Page 43 of Trust in the Fallen

Wyatt brushes his fingers through my hair, bringing me back to the moment and away from the panic that was beginning to build. “I was skeptical, too, angel. But I don’t know that we have another choice because there’s no way in hell I’m handing you back to that asshole just so he can do this again or worse.”

Nausea rolls through my stomach at the thought, and I find myself nodding before I can fully think it through. I trust them to do what’s best for me. I probably shouldn’t. Not when they’re associated with people like the Legion, but something in my gut tells me I can trust them, and that’s all I need right now.

“Okay,” I whisper. “I think…I think that’s probably wise.”

Wyatt gives me a soft smile before carefully helping me sit up. “We’ll have the doctor do your examination in my room, and then we can take some photos of your injuries.”

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

WYATT

Leighton sleeps restlessly between Elias and me. Apart from the night the three of us spent together, Elias and I don’t make a habit of sleeping in the same bed, but neither of us could drag ourselves away from her tonight.

Dr. Garrison and Crew left an hour ago, and I was finally able to wash the dried blood away from her soft skin. But that just uncovered more bruising.

I’ve seen conflict in many different forms. I’ve been to war for God’s sake. But I’ve never seen someone covered with as many bruises as Leighton is.

She has a broken rib or two, a sprained ankle that she somehow managed to run with, a dislocated shoulder which she screamed as he popped it back in breaking the heart I thought was long gone, and several gashes that needed stitches.

In short, that asshole did a real number on her, and the pain Elias and I are going to inflict on him in return will make him wish he was never fucking born.

I glance over her and see Elias’s eyes open as well. Neither of us have been able to leave her side, and I can’t see that changing anytime soon. I already texted Brock, our club manager, to let him know we likely won’t be in this week, and that he'll need to hold down the fort until we return. But I’m not even sure that’s going to be enough time.

“You need to sleep,” Elias says, brushing his fingers along Leighton’s cheek.

“I can’t.”

He sighs. “Nothing is going to happen to her. Crew has a team set up around the house and around Jason’s, his father’s, and the commissioner’s houses. If they come for her, we’ll know about it.”

“It’s not just that. This is our fault, El. We talked her into coming home with us last weekend. We wouldn’t let her go when she left. We followed her to an event we knew they would be at together, and we knew she wouldn’t be able to guard her reaction to us. We did this. This is our fault.”

“No, it’s not. We didn’t hit her. We didn’t force ourselves on her. We didn’t push her down the stairs. But do you know what we will do? We will keep her safe.”

“What if we can’t?”

“Do you really think the governor and the commissioner are dumb enough to go up against the Legion? Crew is making it clear that Leighton is under their care, and any harm that comes to her from here on out will lead to heads rolling. We can keep her safe, Wyatt. I promise.”

“Maybe we should take her away. Even just for a little while. She can recover, and then she’ll be in a better position to face all of this.”

He shakes his head as his eyes flick to the sleeping angel between us. “If we take her out of the city, we all but admit we’re doing something wrong.”

My next words are cut off by a whimper as Leighton twitches, her body tense and afraid even in sleep. “No. Please, no,” she cries.

I squeeze my eyes shut to shove down the anger that threatens. I can’t show her that. I can’t let her see the monster that I’ve hidden from her. She deserves a knight in shining armor, not two demons who will burn the world down to protect her.

Elias pulls her gently against him, wrapping his large body around her much smaller one. “It’s okay, pretty girl. You’re safe.”

Her eyes flutter open and meet mine before letting out a relieved sigh as she realizes it was just a dream. If only she understood that we’ll never let anything happen to her.

I guess we’ll just have to prove how true that is.

The sun streams through the window and illuminates Leighton between us. After her nightmare, neither of us were able to go to sleep, so we both spent the night staring at her, watching for fear, and promptly taking it away from her wherever we could.

She only woke a few more times, each nightmare pulling her back to consciousness before she realized she was safe and went back to sleep. The pain medication the doctor gave her will likely have her drowsy for the next few days before we can start weaning her off it. But he said it’s important that she takes it, that her body needs to rest without being tense with agony.

Elias rolls out of bed first, checking the cameras around the house from his phone. He does this most mornings, a habit he got into when we came back from Afghanistan, and he’s never been able to break it, but this morning he stares at it a little harder, assessing each frame with careful precision.

“All clear?”

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