Page 10 of The Villain

“Can you fix it?”

“No, but the blindness is most likely temporary—a side effect of being too close to the blast and hitting her head. As her brain heals—as the swelling goes down—her vision will start to return.”

“How long?”

“Days, weeks, maybe a month.” He reached for his iPad, tapping notes into Athena’s chart. “Just depends on how her brain heals.”

A month. She could be blind for an entire month.

I dragged my gaze back to Athena, her body calm and her breathing steady.Beautiful but vulnerable.So fucking vulnerable. This changed everything. There was no way I could question her and let her go. Not when she was wounded.Not when she needed me.

Fuck.

I exhaled.

Fuck!

“We’re bringing her back to Sherwood,” I turned and declared to Harm, my voice low even though Rorik had stepped away.

My brother tipped his head, curiosity dripping from hisstare at my sudden change of course. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

A feeling I didn’t like slithered over my spine, cold and subversive.

He wasn’t asking because we didn’t typically bring outsiders to the compound beyond the garage. He wasn’t asking because he was worried she’d learn about our lawless vigilante work. He asked because of me—because of our past.

Because he knew what this woman had meant to me all those years ago.

“It has nothing to do with that,” I told him, my breaths so strained, every inhale felt like I was trying to inflate a stone.

“Then what is it?”

My jaw hardened to stone. “I don’t trust anyone else to protect her.”

Something flickered in Harm’s stare—something I ignored as I went to talk to Rorik, needing to know how long he was going to keep her sedated. When we could move her.How long I had before I had to explain…

Harm could think whatever he wanted about my choice. I didn’t care. After what I’d done. How I’d hurt her—abandoned her. Protecting her was more than the right thing to do; it would be my penance. She might hate me when this was all over, but it would be worth it if she was safe.

Just like it had been all those years ago.

Chapter Three

Athena

In the darkness, there was a hand that held mine. An anchor in the foggy thoughts and stormy nightmares. A security in the shroud of uncertainty. My mind drifted somewhere between thoughts and dreams and memories, obscuring all of them together, but when the strong fingers wrapped around mine, I felt safe as the darkness swallowed me whole.

“…Are you sure this is a good idea? She could stay in the guest cabin…”

“…Keep her eyes covered and let her rest…”

“…What are you going to tell her?”

“The truth.”

The warm hand tightened on mine, and I relaxed back into the darkness.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound pierced through the dark bubble.Beep. Beep. Beep.Then came the scent of smoke and pine and…alcohol. Not drinking alcohol—rubbing alcohol. It was faint and pungent at the same time, burrowing deep in my lungs.

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