Page 56 of Annika's Aurora

“God! I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t.” The tears slipped past her defenses now, and Annika placed a comforting hand on her leg.

“You are all safe now. Before you know it, you’ll be chasing after your girls again in the backyard.”

The mom smiled. “I can’t help but wonder why you would crawl into the car like that. Natalie tells me the guys who got me and my husband out are Nighthawks. Are you a Nighthawk too?”

“No. Just a friend.”

“Then why … why would you risk your own life?” She didn’t know why she felt such a strong need to get to those children. She just had to do it.

“I don’t know. I heard the kids crying, and I figured I could help calm them down.”

“You did just that. Megan told me about the story you mentioned to her.”

Annika smiled. She loved nothing more than getting children interested in reading. “Anne of Green Gables.”

“Oh!” the mom said excitedly. “I saw those movies when I was younger and loved them. I never read the book, though.”

“You should get a copy and read it with Megan.”

“That sounds like a splendid idea. What do you think, Megan?” The little girl nodded with a big grin.

Annika tweaked the girl’s nose. “You’ll love learning what other silly things Anne gets into.”

Megan threw herself into Annika’s arms. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” Annika fought back the sting of tears as the girl’s arms squeezed her hard. “Now, you take care of your mom and your sister. Your mom is going to need your help because of her arm.”

“I will,” she said solemnly.

“I’ll let you get to the hospital now. If you ever need anything, the Nighthawks know how to reach me.”

“Thanks again!” Logan was waiting for her as she climbed down from the ambulance. Suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion, she stumbled into his arms.

“Let’s get you home.” He steered her to the car. The rest of the team, she noticed, had nearly finished packing up the gear they’d used and were heading out as well, leaving the wreck for the other first responders to deal with. Natalie gave Annika a hug as they passed, promising to see her soon. Finally, she was settled into the car, and while Logan drove, she let sleep overtake her.

The next thing she knew, they were home. “Do you want something to eat?” Logan asked once they let themselves inside.

“No. I think I’ll just grab a shower.”

“Okay, I’m going to make myself a sandwich.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips before she turned and went to her bedroom. In the bathroom, she turned the shower on to heat up while looking at her reflection in the mirror, shocked at the state she was in. Her hair was a tangled mess from climbing around the inside of the car. Her eyes looked bloodshot from all the crying she had done that day. And there were dark circles under her eyes.

What’s more, her shoulder ached, and her back felt bruised. She took her shirt off and turned to see her back in the mirror. Sure enough, a big bruise had developed across her lower back. Stripping off the rest of her clothes, Annika groaned when she rotated her aching shoulder as she headed to the shower.

She hissed in pain as soon as the water hit the cut on her leg she’d forgotten about. She’d have to make sure to treat it heavily with antibiotic ointment before bandaging it. But that was beyond her abilities at the moment, as was washing herself. Overcome with exhaustion, she stood motionless under the spray.

Logan found her like that a few minutes later. She looked up at him as he entered the shower.

“Christ, Sunfire.” He reached out and wiped a tear away; Annika hadn’t even known she was crying.

“I’m okay,” she insisted. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

“That’s for sure.” He wrapped his arms around her, and they stood like that for a few moments letting the steam fill up the bathroom. Then Logan grabbed her shampoo and poured some out into his palm. After washing and rinsing her hair, he gathered her tight to him. She could feel his erection against her.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “It’s the orange scent in your shampoo, does it to me every time.” He took her loofah and soaped it up before running it over her body. She winced again from the sting of the soap when he reached the cut on her leg. He saw the slow trickle of blood and went down to his knees for a closer look. The right side of her calf had an inch-long gash. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Annika shrugged. “Didn’t seem important.”

“Fuck, Annika, this needs stitches; of course, it’s important.” She couldn’t miss the note of anger in his voice.

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