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Her world felt as if it were splintering. First the shock of finding out she was pregnant, then of Slade coming back into her life broke her open in ways she wasn’t totally on board with yet.
The mess in Mexico was just part of the job, and it wasn’t the first time a volatile group had her in their sights either. But now it all felt more serious. Harder to shake off.
Finally, a hefty layer of guilt that she’d refused to go with Apollo weighed her down.
She turned her head and looked at the big man lying in the hospital bed. The woman he loved, Indika, had stayed by his side after they got word of the stabbing, and Lena urged her to go home and sleep for a few hours while she took watch. Thankfully, Indika gave in and agreed.
But that left Lena wondering if she’d ever be able to do the same if it were Slade.
She couldn’t see herself ever leaving his side. When she learned he was captured,nothingwould have stopped her from reaching him.
She had killed to get him out of there safe.
For love.
And he’d done the very same thing in Bosnia.
Crap.Suddenly, the situation seemed lit up by bright lights. No more shadows lurked in any corner. She just knew without a doubt in the world that Slade loved her and would do anything to keep her safe.
A low, pained sound came from Apollo, and Lena turned from the window to hurry to his bedside.
A set of dark eyes met hers. She felt his gaze penetrate her too deeply, as if he read all her guilt and worry.
He lifted a hand and waved her closer. Her eyes were drawn to the tubes feeding into the back of his hand as she slowly moved closer.
“Stop looking guilty,” he roughed out.
Tears burned in her eyes, and she dropped her gaze to avoid him seeing. “Sparrow suggested I go with you. If I had, I could’ve stopped it. You wouldn’t have been injured.”
He wagged his head. “You don’t know that.”
“You lost a lot of blood. They gave you two transfusions.”
He slashed his hand through the air in dismissal. “Just a flesh wound. I’ve always bled like a pig.”
The unexpected chuckle bubbled up her throat. She sank to the edge of the bed with him and laid a hand on his arm. “What happened, Apollo?”
“I’m embarrassed to admit that my memory’s a little fuzzy.”
She nodded in understanding. Her brain had been pretty fogged the past few weeks too.
“I was sent for supplies and equipment. When I started to my car, a woman jumped out in front of me.”
She arched a brow. “A woman? Did you know her?”
He shook his head. “She was pretty upset. Crying and begging me to help.”
“Help with what?”
“Didn’t get that far. The cartel leader’s son jumped out and rammed a knife into my side.”
“Oh god…” The prospect made her insides shudder. It could have been any of them, and Apollo was big. If Trey had gotten to her, she could have lostsomuch.
Her hand crept toward her belly in a protective gesture.
“Did Trey say anything?” she asked.
“Yeah. He said, ‘This is for my father.’”
