Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(82)

As if he were headed for the electric chair, Black sighed and shuffled over to her, sitting on the very edge of one of the other chairs in the room.

Deciding it was better to just get it out in the open, Morgan said, “Thank you for saving our lives.”

Black snorted, but didn’t otherwise comment.

“Seriously,” Morgan pressed. “The cops said my mother had grabbed the gun she’d stashed in her waistband when you guys came in. She was bound and determined to see me dead. She would’ve shot me, and since Arrow was on top of me, protecting me, she would’ve killed him for sure. There’s no way he could’ve lived through both the poisoning and a gunshot.”

“I killed your mom,” Black said softly.

“I know. Thank you.”

At that, he looked up, and Morgan saw both the surprise and the guilt in his eyes. She reached for him and put a hand on his knee. “I’m sorry you had to do it in the first place, but I’m not sorry it was done. Black . . . the woman you shot was not my mother. I don’t know what happened or how she became that way, but she was truly insane. You had to do it.”

Black ran a hand over his head before saying, “When I was a Navy SEAL, I killed more than my fair share of bad guys. Even on missions for the Mountain Mercenaries, I’ve done what I’ve had to do . . . but I’ve spent the last few years protecting and saving women . . . not shooting them.”

“She got what she deserved,” Morgan said, her voice only hitching once. She knew she’d have to have more sessions with her therapist to put everything that had happened behind her, but at the moment, she was more concerned about making sure the amazing man in front of her didn’t continue to beat himself up over what he’d done.

“I didn’t even think,” Black said, staring off into space. “I just reacted. She reached behind her, I saw the weapon, and I didn’t even think about it.”

“Good,” Morgan said fervently.

That got his attention. Black turned to stare at her in disbelief.

“I love Arrow. More than I ever thought it would be possible to love someone. And knowing he’s with you while he’s on future missions makes me feel so much better. I want someone who can act without thinking when the shit hits the fan. I want someone like you to have his back.

“Black, I don’t pretend to know what you’ve done and seen in your past, but you’re good at what you do. She was going to kill me. Had already tried to kill both me and Arrow. You did what you had to do. If that had been a man, would you be beating yourself up like this? If it had been a stranger? No, you wouldn’t. Bad guys aren’t always strangers, and they don’t wear black and cackle to let you know that they’re the villain.”

“I’m still sorry,” he said.

“Me too,” Morgan agreed. “But don’t be sorry that you killed her. Be sorry that she didn’t get the help she needed. Be sorry that she never got to know how great her hopefully future son-in-law is. Be sorry that her grandchildren will never know their grandmother. But do not be sorry for saving my life. Don’t be sorry for ensuring I could start my life here without having to constantly look over my shoulder, wondering if whoever kidnapped me was going to do it again.”

Black looked up and gave her a small smile. It wasn’t exactly a full-blown grin, but he looked a lot more relaxed than he’d been when he’d arrived.

Moving without thought, Morgan stood and held out her arms. “I could use a hug.”

Black moved quickly and had her in his embrace almost before she’d finished speaking. Morgan felt tiny with him, but not as much as when she was around a lot of his other teammates.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No . . . thank you,” she returned fiercely.

“Get your hands off my woman,” Arrow said in a weak voice from the hospital bed next to them.

Morgan laughed when Black held her tighter and turned to face his friend. “You snooze, you lose,” he quipped.

Arrow growled, and Morgan smiled even bigger. She pushed against Black. “Go get your own woman,” she teased, happy that she and Arrow’s friend seemed to be back on even ground. She hated that he’d felt even a second of guilt for firing the fatal shot.

Pulling her chair closer to the bed, Morgan sat and intertwined her fingers with Arrow’s. “How do you feel?”

“Not bad,” Arrow responded.

Morgan wanted to roll her eyes. She’d learned that Arrow had the unfortunate tendency to seriously downplay how he was feeling.

He lifted his hand to Black, and the other man took it in his own.

“Thanks for saving not only my life, but Morgan’s as well,” Arrow told him.

Black shook his hand, but said, “Fuck you. You would’ve done the same thing if you weren’t taking a nap on the floor.”

Arrow chuckled, and immediately winced at the movement. “I know I’ve been out of it, but I’ve heard bits and pieces of what happened. Can you elaborate?” he asked.

Black nodded and sat back down in the chair next to his bed. Morgan clasped Arrow’s hand tighter and listened. She’d heard the entire story, so nothing Black could say would shock her, but every time she heard how awful her mom truly was, it was hard to understand how she’d gotten to that place in her life.