Healing Heather
Page 21
He hauled Heather into his arms. Stroking aside her sweat-damp hair, he kissed her forehead.
‘I’m sorry, Alanna. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. Sorry I jumped to conclusions. Sorry I was too scared to let you close. I couldn’t save Amanda, but maybe I can save you. Maybe you can live the life you deserve, with someone who’ll appreciate who you are and how incredible you are. Here.’
He kissed her cool lips and splayed one hand across her cheek. Then he imagined opening a thought-window to her. Nothing. No sense of her mind or emotions. Empty blankness where her vibrancy used to live. Her body clung to life, barely.
But she had quit living.
He couldn’t let her die. Not this way. Not giving her life for some bastard who didn’t deserve to share the same air. Drawing a steadying breath, he envisaged pouring his energy into her frail, slight body. It was the least he could do. It had to work!
Nothing changed.
Kade groaned, tears trickling down his cheeks. ‘Come on! Please?’ He focussed all his mind, his body, his heart on her and willed himself into her; willed his strength into her; willed her to stay.
Still nothing. Her body remained limp and soft in his arms.
‘Please, Heather,’ he murmured. ‘Please don’t give up. I need you. Come back.’
Was that warmth in her skin? He pressed his cheek to hers.
Yes! And her pulse beat still beneath his fingers. She stirred under his touch. A thread connected them, growing thicker as she drew from him; as she pulled something thick from deep in his body. His fingers grew numb, his arms heavy and cold.
He laid her gently on the ground and fitted himself alongside, pillowing his cheek on her shoulder. Her breast rose and fell. But still, she didn’t wake and he couldn’t feel her emotions.
‘Come on, Alanna,’ he whispered. ‘Come back. I…I love you.’
He opened his heart.
Opened his mind, shields lowered.
Opened everything he had held behind closed doors and gave it all to her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
HEATHER
Heather woke with a gasp. Above was the bunker’s dark grey concrete ceiling. Below felt like more concrete, cold and hard. Something heavy lay on her shoulder and draped across her chest. No… someone. She pushed the arm off and scrambled away.
Then she returned. Kade lay there, eyes closed, face slack, body limp. Was he even breathing? She touched his lips and felt nothing. No pulse in his neck, either. But there were no marks on him. She looked around, panicked. Where were Torin and Luke? Where were all the men? And Carleton. Only Cathy was left and she was still unconscious. What had happened? Last she remembered was…
Oh, no!
She had poured everything into Carleton and the DNA alteration had worked. She was sure of it. He would be aware of the sianfath, but the effort had taken everything from her.
Now her body thrummed with sticky-honey power again. And the one person around was Kade. What had he done?
She touched him and sparks crackled off her fingertips, coruscating across his skin.
Why? Why had he given so much? He must have known he didn’t need to. He’d helped before and knew she could recover on far less than he’d given.
So why?
She stroked his jaw. Could she really be that important to him? So important he was willing to die for her?
Tears blurred his image and she leaned close.
‘Idiot,’ she whispered, and kissed him, transferring power.
His heart jumped and beat steadily. His eyes fluttered open. He groaned, his arms sliding around her until their bodies were entangled. He gathered her close, his lips warming and parting beneath hers.
Finally, he let go and studied her with an anxious question in those grey eyes.
‘I’m ok,’ she murmured. ‘You?’
‘Honestly? I wasn’t expecting to be alive. You weren’t waking up. Then it all went black.’ He struggled up. ‘I’ve felt better. I feel like I haven’t slept for a week and everything aches.’ He examined her face. ‘You sure you’re alright?’
She frowned. ‘So you knew what you were doing? You did it on purpose? Why?’
He flushed and took her hand, one thumb rubbing across the back. ‘Because I’d been a fool. I overreacted and drove you away. You almost died because I got you into this. You deserve to live and be happy. I wanted you to have that chance.’
Heather recoiled and yanked free. ‘You did it out of guilt?’
‘What? No!’ Kade hesitated. ‘Well, partly, I suppose.’
Her heart solidified into stone and she rose on shaky legs. She was the idiot. Of course he hadn’t made some noble sacrifice because he loved her. ‘Thank you for saving me. The procedure was successful on Carleton so perhaps you and Torin can convince him to leave me alone, now.’ She went for the door. ‘I’ll go…’ Where would she go? She still had no money, no identification, no medical gear. She covered her mouth to hold in a sob of despair.
‘Do you…’ Kade cleared his throat ‘…do you really want to go? I mean…you could stay. Tor would want you to stay.’
She said nothing, unable to speak through a throat tightening around tears.
‘What if I…’ He faltered then spoke in a rush. ‘What if I don’t want you to go? I screwed up. I should have listened to you. I just…Amanda…’ He sighed. ‘No, there’s no excuses. I’m sorry. I’ll work on it. Try to listen first instead of jumping to conclusions. You tried to tell me something about her. What was it?’
She edged away, afraid to say what she’d wanted to throw at him in anger before. Afraid to be trapped in this small, lethal room with a man who might take out his hurt reaction on whoever was close. She rubbed at the scar on her temple.
Hesitating, she straightened and lifted her chin. She’d been running from angry men her whole life. First her father, sometimes boyfriends, or husbands of women she’d midwifed for. Then Carleton.
Was that going to be her whole life? Running from men because she was afraid of what she might do to them? She inspected her hands. Today she had saved Carleton. And Kade. So, perhaps, her mother had been right. Perhaps the time had come. Perhaps she could be more than just a midwife. More than just a frightened girl, running and hiding. More than a martyr, sacrificing her life for others.
Glancing up, she caught Kade’s apprehensive stare. And perhaps the right man had come along as well. One who could feel what she felt and not be overwhelmed. Who was willing to learn and grow.
But would he accept her, wholly?
And could he really let go of his past, and her part in it?
Only one way to find out.
She lifted her chin. ‘Are you sure you want to hear the truth about Amanda?’
‘Yes.’ He drove his fingers into his hair. ‘No. I don’t know. But I think I need to.’
‘And what if it turns out I did have a part in her death?’ Heather folded her arms. ‘What then?’
Kade’s jaw clenched, his fists too. Then he relaxed.
‘I wouldn’t believe it. It took me awhile. Too long. But I finally saw who you are.’ He stepped closer. ‘You’re the sort of person who will drive into the middle of nowhere to help a terrified illegal girl. Who’ll save an absolute stranger, even at the risk of your own life. Even when it might mean losing your freedom. The sort of person who would save the life of her worst enemy if it was the right thing to do. No way did you kill Amanda. I know that, now.’
He stared into her eyes, mesmerising. ‘Tell me.’
Heather suppressed the urge to retreat. ‘Amanda Black died of complications from a home abortion. I was called in too late. Her doctor was her lover. He botched the abortion. She was only three months pregnant. The child wasn’t yours. They were trying to hide the evidence of their affair.’
Kade stilled.
She retreated, observing him.
‘Hell.’ His word emerged broken. ‘Jeff Saunders was the father?’ With a cracked laugh wiped at his fac
e. ‘That explains a lot. He was one of my best friends. I wondered why he left town suddenly. I thought he felt guilty for not saving her.’ He buried his forehead in his palms and slid down the wall. ‘Christ. Everyone at the base knew. The looks they gave me when I went to the base.’
He looked up, eyes haunted and shadowed. ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me?’
Her heart broke for him and her fear dissolved. Heather eased herself alongside him and tucked an arm through his.
‘Because you’re a good person, Kade Miller. You were barely out of hospital. You’d lost your wife and child. No-one wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry I had to. Truly.’
He sighed. ‘You didn’t.’ His lips pressed warm against her forehead. ‘You set me free.’
He rose and drew her to her feet. His arms wound around her waist and he held her close. Heather rested her head on his shoulder and, for the first time in her life, allowed herself to relax in a man’s arms.
She opened her mental shields to him. Kade smiled, traced the line of her cheek with one finger, and kissed her. She felt the moment he dropped his own shields. His fear was gone. All that remained was the spark of wonder and hope, the smouldering heat of desire, the solid foundation of belief and trust.
Belief and trust in her.
Wonder and hope for their future.
Desire to understand and love her. All of her.
With a sobbing laugh, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him,
‘I love you, Kade Miller,’ she whispered.
‘I love you, too, Heather O’Connor.’ His lips softened against hers.
She surrendered the last of her fears to the honesty of that love.
#
END
I hope you enjoyed this fourth in the Shadows series – part of the Ruadhan Sidhe series. If so, please do leave reviews on your favourite retail sites and review sites. Reviews help other readers find authors they love and helps to prevent hardworking authors from starving.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
www.aikiflinthart.com
Discover other titles by Aiki Flinthart at: www.aikiflinthart.com
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