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Two hours had never felt so long in Charlie’s life. When she saw the skyline of her home city she was happy to be living in one of the tallest buildings so she could easily pick it out. She stared at it as it drew closer and squeezed Caine’s hand. They landed on the roof and Charlie unbuckled, got out and walked to the other side of the helicopter where Bishop was lifting Caine’s b*dy.
“Please be careful with him,” Charlie said before she could stop herself.
“I will do my best,” the big man said.
“Thank you.” The door to the building opened and Huxton walked out. His eyes grew big as he saw her.
“Charlie, what the hell has happened to you? I thought you said you were fine!” he called and rushed over. Charlie had no clue what he was talking about. But when he reached her, he brushed his hand over her hair and a sprinkle of grey dust fell from it. She hadn’t realised how she must look, the explosion must have left her with a somewhat ragged appearance. No one had pointed it out and there hadn’t been time to shower.
“Oh, right. It’s just a little dust and things. It’s superficial,” she told him.
“It looks like you’re back from a war zone,” he told her as he tried to usher her inside. It wasn’t too far from the truth, she thought. She made sure Bishop was following close behind them before she let Huxton take her inside.
“How is he?” Huxton asked as he glanced at Caine.
“It’s bad. Is the healer here?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, she is waiting in the living room with Tyson,” Huxton told her as they stepped out of the elevator and he opened the front door for her. It was like medicine for the soul when Charlie stepped into her apartment. The muted dove–blue was like a balm to her senses and she had the urge to sit down and cry. But Tyson was walking up to them with an older woman. His eyes grew big at the sight of Charlie, but he didn’t say anything. He just gave her
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a long hug.
“It’s nice to see you again,” he said..
“You too, Tyson. This way, please,” she turned to Bishop. She showed him the way to Cain’s room. As Bishop tried to gently place Caine on his bed, Charlie greeted the healer.
“My colleague has done a good job, there isn’t much more I can do. But I know this one, he’s a stubborn one. I will give you a potion. When he wakes up, give it to him and it will put him. to sleep until he is healed enough so he won’t cause damage to himself when he gets out of bed,” the woman told Charlie and handed her a glass flask with what looked like orange juice inside.
“Thank you. I’ll make sure he takes it,” Charlie promised.
“Do that, and call me if he spikes a fever or something else happens.” They said goodbye and Charlie put the flask on the bedside table.
“Charlie, you should go to bed. You look like you could use a shower and some sleep,” Tyson told her.
“I’m good. I’ll sit with Caine for now,” she told him. “Where are the boys?”
“They are sleeping, it’s almost two in the morning. What happened? Why are you covered in dust and why does Caine have a dressing covering his entire back?” Huxton asked. Tyson. shoved his husband and looked at him with annoyance.
“That is not important. Not now. What is important is you taking a shower. All that dust cant be good for you. Your brother will stay with Caine and I will make you something to eat. Then you can sit with Caine when you have showered,” Tyson told her. It did sound amazing with a shower, Charlie thought. But she looked at Caine.
“He’ll be fine, I promise he won’t be alone,” Huxton told her, k*ssed her forehead and gently pushed her towards the door.
“Thank you,” she said.
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“No need for that,” Tyson told her as he guided her out of the room. The shower was blissful. It made her feel so much better. Or maybe it was that she was back in her and Vidar’s bedroom and everything smelled like a combination of them. With her new enhanced senses, Charlie revelled in it. As she was drying herself she spotted one of Vidars shirts in the hamper and smiled. She picked it up and smelled it. His scent was still strong on it and she smiled. She put on yoga pants and the shirt along with her knitted socks and headed out of the room. Tyson stood waiting for her with a tray full of sandwiches and the smell of hot chocolate hung in the air. “You look much better” he said.
“Thank you, I feel it,” she agreed. They walked to Caine’s room where Huxton stood at the end of the bed, looking at Shadow that had curled up next to Caine’s head on the pillow.
“I have tried to get him off the bed four times,” Huxton told them. Charlie smiled and walked
over and scratched the cat’s head.
“Leave him be, he isn’t hurting him,” she told her brother. He huffed a little and left to get her one of the comfortable armchairs from the living room. He placed it by the bed and Charlie gratefully sat down in it. “Thank you,” she said. Huxton just k*ssed her on the head and made sure one of the night stands was next to her. Tyson placed the tray with food on the nightstand and looked at her.
“Do you want one of us to stay?” he asked..
“No. You need your sleep for when Liam and Aiden wake up and for work. I’m just going to make sure he isn’t alone when he wakes up and hurts himself,” she told them.
“We are just down the corridor, call out if you need anything.” Tyson said, also giving her a
k*ss on the head.
“Thank you for looking after me,” she said. They left her with Caine and Shadow. Charlie ate one of the sandwiches, but it was the hot cocoa that tempted her most. She held Caine’s hand while she sipped on the sweet beverage and tried not to think about what Vidar was doing or planning. She had almost dozed off when she felt a slight twitch in Caine’s hand. Charlie sat up and looked up at his face and saw his eyes open. The relief was instant as she smiled at him. “You are in so much trouble my friend,” she said as she used her free hand to push a lock of his hair from his face.
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“I’m home?” he asked, sounding confused.
“Yes, you threw yourself in front of a magical bomb, you idiot. We almost lost you,” she informed him. He tried to shrug, but flinched from pain. “Don’t move.”
“Vidar?” Caine asked.
“Back in Vegas as far as I know. He promised to let me know when they would go to New Orleans, but I don’t know if he will or not.”
“I need to be there,” Caine said, making a move to get up. Charlie could see how much pain it caused him but he continued. Desperately she placed a hand on his shoulder to force him to stay down. To her surprise, she managed to pin him. He must be in more pain than she had thought.
“I have a sleeping potion and I will use it on you, Caine,” she threatened him.
“I should be there to make sure Vidar is safe,” he objected.
“He isn’t all alone, he has others. And I recognise that it isn’t as good as having you there, he will have to do without you. Because if you tried to get to him you would most likely kill yourself. Even if by some miracle you made it, you would be in no shape to fight. At the moment you are even weaker than me, and as everyone is so fond of telling me; I’m practically a baby.”
“You’re not,” he said and she felt him relax. She stopped holding him down and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. Shadow had got up, disturbed by all the moving and was glaring at them as if to tell them he was deeply offended by their actions.
“I’m not what?” Charlie asked, trying to keep Caine distracted.
“You’re not a baby. You’re strong and very much a grown woman,” he said.
“Thank you. But I don’t feel like it when everyone is going out of the way to keep me away. from everything scary. I’m grateful and I do understand. But it makes me feel like a child that everyone has to shelter. It makes me feel like a burden,” she confessed. It was easier to talk to Caine about these things. He had been human once, and Charlie had seen enough glimpses of
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his true self to know he still remembered what it was like.
“You’re not a burden, Charlie. You are special, important. That is why everyone feels the need to keep you safe.
“I’m not more important than anyone else,” she objected.
“You are. We all feel it. When you came into Vidar’s life, something changed. And not just him. I changed, and the clan changed. It’s like you make everything you touch into the better versions of itself,” he explained.
“Caine,” Charlie said. She didn’t know what else to say.
“You understand how it is, not wanting to be a burden. That’s why I need to get to Vidar,” he told her. He was starting to get up again. Charlie reached for the bottle holding the yellow liquid and she didn’t hesitate to pop the lid and pour it into Caine’s mouth. She must have surprised him as he swallowed most of it before he tried to spit it out. Charlie could see how he instantly became unsteady. The arm that he was trying to keep himself up with wobbled. and Charlie helped him lay on his stomach again. She knelt by the bed so she could look him. in the eyes as she saw them lose focus. He was fighting the potion.
“I’m sorry, my friend. I can’t let you hurt yourself. I can’t lose you,” she told him. She needed. him to understand why she forced him to stay. She felt a stray tear rolling down her cheek.
Caine’s unsteady hand brushed it away.
“I wanted so badly to say yes that night on the balcony,” he told her and Charlie’s heart stopped beating for a second. “I wanted to accept what you and Vidar offered. But I am not a whole man, Charlie. It’s why I stay in the shadows. I don’t know who I am if I’m not Vidar’s right hand man. But with you, with you I want to be more than just a stand in for another man. You make me want to step into the light. I want to be your equal. But I don’t know how.” he confessed as he looked into her eyes. Charlie was trying to find the right thing to tell him when his eyes glazed over and he fell back into sleep. A sob escaped her and this time she didn’t try to hold back. She leaned against the bed and cried all the tears she had been holding back since the first bomb hand gone off. Shadow came and laid down between her and Caine and purred as she cried.