Avenged (Altered #2)(32)

She hit him over and over, and he didn’t try to stop her. She wasn’t trying to hurt him. He’d taught her better. If she wanted to hurt him, she would have. He’d given her lots of creative ways to do it.

Instead, she beat against his chest until she fell forward, her face on her fists. He took a chance and gathered her against him, and she let him. That’s when he heard her sob.

The sound tore through his chest like a grenade explosion.

“Oh God.” He couldn’t deal with it if he made her cry. The words poured out. “I told you I’d get you out, Kit. I told you. Kenny couldn’t think of anything else. I couldn’t think of anything else. This was the only option. The best chance we have.” He pulled her closer, squeezed her. “I’m going to make it. I know I will.”

“No, you don’t, you big huge jerk.” He’d never heard Kitty curse. Even when she was mad. She lifted her eyes, rimmed with tears and full of anger. “You decided to do this without asking me. You made your decision, and it didn’t matter to you what I thought.”

“Kitty, that’s not true.” Didn’t she see that he couldn’t stand not being able to do anything? Didn’t she understand that he hated worse than anything feeling useless and helpless? “I was thinking of you. I was thinking of both of us. We were going crazy, being here together.”

“So you decided to kill yourself?”

“Stop it.” His tone was sharp with censure. “You’re being dramatic.”

“Oh, you’ve been through this before, then? You know that for sure?” She pushed away, and he loosened his grip but didn’t let her go. “Because I know what it’s like. I threw up for hours and listened as my parents died.” She glared at him as that image dug at him. “What if I have to sit here and watch you die tonight? Did you even think about that?”

His chest tightened, and his stomach turned. He wasn’t sure if it was her words or the drug but he felt sick. “Oh, Kit. Honey, I didn’t…”

“You didn’t think.” Her scowl was as fierce as any of his drill sergeants in basic. “You didn’t think.”

“I’m so sorry.” He didn’t have anything else to say. He reached up, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll do my best.”

He could feel it. The sickness that had started in his stomach was becoming more intense. “I’ll do my best. I swear. I want to stay with you.”

She nodded and stepped away. Then she folded her arms over her chest, and her gaze softened the slightest bit. “You better, Nick Degrassi. You can’t leave me here again by myself. Do you hear me? You better fight hard. You can’t leave me here.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He offered her a mock salute, but the movement made him dizzy. He tried for a smile but didn’t know if it worked. The room was beginning to spin. “I’m sorry, babe. I’m really….”

The rest of his words got caught in his throat as he stumbled across the room to the toilet and lost his lunch.

God help him through the next day.





Chapter Ten


“I don’t care what he says, Jack. We need to go.”

Jack kicked off his flip-flops in the corner and ran his hand through his hair. He’d been spending so much time in the sun that the dark brown strands were streaked with gold. “Parker says that it’s too risky.”

“Parker’s not my father. And he’s not yours, either.” Luke argued. “Remember our fathers? I want to go help bring down the guy who killed them.”

Jack tensed. Good. Luke hoped the guy was mad. He’d been acting like they were on a permanent vacation since they’d arrived in Mexico. It was starting to piss him off.

“So, what do you want to do, Luke? You want to go back to the States? Turn ourselves in? How do you think that will help?”

“I told you. Blue and Seth have agreed to work with the Army.” Blue had been right. If they were going after Kitty, he needed to be there.

“Yeah. I heard that part.” Jack unbuttoned his shirt. He couldn’t have looked more uninterested if they’d been discussing molecular biology.

Jack had been a history major.

Luke gritted his teeth. “We need to go back.”

When he and Jack had agreed to come to Mexico, it had been a relief. Luke couldn’t deal with the realities of how he’d changed. But things were different now. Kitty needed him. And he was sick of running away.

“I agree.” Parker stood in the door, leaning with his arms crossed.

“You agree?” Luke narrowed his eyes. “You said it was too risky. You said that we should wait, to see what happened. You said that if Blue and Seth made it, then we could consider going back.”

“I know.”

“So what’s with the change of heart?” There had to be something else here. Parker didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do. If he’d decided they should go back, there was a reason.

“Of course there’s a reason.” He snorted. “I’m sick of hiding. If they’re ready to accept us, then we should go back. We can always return here, if we choose.”

“That’s true.”

“And you’re right. Miss Michaels and Mr. Campbell will need our help.”