No Broken Beast

by Snow, Nicole

  You ever heard the saying I’d walk through fire for you?

  Well, here the hell we go.

  Holding my breath, I brace my arms in front of my face to guard it, and leap.

  It’s like jumping into water, only this water’s made of boiling-hot air trying to swallow me up in one stinging bite. But just a second of pain, of that horrible sinking feeling taking me back to that night my entire body screamed in agony—

  No, I’m through it, tumbling to the ground and rolling to put out the sparks, then nearly throwing myself at Clarissa.

  I crash into her, pulling her into me, and God, she’s so perfect and wonderful and warm and alive. I’m supposed to be untying her, but for just a split second, she’s mine.

  I hold her, pressing my lips into her hair.

  “I love you,” I whisper. “And I’m here to make up for years of not being able to tell you that to your face, just as soon as we’re out of here.”

  I’m already fighting at her ropes, searching for knots tied tight by someone who’s just as horribly strong as I am. She lets out that sobbing sound again, only this time I can hear the joy in it. The sweetness.

  “I love you too,” she says. “And Leo, if you’ll...if you’ll stay...”

  “If I’ll stay?” I echo back, hope as thick in my throat as the smoke gathering in the room and blurring my vision grey, my fingers raging at the knots. “It’s not even a question.”

  “I won’t run,” she says, burying her face in my neck, her tears against my skin. “I won’t run again. I’ll never run from you, from this. Only back to you.”

  “That’s a promise I’m going to fucking hold you to,” I choke out.

  Right before I grip my fingers in the ropes and riiip.

  Fuck this pussyfooting around.

  I feel when the nylon scrapes my palms in a single burning rush and leaves them bleeding.

  I don’t care anymore.

  I’ll bleed, I’ll die, but most of all, I’ll live for this woman.

  It takes three swift, sharp jerks, and she’s free. I’m dragging her to her feet as she wraps her arms around me with a desperate cry.

  One kiss.

  That’s all we have time for.

  One kiss that sears us like the fire roaring around us, a crackling high that builds through me at the taste of her lips and the feeling of her body crushed tight, unharmed and totally mine.

  Before we break back, looking at each other with a quiet understanding.

  I know her mind. She knows mine.

  We’re together again for good.

  And without a single word, we drop down, gathering her unconscious sister together. I tear through the ropes again—and then Clarissa helps me lift her up, nudging her against my chest and settling her in my arms. Then it’s Rissa, not me, who turns to lead the way out.

  There’s no going back the way I came. Not with the fire so focused up there, burning every which way, and not with the stairs collapsed under my weight.

  But Rissa knows the way. She knows it as well as I do.

  Together, we rush toward the tunnel leading out, diving from the sweltering, simmering heat of our own personal hell and into cool stone walls dripping with running water.

  The sudden plunge into damp shadows feels like cold kisses soothing my overheated skin.

  We’re not out of the woods yet, though.

  Not when another explosion rocks above us, and everything shakes like an earthquake back with a vengeance. Fuck.

  Must’ve hit a gas main. We both hunker low, I throw myself over her, freezing and peering up at the ceiling as bits of gravelly rock shower down. I hold her and Deanna closer, shielding them with my body, praying I’m big enough to keep whatever falls from hitting them.

  The shaking doesn’t stop.

  It gets worse.

  We stare at each other, wide-eyed and tense.

  “Run,” I breathe.

  She only hesitates for a second.

  Then my girl takes off, ducking low and sprinting to the exit, pelting along the stone tunnel floors.

  It’s like she knows I’m right behind her.

  I’ll always be behind her.

  She can trust that, now and forever, and so can I.

  We make a run for our future.

  25

  End of the Line (Clarissa)

  There was only one other time I’ve ever been more afraid.

  One time worse than being strapped down, waiting for a bomb to go off, and my childhood home to crush me to death alongside Deedee just as I’d found her.

  It was the night my father smashed me in the face with a vase, leaving a mark that would scar more than my face for life.

  And both times—both flipping times—Leo Regis saved me just in time.

  This time, unlike before, there’s zero chance he’ll vanish after tonight.

  After the way he’s been tortured, after he threw himself into the flames just to get to me?

  No question.

  I’ve never known a man more beautiful, more brave, and more right.

  His scars prove how much he loves me, body art revealing what’s inside his big, beastly heart. They exist so the whole freaking world can see how beautiful he is, inside and out.

  I don’t care if we’ve got crap to work out.

  I don’t care if he goes back to prison.

  I don’t care how if it takes ages to clear his name and really, truly put this nightmare behind us.

  He’s with me now, and I feel that beautiful shield of a man at my back, his footsteps pounding behind me. He’s so gentle carrying Deanna as I sprint for the steps, following the sliver of moonlight from the doors I’d left open.

  Finally, we’re bursting free.

  Then we’re erupting into the forest, the creek bubbling close by, all the memories of then and now and oh God the taste of sweet, sweet air that’s so fresh and clear. Not clogged with the smoke of all the ruins in my life burning down.

  We tumble onto the grass and collapse together. Leo lays Deanna down first, and we’re both quick to check her over, her pulse, her limbs. She’s bruised, nothing broken, breathing. Thank God.

  “He hit her,” I whisper, choking a little, touching a fresh bruise on her jaw. “Right before he knocked me out again. I guess it’s harder for her.”

  “She’ll be weak after being chained up for so long,” Leo says, reaching across her to clasp my hand. “But she’ll be all right. Let’s get her somewhere safe. She needs a doctor.”

  I nod, standing, helping him gather her up, but I can’t help but stop. The little town shines through the trees.

  Everything is lit like one big phantom jack-o-lantern in Heart’s Edge, this orange splash against the night, plumes of white smoke rising in awful flickers.

  The mansion is a fiery spear, stabbing at the sky, and I’m worried the rest of the town is next. Blazes that big can destroy cities, especially ones so small and fragile.

  Oh, crap.

  “Leo—Zach, I left him at the station with Warren and—”

  “He’s safe,” Leo growls softly. “I had Warren take him to the inn. Wouldn’t dream of letting anything happen to our son.”

  Okay.

  I’m about to cry with how much I love this man.

  I’m about to cry, period.

  I have to turn away from him for a second, from the sight of this beloved beast-man with my broken, battered sister cradled so gently in his arms. I watch the flames devouring what was once my childhood home.

  “I don’t want it to take Heart’s Edge with it,” I whisper. “But I’m glad it’s gone. There was so much evil there. Let’s hope they don’t rebuild it.”

  “We’ll make sure they don’t,” Leo says. When I look back he’s gazing down at me with such tenderness in his amethyst eyes. “And we’ll make damn sure they save the town, babe.”

  “Yeah?” I say, smiling up at him. I finally feel a pinch of relief.

  Suddenly, I just know...everything’s goin
g to be all right.

  He nods firmly, then nudges me with his elbow. “Let’s go. Pretty sure half the folks in medicine in this town are at the inn. We can find her a bed there.”

  But as we turn to that trail in the trees leading back to civilization, I go still, hearing the sound of something whirring far off in the distance.

  No, more like beating.

  A rhythmic whup-whup-whup that I feel like I should recognize, but I can’t quite place.

  “What’s that?” I ask, turning, looking up at the sky through the canopy of the trees.

  A dark shape streaks by so fast I can barely catch it, blending into the night.

  But I make out the reflective USAF logo on the tail, right above the shape of a cross that’s a universal sign for help.

  “Military aid and evac choppers,” Leo says right before several more whiz past. “Gonna have to thank Blake later. He got through.”

  I stare at the weird sight of a helicopter with a bucket dangling from it and can’t help but laugh as it starts dousing the forest.

  “Know what I hate the most about this?” Leo growls, smirking to himself.

  “What?”

  “We’re gonna have to thank Fuchsia goddamn Delaney, too. She must’ve deactivated whatever was blocking signals and called in a little backup that can scramble faster than the locals.”

  Wow.

  Fuchsia, coming to the rescue?

  If you’d said it a couple weeks ago, I’d have never believed it.

  I watch a few more helicopters dash past, their tail strobe lights winking red against the stars, and smile faintly. “I don’t get that woman.”

  “Doubt we ever will,” Leo mutters. “She’s probably already on her way out of town with tickets to the Maldives in her pocket. But if the authorities are here, we’re good.” He lets out a heaving sigh that seems like it lifts the weight of the world off his shoulders. “It’s over.”

  “Hard to believe,” I answer, but no words have ever tasted sweeter. I lean against Leo’s arm as we turn, making our way through the woods again, my hand curled close against my sister’s dangling legs. “Is it that easy? Everything’s okay?”

  “In time,” he promises. “This town’s strong. We’ll rebuild.”

  “You mean we-we?” I ask.

  “You, me, and Zach,” he says firmly. “Can’t think of anything else we’ll ever need, Rissa.”

  Smiling, I follow him into the dark.

  * * *

  We’re picked up by a fire truck just a block past the woods, on our way to the inn that’s now officially been labeled a “reunification center” by military people who need to slap names like that on everything to make it official.

  Other fire trucks whoosh down the road in the opposite direction, toward town, helicopters circling, and it’s so strange to watch buckets of water come raining down from the sky, eclipsing the smoke in fast hissing bursts.

  At least they’re here.

  At least the town’s going to be okay.

  I’m so exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open. But I can’t rest until I see my son, so I keep myself awake watching the paramedic assigned to the truck do first aid on Deanna. Even as the fire truck rocks back and forth on the road, the paramedic works like he’s standing on solid ground.

  Leo holds my hand so tight the whole time.

  And for just a second, Deanna opens her eyes, right as the paramedic slips an IV with glucose into her arm. Her gaze drifts to me, and then slips around, taking in the truck, the sky, before her eyes clear.

  The fear that was there when I found her vanishes.

  “You came,” she whispers, her voice a dry creak, but it’s there. It sounds so lovely to hear her conscious again, thick with tears but free from fear. Her fingers twitch weakly, and I immediately clasp them with my free hand. “Sis, how—”

  “I did, and I had some help. That’s all that matters.” I nod quickly, squeezing her fingers tight, sucking in breaths. “I’ll always come for you, baby sister. Isn’t that how it’s been since forever?”

  “Yeah,” she says, though I can already tell she’s fading fast. But her eyes flick to Leo, studying him, and she manages an exhausted smile. “Hey, you. It’s really good to...to see you again. It’s been so long.”

  Leo chuckles, flashing her a gentle look. “Yeah, been busy. We’ve got plenty of time to catch up. I’m not going anywhere, and neither is Rissa.”

  That gets a smile from her—and one from me.

  Deanna dozes off with a soft sigh.

  My heart skips with panic, but the paramedic looks up at me with a smile, wiping his hands. “She’ll make a full recovery. Don’t you worry. She’s just exhausted, traumatized, dehydrated, and malnourished. She hasn’t lost much blood, and the bruises are mostly surface trauma.”

  It’s the best news I’ve heard in ages, which is really kinda sad.

  So I just smile back, lean my head on Leo’s shoulder, and let myself breathe.

  After a few minutes, the fire truck pulls up outside the inn. Several ambulances and military medical supply vehicles are parked outside, and my sister gets offloaded onto a stretcher and ushered inside while a couple of EMTs look me and Leo over.

  They say we’re fine except for a few minor surface burns, then they give me something in case that blow to the head gave me a concussion, and usher us inside to be assigned a room.

  I don’t have the energy to tell them we’ll be heading back to our own cabin, assuming it’s still free, especially when I’m not going anywhere without Zach.

  Ms. Wilma is at the heart of things, as usual.

  Charming is overcrowded with frightened, worried people and total confusion. She’s there calming them down and making sure people have a cup of hot tea, a bed to lie down on, things to distract scared children.

  But I don’t see my scared baby anywhere, and the second I notice Warren rushing past with a stack of towels, I grab his arm. “Zach. Where is he?”

  He freezes, blinking down at me before smiling tiredly. “Atrium. With the cat. Again.” His eyes soften. “I saw Deanna; we’re getting her bedded down now. I’m so damn glad you’re both all right, Rissa.” His gaze rises to Leo. “And you.”

  Leo looks like he’s drooping himself, but he manages a smile.

  “Thanks, man,” he says. “For everything.”

  Warren just shakes his head. “No need. That’s what friends do.” He nudges me with his elbow. “Go on. Zach’s been worried sick. He needs to see you both. I’ve gotta help Hay figure stuff out so she’s not running around like a hen on fire.”

  I don’t need to be told twice.

  With another look at Leo, I catch his hand and nearly drag him through the house to the atrium.

  It’s the only quiet place in the entire inn.

  Surprisingly, we find our son alone, sitting stone-still on the bench. He’s holding that huge orange cat they call Mozart like it’s some kind of prayer doll, his eyes closed and head bowed as if he’s focusing with all his might on bringing us back.

  Heart in my throat, I step forward. “Zach?”

  His head comes up sharply. His eyes light up, wild and sweet and wide, catching the wild moonlight through the atrium roof and turning the same soft violet color as his father’s.

  “Mom. Dad!” he cries, scaring the cat off him with a yowling screech as he launches himself into us both.

  I don’t know who’s even hugging who at this point, or who started bawling first, only that we’re a mess of tears and clinging and Zach holding on so, so tight, sobbing. “I was scared. I was so scared, Mom...”

  “It’s okay, baby.” I stroke his hair back, hugging him fiercely to me. He’s sandwiched between me and Leo with my man’s ginormous arms around us both. “We’re all okay. Your Auntie Deanna’s okay, too. She’s home. She’s safe.”

  There’s just silence as we cling together.

  For the first time in forever, my family feels whole.

  Then my mind flicks bac
k to sixty seconds ago.

  I blink sharply, staring at Zach. “Wait. Did...did you just call Leo Dad?”

  Zach looks up at me, lifting his glasses up to scrub at his eyes, sniffling, then peeks sheepishly between me and Leo. “I...sorry, I wasn’t ’sposed to know, huh?”

  This freaking kid.

  Smart enough to figure that out, young enough to still say sposed.

  Leo lets out a rumbling, heartfelt laugh. “Can’t keep anything from this one.”

  He ruffles Zach’s hair, and it warms my heart to see the feels in every glance, the love of a father for a son he seems to have accepted so wholeheartedly it’s like there’s a hundred years of built-up affection in every touch.

  “We were just trying to figure out the right way to tell you. I’m glad you know.” He hesitates, then adds, “If you’re okay with me being your old man, anyway.”

  My face lights up.

  That sweet dork.

  So much sensitivity under his snarly, beastly façade.

  And Zach lights up, too, twisting in my arms. He throws his little hands around Leo’s neck and answers the question with one sweet, simple word.

  “Dad!”

  I swear I see tears in Leo’s eyes as his arms come around Zach, and I let our son’s weight ease from my arms to his. He’s got this stunned look on his face like he’s just seen a miracle.

  Beautiful isn’t even half of it.

  And I don’t even try to stop the happy tears welling in my eyes as I watch our son accept his father with such sweet, unreserved trust.

  Leo meets my eyes over Zach’s head, and the smile he gives me, wondering and soft...

  It’s everything.

  After a few moments of silent, exhausted warmth, though, Zach asks. “So are we gonna be a family now? Is Dad gonna come home with us?”

  I flush. I’ve been wondering that too, but I didn’t know how to ask.

  The fact that Langley and his boys saw us several times tonight making the rounds and didn’t arrest him on the spot seems like a good sign, at least. But any awkwardness fades when Leo just grins at me, beaming wide like it’s the most natural question in the world.