Page 16 of Shadow's Heart
“Nah, I may be the one who got taken and am laid up right now, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t go through hell too. You’re forgetting how well I know you, Alex.”
“I thought I’d lost you. Despite everything we did to find you, we were getting nowhere. If it wasn’t for Jake.” I cut myself offbecause I can’t even let my thoughts go there right now. It’s all too raw. I came far too close to losing him for good.
“I thought I was a goner too. When I learned The Khaos Group had a hand in my abduction, pretty much all my hopes vanished. I knew you’d all be searching, but I also knew you had no chance against them. It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing I’d never be found. I didn’t want to die; I wanted to come home to you.” He tells me, eyes filling with tears as he relives what he must have been feeling.
I swallow hard, my own emotions rushing to the service once more. Knowing he honestly thought he was going to die is hard to even think about. I had hope because I didn’t know who had him, but Wreck didn’t have that. He knew who had him; he knew how fucking low the odds were. Fucking hell, it’s a goddamn miracle he’s lying in this room with me right now.
“Stop trying to suppress what you’re feeling. Let it all go.” He demands gently.
I can’t help but obey him; my eyes immediately well with tears, and choked sobs start to release from my throat. I can feel my body shaking. I close my eyes as I try to calm myself, until I feel my hand being pulled. Opening my eyes, I see Wreck has somehow moved himself over on his bed and is trying to pull me in next to him. I don’t even fight it; despite knowing he’s hurt, I need him more than anything right now. I need to be in his arms or have him in mine. I don’t fucking care, so long as we’re holding each other and I can actually feel him.
As gently as possible, so I don’t inadvertently harm him, I climb onto the bed next to him. His arm automatically goes under my neck, and he pulls me into his side. For the first time since Wrath told me what had happened, I feel myself slotting back together. The part deep inside of me that felt missing is no longer there. I’m whole once more; all I needed apparently was to be in his embrace. My tears are still flowing freely down myface, but I feel a hell of a lot better than I did moments ago. Like a million other times from the past, I feel better in his arms. There’s just something about having him this close that soothes something deep inside me, and it always has and always will.
“You know I’d never willingly leave you.” He whispers.
“I know that.” I whisper back, because I do know that. Neither of us would willingly leave the other, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more forces like Megan out there who will try and take us away from each other. I’ll fight every time to keep us together, though. There’s no force on this planet that I believe can break the bond we share.
“We should probably let the doctor know you’re awake.” I say after a few moments of basking in his hold.
“It can wait; I’m fine right now. What I need right now is this; the doctor can poke and prod me later.”
Looking up at him, I can’t help but believe him. Somehow he looks so fucking relaxed and peaceful. How he’s achieving that with his injuries I’ll never know, but I’m not complaining. I hate the thought of him hurting. As I watch his eyes start to drift shut, I know he needs more rest. As I start to move off the bed, his arm tightens around me.
“Stay.” He whispers sleepily.
If he wants me to stay, I will. There’s no place I’d rather be right now than here in his arms. Leaning up, I go to kiss his cheek, like I have millions of times in the past, but that’s not what happens. With his eyes closed, he doesn’t see my intention, so when he turns his face towards me, my lips graze his instead of his cheek. It’s hardly a fleeting touch, but I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve kissed a lot of women over the years, and a brush of the lips with my best friend feels more right than any of the other more intimate kisses I’ve had.
Straight away I worry about how Wreck’s going to react to me accidentally kissing him, but when I look, I see his eyes closedand a small smile on his lips. He must have fallen asleep, not really aware of what was happening while I’m here obsessing over it.
I’ve kissed him on the cheek more times than I can count over the years, and never once have our lips touched until now. I don’t understand why the hell it felt so right. It was hardly a passing glance, but it felt so goddamn right. It felt like perfection. I’m so confused. I’ve never thought about Wreck that way; I’m straight, and so is he. So why does kissing him feel more right than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life up until this point?
I can’t even begin to try and work through all that I’m feeling right now. These last few days have been one thing after another. My brain is utterly overloaded, and I’m so fucking tired. Maybe grabbing some sleep will help me figure it all out when I wake up. Maybe I’ll even have all the answers once I wake up. One can hope, at least.
Chapter Twenty
Flame
We all seem to be on the same page with leaving Shadow and Wreck alone for the time being. They need a moment between just them, and we all know it. I remember how I felt when I was reunited with Wrath after my own abduction, and I know for a fact that they don’t need an audience right now. They need and deserve time together before the hordes descend. Everything that’s happened is beyond fucking insane. I never could have fucking dreamed that Megan was the cause behind Wreck’s abduction. We all fucking know she doesn’t like Wreck, but come fucking on. What she did was seriously crazy, and that’s putting it politely. Talk about a narrow fucking escape on Shadow’s part.
Thank god Mrs Knightlye arrived when she did, because I honestly don’t know what we would have done about Megan otherwise; normally we’d have left her for Sera and Mama June to deal with, but Mama June has decided to take a step back now that Sera is here and is more than capable of handling any women that cause problems, not knowing that for the next several months Sera is out of commission. I’m happy Sera made the choice to stay away from violence while pregnant with mine and Wrath’s baby; it’s one less thing to worry about for sure.You never know what could happen or how someone will react, and I’d rather she not take any chances that could put herself or the baby in harm’s way. Thankfully, Sera totally had the same opinion there and made the decision without us having to bring it up.
So yeah, I’m glad we didn’t have to try and come up with another way to deal with Megan. Oh, we’d have come up with something, like we have multiple times before when we haven’t had a woman on hand, but I rather prefer it the way things have turned out. Having her as far away from us all as possible after the hell she caused both Shadow and Wreck is definitely the best option. Neither of them deserve what she did. If it wasn’t for Jake, who’s walking next to me right now, this could have all had a very different, much more devastating outcome. He’s the only reason we have Wreck back, and I will be forever grateful to him for that. I can’t even begin to contemplate what would have happened to Shadow if he’d lost Wreck for good. He’d never be the same again, and I rather like my brother-in-law just the way he is. He’s the happy, goofy one. The one full of life. I’d hate to see his bright spark go out, and it definitely would without Wreck. So yeah, we owe Jake everything because he not only saved Wreck but Shadow in the process.
As we pass the nurses station, I hear Jake request someone take some supplies in for Shadow to clean his hands up. I’m glad he thought about that because Shadow really does need to make sure he cleans up his fists. He made quite a mess of them while punching away at the wall. Not that I blame him for the way he reacted; punching the wall was probably the best outcome we could have all hoped for once Megan’s betrayal was exposed.
Heading towards the elevators to take us back down to the general part of the hospital, instead of being up here on the private floor that’s run by The Khaos Group’s own personnel, we all stop dead in our tracks. There’s a commotion up ahead.And by commotion, I mean Megan is causing issues. Surprise. Surprise. She is once again trying to get away from Mrs Knightlye and her team. The woman has got to have a screw loose even attempting what she is right now. She’s got no fucking chance. There’s probably more chance of pigs flying outside than Megan getting away from them. For the love of God, Mrs Knightlye has got four men with her, all clearly highly trained, all a hell of a lot bigger than Megan, but they aren’t the ones who act. Mrs Knightlye does, and it’s a thing of beauty to watch. Stepping directly in front of Megan, she pulls her hand back and slaps Megan across the face. Hard. Megan’s face spins to the side from the impact of the slap. Fuck that has got to hurt. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.
“Enough. You made your bed; it’s time for you to lie in it. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. Or maybe do; I have no problem with laying your ass out right here and now.” Mrs Knightlye says, and you can hear the promise in the tone she uses as she speaks.
The fight immediately drains from Megan at Mrs Knightlye’s words; clearly, Megan knows she is fighting a losing battle and isn’t remotely prepared to deal with what Mrs Knightlye will do to her if she carries on trying to fight and escape. She allows the team to lead her away with no further fight. Her shoulders are slumping, and you can tell she’s totally dejected. Catching the look on Wrath’s face, I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. He looks far too amused by what we’ve just witnessed. I can’t really blame him, though. That woman deserves everything that’s coming to her. I know Wrath feels the same way.
“Well, that was entertaining.” Jake says, breaking the silence that had descended on us as we watched the Megan show.
“That’s one way to put it.” Wrath replies, still sounding amused.
We carry on walking now that they’ve all moved on and we can actually reach the elevators. It’s time to head back to The Clubhouse and inform the rest of the MC what we’ve learned. I’m sure we’ll be back later to check on Wreck and Shadow. There’s no way they will be left alone for long, especially once everyone learns the truth about why it all happened.
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