Page 73 of Flawed Revenge

Kate had been cut when the wheelchair tumbled to the floor. He knew she had, he’d seen the blood coating her skin as she, River, and Rose fell in a tangle of limbs that was hard to distinguish what belonged to whom.

“I got her,” Maya said softly from behind him, reaching for Ariella.

“We’ll take care of her, go to Kate,” Cassandra added.

A glance at Dragon confirmed the man would watch over his daughter, so Lion nodded and passed the little girl into Maya’s arms. Ariella went willingly, and he was eternally grateful that he’d kept the child’s face turned into his neck so she hadn't witnessed her mother’s neck getting slit.

Don’t be bleeding out on me, Katie-Bear.

The thought ran over and over in his head as he rushed forward. Steel had also moved toward the three women, grabbed Rose, and physically lifted her into his arms, his gaze scanning her in search of injuries.

“I'm okay,” Rose assured Steel as Lion dropped to his knees, shoved River’s dying body aside, and grabbed Kate, laying her out on the floor. Blue eyes stared up at him, and her hand pressed against her neck. She was breathing, her heart beating, not dead yet.

“Let me see, babe,” he murmured as he grasped her hand, pulled it down, and let out a deep breath as relief rushed through him. The wound was deeper than he would have liked, although any mark on her delicate skin was too much for him, but it was further to the side, away from where her major arteries ran, delivering blood to her brain.

“Lion?” Voodoo asked as he knelt on Kate’s other side.

“She’s not bleeding out,” he answered. Two inches had stood between him losing the woman he loved and becoming a single father to a child who still might not make it, and getting the life he’d always dreamed of but thought he’d ruined beyond repair.

“You're going to be okay, Kate,” Voodoo assured her as he placed a hand on her neck, his palm pressing into the small wound.

Whether because of the man’s unnatural ability to heal others, or just simple pressure on the small cut, the blood flow eased, and Voodoo opened the medical kit that Kate still had slung over her shoulder and pulled out bandages.

“Leo, is Ariella okay? Where is she?” Kate asked, the movement of her neck as she spoke, restarting the bleeding in her wound.

“Don’t talk, Katie-Bear, just rest. Ariella is fine, she’s a little fighter, just like her mom. She didn't see you get cut,” he told her, smoothing a hand down her tangled blonde locks. They all needed showers, clean clothes, proper food, and rest, but for now at least, everyone was alive, and River and her people were all dead.

“She said she had labs, and kept the earlier versions of Whitney’s drugs, the ones that hadn't been tampered with by Ridge. There could be one there that will help Ariella,” Kate said.

“Shh, babe. We’ll go to the lab soon,” he promised.

“Not soon, now,” Kate insisted.

“Can I at least patch you up first?” Voodoo teased as he placed a bandage over the cut on her neck, making her wince.

“Ariella won't want to see you bleeding,” Lion reminded her, willing to play hardball to make sure Kate got the medical treatment she badly needed.

“As soon as we’re done, we’ll look for the lab?” Kate asked.

“As soon as you're done,” he agreed.

“I'm going to glue this,” Voodoo said, lifting the bandage after he’d mopped up most of the blood.

“Whatever you have to do. I just want to hug my baby and then find something that will help the bone marrow transplant work,” Kate murmured, letting her eyes flutter closed.

“Blade and I will go and look for the lab,” Whitney piped up. “I'm the only one who’ll know what to look for anyway.”

“Thunder can go, too, in case there are more guards left alive,” Steel said from where he stood watching the blood draining out of River Gardner, with Rose tucked against his side.

“See, we’ve got that taken care of, and Maya and Cassandra have Ariella. Dragon is watching over them. Everything is okay, just rest. Let Voodoo fix you up,” Lion said, his hand stroking down her arm to find her hand. Picking it up, he squeezed it between his as he watched Voodoo prepare the glue.

It didn't take long for their medic to apply the glue to close the cut. It wouldn't do quite as good a job as stitches might, but it would keep the skin together while Kate healed and prevent infection from setting in. Once he was done, Voodoo applied antibiotic cream and then taped a clean bandage over the top.

“All done,” Voodoo said as he picked up Kate’s free hand and pressed his fingertips to the inside of her wrist. “Your pulse is elevated, but nothing out of the ordinary considering the circumstances. I'm going to give you some painkillers, since you need them for the broken ribs anyway, and then we can bring Ariella over.”

“Don’t even think of arguing with him,” Lion warned when Kate’s eyes popped open, and he knew she was going to say the painkillers should be kept for someone who needed them more. Only right now, nobody needed them more.

“Bossy,” Kate mumbled, but she didn't protest as Voodoo got out the pills and one of the bottles of water that had been in the medical bag.