Page 25 of Stay Little Fighter

Damon reaches for the bag and my chest aches. “Get the doctor here as soon as possible. I’m not saying shit until I know she’s going to be taken care of as soon as it’s done.”

“Damon,” I whimper. “Don’t.”

He turns slightly, agony etched into his features. “I’m not letting you die because of me, Chloe. I’ve caused you too much pain already. I won’t be responsible for your death as well.”

Mikayla snickers. “God, you two are disgusting. The way you and your brother fawned all over her was always gross, but it’s just pathetic now that you’re an adult.”

“Just because no one is ever going to love you doesn’t make it gross, Mikayla,” he snaps, and my chest tightens for a whole new reason.

Hearing that word come from Damon felt impossible a few weeks ago. Even if a part of me would always love him, I never expected him to reciprocate those feelings.

It figures he’d admit it when I was on the brink of death.

A high-pitched laugh fills the basement, and I flinch at the sound. Can’t she just let me die in peace without her presence tainting my trip to the eternal plane?

“Pathetic. I used to think you were a born leader like your father, but it turns out you’re just as weak as your brother.” She steps closer to us. “I will not hesitate to torture her until she dies right in front of you, Damon. Don’t test me. Get dressed, and be ready in ten. I’ll call the doctor once you’ve signed on the dotted line, and then we can get out of this dump.”

“I’m not leaving with you until I’ve seen with my own eyes that she’s okay.”

“Then you’ll watch as I slit her throat.” She shrugs and turns on her sky-high heels, lifting the bottom of her dress as she walks up the steps with the guard trailing behind her. “Oh, and Damon?” She waits until he meets her eyes, and I see the evil behind the brown pools. “I will expect to consummate our marriage before she’ll be given any medical attention.”

She disappears before he can respond, and honestly, that’s probably for the best, because the tension vibrating through every muscle is enough to tell me he’s about to lose his mind.

The door at the top of the stairs slams shut with a decisive lock a moment later, once again leaving us alone.

Damon doesn’t turn around for long minutes, and I start to wonder if he’s gone into shock. I wouldn’t blame him. The last twelve hours have been enough to put just about anyone on the floor, but I need him to keep it together.

I’m fading more by the minute, and if he wants any chance of getting out of this without a new wife, I need him to rally because I can’t.

“Damon,” I murmur, trying to get his attention without startling him.

His shoulders fall at the sound of his name on my lips, and he turns slowly, giving me a clear view of the devastation in his eyes.

“I can’t do this,” he whispers.

“I know,” I choke out. “And I don’t want you to. I need you to get out of here alive and without an evil bitch as a wife, and that means letting her kill me.”

“No.”

“Damon, please.”

“I will not watch you die, Chloe,” he snaps. “Marrying her is a small price to pay if it means you live.”

I force a breath into my aching lungs. “By the time she calls a doctor, I’ll already be dead. She’s not going to let me live when I’ll always be a threat to her, and you’re delusional if you think she will. She’s just using me as leverage to make you comply, but as soon as you sign the marriage certificate, she’ll either kill me herself or she’ll leave me here to die.”

His eyes fall closed as a violent tremble moves through his body. “I’m sorry I’m always failing you, Duchess. I’m sorry I’ve never been able to keep you safe. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“I know,” I whisper, reaching a hand out to him in the hope he’ll move closer and he doesn’t disappoint.

He drops to his knees in front of me, his fingers intertwining with mine while his other hand cups my cheek. “You’re burning up.”

“I know,” I sigh. “Even if she does call a doctor, I think it’s too late.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m just being practical, D. If she does keep her word, she’ll wait until there’s nothing a single doctor in the middle of nowhere can do. Mikayla’s a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one.”

“So it seems,” he rumbles, dropping his forehead to press against mine. “I’m sorry I wasted all those years hating you. I thought I was keeping you safe, but all I was doing was making us both miserable.”