“For what?”
“For Leila dying.”
“It was hardly his fault.” She wasn’t feeling too sympathetic at the moment. After all, Leila had been shooting ather. Well, not specifically at her, but with no concern as to whether she was hit or not. She was sorry Leila was dead, but things could have been much, much worse. Like, she could have been dead. Maybe that was selfish, but she hadn’t wanted to die. She still didn’t.
“Please get me that crutch?”
Jake put Christa gently away from him. He kicked around on the forest floor and finally tugged a thick stick out of the undergrowth. It was too long, and he pulled a wicked looking knife from somewhere and hacked off the top. Then he came toward her.
Bending down, he hooked a hand under one of her arms, then tugged her to her feet…or rather, foot. She hopped for a moment, then Jake pressed the stick into her hand, and she balanced on it, before slowly putting her foot down…and straight back up again. “Ouch.”
“Let me carry you back to the house,” Jake said. “We’ll get it strapped up properly.”
“Later.”
The painkillers were kicking in, and the throbbing in her ankle had faded to a dull ache. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her foot to the ground. This time, she managed to take a step.
“Okay, I can do this.”
Jake pursed his lips but gave a nod. Likely, he knew from experience that nothing he could say would change her mind. “We’re going to clean up. And we need to sort out some sort of funeral.” He glanced sideways to where the colonel lay. “I can’t believe he’s dead. He’s been a part of our lives for so long. It’s like the end of an era.”
“He saved me.”
“I’m glad. You’re a pain in the ass, but you’re our pain in the ass.”
“Thanks. Okay, I’m going to find Kane and see what sort of mess I’ve made of my life this time.”
Jake shook his head but didn’t try and stop her as she hobbled away.
It took her what seemed like an age to get up the track toward where Leila had fallen. Rose and Imogen passed her carrying Brandon’s body between them. They didn’t slow, just gave her a nod.
“Good luck,” Rose said.
Was she going to need it?
Chapter 36
Kane stared down at Leila’s body. Her eyes were wide open, as though death had caught her by surprise.
He reached out with his mind—just in case—but sensed nothing but emptiness. She was gone. And she’d died knowing the Guardians had failed. They’d spent ten thousand years building up to this point. And all for nothing.
Crouching down, he ran his fingers over her eyes, closing them. Then he scooped his hands under her and straightened, holding her against his chest. She was a tall woman but felt almost fragile in death.
As he straightened, he caught sight of Kaitlin, leaning heavily on a stick, hobbling up the track toward him, her face scrunched up in pain. He hated seeing her hurt, but he couldn’t deal with her right now. His anguish was all-encompassing.
She came to a halt in front of him and looked up. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
She frowned. “She meant a lot to you. I know that. Why the hell shouldn’t I be sorry?”
She sounded pissed now. But then, it never took much.
As he made to move past her, her eyes narrowed; her nostrils flared. Yeah, she was definitely pissed. He remained silent because part of him knew that would annoy her the most, and the darkness inside him wanted that.
She tried to swivel as he passed, but her leg gave way under her, and she stumbled to the ground. He just stood, holding Leila’s body as she stared up at him. The anger drained from her face, replaced by sadness and loss.
It was his turn. “I’m sorry.”
