Master of Chaos (The Unredeemables Book 3) by Shannon McKenna

Author:Shannon McKenna [McKenna, Shannon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2024-02-19T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Cass

I lay there cuddling Reggie’s wiry little body, my mind buzzing with leftover adrenaline even though my body was utterly exhausted.

I still couldn’t believe my luck. I had gotten my precious Reggie back. She was right here, in my arms, her hair tickling my nose and mouth. I’d been horrified when I helped her into her pajamas and saw all the needle marks and bruises on her pale arms. Furious at those cruel, clumsy hacks. Guilty that I hadn’t protected her better.

Now, I cuddled closer, intensely conscious of each slow breath. Grateful for it. Every breath was beautiful, precious. A treasure. A small victory to celebrate.

Please, God. Give her a long, happy lifetime of them.

Shane had looked starkly miserable at dinner. His face was like a marble mask. And I was not the only person who noticed. Of course, he’d been through hell, but I could sense, from the way he tensed when Holly’s arrival was mentioned, that he was deathly afraid to see his little girl tomorrow.

He was afraid of disappointing her. Of not having whatever he thought that she needed from him, after being altered for the worse by his ordeal.

Halliwell’s cruelty was a gift that kept on giving. Shane was free, but he was tense, joyless. He couldn’t rejoice at being home. That was tragic. And unacceptable.

I was in the same boat, of course. Scared shitless of how vulnerable and exposed Reggie’s illness made me. But Shane had it worse.

That bastard was not going to drive a wedge between Shane and his little girl if I had anything to say about it. Shane could not possibly disappoint his kid. He was like a demigod. What he’d endured, what he’d survived. She might be shy with him, wary of what the experience had done to him, but once everyone relaxed and adjusted, his daughter was going to be so proud of her dad. I was sure of it.

I eased my arm from beneath Reggie’s arm, inching away until I could climb out of the bed. She was in the deep sleep of total exhaustion. My sweet, brave honey.

I got up and made my way slowly down the hall on tiptoes, to the room where they had put Shane. I put my hand on the knob… and hesitated.

I knocked, very softly. If he was sleeping, I didn’t want to wake him.

“Yeah?” I barely heard the low rasp of his voice through the door.

I pushed the door open. He sat up in his bed.

“It’s me,” I whispered.

“Come on in.”

I closed the door. The only light was the outdoor lighting that came through the picture windows. Just enough to show the shape of the room, the outlines of his dark form.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I said.

“Me neither,” he said. “Maybe I never will. Or maybe it’s just the wake-up drug you gave me. I hope so. That means it’ll wear off eventually. Time will tell.”

“I couldn’t say what that stuff was,” I said. “Jana gave me that dose already loaded into the syringe.

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