Chapter
Nine
January 23rd
7:52 A.M.
He was preening a little as he gathered his clothes and began to get dressed.
Even more so because Voodoo could feel Indigo’s watchful gaze. Maybe pressing her into the ground, letting her feel every inch of just how beautiful he found her, wasn't the most tactful way to explain that he was attracted to her, but he also had a feeling words wouldn't have worked.
All her life, Indigo had suffered at the hands of other people. Over and over again, they’d proven to her that people hurt one another, humiliated them, and used them for their own benefit. If he was going to convince her that he wasn't out to hurt her or use her, then he was going to have to show it with his actions. To her, words were cheap, and actions were the only thing that would prove to her that he was different.
And hewasdifferent.
The only thing he wanted from her was for her to be happy, at peace, find somewhere to belong, and build herself the life she deserved.
While he wasn't averse to pushing her a little, Voodoo also knew he had to be careful not to push too hard, or he’d push her away. Already, he could tell that even aside from the effects of the drug and the suicidal thoughts that came with it, Indigo had a tendency to get stuck inside her head. Talk herself into things and out of them. Her self-worth had taken a major beating long before she fell into Dr. Gardner’s hands, and it would take time for her to work through that.
“I’m going to restock our water supply so I can clean your wounds up before you get dressed. Why don’t you take a look through the MREs in my pack and choose what you want to eat for breakfast?”
“MREs?”
“Meals, ready to eat,” he explained.
“Do they taste any good?”
“Actually, they taste okay. Regardless, even if they didn't, your body needs fuel, you haven’t eaten in days.”
“Days,” she muttered, and he got the feeling she hadn't been eating much, if anything, much longer than the couple of days since they’d broken her out of the lab.
“I’ll be back soon. If you hear anything, you hide, don’t come out.” Setting his back-up weapon at her side, he saw her glance at it like it was a spider. “Do you know how to shoot?”
“Never even touched a gun before.”
“Flick off the safety, then point and shoot,” he said, demonstrating before setting the weapon back down. “Aim for the chest, you probably won't get a kill shot but it’s the biggest area and therefore the easiest to hit.”
Chances were, she wouldn't need to shoot at anyone, but there was no way he was leaving her alone again without a means to defend herself. Not after last time. Voodoo was pretty sure he’d never get the image of that man on top of her, his penis down her throat, out of his head.
Thankfully, it didn't take long to make his way down to the stream, fill up his canteens, and then head back to the cave. After cleaning Indigo up, and getting her fed and watered, he’d make another trip torefill them before they started moving again. Ideally, he’d like to make the meeting point sometime in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, so he could meet up with his team and get the hell out of there. The sooner he got Indigo home safe and sound, the better.
“Just me,” he called out as he approached the cave, not wanting Indigo to pick up the weapon and fire in a panic. “You find something to eat?”
“Vegetable lasagna,” she replied, holding up the pack.
“My favorite.”
“Is not. I just know a man who looks like you loves his meat too much for a meal without meat to be a favorite.”
Voodoo laughed, because she wasn't wrong in that he loved his meat, but this was actually his favorite. “When I was ten,” he told her as he sat down beside her and reached for his med kit. “I had a nanny who was a vegetarian. At the time, I really wanted to learn how to cook because I thought if I could show my parents how self-sufficient I could be, they’d be proud of me. Vegetarian lasagna with this amazing tomato sauce was her favorite and what she taught me. We made everything from scratch, the noodles and the sauce. Took me ages to perfect the recipe, and even to this day, I can't make it quite as good as she did.”
“I'm sorry your parents didn't see how wonderful you are,” she said softly as he edged the blanket out of the way so he could clean the wounds on her legs.
“Ditto,” he told her as he unwound the bandages to find the wounds looking better than he was expecting. It was still weird to know that he wouldn't hurt her by cleaning the skin that was still inflamed and angry-looking but no longer weeping. Even though he knew she wouldn't feel pain, he found himself still being gentle, careful. Maybe it was just because after a lifetime of cruelty, she deserved only sweet things from here on out.
“It would be amazing if you could go back and change the past. Make it better.”
Pausing, he looked up to meet her gaze. “It would. But just because the past hasn’t been kind to us doesn’t mean the future won't be.”
