Page 43 of Dangerous Obsession

Then, Leo’s face is in front of me. He pushes my arms down and stoops to look in my eyes. “Willow, we have to go. We can’t stay here.” The report of more gunfire behind his words should scare me to consciousness, but all I can do is look into his eyes.

“I killed him,” I whisper, and he nods.

“We have to go.”

“I killed him though.”

Leo picks me up in one swift movement and I cling to him, weeping into his chest. I killed him, and now they will really come for me.

25

LEO

Willow is cradled in my arms like a small child during a thunderstorm. Her body is rigid, her eyes fixed and staring. The entire ride across town, I hold her. Sven drives us away from the scene of the shootout and all I can do is breathe. She could have died, and based on the bruises I see forming on her neck, she almost did, just like me. Except, she saved me.

“I’m here, okay. I’m not letting them hurt you ever again.” She should have listened to me, stayed put. I knew this would happen. But I can’t lecture her now, at least not while she’s still covered in another man’s blood. “Can’t you go any faster?” I snap, and Sven eyes me in the rearview mirror. This shock can’t be good for the baby. I have no way of telling if she’s actually okay, or if she’ll come out of this alright.

“She’s going to be fine, Leo,” Sven drawls, but I am, for the first time in my life, terrified. I can’t lose her. I won’t. I know she’s not physically hurt, but she could have a heart attack or stroke, or worse, suffer a catatonic break from reality.

“Just fucking drive!”

Sven ducks his head and I feel the car speed up. We jet away from that scene, but the adrenaline doesn’t slow down. Not even when we pull up in front of my father’s house, which is the closest to where we were. Sven called the doctor as soon as we pulled away from the building they held her in. His car is parked out front too. The instant the car is stopped I open the door and climb out, struggling to squeeze us both through the tiny car door.

The door to the house is ajar, and I kick it open and carry her straight to the bedroom on the first floor. Doctor Andrews is there, mumbling something, but I only care about her. He follows, carrying his small black bag and I lay her on the bed. Just to be sure, I rip open her shirt and check her skin carefully. Her shirt and bra are both soaked in blood, but thankfully it’s not her own.

“Willow, please.” I snap my fingers in front of her face but she doesn’t even blink. She lays there like a mannequin, eyes wide and fixed.

“Go get something to wash her up while I have a listen.” The doctor perches on the edge of the bed with his stethoscope and blood pressure cuff in hand. I march out of the room past Sven who hovers in the hallway and head to the kitchen where I find some towels. I wet one and return with it to the room. When I walk back in, the doctor is taking his cuff off her arm. “BP is high, understandably. He reaches into his bag and pulls out something in a small vial and removes the lid. He wafts it back and forth under her nose and she blinks a few times.

“Willow,” I mutter and walk around to the other side of the bed. I climb up next to her and kneel there, wiping the blood from her face. “Baby, say something.”

Tears stream from her eyes as she blinks back to reality. “I killed him.”

The doctor stands but says nothing. He’s used to this line of work we do, and he’s here as an asset. I cup both of her cheeks and her lip quivers. “Baby, you saved me. Okay? That’s what you think about. You saved me.”

“But I killed him,” she cries again and I kiss her hard. I kiss her like it’s the only thing that will save her life and she cries into my mouth. Her hands cling to my arms and she kisses me back.

“I’m going to step out, but I’ll need to really look her over in a second.” I don’t even care that he watches me lie down next to her and pull her against my body. I slide my hand down over her chest, wiping the blood away with the rag, and when her skin is a bit cleaner, I drop the rag and rest my hand on her stomach and look her in the eye.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” I can barely breathe as I wait for her response.

Willow looks down at my hand on her belly and blinks out more tears, still not saying much. Her expression changes from fear to sadness and she moans, looking back up at me.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe… both of you.”

“I…” she protests and I understand how terrified she must be.

“I know you’re pregnant, okay? I saw the test. I know how you must feel. Please, Willow, just relax. You need to be calm for the baby.” I kiss her sticky forehead. I don’t even care that there is blood and probably brain matter there. She is alive and in my arms.

“Leo, I can’t… Your family… My father,” she cries, not making much sense to anyone else, but given our past few months together, I know exactly what she’s feeling.

“My family is okay. They are never going to harm you. My father sent me to get you, sent Sven too. They will protect you now. You saved my life. You’re having my baby.”

“Daddy,” she whimpers and clings to me, crying harder. This entire ordeal must be so overwhelming to her and for the first time I feel like I understand her.

“I’m here, baby. I’m not letting you go. Okay?” I cup her cheek again and kiss her hard. “I love you.”

As the words leave my mouth, I realize how much I really do love her. How much I’ve always loved her. I have been so angry and prideful, following the training of my father instead of following my heart fully. Stuck between a world of murderous evil and protecting the only woman in this entire world who has ever meant anything to me.

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