Forever We Fall: Broken #4 (The Broken Series) (35 page)

Chapter Thirty

Lee

I lay on my side, watching the night creep into the sky.

I couldn't remember the day.

I didn't know the time.

All I could feel was the fear.

Kyle rotated between sitting at the edge of the bed and pacing the floor. Finally, after what seemed an age, his phone rang.

"Yeah," I heard him whisper and a few minutes later the sound of the motel room door closing as he slipped outside. Scrambling into a sitting position, I watched the door until he returned.

"Well?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I couldn't bear to know. I had never been as afraid for another person in my life as I was in this moment.

"He's dead."

"No," I screamed as I scrambled off the bed and ran towards him. He caught me as I lunged myself into his arms and held me tightly. "I won't let them take you," I cried as my fists knotted in his shirt. "I won't, Kyle. You saved me. That's all. You saved me."

"No one's gonna take me," he whispered.

Pulling my face back so he could see my face, Kyle kissed my forehead. I shuddered from the tenderness in his touch. "I'm not leaving you. Ever."

"They're going to arrest you, Kyle," I cried. "Your fingerprints. The blood…"

"I didn't kill him, Lee," he whispered as he exhaled a shuddering breath. "It was the heart-attack. They told…" he paused and rubbed his face with his palm. "He died of heart-failure."

Staggering backwards, Kyle sank onto the bed and I wrapped myself around him, clinging to him for dear life. "Your mother's been released from the police station," he whispered. "She explained what happened – she told them what he did to her."

"Is she okay?" I whispered, feeling terrified for her. I knew she'd lied to me, but I just couldn’t be mad at her.
I loved her…

"She's okay, baby," he husked. "She's been examined and she's not being charged with anything."

"Really?"

"He
raped
her. Lee," Kyle choked out. "His semen was inside of her and Ted took the blame for Jimmy's bruises. They never named us. We're okay, I promise. You're safe. "

"What about you?" I whispered.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, baby, I'm safe."

"Ted?"

"He's fine too," Kyle choked out. "He won't be in any…" Pausing, he inhaled deeply. "Do you want to talk about him, baby?"

"No," I spat. "I've never had a father and I
never
will. Never bring that up in conversation to me again."

"I won't," he whispered.

"Do you think we could get a scissors?" I asked him.

Kyle frowned. "There's one in the first-aid box under the sink," he husked. "I saw it when I was getting sterile wipes for your face."

"I need you to cut it off for me," I told him, gesturing to the matted clumps of hair on my head. "Please," I sobbed. "I need to clean the cuts and it's hurting so much."

"Okay, baby," he whispered. "I'll make it go away."

Slowly and with extreme cautiousness and gentleness, Kyle began to cut my hair, shearing what was left of my long curls until they fell in a pile at my feet. He then began to bathe my hair with antiseptic bandages.

"How does it look?" I asked through clenched teeth. "Is it badly burned?"

He was silent for so long I thought it must have been awful and he didn't want to tell me. Then he whispered, "The burns aren’t as bad as I thought." He sighed and dropped his face to my neck. "I love you so fucking much," he whispered against my neck. His fingers scorched my skin and I wanted his burn. "Come with me."

I followed Kyle into the bathroom where he turned on the shower. He sat me on the toilet and knelt in front of me. "Baby," he whispered. "I need to know. Did he…were you….Did that man rape you?"

I shook my head as the tears fell down my cheeks. "You came in time." I cupped his cheek with my hand and wiped his tears away with my thumb. "You saved me."

I'd never heard a man sigh in such relief as I did in that moment. Let me clean you, baby," he husked. "Let me wash it all away."

****

Kyle

"She was my sister, Kyle," Lee choked out, her voice laced with pain. "Cam was my
sister
…how do I deal with that?"

"It changes nothing about how you felt for Cam or how she felt for you," I told her, unsure of what to say. Lee's whole world had been turned upside down in the last twenty-four hours. My life had been turned upside down.
Jesus…
"You both loved each other like sisters. Don't let this change your memories…"

"You would have killed him for me," Lee sobbed as I held her under the water. "You would do that for me."

"I told you before," I whispered as I pulled her closer to me, tightening my hold on her. "There's not much I wouldn't do for you, Lee Carter. I would take the whole world down."

"Make love to me, Kyle," she whispered against my chest. "Wash it all away. Clean me."

My whole body shuddered as I hoisted her into my arms and opened the shower door. "No," she whispered, pressing her hand against the door to halt me. "Now. Here, I need you right now."

"I don't want to hurt you," I confessed.

She was hurt.

I fucking knew she was…

"I need my husband," she begged. "I need my husband inside of me. None of your touches hurt me. They heal me."

Sliding down until I was sitting on the shower floor, I lifted her onto my lap. She pressed herself onto my erection and I slipped inside.

I wasn't sure if I should be doing this.

I stayed still and waited for her to make the next move.

"No one," she sobbed as she leaned forward and curled herself against my chest. "No one gets to take this away. I gave this to you. No one else. Never anyone else."

Wrapping my arms around her I held her to my chest. "I love you so goddamn much."

"I am yours," she wept as she buried her face in my neck. "You're the only one allowed to do this, Kyle."

"I know, baby," I coaxed as I held her to me. "I know."

"I'm pregnant, Kyle," she confessed. "Dr. Michaels told me this morning. Six weeks."

My heart soared before stopping dead in my chest.

Oh no…

Jesus, no…

"Lee," I said as calmly as I could while everything inside of my body churned. "We need to get you to a hospital, baby." Lifting her off me, I pulled us both to our feet. "You need to see a doctor straight away."

"I'm okay, Kyle," she told me. "I'm sure of it." She pressed her hand to her stomach. "I protected him," she whispered.

"I'm sure you did, baby," I coaxed as I helped her out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her frail body. "But I'm not taking the risk."

****

Kyle

"Jesus Christ, guys," Derek shouted out in relief the moment I opened the front door of our house and helped Lee inside, keeping my arm wrapped around her waist tightly.

We'd gone straight from the motel to the hospital and the relief I'd felt when the doctor in the ER assured us she was still pregnant had been overwhelming. I didn’t know what to say, though. I was fucking thrilled, but after the day we'd put down I doubted Lee wanted to celebrate…

"Are you okay?" he demanded.

Rushing towards us, Derek wrapped his arms around the both of us and shuddered. "Mike told me everything," he choked out. "I've never been so scared in all my life, guys." His eyes locked on mine and I nodded silently, letting him know I was okay.

"He's dead," Lee whispered, allowing Derek to hold her. I felt nothing but relief about that fact. After what Jimmy had done, I was worried she'd be terrified of men again. "It was all a trap," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around Derek's neck. "Everything's changed, Derek…"

Releasing her, I stepped away and gave them space. I needed to see Hope.
I had to.
  When I opened the door of her nursery and saw her sleeping soundly in her crib my eyes welled up with tears.
Jesus…

I could have lost everything today.

When I made it back to hallway, I looked through the doorway of the lounge and saw Lee sitting on the couch with a glass of water in her hands.

"Was he telling the truth?" Derek asked quietly as he came to stand beside me. "Did you sign everything over to your dad?"

"Every last dime," I whispered. "And I have no fucking clue of what I'm gonna do now, man."

"You'll make a plan," Derek said softly. "You always do."

"Lee's pregnant," I told him.

"I know," he sighed. "I just hope…"

"It won't happen again?"

"Yeah." Derek shivered.

"How's fatherhood?" I asked, desperately trying to distract myself from the fear of Lee suffering another miscarriage.

"I'm gonna make it right, Kyle," Derek said in a serious tone. "My son deserves a proper family and that's what he's gonna get."

"Good luck tryna get Karen to agree," I chuckled humorlessly.

"It shouldn’t be too hard," he mused. "Considering she's downstairs in my bed."

My head snapped up. "For real?"

"I promised Jordan I'd be there for him," Derek replied. "That promise extends to his mother."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" I asked. "The commitment and dedication?"

"Well," he chuckled. "I've been committed and dedicated to your family for long enough. I figure it's time to focus on my own family."

"Good for you, man," I whispered.

"Yeah," Derek sighed, patting me on the back. "I'm gonna hit the sack. You guys should, too."

I waited for the basement door to close before I joined Lee in the lounge.

"Hey, princess," I said gently, sinking down on the couch beside her and pulling her onto my lap. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm all right, Kyle," Lee whispered as she snuggled against my chest. "I'm just a little overwhelmed."

I don't blame you…
"I need to tell you something," I confessed. "You need to know this, but I don't want you to worry, okay?"

"What is it?" Lee asked in a gentle tone.

"Do you think we would be together if we had met in other circumstances?" I asked in a gruff tone, continuing before she had a chance to respond. "Do you think you could have loved me if I had nothing?"

"Are you…how can you…" She shook her head in confusion.

"I'm broke, Lee," I confessed, my voice strained. "I didn’t just sign the hotels over to David, I signed over everything. Every fucking thing I own with the exception of Thirteenth Street."

Clenching my eyes shut I exhaled a ragged breath. "It's all gone, princess."

"I love you," she replied simply. "Not your wallet."

"I know you do, baby," he muttered. "But there's Hope and you're pregnant again, and I want you to have everything." I shook my head in disgust. "We both know what it's like to grow up with jack shit. I don't want that for our children, and I sure as hell don't want that for you." My whole body shuddered. "I don't have a plan, Lee," I admitted gruffly.

"Well, I do," she whispered as she leaned forward, grabbed a letter from the coffee table and thrust it into my hands.

Holy fucking shit balls.

"Well, aren’t you are full of fucking surprises?" I chuckled as I stared down at the bank statement of Lee's personal account showing she had one hundred thousand dollars in savings. "I'd totally forgotten about this."

"I kept it," she said proudly. "Every penny." She covered my hand with hers. "Take it. I trust you."

Twisting in my arms, she cupped my face in her small hands and whispered, "I would follow you to the ends of the earth." Leaning in, she kissed me softly before pulling back. "Let's make the next place we go an adventure."

"We're gonna have to start from the ground up, baby," I told her. "It's not gonna be easy."

"You've never been afraid of work, Kyle, and neither have I," she countered steadily. "We can do this. We're a team."

"I love you, Lee," I whispered.

"I love you, too, Kyle," she replied softly. "We'll survive," she added. "We always do."

****

Chapter Thirty-One

One Month Later

Lee

Standing in front of the mirror, I forced my eyes to meet my reflection. I didn't recognize the woman staring back at me, but in a way I took peace from that knowledge.

Raising my hand to my cheek, I ran my finger down the rigid, angry looking scar that trailed from my cheekbone to my jaw.

My fingers shadowed over the small scabs that were littered over my forehead.

Removing the soft silken scarf from my hair, I let it slip through my fingers and inhaled deeply before studying my new image.

I wasn't exactly bald, it was more like Karen's pixie crop, but the patches where my hair had burnt completely away had left dark rusty colored scabs and scales.

My hands moved lowered, settling over my stomach and I smiled. The life that pumped from my heart to the heart in my womb gave me strength. It gave me courage. The courage to embrace the new path my life had taken. It gave me clarity.

He didn't win.

Inhaling deeply, I relished the taste of air in my lungs. I savored feeling my heart pump blood around my body. I took an abnormal amount of pleasure in the feel of the soft carpet beneath my feet, the movement of my pulse against my fingers and the ability to wiggle my toes.

Swaying side to side, I sighed in bittersweet contentment as I basked in the heat against my back as the sun shone through our bedroom window, bringing with it a new day. Another day on this earth. In this lifetime. I was here. I'd made it. My demons were defeated. My body had taken the brunt force of their attack, but my mind had survived and I would forever look on the bright side.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I allowed myself to feel without fear …

Two arms came around my middle, resting on my hands over my stomach, and the feeling of happiness inside of me elated into a state of euphoria. Leaning my back against his chest, I concentrated on the feel of his strong heartbeat, on his warm skin, on the sheer volume of love that enveloped us.

My hero.

My lifeline.

Just as he'd always been.

Opening my eyes, my eyes locked on his blue eyes. Our reflections were intertwined, just like our hearts – our lives. The dimple in his cheek. The smell of him...

"Gorgeous," he whispered. I watched as his eyes roamed over my body. There was no horror or revulsion in his eyes, just a deep look of hunger.

A look of love.

****