“Rescuing Em.”
Fuck. I was right. He didn’t go back for Em like I wanted him to.
He didn’t go back because I was hurt. Because I got careless, got myself shot.
Em’s trapped with the Orions because of me.
The tears come hard and strong, and my stomach aches with every sob.
Gage’s face morphs into a panicked expression, and he embraces me again, purring as loud as he can.
“Shh, shh … It’s not your fault, Diego. It’s not your fault. I made a choice, and I’d do it again. Emmett’s tough. He’ll be okay. He’ll hold on until we can go in and get him out of there.”
“He shouldn’t be in there,” I moan, still unable to shake the tears. “I told him to go get you if I wasn’t out in time. Told him ‘Get Gage. No matter what happens.’ I don’t understand why he didn’t do that. He should’ve hopped in the Humvee and come straight here.”
“Hey.” Gage takes my face in his hands and stares into my eyes with his red-rimmed baby blues. “This isnotyour fault,comprende? This is one of those freak things that couldn’t be avoided.”
“He could’ve avoided capture by not going in the fucking house.”
“He couldn’t do that, Diego. He may not show it, but that man loves you. He cares enough to risk his own life for you.” His hand slides down to my chest, palm pressed over my heart. “We all love you, Diego. More than you know. Don’t cheapen his sacrifice by saying you aren’t worth that kind of dedication.”
I turn my head away from him, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze. I don’t feel deserving of this dedication he speaks of, this love.
“I’m going to get Olly and Auryn,” he says. The warmth of his hands disappears, and I hear his footsteps leave the room.
While Gage is gone, I make a few attempts to get up, but unfortunately my abdominal muscles protest each time. The bullet must’ve done more damage than I realized, and loathe as I am to admit it, I’m probably only alive because Em and Gage didn’t listen to me.
Five minutes after Gage left, I’m hit by a five foot three inch tornado of love and affection. Auryn assaults me with hugs and kisses, simultaneously chastising me for leaving without Gage’s permission–or hers.
“Lo siento, princesa. I only sought to make the world safer for you,peroI failed.”
“Damn right, you failed! Now I have to go with you guys to rescue Em.” Her voice catches on his name. “Don’t you know this is the safest place there is?”
Well, that’s progress of sorts. When she first got here, she did not consider the compound–or us–to be safe. Unfortunately, now she seems determined to help us defend that security by accompanying us to the Orions’ … to the place where she lost her freedom.
“Princesa,” I say softly, catching her hands in my own, “Em would never want you to have to go back there. He’d rather die than see you wind up in their clutches again.”
She tenses at the mention of Em’s death, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s growling.
“He won’t die. We’ll get him back.”
Gage walks up behind Auryn with his hands in his pockets. His pose is relaxed, but his expression speaks volumes about his opinion on Auryn including herself in the “we” who will rescue Emmett.
“How are you holding up, Diego?”
I give a one-shouldered shrug. “This bed isn’t the most comfortable, but I have to say it’s a better place to rest than the morgue.”
Auryn’s brown eyes flash with anger, and she swats Gage’s arm. “He’s not comfortable! What are you doing making him stay here? We’ve got a perfectly good nest in my room, with plenty of blankets and pillows.”
Gage slowly turns his gaze to our omega, but his eyes glint with humor. “This is the first time he's mentioned his discomfort.”
“Well, don’t sit around. Pick him up! We’ve got to get him to my nest.”
Auryn doesn’t wait for Gage to follow her instructions. She’s out the door and halfway down the hall before he stops chuckling long enough to help me up.
With Gage’s assistance, I make it to Auryn’s room without the need to be carried. She scowls at him when she sees that I’m moving under my own power, but her anger redirects to concern as I groan with the effort of getting into the bed.
“Be careful, Diego! Gage, get that pillow over there. No, notthatone, the other one. Yes. Put it behind his back. Now this one for his head. Watch his arm! Gods, he’s so pale … and he’s shivering.” She yanks blankets from the other side of the bed and piles them on top of me. “You lost too much blood, Diego. We’ve got to keep you warm.”
