Page 35 of A Damaged Soul
Elle rushed to my side as soon as I spoke, and I had to hide the hiss when she grabbed my hand. I couldn't be sure since a few things about what happened were fuzzy, but I thought I remembered two of my fingers being broken.
"Sorry!" Elle went to place my hand back down, but I stopped her by closing my fingers around her delicate fingers.
"Don't let go," I croaked.
I needed to feel her after everything that had happened. Especially because it was she who got me through it. Just knowing she would be worried about me was reason enough to keep fighting.
"I don't want to hurt you." Through swollen eyes, I watched as she slowly sat down in the chair my brother brought over. "Thank you." She never took her gaze off me as she thanked him.
"You could never hurt me."
I, on the other hand, had the potential to seriously hurt her if I didn't get my shit together.
"What happened?" I hated the way her voice cracked and the fact that I could see tears pooling in her eyes.
"We were ambushed and then tortured," I answered not only her but my brother, since I knew he had the same questions.
Elle's gasp was enough to keep me from saying more on the subject.
"I'm fine. Nothing that won't heal soon enough."
This time a single tear trailed down her cheek, and I didn't care how much it hurt to move, I swiped that drop off her face. "Don't cry for me." That only made her cry more.
"I can't help it. I was so worried when you didn't answer me, and then I got the call from your brother. It was a lot to take in."
"Too much?"
She already mentioned once she wasn't sure she could handle me being away. Was this further evidence that she couldn't tolerate this lifestyle.
These were thoughts that just days ago I would never have had and yet, after what Oxford and Parker had said in that warehouse, suddenly sunk in.
"No, never too much." She gave me a small smile that jump-started my dead heart.
Zack cleared his throat. "Sorry to break up this little love fest, but Black is here to see you."
It took way too much effort to pull my gaze away from Elle, but when I finally did, I met my boss's intense stare.
"I'd like to talk to you about what happened."
As much as I didn't want to talk about the ambush, I had a bone to pick with Black. Luckily Elle appeared to be able to read the room.
"I'm just going to step out in the hall for a few minutes. I need to check in with Molly anyway."
I gave her a weak smile. "Zack, why don't you go with her." I could see my brother wanted to argue. Black must've understood why I wanted my brother out of the room, because with one chin lift from my boss, Zack was leaving.
Not without getting a final word in though. "Fine. But we're talking about this later."
I had no doubt that would be the case.
I waited for Zack and Elle to leave before I started in on my boss. "You had no right to call his team in. You knew how I felt about my family knowing what I did. I told you from the start they weren't to be made aware no matter what the circumstances were." By the time I was done talking, I was slightly out of breath and needed a moment to recover from my rant.
"Are you finished?" Black sarcastically asked.
If only my face didn't hurt, I would've given the man the death stare. "Yes."
"I didn't know that's who Wes was going to send. I thought for sure it would've been Bravo Team since that's what their team does."
"And our own teams?"
