Screw the grenades buried in the backyard; Saige is my hoard of choice now. She’smine.My distraction, my weakness, and I’m helpless to overcome that pull.
“You came back.”
She rests her head on my chest, hands pinned between us and fisting my shirt. “To be fair, I’ve been trying to for months.”
I finally pull away enough to look her over, but my hands stay on her shoulders. An irrational part of me is afraid that if I let go, she’ll vanish and this will all have been a desperate figment of my imagination.
Her back is bare, her shirt in tatters. It’s clear she hasn’t been eating enough and she’s covered in shallow cuts along with much deeper, permanent scars. I rub a lock of her blue hair between my fingers, noting that it’s dried blood and not dirt like I originally thought.
“What happened?” My voice comes out hard as I brush my thumb over her cheek in a gentle caress.
Her eyes flutter shut as she leans into my touch and fuck, it’s addicting seeing her let her guard down, to finally be able to freely touch her. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
There’s shouting outside and I push her behind me as I go on the defensive, drawing and lowering my weapon just as quickly when Kaiden and Kinsley shove their way through the door.
“Eli called?” I hazard on a guess.
Two sets of matching green eyes lock on me, hopeful, yet guarded. “Got Hector to give us a ride,” Kaiden mumbles, craning his neck in search of the girl I’m keeping plastered to my back despite realizing now that there’s no threat.
She peeks her head out over my shoulder, hand fisting the back of my shirt. Slowly, I let my hand fall away from her naked back, her tight grip easing my nerves. The entire atmosphere is tense and awkward, but she tries to ignore its heavy weight.
“Sorry I busted the window. I’d say I’ll replace it, but we all know I’d be lying.” She shrugs, sounding far more self-assured than the girl I remember. “I’m broke.”
I’m promptly shoved aside as Kinsley attempts to smother her to death. Picking her up and swinging her around, he shamelessly rubs himself all over her like a needy puppy, not that I was any better. One enthusiastic kiss is all he allows himself before his hands still on her back, reality crashing down on him as he feels all of the exposed, abused flesh.
Setting her back on her feet, he turns her around, gently tracing the giant V shaped scars that are more dramatic than the rest. “What did they do to you, beautiful?” he murmurs in horror, retracting his hand from the wounds and enveloping her in a more cautious embrace.
It’s a battle, warring with ourselves to keep our distance for her sake while all we want to do is assure ourselves she’s really here. I’ve never been much of a cuddler, but Saige? I want to snuggle the shit out of that woman, and I’m only afraid to admit it for the very real possibility of being rejected again.
Kaiden clenches and unclenches his fist, stronger at resisting than the rest of us. Saige shocks the hell out of me as she wiggles free of Kinsley’s grasp and strides right up to Kaid, meeting his eye without flinching as she stops a mere step away.
“You’re not getting your knife back, so don’t bother asking,” she informs him with an eyebrow raised in challenge, and it’s strange to behold from the timid woman I remember.
He huffs. “Managed to hold onto it all this time?” She reaches down to pull it free of her boot and he loses a fraction of the stiffness he’s carrying. “Put it to good use?”
She jerks her head in a sharp nod. “Every day.”
That confirmation is more upsetting than relieving, but I’m so damn proud of her for it all the same.
“Just passing through or you planning on staying?” he flat out asks rather than mince words, not ready to deal with that blow again when we’re already struggling, the wounds as raw as the day she abandoned us.
I hold my breath, not sure if I want to hear the answer or not. But it’s clear we need some type of closure one way or another, and better to rip the bandage off now before I start down this rabbit hole again.
“Depends,” she states noncommittally, fidgeting and tapping a finger against her faded jeans.
“On?” I prompt, but in lieu of an answer, she doubles over with a pained grunt.
Kaiden catches her before she can fall to her knees, one arm wrapped around her stomach and the other on her arm. I grab the back of Kins shirt to stop him as he tries to help, the two of us staring in morbid fascination as her back rips open and bloody, sapphire blue wings burst forth.
“What the fuck?” Kinsley mutters, frozen in shock beside me.
Saige pants, straightening up and looking at me over her shoulder. “If you can finish what you started.”
