Page 28 of Deserving Lara
“I’ve got her,” Owl said.
“But what’s wrong?” Cora asked.
Thankfully, Pipe put his arm around her waist and kept her from coming any closer. “Owl’s got her,” he murmured.
“But—”
“Owl’s got her,” Pipe repeated a little more firmly.
“Fine. Lara? If you need anything, just let me know later, okay?”
The woman in his arms didn’t respond verbally, just nodded against him. Owl gave Pipe a chin lift. Gratitude rose within him for his friend. He was relieved Pipe had faith enough in him to get to the bottom of what was bothering Lara.
He steered them both out of the room and heard Pipe raise his voice to the others to keep going, to keep punching the shit out of their attackers. He would’ve smiled in any other situation, but he needed to find out what had upset Lara.
He could’ve brought her to one of the empty conference rooms in the lodge, but he wanted her to feel safe. And the safest place he could think of was his cabin. They’d both spent a lot of time there over the last few months, and thanks to her presence, it truly felt like a home.
Thankfully, they didn’t run into any guests on their way out of the lodge or as they headed toward his cabin. Owl had them both inside within minutes and locked the door behind them. He steered Lara to the couch and sat down next to her. She immediately folded her legs and curled into him.
Owl shifted so he was resting against the cushions, Lara held tightly against him. He didn’t bother asking what was wrong; she’d talk when she had composed herself. He’d learned that about her. That when she had a nightmare or a panic attack, it didn’t help to bug her to talk about what was wrong. Giving her space to work through things in her head first was what she needed.
So Owl did what little he could. Held her tightly and made sure she knew she was safe.
“You’re good, sweetheart. Take deep breaths. That’s it. I’ve got you. You’re safe here, the doors and windows are locked, no one’s getting in. And if they do, you know I’ll stand between you and them, just like I did before.” He kept up the reassuring words, not really knowing what he was saying.
Owl rested his cheek against her hair as he gently stroked up and down her arm. He had no idea how much time had passed when she sighed against him. Her warm breath wafted over his chest, and it took every ounce of control Owl had to keep his dick from hardening. Dealing with his arousal was the very last thing this woman should have to endure right now. Although it was getting more and more difficult to keep her from seeing how much she affected him. The longer he was around her, the more he wanted her.
But that’s not what she needed from him. She needed to feel safe. Needed his friendship. Without strings.
Lara lifted her head and bravely met his gaze. His hand came up and smoothed the hair back from her face. “Better?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Want to talk about what happened?” Henley had encouraged him to try to get her to talk when she had an anxiety attack, after she’d calmed down. Had told him that sometimes talking through whatever it was that triggered her would make it seem less scary.
“Sometimes it all feels so useless,” Lara said softly.
“What does?”
“The self-defense. The security. Looking over my shoulder.”
“It’s not,” Owl said with a shake of his head. At her skeptical look, he continued. “You never know what’s going to come in handy at some point in your life. How the smallest thing could make a difference. Could makeallthe difference.”
He could tell she didn’t believe him. Thought he was simply trying to make her feel better. And while hewasattempting to do that, he also wanted to get through to her.
He decided to tell her something he’d never told another soul. Not any of his therapists, not Stone, none of his friends here at The Refuge.
“When I was being tortured…one time, my captors got bored with their usual daily routine…you know, beating the crap out of me, seeing who could knock out more of my teeth. They decided to break the bones in my hands.
“You’ve seen me with the flight sim, you know how important my hands are for flying. The thought of them taking that away from me was unthinkable. If they managed to disfigure my hands, with the conditions we were being kept in, I had no doubt they’d get infected and the likelihood of any doctor being able to put them back the way they were was slim to none.
“The one thing they wanted duringeverytorture session was for me to beg. I refused. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. But that day, in order to keep them from breaking the bones in my hands, I begged. I got down on my damn knees and begged them for my life. For Stone’s. To let us go. To stop hurting us.
“They loved it. I think that was the video clip that actually went viral. Me on my knees, crying, trying to divert their attention from the idea of breaking the bones in my hands.”
“Owl…” Lara murmured.
“I’m not telling you this for your sympathy,” he said after taking a deep breath. “I do have a point. Anyway, it worked. They were in such a hurry to upload the damn video that they threw me back in my cell and left me, and my intact fingers, alone. The next day, we were rescued. But in the process, one of the Delta Force Operatives was shot. He dropped to the dirt right after the team blew my cell door open. There was a firefight, and his teammates couldn’t stop to give him medical attention. So while they engaged with the captors, I rendered first aid to the man who’d been willing to give his life for mine.
