Avenged (The Altered Series), page 20
He laughed. “Yes, Florence Nightingale. Awake.”
That smile…it sucked the air out of her chest. For twenty-four hours, she’d watched him struggle for his life. But he was alive. Awake. She jumped forward, onto the hospital bed and into his embrace.
He caught her against him with one arm. “Oomph, babe. Take it easy. I feel like I’ve been shot.”
“Sorry,” she added, scurrying back.
He growled. “I said be careful, not get off.”
She chuckled and moved back into his arms. This time, she sat next to him on the bed, being careful of his leg. He folded her against him.
“How long have I been out?” He grumbled his question against her cheek.
“Two days.” Two of the longest days of her life. “The bullet nicked your femoral artery. You lost a lot of blood.” She squeezed his hand. “The medics arrived right after that. Thank God. Or…” She left the rest unspoken because she couldn’t put into words yet how terrified she’d been, watching the blood pulse out of him.
He squeezed her fingers back. “I’m so sorry.” He didn’t continue out loud but went on in his head. I’m sorry she had to go through this, had to worry about me. I should be the one watching over her, but once again here she was, watching over me.
What if they’d shot her? What if it was her in this bed instead of me? His fingers flexed on her back.
“They didn’t. You’re here,” she whispered. “You’re here because I couldn’t hold them. You’re here because I made a decision to go after Fields, which almost got you killed.” She shook her head. “I only wanted to stop him. To save others.”
She’d made some stupid decisions in her life, especially since her parents died, but she couldn’t think of one she regretted more. Fields was gone, but the cost had almost been too great.
“You promised.” He scowled down at her.
“What?”
“You promised me, when I taught you how to fight, that you wouldn’t take chances with yourself.”
She shook her head. “You’re the one who almost got killed. I couldn’t hold them all.”
“And I couldn’t stop the second volley of gunshots.”
“You did a great job. It was me…”
“Stop.” He pulled her against him. “You were right to go after Fields. Someone like that, with no regard for human life… He killed people. A lot of people. I don’t believe for a minute that he was done.”
He was right, of course. She’d listened to Fields for months, knew more about him than any of them. He’d fed on glory. He wouldn’t have been satisfied to retire. He’d wanted fame, recognition. He hadn’t understood why he hadn’t gotten it.
“I have a hard time letting others take the lead.” He sighed. “In Iraq, a couple years ago, I stood by while an officer made a bad decision, a choice that ended with two people losing their lives.” A fiery explosion in the desert laced his memory, full of smoke and heat and fear. “I’m the oldest in my family—everyone looks to me. I’d known that the officer could hurt someone. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t. I regret that.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she ran her hand along his arm, hoping it soothed him.
“After that, I decided to always speak up. Always voice my doubts.” His lips quirked. “But maybe sometimes I walk the line between voicing doubts and being an overbearing jerk.”
“You aren’t a jerk.” She smiled. “You’re confident. It’s different.”
“But I’m not always right. My way isn’t the only way.” He hugged her to his side. “Maybe that’s why you sent me away instead of taking me with you.” He flinched, mentally. Because maybe she didn’t think I’d listen to her. Maybe she didn’t think I’d hear her out. Maybe I’m not the guy she thinks she can depend on.
Maybe that’s why she doesn’t love me.
Kitty scooted back to look into his eyes. He didn’t look away. Instead, he gazed at her with resignation. As if her not loving him was something he knew, accepted.
To her, that was completely unacceptable.
“You have everything wrong.” She took his face in her hands. “You. You are the most loveable person I’ve ever met. I didn’t leave you behind because of you. I left you there because of me.”
“You?” His brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“You see me as this strong, brave person. Even when I feel the weakest, when people’s thoughts and feelings seem like they’re going to break me. The way you see me, that girl…” She shook her head. “I want to be that girl. I want to be brave and strong.” She dropped her hands. “I know you wanted me to be safe, but I didn’t want to leave Fields. We both knew that the Army might not have gotten to the compound in time. I sent you back because I knew you would make them come for me. I thought I could stop him. I had to try.” She kissed his hand. “You made me realize I was better than I thought I was. You make me want to be that person.”
She leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his. She made sure to hold herself away from him, on her hands and knees, so she didn’t hurt his leg. The slow rub of his lips against hers made her stomach warm, and tingles lifted goose bumps on her arms. He raised his hand, the one not attached to the IV, and ran his fingers along her cheek.
When they pulled apart, his brown eyes were soft, full of emotion. “I know who you are, Kitty. I love you.”
Her heart full, she smiled back. “I love you, too.”
Happiness tinged his thoughts as their mouths touched again, and this time the kiss was slow and sweet. Their tongues tangled together, and she poured herself into that kiss. Her toes curled, her legs weakened, and the only thing keeping her from falling into him, from letting herself melt against him, was that she didn’t want to hurt him.
When they pulled back, they were both breathing heavy. He scowled. “Damn leg.” He lifted the hand still adorned with an IV needle and heart rate monitor. “And this. Wires and machines. Ruining my game.”
She giggled. She didn’t know if she’d ever giggled in her life. But in the face of his disgruntled frustration—over not being able to be with her properly—she felt more feminine and powerful than ever.
She snuggled next to him. “You need to get some rest. Because you need to get out of here soon. Hospitals don’t exactly scream romance.”
He grunted, but his mind continued to roll through the things he wanted to do to her. Visions of their night in the crummy hotel filled his memories. He played the events over and over, slowly, until she gasped, panting, as aroused by his thoughts as she was by her own.
“You have to stop,” she whispered. “You’re killing me.”
He chuckled, the rumble against her breast doing nothing to stop the fire burning through her.
“Fine,” he sighed. “Damn gunshot.” He sobered though, his thoughts going to the compound, to Fields. “Tell me what happened.”
“Nick…” She didn’t want to get into this. He was still recovering. He needed to rest. “I should let you get some sleep. The doctors said you would be tired… You lost a lot of blood.”
More, she didn’t want to talk about it yet. It was still raw, what she’d done. She wasn’t ready to face him if he didn’t understand. Or worse, if he thought she’d done the wrong thing.
“Tell me what happened,” he said, this time more insistent. His arm had become a vise around her.
“Parker Sinclair arrived. He has the same gift I have, can read minds and control people. While I held Fields and his guards, he forced us still. Don’t you remember that?”
“No. I remember them shooting at us. I caught the first wave, but the second one…”
She didn’t want to think about how close they’d come. Blue had been shot, too, in the hand. She’d caught some of the second wave of gunfire, thank goodness, or Kitty had no idea how bad things could have been for her and her friends.
“Sinclair arrived while I held the guards and Fields still. He took the suitcase. The one with Fields’s research in it.” The failure of it still crushed her chest. Fields’s research, out in the world…“Luke destroyed the doses of Solvimine, but the research… It’s gone.”
He squeezed her hand again. “Then what?”
“Then, I lost control. And you got shot.”
“And?”
She hesitated, but saw no judgment in his eyes, only love. “I turned Fields’s guards against him.”
His brows lifted. “What?”
“Instead of shooting us, they shot Fields.” She glanced down. “After that, they were disoriented. When Pike arrived, reinforcements swooped in, and they gave up pretty quickly.”
“You had them shoot Fields.”
She nodded. “He died.” The words were simple and the truth. He’d died, because of her.
When Nick had told her that her power was more dangerous than the others, she’d written him off. She’d thought he might be trying to build her confidence. Now, she didn’t downplay what she could do. She’d convinced someone—a group of people—to kill someone else. The weight of that rested on her, had kept her up the past few nights, haunting her.
Because of her, a helicopter pilot had crashed his plane with himself, Ahmed, and Ahmed’s assistant on board. She’d made a group of men murder someone they hadn’t intended to kill. They would live with that.
She would live with all of that.
Rationally, she knew that those same men would have killed her and her friends if she didn’t do something. She’d made a quick decision, saved their lives at the expense of the life of a killer.
The line of right and wrong felt too blurry.
When Nick gripped her shoulders, he didn’t hesitate. “You did what you had to do. You made the best decision at that time. You can’t expect more from yourself than that.”
She searched his face, his thoughts, for any pity or doubt. She found none. He had complete faith in her.
It filled her heart, humbled her. She nodded, not sure what to say. There were no words for that kind of love and trust.
Finally, she cleared her throat and said, “They captured Jeremy. He’s in custody, awaiting a trial.”
Nick snorted. Hope he rots in jail.
She didn’t have anything to add to that, either, so she filled him in on the rest. “We’re still in Wyoming, but Blue, Seth, and Luke have gone to Fort Detrick, in Maryland. They’ll be working on a special task force there. Martins made a plea to his superiors, to create a special group to watch for future Solvimine threats. With Sinclair out there… They don’t want to be caught unaware.”
He mumbled something, but his eyelids had begun to droop, so she decided to end it there. He really did need some sleep, so she kissed his cheek. “I’ll go get the nurses, let them know you’ve been awake.”
He murmured again, something that sounded like agreement. But when she moved to get off the bed, his hand caught hers and his eyes were open. “Kitty?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
She smiled at him. “I love you, too, Nick. More than anything.” She had no idea what would happen now, but she knew that for sure. “Rest, please. I’ll watch over you.”
“As you do,” he mumbled.
Her grin continued as she went to the nurses’ stand. Yes, she did watch over him. That’s what people who loved one another did. She’d learned that from him.
Chapter Twenty
Nick used his key card to enter the top secret laboratory and offices underground at Fort Detrick. He slid the tag back in his pocket as he limped through the sliding doors. The locking mechanism clicked behind him.
He hurried as fast as his cane would allow. He wasn’t leaning as heavily on it as he had been a few weeks ago, and he was moving faster every day. His physical therapist hoped he’d be able to drop the cane completely by summer.
That couldn’t come fast enough.
The first month of PT had been hell. He’d been lucky to walk, they’d told him. The gunshot had ripped through tendons in his thigh, done more damage than they’d even expected. It had been a hard road.
But Nick had never been one to let anyone tell him he couldn’t do something. He’d put in long hours at the gym, suffered through the worst night cramps of his life.
It had been worth it.
Now he cursed the cane because it slowed him down, and he wanted to get to Kitty. Today was a hard day for her, and the sooner he saw her and knew she was all right, the better.
When he turned the corner to the main room, he found her at one of the desks. Probably skimming the internet. They all took turns watching the news, waiting for any indication that someone was testing Solvimine. So far, they’d found nothing, but she worried.
Seeing her loosened something in his chest.
Across the room, Luke Kincaid argued with the head of their department, Dr. Elizabeth Jenkins. From the beginning, Luke and Beth had rubbed each other the wrong way. Now, they were arguing over some chemistry thing Nick didn’t understand. Or maybe he didn’t care much. Right now, he only had eyes for Kitty.
She looked up as soon as he came in the room, had probably been listening for his thoughts. Anxiety lined her face. Standing, she wrapped her arms around her stomach. When there were only a few steps between them, she asked, “How did it go?”
Without a word, he swept forward and wrapped her with his arm. He still had to lean on the cane, but he did the best he could. Dropping his head, he planted a full-scale, five-alarm kiss on her mouth. When they finally pulled away, the lines around her eyes and mouth were less pronounced, and her eyes had softened.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much.” She smiled up at him. “Tell me.”
“He got ten years in Leavenworth.” Nick had spent the morning at Jeremy’s court martial. Jeremy hadn’t been discharged from the military when he went to work for Goldstone. JAG had levied a variety of crimes against him. Absence without leave, conspiracy, unlawful separation…the list went on. The compound of the maximum punishments would have put him behind bars for nearly twenty years, but the judge had taken pity on him.
Still, a decade behind bars at Leavenworth was no joke.
Kitty’s head sagged. Her eyes closed. “I’m glad it’s over.”
He could understand that. She’d waffled, during the pre-trial phase, between feeling bad for Jeremy and thinking he should get what he deserved. In the end, she hadn’t wanted to be at the trial, hadn’t believed she could listen to his thoughts while he was tried for his crimes.
Nick was glad it was over, too. She needed closure.
He wrapped her into his arms again. They stood together, allowing the chaos of the staging area for their task force to float around them.
What had been an empty room two months ago now boasted an arsenal of computers. Next door, a lab devoted to studying Solvimine bustled with three other researchers—Beth’s team.
When Nick had joined the Army, he had expected to be a Ranger, to work in special ops. But the work that he and the rest of them were doing here went beyond classified, clear up to top secret. He couldn’t think of anything more important.
Between his recovery and setting up this base they were stretched pretty thin. Especially Kitty. Nick knew how hard it was for her to be in enclosed spaces with a group of people.
She needed a break. He hoped to give her some time to relax tonight.
“I thought you might want to get out of here for the evening,” he offered. “I already cleared it with Martins. We’ve got the night off.”
She frowned, uncertain. “Are you sure? Blue and Seth aren’t back yet, and I don’t want to leave Luke here alone…” They’d agreed that they needed to have a few people who were enhanced at the base at any one time. If a threat came, they wanted to be able to respond immediately.
“Luke isn’t alone. Kenny and Brian are here…somewhere.” Kenny and Brian had also come to work with the task force Martins had created to detect possible threats from Solvimine. A few of Fields’s other soldiers were still being cleared to work with them. Nick suspected Martins didn’t trust their motivations. They’d worked for Goldstone, after all. They’d taken orders from Fields.
Nick suspected Martins was trying to figure out what to do with them.
Or maybe Martins was waiting to see if the drug Beth was developing might work. She thought she could neutralize the effects of Solvimine. Martins would love that. The major had gotten a promotion when he was appointed to run their crazy team. But even being a lieutenant colonel didn’t sooth his anxiety.
Nick bet that Martins had never wanted to add, “wrangling a team of super-powered punks,” to his resume.
“I don’t know, Nick. I’m a bit tired…” She hadn’t been sleeping well. Even more reason they should get out of here.
“Come on, Kitty. Let me take you out.” He thought of the Italian restaurant where he’d made reservations for that night. When he’d dropped in on his way back to base, the place had smelled like garlic and sizzling meat. Two of his favorite scents.
She smiled. “Italian food, huh? Talk about playing hardball.” It was her favorite. Since discovering her pasta weakness, he’d cooked for her a few times a week, dishes his mom had taught him.
“I may have noticed your affinity for the food of my people.” He offered her the phoniest Italian accent he could muster, and she laughed.
“Should I change?” She glanced down at her jeans, white blouse, and pink flats. “Is it fancy?”
“You look perfect.” His words rang with sincerity. Because it was true. It had been two months since they took down Fields, since he’d been shot. He’d worried, while they’d been in that cell together, that maybe their attraction had been amplified by their situation. He’d been afraid maybe their relationship wouldn’t hold up.
He hadn’t needed to worry. If anything, he found her sexier and sweeter than before.
Kitty? She’d blossomed. They still trained every day. She’d gotten faster than ever, anticipating his blows, and the workouts had given her confidence.
But she was still Kitty. Still an introvert, still blushed easily. He still enjoyed making her blush, doing outlandish things to make her smile.
