up with a start. She’d fallen asleep? No, she couldn’t, that was bad. No matter how exhausted she was, or how badly she longed for a respite from the stabbing pain in her chest that sleep could give her, she had to stay awake.

She was the only thing standing between her daughter and danger.

Quickly glancing to the bed, she saw that her little girl was still curled up beneath the covers, fast asleep, free for the time being from her fear. It would be so nice to join her for a little bit. To just slip onto the mattress that looked deliciously comfortable, throw the covers over herself, get away from the chill in the room, put her head down on the soft pillows, and …

“No,” she mumbled, her head once again sagging to the side. “No sleep. No. Sleep. Not now. Not until it’s safe.”

The fact that it might not be safe for a long time yet, and that sooner or later her body would succumb to sleep whether she wanted it to or not, was not something she was going to let herself consider. She could stay awake for a while longer. She had to stay awake for a while longer. There was no other option so she may as well suck it up and find a way to keep herself from dozing off.

Hungry. Her stomach growled, and she clung to that uncomfortable feeling. Since the crash almost two days ago, she’d barely eaten anything. They hadn't paused to grab food on the way out, and she’d been too nervous to do more than nibble on a few snacks on the plane. Then they crashed, and the whole focus was on making sure everyone was alive and finding a place to hide.

Once there, she’d had one of those MRE meals. It wasn't as awful as she’d been expecting, but it wasn't amazing either, and her stomach had still been tied up in knots, so she hadn't even finished it, giving the rest of her food to Ariella.

Then, for the second morning in a row, she’d been jerked from sleep and told danger was approaching. Getting up and getting herself and her daughter dressed had been all she’d been worried about, food was the last thing on her mind. But now, two days later, she was starting to feel that, starting to dream about how good a big plate of waffles would be, or maybe French toast, she’d always loved that. A toasted cheese sandwich, all hot and stringy, she could go for that right now. Maybe a big bowl of soup. Or mac and cheese. Maybe some mashed potato, that was one of her absolute favorite things to eat, and she and Ariella had it for dinner at least once a week. A big bowl of chocolate pudding, made from scratch, that would be the perfect way to finish off a big meal, and then she could sink down into a bed, or a big, comfortable chair, and …