Page 23

Flame

Beep. Beep. Beep.

That”s all I can hear as I wake up. What the fuck is that annoying sound? Slowly opening my eyes, I take in my surroundings and am surprised by what I can see. I’m somehow in the Devil”s Inferno infirmary; I’d recognize the place anywhere. How the fuck did I get here?

The last thing I remember is Thing One and Thing Two getting stabby, then I think I passed out from my blood loss. When I look next to my bed, I can”t help but smile. Wrath”s asleep in a chair by my bed. He looks like he’s hardly slept at all while I’ve been gone, his eyes showing dark rings underneath them. He probably hasn’t slept much; he’d have been far too worried about what was happening to me. Slowly, I reach out and touch his knee, which immediately causes him to shoot up in his chair, wide awake.

When he looks over at me, I can see he”s been crying; his eyes are red-ringed, and he looks heartbroken. God, I hate that he”s had to go through this. It makes me want to wring Claire”s neck even more than I did before.

”Oh, thank God, you’re awake. Are you trying to kill me? You”ve been fucking unconscious for two days!”He shouts, which causes me to wince. I”ve still got a headache.

“Sorry,” he says, lowering his voice, which I appreciate. “You scared the shit out of me; we got you out two days ago, and you’ve been out of it ever since; we didn’t even know if you were aware when we rescued you. Doc kept reassuring me you’d be okay and that your body was just keeping you out of it while you recovered, but I couldn’t believe that until I saw you awake with my own eyes.”

“Come here,” I say, holding my arms out.

He”s not Wrath the Devil”s Inferno President right now; he’s Jackson, the love of my life who’s absolutely terrified after I was taken and has no doubt spent the past two days sitting in that chair waiting for me to wake up. I need to hold him and reassure him that I”m really okay.

He shakes his head as he says, “I can”t; you’re hurt.”

“Come. Here.”I say again, my voice brokering no arguments. I don”t care if I”m hurting physically; he”s hurting emotionally and mentally, and he needs me.

He finally listens, obviously realizing I”m not going to change my mind, and carefully climbs into the bed next to me.

“Put your head on my chest; I promise it’s okay; whatever Doc has going into my body through this IV must be the good shit. I’m feeling no pain at all,”I whisper to him.

He does as I ask. I can feel his body shaking and tears soaking through the gown someone obviously put on me once we were here. God, he”s breaking my heart. I”ve never, in all the years I”ve known him, seen him react like this. I guess it”s different for him now that we”re actually a couple, and he admitted to himself how he really feels about me.

“Shh. I’m okay. I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sorry I got taken, and you’ve been here worrying about me so much.”I say while stroking his back, hoping to reassure him.

He doesn”t say anything back; he just releases all the emotions he”s been bottling up since I was taken. I don’t know how long it takes, but I feel the tears stop and his breathing even out. He’s fallen asleep, and he clearly needs it too. I don’t mind him falling asleep on my chest; I’ll sleep better knowing he’s here in my arms. I can”t help but smile at that, slowly closing my eyes, I drift off to sleep with the knowledge that I’m back where I belong. I”m home.

∞∞∞

The next time I wake up, I immediately smile. I can still feel Wrath on my chest, but I know he”s awake as I can feel his finger slowly stroking the side of my face. I turn my head slightly so I can see him, and he slowly leans forward, giving me a light kiss on the lips.

As he pulls back, he whispers, “I’m so glad you”re safe. I felt like they’d stolen half of me when you were missing.”

“I’m back now, and I”m not going anywhere,”I whisper back.

“What do you remember?”He asks.

“Waking up chained with a splitting headache. It wasn’t long before Claire came in with Thing One and Thing Two. Did you see the other sets of chains in the room that were empty?”

I’m intrigued to know if he noticed them.

“Yeah, what about them?”He responds, his face filled with confusion.

“They were for you and Shadow. She told me they wouldn’t kill me until you were there to watch.”I begin explaining. “Then she gave Thing One and Two permission to do damage as long as they didn’t kill me. She left after that, and as you can see by my state, they had fun. I think it became a challenge for them in the end, as I wouldn’t give them the reactions they were hoping for.”

“Fuck. Well, her plans didn’t exactly work out as she wanted, did they? We have Thing One and Two, as you call them. Now that you’re awake, I’ll be dealing with them soon. I just couldn’t do anything until I was sure you were okay, but no way was I letting anyone else be the one to handle them. For what they”ve done to you, they’re fucking mine. They”re really going to wish they”d never been born by the time I”m finished.”

“I’m okay, I promise. Go deal with them and unleash some of that wrath I know you’ve got bottled up. It”ll do you some good. Just make sure you make it hurt; they fucking deserve it.”I tell him before leaning down and kissing his forehead.

”Where’s Cam anyway?”I ask, wondering where our son is.

“With Dad. They should be here soon. I sent a quick text when I woke up, saying that he could bring Cam over within the next hour. He’s been really worried about you. He thought he was losing a parent he’d just gained and really withdrew into himself. Dad stayed with him for me the whole time you were missing so I could focus on finding you and getting you back. I feel bad for not being with him, but I needed to get you home to us.”

After he finishes talking, the door to the infirmary slams open, and Cam rushes in.

“PAPA!”He yells as he runs towards my bed.

“Hey Cam,”I say through laughter.

“I’m so glad you”re back and safe. I thought I’d lost you when I only just found you. I love you, Papa; please don’t make me worry like that again.”He says with tears streaming down his cheeks.

I lean over Wrath, wiping the tears from Cam’s face before holding his face in my palms.

“I love you too; you might not be mine by blood, but you”re my son. I’m sorry I worried you, but I’m home now. I’m not going anywhere.”

Moving back, Wrath climbs off the bed. He drops a quick kiss on both mine and Cam”s forehead before saying, “I”ll be back soon. Be good.”

I laugh as he leaves. Not like I’m moving out of this bed anytime soon; I fucking hurt; the pain meds must”ve worn off while I was asleep. Hopefully, Doc will be in soon to give me something.

“So come on, Cam, fill me in on what I”ve missed while your Dad’s gone,”I say, patting the empty space next to me.

He climbs up and cuddles into my side before he starts talking about what I missed, like his meeting with Jasmine and all the time he’s spent with his Grandfather. It”s nice to get some time with him now that I”m back. I missed him just as much as I did his dad.