Page 48 of Stay Little Fighter

NOW

There are few things a shower doesn’t fix, and by the time I’m back in bed with fresh pajamas and washed hair, I feel infinitely better than I did when I opened my eyes.

Damon helped me back to bed, pulling the blankets over my legs and fluffing my pillows before returning to his seat on the other side of the room.

I hate that he’s punishing himself.

It was me who made the split-second decision to jump in front of a bullet. It happened so fast there was nothing he could have done to stop me.

Ronan carefully brushes my damp hair like he used to do when we were teenagers. It was one of the things he did when I was in the middle of a flare that made me feel less alone in my pain.

“How are you feeling, Sparrow?”

“Better.” I smile. “Nothing a shower and my favorite guys can’t fix.”

He huffs out a laugh, but there’s no ignoring the tension that rolls around us. It’s been thick in the air since I woke up the first time, and as much as I would like to, I can’t pretend it doesn’t exist.

“Where’s Mikayla?” I ask loud enough for the others to hear the question.

Kingston sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We don’t know. We had a team follow her when she fled the farmhouse, but she gave them the slip.”

I nod slowly, my anxiety pushing to the surface despite my best efforts to keep it at bay.

“We’re not going to let her hurt you, Chloe,” Ronan promises.

“But it’s not just me I’m worried about her hurting,” I whisper.

I’ve waited for what feels like a lifetime to feel whole, and I don’t know how to explain to them how terrified I am of losing them just as everything has started to fall into place.

We have so much to figure out, but even in as much pain as I am, I feel more at peace than I have in years. I’m not ready to lose it just yet.

Kingston drags the couch to the edge of the bed while Ryker takes the chair on the other side of me.

“I don’t want you worrying about this, Mama. All you need to focus on is getting better. The rest can wait.”

I nibble at the inside of my cheek and glance across the room to my only guy not surrounding me. “What happens next?”

“We kill Salvatore and Mikayla and anyone else that could pose any threat to you,” Ryker answers immediately.

“No, I mean…” I swallow heavily, ignoring the way my chest tightens. “I mean with us.”

Anxiety clings to me when none of them rush to answer because as unrealistic as it may seem, I had hoped they had it all worked out.

Ronan squeezes my hand, pulling my attention to his tired eyes. “Right now, the only thing that matters is getting you better and neutralizing any threats to keep you safe. The rest we’ll work out as we go.” He presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “But what I can confidently say about every man in this room is that there’s nothing we won’t do for you, and if there’s a way we can make this work, then that’s what we’ll do. Okay?”

I nod, but my chest aches at the possibility of losing any of them.

A life with only part of my heart seems inconceivable, even after such a short time having them all together.

“When the doctor gives clearance for you to be discharged, we’re going to head to Maine while we regroup and make a plan without being out in the open like this,” Kingston explains.

“Okay,” I whisper, but my mind can’t help but wander to all the unanswered questions.

“Now, there’s a very impatient five-foot-nothing spitfire in the waiting room. Are you feeling up to visitors?” Ronan asks, and I can’t help but snicker at the description.

Camilla is exactly what I need to distract me from my racing mind, even if it’s just for a little while.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE