Page 142 of Betrayed in the Dark
Fear. Guilt. Love.
I place my hand on his cheek, grazing my palm against his stubble. “I’m right here.”
He leans down, softly pressing his lips against mine. The familiar taste of him sends warmth coursing through my body, a feeling I never want to live without.
“How are you feeling, love?” he asks as his eyes scan over me.
I glance at my shoulder, unable to see the extent of the damage hidden beneath the gauze and tape. I attempt to lift it but wince from the pain. “Pretty damn sore.”
He runs his fingers through his hair, visibly distressed. “I’m so sorry. You should have never been in a position where this happened to you. I shouldn’t have left your side for one moment.”
“It’s not your fault,” I tell him. “Cressida was clearly not…okay.”
“No, she wasn’t.”
“Is she…?” I ask, remembering Cressida falling to the ground beside me, blood pouring out of her neck.
“She is,” Eli says with displeasure. “You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“Who… Who did it?”
“Alex.” He looks out the window. “He didn’t want to kill her. None of us did. But the second she fired a shot, he fired one, too. He had no choice. If he didn’t, she could have kept shooting. She would have…” He lets out a deep breath. “Killed you.” He brings my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “And that was never an option that any of us would have ever let happen.”
I roll in my bottom lip, fighting tears.
Knowing Alex, this is going to be hard on him.
Hurting a woman goes against everything he stands for.
I can only imagine how he feels after taking her life.
But because of him, I’m alive.
“What about the Vasilievs? What did you do to them?” I ask.
He exhales, closing his eyes. “We let them go.”
“What?” My eyes widen in shock. “But they… But Cressida told me that’s who took you in Iraq. Their men are the ones who tortured you! You need to make them pay. You need to kill them. You need—”
“Shhh,” he hums softly. “It’s okay, love.”
“It’s not okay,” I respond. “How can you stand there and say that? How can you let them live after what they did to you?”
“Because in a single moment, I had a choice to make. Either start a war in the middle of that ballroom, risking the lives of those closest to me, or find you.” He grins softly, his knuckles stroking gently across my cheek. “I chose you, love. I’ll always choose you.”
A few tears escape, trailing down my cheeks. “I don’t deserve you.” I wipe my eyes. “You’ve always put me first. You’ve always been there. Always. Even thousands of miles away, you were there for me. I just…” I take a deep breath. “Cressida admitted to writing that letter to me. It was all her. Those were her words.” I shake my head, more tears free falling down my cheeks. “How could I let even a small part of myself believe that you wrote that damn letter?”
He brushes my hair back. “That’s all in the past. And the only thing I want to think about is the future—our future. One with you by my side.” His eyes darken. “Besides, their time will come. One way or another, they will meet their maker. But I don’t want you to waste a second thought on them.”
He presses his lips to mine, and we savor each other for a few minutes until he pulls back and asks, “Are you ready for me to let your family know you’re awake?”
I sigh, falling back against the pillow. “Are they here?”
“Are you kidding? They wouldn’t leave your side. I finally got to be alone with you an hour ago when your mom kicked everyone out into the hallway so you didn’t wake up with eight faces staring down at you.”
I let out a soft laugh, but it quickly transforms into a grimace as pain shoots through my shoulder.
“I’ll get the doctor, too,” he adds, moving toward the door.
