Page 38 of Fatal Fantasy

“When we get into the Great North, brother. For now, all you need to do is be my co-captain,” I say, gauging his response from my peripherals while I keep my focus on the road.

“I may not agree with your plan, but Carter’s safety is all that matters, so if you promise to have backup measures on top of fail-safe triggers for her, then I’ll follow your lead,” he concedes, and I take that as a win, thankful that I won’t be battling our enemies, and him, at the same time.

“She seems better, but there’s a lot of shit going on in her head. She nearly had a panic attack when you were gone earlier.” I clue him in on the conversation Carter and I had while he was running errands, and his demeanor changes, the idea of our girl fighting against her own head weighing us down severely.

“How do we help her?” He asks, but if I had the answer to that question, I’d already be stitching her wounds and healing the place in her mind that’s housing this doubt.

“We stay beside her.”

“I’m not sure that’s enough,” he argues, and while I feel the same, I don’t have much more to offer that’ll ease his mind.

“Once we’re settled, far away from the cancerous families we spent years serving, we’ll take her to doctors, therapy, or capture the world’s most vile criminals and serve them to her on a silver platter. Whatever brings our girl back, we’ll do, because we love her,” I say, and he nods along, proving that our dedication to Carter is still as strong as it was back in Jersey.

“We love her.” He repeats, nothing else needing to be said as we land on the same page.

It’s quiet for a few beats, so I choose to find comfort in the silence during this long stretch of eating the miles, and staring at nothing but trees and billboards, but a rustle in the backseat immediately has my attention, sending a shot of heat through my body.

“And I love you both, too,” Carter chirps from the backseat, her voice raspy, but the spirit very much alive in her bones.

Slowly, the light is re-entering her previously dead heart, and although I don’t expect a miraculous recovery, I’m happy to wait while the little things work their magic.

She’s still covering her scars, hiding beneath long-sleeved shirts, but giving her the space to heal in her own ways is the only thing that’ll cure the shame she carries.

It’s misplaced, but convincing her that she didn’t have a choice, and was a victim to her father’s cruelty, is a fight that she’s not ready for. Trying to change Carter’s mind is like attempting to decode a bomb with your hands tied behind your back, and your eyes forced shut.

“Were you eavesdropping, my nosy little ice princess?” Massi laughs, hurdling over the middle console and joining her in the back row.

“Yes, but only because you two aren’t subtle in the slightest. You’re big, loud, and utterly terrifying to everyone, except me,” she jokes, a real giggle erupting from her chest, and my heart skips a beat, the sound of her laughter like music to my ears.

“So I can touch you without you flinching?” Massi challenges, and having them two in the backseat is seriously distracting as I catch glimpses of their bodies, smiles, and closeness in the rearview mirror.

“When I flinch, jump, or hesitate, it’s not you I’m afraid of. You understand that, right? You two are the least scary giants I’ve ever encountered, and besides, I’ve seen your super gooey soft centers,” she counters, and I can’t help but laugh, knowing that she’s completely right.

She’s seen everything that we possess, the entirety of our souls at her mercy, and she’s never been scared straight from being with the darkness that occupies our bodies.

From the second I met Carter, I knew that she was special.

From the moment I saw her with Massi, I knew that they were cut from the same cloth.

From the minute I vowed to share her, I knew she was created for us.

Everything that’s happened since the day we decided to enter this relationship has proven to be some of – if not the best – times of my life, and I’d never act as if she isn’t the sole reason why I’m still alive and breathing fresh air.

This mission is dangerous, deadly, and full of risks, but if she’s unscathed by the end of what I’ve got in store, I’ll be happy to call it a success.

No matter what happens to me, I’m convinced that I was kept on this Earth to rescue Carter from a life of imprisonment, and even if it draws the final breath from my fragile body, I won’t deter from my ultimate goal to get her to safety.

EIGHTEEN

CARTER

When I was younger, love was never something I dreamed of having because I was hungry for power, desperate for approval, and longed for the days where I’d be the one giving orders.

Equipped with nothing but my thoughts, training, and desire to become a blood-thirsty soldier made it impossible for me to fathom that another human could enter my space, or learn enough about me to stick around.

In a twisted turn of events, the men I marked as my targets broke through my walls, changing the direction my life was headed with each passing day we spent together.

Long gone were the ideas of taking control of a crime family, or ruling over an army of men at my beck and call, replaced with the fantasies of leaving everything I’d known behind.