Page 89 of Vicious Redemption

Leo’s thumbs wipe the tears from my cheeks. And he draws back just far enough to look into my eyes once more. “Promise me you’ll never do something that stupid again,” he murmurs.

Giving a watery laugh, I nod.

“I want to hear you say it, Tia,” he commands.

“I promise I won’t do something that stupid again,” I repeat. Though, if he means to imply that I’m not allowed to save his life, that promise I cannot keep. But I don’t need to start an argument by hashing out the details of our agreement.

And Leo relaxes visibly, bringing me relief as he smiles for the first time since I woke. The gesture brings some much-needed color back to his cheeks, and his eyes soften beautifully.

Pulling myself together, I give a wry chuckle as I search for a way to bring some levity into the situation. “You know, my life has become much more of an adventure since I married you,” I observe cheekily, casting him a sidelong look.

Leo laughs, and the warm sound fills the room as it makes my heart flutter. I blush as the monitor tattles on me, and both our eyes shift to watch the bleeping lines spike dramatically. Leo looks at me in silent question, and my blush intensifies.

“I love hearing you laugh,” I confess.

His grin broadens, and he steals another quick kiss, seeming to find pleasure in this newly discovered power dynamic.

Then, he settles back into his seat with a contemplative expression.

“What?” I ask, picking up my water glass and sipping from it again.

“I was just thinking that if this is the kind of thing you qualify as an adventure, I’m taking them all off the list,” Leo states definitively. “I’ve nearly lost you too many times, and I would rather you hate me from your room locked in a tower than see you in a hospital bed again.”

Warmth floods my body at the thought, and my stomach gives a nervous flip-flop. I would never survive being trapped like that. But I don’t actually think he means it. Still, I agree, “Moving forward, maybe our adventures can be a little bit more tame.”

Leo nods, then slowly, the smile fades from his face as he grows serious again. “But are you really okay, Tia? I know it had to be hard doing what you did. Even if you did it to protect me…”

Leo’s words trail off as he searches my face with gentle compassion, and I know what he’s asking without him having to come right out and say it.

I can’t seem to help myself as a fresh wave of guilt consumes me. Tears pool in my eyes and trickle from the corners as I drop my eyes to the blankets covering my legs. “I think what bothers me most is how easy it was,” I confess, and I feel like a terrible person as soon as I say it.

“How easy?” Leo repeats, his confused frown urging me to explain myself. Rising from his chair, he settles onto the bed beside me and collects my hand in his, the gentle gesture supportive.

“When it came down to it, I knew I had to choose between you or my father. I can see now that it was a choice I was always going to have to make, but as sad as it makes me, it was my father who gave me that ultimatum. Not you. Not me. He forced my hand when I was fighting so hard to keep you both…”

Silence stretches between us as Leo waits patiently for me to finish. And I take several halting breaths as I pull myself together.

“I guess what makes me feel most guilty isn’t the choice I made—but how little effort it took to make it. He’s my father. He’s been the only man in my life whom I thought I could trust. He raised me, cared for me, and protected me when I was growing up. And still, I knew as soon as I saw the gun in his hand.”

“Knew what?” Leo asks, his low murmur soothing the guilt that gnaws inside me.

“It had to be you. If it was him or you, I got to keep. It had to be you. I would make the same decision a hundred times over if I had to. Because I love you, Leo. I love you more than life itself.”

Leo looks utterly shattered as I start to cry. With a delicate touch that defies his powerful body, he collects me in his arms. “I love you, Tia. God, I love you so much. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I thank my lucky stars every day for the night you stumbled into my life.”

His words are so genuine, his touch so tender that they fill me with deep emotion, and I pull back just enough to peer into his passionate hazel eyes. Just then, a persistent little nudge sets butterflies loose inside my belly, and a relieved laugh bursts from me as our little girl gives me her first reassuring signs of life since I woke. It would seem she’s feeling rather left out.

“What?” Leo asks, a grin stretching across my face as he studies my expression.

With a watery smile, I take Leo’s hand and press it to my belly.

Warm devotion transforms his chiseled features. And he lights up in awe as he peers down at my stomach. “That’s her?” he breathes, bringing his other hand down to more fully cover my belly.

Our little girl gives a powerful kick in response.

“That’s her,” I confirm as his jaw drops.

And with one hand firmly glued to my belly, Leo reaches up to grasp my neck as he kisses me with fierce joy. This is the kind of love I’ve always dreamed of, the kind of passionate devotion I never imagined I could find in my family’s crazy, twisted, violent world.

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