“I didn't say that,” he said, although he had been thinking it.
“I know, but you were thinking it.”
“And you were reading my mind.”
She chuckled, and he could tell she was doing her best to gather her reserves of strength and face her fears. Resisting the urge to tell her once again that everything would be fine, that she was a brave, strong, lovable woman who his family would quickly fall in love with, and had already accepted as one of them, he waited, giving her the time and space to come to the same conclusion.
“We could maybe have lunch with your team,” she finally said, and he grinned, leaning in again to kiss her.
“Proud of you,” he told her as he climbed out of the bed and gathered her into his arms.
“It’s not much really,” she said, clearly embarrassed, although he caught a hint of pleasure in her eyes as well.
“It is for you.” Carrying her with him, he headed out into the hall. Indigo was healing better than he could have hoped for, and he wasn't sure if it was his healing ability or just her own enhanced healing ability, nor did it matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was getting better, stronger each day, and would soon be back to full health.
Even though she didn't say anything, he felt her tension growing as he moved through the house. She was yet to see any of it outside of his bedroom and the attached bathroom, but he didn't think she was taking in much of the Gothic mansion. The place was stunning. He’d lived there for the last six years, and Voodoo still sometimes looked at it in awe. He had no idea how Eagle had found this place, but he was glad their boss had. This had been the perfect home to recover in, to rebuild their lives in, and now it was the perfect place to start building a future.
For so long now, all he and his team had done was remain locked in the past. They couldn’t let go of what had been done to them, and their focus had mostly been on revenge. Now he still wanted that revenge, but it wasn't all-consuming anymore.
Something else had taken over.
A desire to be normal, or at least as normal as a man whose DNA had been altered by experimental drugs could get. He wanted to fall in love and build a life with Indigo. Wanted to marry her one day, havekids, build a life that wasn't solely focused on destroying the people responsible for changing them.
Voodoo wanted to learn to find joy, to shrug off the responsibilities he’d placed on his own shoulders, and not think his only value was in saving others. He wanted to laugh and talk, to do simple things just for pleasure. He didn't just want that pleasure for himself, he wanted it for Indigo more than anything else. She deserved happiness, deserved love and affection, deserved all the things that made her smile.
It started here.
With one small step for him and one huge step for her.
While he could give her everything she deserved, she had to be the one to reach out and take it. Was it possible for a woman who had been taught time and time again that life only wanted to kick you down, to learn to embrace the chance that this time things might be different?
February 4th
11:14 A.M.
It made her feel stupid, but Indigo was genuinely scared about meeting the rest of Voodoo’s family. It would actually be easier to meet his parents, because she knew that while he’d spent most of his life trying to be good enough to earn their love and respect, he didn't really value them or think of them as family.
But these five men and three women?
They were the family he’d always longed for, even if he struggled to cut the final ties binding him to his old life. If they didn't like her, then Indigo wasn't sure what that meant for her budding romance with Voodoo.
Just because his teammates seemed to have accepted her, she wouldn't be there if they hadn't, and they wouldn't have postponed their revenge to try to save her, that didn't automatically mean that the three women would. After all, things were different with the guys, they had all been altered, and that gave them a common ground, made herone of them. She didn't have that same connection to fall back on when it came to Rose, Cassandra, and Whitney.
As Voodoo carried her through the house, she could hear chattering voices getting louder. They all seemed so happy, so at ease with one another, like they truly were one big family. She, on the other hand, had exactly zero experience with happy families. She didn't even really have any experience with friends, although there had been a couple of people she’d been friendly with while she was at college and then working.
Only that wasn't the same. Being friendly was really just being polite, and what she had to do with the people in there ran so much deeper than simply polite exteriors.
At the last second, Indigo very nearly told Voodoo to stop and take her back to his room, positive she couldn’t do this. Somehow, she held the words in, although she had to bite down hard on her tongue to do it, and then he was opening the kitchen door and walking through it.
All eyes turned on her, and Indigo instinctively shrank into Voodoo’s hold, so sure she was going to be judged and found lacking.
Except there didn't appear to be judgment in any of the eight sets of eyes watching her.
No pity either.
Judgment was preferable to pity if it came down to making a choice.
There was concern in each gaze, definitely some curiosity, but there was more than that. Indigo would have sworn there was also acceptance.
