My Soldier: A Miliatary Romance (22 page)

Avni, not now. It's too dangerous. You have another life to think about.

“Is there anything else you can remember? Anything at all that might help us find the creep who did this?”

His name was Vito.

“No, I don't think so.”

Flicking his card from his pocket, he held it between two fingers in my direction. “If you think of anything else, anything at all, you give me a call. Alright?” Nodding 'yes,' I took the small card stock rectangle. “You're a lucky girl, Avni.”

Forcing yet another smile across my face, he turned and left me alone with my thoughts. Alone with my false police report filling my head.

Alone.

I don't want to be alone, I don't want to die alone.

I want... Levi.

***

S
huffling my feet across the tiles of my kitchen, I kicked on the gas to make a nice hot cup of tea.

Finally released from the hospital, it took them two days to send me home. My mom tried to coax me back to her house, said she would take good care of me. I just wanted to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Luckily, we were able to compromise. She was going to come over everyday and make sure I ate, had my medicine, and ensure there was no danger.

That one made me giggle.

I didn't like lying to my mom about the real reason I had been turned into a human punching bag. I just had no other choice, it was for the best.

And now, I had to try and pull myself off the bottom. Because it wasn't just me anymore. I had to come to terms with the hand I've been dealt, I had to learn to cope with the nasty things life threw my way.

Because I was pregnant.

Pregnant.

Even thinking the word felt strange and unworldly to me.

I was on birth control, so how the hell does that happen?

I knew how, and it wasn't because Levi had super sperm that battled a fierce army inside my womb, breaking through and conquering my core.

The why and how was actually more simple than I could ever have imagined, and never took into consideration.

Antibiotics.

All I could do was curse my damn body's natural magnet for UTI's and embrace the new life that was claiming my belly.

Levi had tried to call me over a dozen times, the messages he sent went from curious to panicked.

I had picked up my phone to call him several times, but my nerves had gotten the best of me. I knew he'd be pissed and frantic.

He had called, he never called. Of course he must have been in a nerve-wracking frenzy!

The hard part was thinking of the news I had to give him. I played it over and over in my head.

How I would say it, what words I would use. Wondering if I should just blurt it out, or maybe do something special to hint at it.

Either way, he needed to know.

And he was forever going to have a concrete place in my world.

Mother, mom, mommy; a new label I was going to have to adjust to.

There was no more room for self pity and walls.

Because my life just went from one to two.

Levi

H
er car has been there, but where the fuck is she?

Avni hadn't returned my calls, she wouldn't answer the door. My fear and worry was boiling at a rapid pace. It'd been way too long with no contact, and I had no clue where her family lived.

We were supposed to make plans to go to her parents for dinner, I was finally going to meet her dad this weekend. And now, she seemed to disappear.

Was she having second thoughts about me meeting her dad? Nothing seems to make sense!

T was still home, each time I was at her door, I could hear his little feet scratching the wood. But I never heard her voice, no feet padded across the floor. My stomach had spent the past few days sitting in my throat.

The soft buzz of my phone against the table sent my nerves into a stampede of electric shocks. Grabbing it, I flicked the screen open.

-Sorry I haven't called. Come over and I can explain everything.

My heart began to race, the thought of her trying to pull away again stabbed my brain like a serrated knife.

She had come so far, each day slowly giving me more and more of her. The way she walked was different, her laugh held more weight, even her smile would split from nothing.

Now this, she'd been avoiding me and is finally ready to talk. For the first time, I felt angry at her. To take a step back and try to build her wall again; it was bullshit.

And I wasn't going to let her back out, she was finally feeling true happiness. Something she thought she lost long ago, even though it was always there locked deep inside.

Slamming my door shut, I hit the pavement. I wasn't going to waste one more second. She could talk, I would let her; then it would be my turn.

This time I wasn't going to go easy on her. It was time for me to throw it out there. I knew what I wanted, and that was Avni.

The short walk over seemed to take a lifetime. I walked two steps at a time, and it still seemed to be so much further away. No matter how quickly I went, the time was in slow motion.

Reaching her steps, I jumped the first three, landing on the top stoop. The door slowly pulled open.

I was ready to yell, curse, tell her to stop ignoring herself and finally admit that I meant more to her than a fucking bodyguard or friend with benefits.

Lifting my eyes to meet hers, all the warming sensations slammed to a halt. “What the fuck happened to you?” My hands slipped over her cheeks, cupping her face. I didn't expect the sight that met my eyes.

Avni's face was swollen, deep splashes of blue and purple painted her skin. Her already plump and silky lips were engorged and split, cracking around the blackened stitches holding them together.

Her eye was almost swollen shut, puffing up around the lid and keeping her beautiful eye encased in a tomb. Small scratches rode across her hands, broken nails and splints fitted her fingers.

“Who do you think happened to me?” Her harsh tone speared me, careening my heart in the center and stopping it briefly.

Gritting my teeth, I spoke low. “Vito, he did this?” Brushing her hair behind her ears, Avni swatted my hand away.

Hatred filled my soul that a man could actually put his hands on a woman that way,
on my woman that way.

“Don't.” She snapped, making my chest hurt.

To see her broken, to see what he had done to her... My blood hit a new boiling point, liquid fire was feeding my body.

This was what I was supposed to protect her from, this was what she needed me for, and I wasn't there.

A surge of anger, turned rage, turned sadness, turned failure.

I wasn't there for her.

And in my absence, he had stretched out his hand of punishment.

Vito had taken the angel that flew into my world, the sacred winged creature that resurrected life back into my blackened heart, and pounded her into the dirt.

“I'm going to kill him.” Balling my fists, the nails buried deep into my palm.

Wrapping her arms tight around her ribs, she turned and headed inside. Her body looked weak and exhausted. Her steps labored and soft.

I wanted to scoop her up, coil her in my arms and sweep all her pain away.

Lowering to the couch, her small companion hopped up by her side. “I know it looks bad, Levi. But I'm okay.”

“Okay?
That bastard beat the fuck out of you. You're not okay.” Throwing my fingers through my hair, my hand rested on my hip. I wanted to sit down, wanted to let her fall into my chest.

But my muscles were teeming with hatred, chest hurting with anger. I was ready to bolt out the door and hunt down my enemy.

“Yeah, he beat the shit out me. That's why I haven't returned your calls, I was in the hospital.”

“Why didn't you call me sooner? I would've come to the hospital.” Lunging to her side, I sat on my haunches. “I'm not letting this happen, I'm not letting him get away with this.”

“It's done, Levi. He did it, he beat the shit out of me. What are you going to do? Run and find a ghost that doesn't exist? Even if you could find him, then what?”

“Then what?! I'm going to kill this fucking guy, that's what! How can you just dismiss it like it doesn't matter?” Jolting upright, I bit my knuckles.

How could she just sit there and think like that?

She didn't deserve this, and I was going to make sure he couldn't hurt her again.

I had given her my word, and I failed.

I wasn't going to fail again. There was no fucking way.

“You can't do that, I won't let you. If I just give him what he wants then he'll be gone. I just have to figure out how.” Grabbing her forehead, she fell forward into her hands. “I don't know what else to do.”

“I'm not going to just sit back and let that fucker get away with this. I can't!”

The soldier in me wanted to run off and hunt him down, put a bullet in his head.

But in the same instance, I wanted to stay by her side, never leave her alone again. If he came back while I was out trying to find him, Lord knows what he'd do.

And I didn't know how I'd deal with that. But I also couldn't sit by and wait for him to show up. I was taking charge of this fucking mess, and ending it now.

“Levi! You can't, I can't let you put yourself at death's door. He showed me no mercy, he certainly isn't going to think twice about putting a bullet between your eyes.”

“I don't care, Avni! I can't stand by and watch this happen. I'm not letting him win.”

“Fuck, Levi, just stop. I can fix this myself, I can. I don't need you getting involved and making it worse.” Avni's eye was wide, her deep hazel glare penetrating me in one look.

I wanted to take her right there. In all my anger over what Vito had done to her, my cock surged to please her.

To give her pleasure to replace her pain, to give her ecstasy in place of torment.

“You can't stop this, I need to end it. He can't come back here, he can't touch you again. Avni, this is out of your control, can't you see that?” Dipping to my knees, I squeezed her wrists. “Can't you see this is bigger than you? I promised you I was going to keep you safe. I failed once, I won't fail again.”

“This isn't about that, Levi. You couldn't have known he would do this, I didn't. And I do need you, but I need you here.” Her swollen fingers gripped my hand, face lowering to meet my gaze. “You can't risk your life, not anymore.”

Cocking a brow, I shook my head. “I'm not going to stand by and watch this happen, I'm not.”

Her face was soft, eyes washing over me with concern, despair, tenderness. Placing her hand on my shoulder, she stiffened her back. “I can't let you do that. There's something you need to know.” Nervous twinges hit her wrist, tapping against my shoulder.

“I don't need to know anything, Avni. I need to fix this. And that's what I'm going to do, I have to.” Jerking away, I stood up and headed for the door.

“No, you need to hear this, it's important!” Her eyes burned into the back of my skull, descending in a snap. “Levi—”

No matter how much I wanted to stay, I had to find him. Vito was going to pay for what he did to her, for what he did to my woman.

My feet were unsteady, hands shaking and balling by my sides. Red had bled into my eyes. Rage had finally overtaken any and all rational thoughts that might have tried to force their way in.

At that point, I didn't care about my career, I didn't care about my life; it was only vengeance.

He was going to feel the pain he had created, he was going to experience fearing for his own life. And until he was begging me for forgiveness, begging me to let him live; I wouldn't stop.

Avni's voice faded into the distance as I took off, her screams turned to whispers, words falling to the swipe of wind.

I had to do this. If I didn't, who knows what he might try and do to her next.

There was no way in hell I was going to stand by and let him torment her anymore.

This was ending now.

Levi

“W
hat's your name soldier?” His hands moved around my thigh; squeezing, pushing, incinerating the muscle with each touch.

“Hite,” I said through gritted teeth. My thigh burned, the intense pain clawing its way up my back and over my toes.

“Alright, Hite, I'm going to get you out of here. But I'm going to need you to stand, can you do that?”

The bullets popped around us, dirt and dust filling the tiny room we took for protection.

I could hear the loud yell of foreign voices, angry yelps and hoots as the gunfire broke around us.

“Yeah, I can try.” Breathing in slow, I tried to focus on getting up and ignoring the shattered glass feeling of my leg.

“Okay, good. I'm bandaging your leg the best I can for now, but you need a doctor. Man, your leg looks like shit.”

“Thanks, I was trying to go for the tough guy look.”

“Good, a sense of humor. You need that here. Alright, wrap your arm around my neck.”

Throwing my arm around his head, the unknown soldier grunted as he lifted me to my feet. The pain intensified as I tried to put a little weight on my foot.

Biting down hard, I grabbed the wound. “I don't know if I can do this. It hurts like a fucking bitch.”

“You don't have a choice, do you want to live?” The man leaned into my face, his eyes full of fear and desperation to get us back to safety. “I have my unit waiting a few blocks over. They're holding it down, but if we're going to go, we need to go now.”

Nodding, my jaw was chattering against my teeth as the throbbing pain hit the nerves.

Using my free hand, I threw my gun over my shoulder and yanked my knife off the belt.

“Alright, on the count of three we head north, there's a blind spot three buildings over. You got that?”

“Yeah, let's fucking go. I'm not dying here like this. Fuck these assholes.” Holding my knife up, the soldier popped his head out the open doorway, looking side to side.

“One, two, three!” He yelled, gripping an arm around my back. Hopping on my good leg, the torn up one dragged behind us.

The scream I let out was one I could never recreate. It was pure pain, anguish, fear, and rage all balled up into one lung-filled burst.