Chapter 20 #2
His voice broke. Actually broke. And Willow saw it then. The fear he'd been holding back, the terror that had been eating him alive while she slept through surgery and recovery.
“I'm okay,” she said softly. “Levi, I'm okay.”
“You almost weren't.” He was crying now, silent tears tracking down his face. “When I saw them shoot you, when they took you … I thought …”
“But you came for me.” She squeezed his hand as hard as she could, which wasn't very hard. “You came for me. You blew up half the compound and fought your way through an army, and you came.”
“I blew up the entire compound, and of course, I came.” He said it like it was obvious. Like there'd never been any other option. “You're my—” He stopped, struggling for words. “You're everything. The mission, Guardian, all of it … none of it matters compared to you.”
Her tears came then, hot and fast, blurring her vision. She'd been shot, captured, tortured. She’d watched Levi execute Morales with cold precision. And yes, she’d nearly died.
But this … this declaration from a man who'd spent his life doing the hardest work she could imagine … his words broke …no, he was what broke her.
“I love you,” she said, because nothing else seemed adequate. “I know it's fast and probably crazy, and we barely know each other, but I love you.”
He laughed. It was wet, broken, and beautiful. “Fast? We've resurrected dead planes together, gotten shot at approximately forty or fifty times, and I've seen you covered in engine grease and blood, and you're still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. That's not fast, that's destiny.”
She closed her eyes, which sent more tears down her cheeks. “Smooth talker.” She opened her eyes again.
“I try.” He leaned forward, kissed her forehead and cheeks, being careful of the various tubes and wires. “I love you, too. I have since you landed that Cessna under fire to pull me out of the river. Definitely after you called me sunshine while telling me I was an idiot.”
“You are an idiot.”
“Yeah, but I’m your idiot.”
“Yeah.” She was smiling now, despite the pain, despite everything, she felt hopeful and so completely in love. “My idiot.”
They sat in comfortable silence, just existing together. She may have dozed off for a bit because the light had moved across the walls. But every time she woke up, she could hear the machines confirming she was alive, and she felt Levi's hand warm in hers.
“What happens now?” she asked, finally awake again.
“Now?” He considered before he drew a deep breath and spoke, “Now, you heal. Physical therapy, recovery time. Guardian has a facility that we’re going to be transferred to as soon as the doctor says you’re good to travel.
Con said we’ll have a private plane and a medical team to take us there.
It’s a place with top-notch care and complete discretion.
You'll stay there until you're cleared.”
“And Morales? His operation, I mean. I remember what happened.”
Levi swallowed hard, and his eyes locked with hers. She could feel him tense before he asked, “And? Does that change the way you see me?”
She shook her head slowly. “Never. You did what was needed. So much makes sense, but I have questions, so many questions.” Who convicted Morales? How was the trial held? What authority did they have? Who gave it to them? Who were the allies and the enemies?
“About that. You’ll probably have to sign about a thousand NDA forms and be interviewed by Guardian, along with other security clearance things that need to be dealt with.” He lifted a hand quickly. “Only when you feel better and are ready for it.”
“Of course. I understand. But what about the aftermath of the … event?”
Levi jerked up and frowned. “We’re calling my heroic rescue an event now?”
She chuckled and winced a bit from the movement of her shoulder. The pain wasn’t harsh, but her body let her know not to do that again. “I wasn’t sure if I could say … You know. There are ears everywhere.”
His sexy smile flashed wide. “Not here. We checked.”
“Of course, you did.” She chuckled. “Then tell me.”
“His entire operation has been dismantled. His people scattered. But roaches always tend to come back to the trash bin, even if it’s for the scraps. The CIA is taking credit publicly. Guardian's taking satisfaction privately. It's done.”
“And us?”
“Us.” The word seemed to settle something in him. “I'm taking some leave from Guardian. Time off to figure out what comes next. Where we go from here.”
“Leave? Not resigning?”
“They won't let me resign.” He smiled slightly. “My recruiter says I'm too valuable. But they agreed to an extended leave. For as long as I need. Time to heal, to be with you. To have Seattle and sunsets and figure out whatever normal looks like.”
“But you'll go back eventually?”
“Maybe. If the mission's right. If it matters.” He met her eyes. “But only if you're okay with it. Only if we can figure this out, and it fits into our normal.”
Willow felt something settle in her chest. Not disappointment, but relief. Because she'd seen what he was, what he did. Guardian wasn't just his job. It was his purpose. His way of making sense of violence he was good at.
And she understood that. Better than most.
“Seattle,” she said. “The house on the Sound. Time together, time to heal. And if Guardian needs you …” She squeezed his hand. “We'll figure it out.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She weakly tugged him closer, mindful of her shoulder but needing him near. “Levi?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you. For coming back. For fighting for me. For—” Her voice caught. “For choosing me.”
“Always.” He kissed her, gentle and sweet. “Every time. For the rest of our lives, I choose you.”
A knock at the door interrupted them, and she recognized the man.
He was in the cave with the team. “Checking in before we head out.” Another man came in behind him.
He was a towering guy. She didn’t remember seeing him before.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember your names, but you were in the cave, weren’t you? ”
“Shit, that’s my bad. Let me do introductions.” Levi stood up. “This is Bandit. He patched you up and got you here in one piece. And the other guy is Ranger. He flew us here, but he doesn’t technically have a pilot’s license.”
The big guy shrugged. “I didn’t figure anyone was going to pull us over and check the status of my helicopter license.”
She laughed and then winced when her shoulder moved. “Oh, don’t make me laugh.”
The big guy looked a bit ashen, and his face fell. “I’m sorry.”
She smiled at him. “It’s okay. I’m still figuring out what hurts most. Thank you both for getting us out of there.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll admit, I didn’t think my summers learning to fly with my uncles would ever be so useful.” Ranger smiled at her. “I’m just glad we drove straight into that helipad on the way to help Z. Otherwise, I don’t think we would’ve made it in time.”
“It was touch and go,” Z said and squeezed her hand. “But you guys really showed up for us.”
“We do whatever it takes to help our Guardian brothers and sisters. So, how are you feeling?” Bandit asked, checking monitors like he understood what the heck they were displaying.
“She’s probably in more pain than she's admitting.” Levi shot Willow a look.
“I'm fine,” she protested.
“Lying.” He turned to Bandit and pointed to her with his free hand. “She's lying.”
“Most patients do.” Bandit glanced at the IV. “What they’re giving you should help with the pain. I’ll talk to the doctor and suggest he up the dose a bit.”
“I don’t want to go back to sleep.”
Ranger shook his head. “Honestly, rest is the best medicine now. The human body is amazing at repairing itself, but you have to give it the time to do it.” He frowned when all of them looked at him.
“What? I’ve been doing this gig for a long time, and my family has always been a part of Guardian. I’ve seen my fair share of injuries.”
“You’re right; she needs to rest. Did you talk to the doctor when you came in? Has anyone said anything about releasing her for transportation?” Levi asked. “My comms specialist decided he needed to sleep. I could wake him up if I need to, but …”
Bandit chuckled. “No, don’t do that. I don’t know about you, but our specialist is gold, and we want to keep him healthy and happy.
Besides, I just talked to the surgeon. Three days, maybe four, if there are no complications.
Then a straight flight to a location I don’t have the clearance to know about.
” Bandit looked between them. “You two are high priority.”
“For once,” Willow said, and even saying it felt light and hopeful. “It’s been a long time for me.”
“Sounds about right for the CIA.” Bandit smiled at her. “We’re out of here. We have a schedule to keep and transportation to catch. I hope to meet you under better conditions someday.”
“Ditto,” Ranger said. “We’ll let you rest and let the doc know he needs to up your meds a bit. Press the call button if you need anything.”
They left, and Willow felt exhaustion pulling at her again.
“Levi?”
“Yeah?”
“Stay?” She knew she was being needy, knew he needed rest, too, but the thought of waking up alone—
“I'm not going anywhere.” He settled back into his chair, still holding her hand. “Sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She let her eyes close, let the exhaustion take her. But before sleep claimed her completely, she heard him whisper, “I've got you, Willow. Always. You're safe now. You're home.”
And she believed him.
Because Levi Rourke didn't make promises he couldn't keep.
And Willow Tucker had finally found someone worth flying home to.