Page 99 of Keeping Kara

He’d seen Nolan strangling the life from her when they’d entered. She’d literally only had a few more seconds before he would’ve succeeded.

Tears continued to fall as he walked through the trees toward Casper’s helo. He had no idea where Obi-Wan and Buck had landed their chopper, and at the moment, he didn’t care. Pyro and Casper walked on either side of him, giving him the support and stability to carry Kara onto the rock and into the chopper. He eased her down as if she were made of glass and pulled out the KA-BAR knife he always carried with him, but had momentarily forgotten about in his panic at seeing his woman struggling to breathe.

While Pyro shut the door, and Casper climbed into the pilot seat, Chaos cut the cord from around her waist and hands, freeing her completely from that monster’s bindings. He put a pair of headphones over her ears to protect her against the noise from the engine and rotor blades.

Then, as his friends flew like bats out of hell toward the hospital, he told Kara how proud he was of her. How strong she was. How much he loved her. All the while, keeping one hand on her chest to make sure she kept breathing, and the other tangled in the hair at the side of her head, as he leaned his forehead against hers.

* * *

Kara thought she was dreaming. But she was confused, because why was she in so much pain in her dream? That had never happened before.

Her eyes opened, and she saw a bunch of people she didn’t know hovering around her, causing her to panic. She flailed, realizing then that she was on a bed, and she would’ve thrown herself off it entirely but was prevented from doing so by a few of those same people, now holding her down.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. You’re okay.”

Arrow!

She’d recognize his voice anywhere.

Turning her head, and wincing at the pain it caused, Kara spotted the man she thought she’d never see again, standing beside her.

“You have a tube in your throat to help you breathe. Your throat was so swollen and bruised, the doctors were afraid you were going to stop breathing again. But I’m here, and you’re safe. He’s dead, honey. He can’t ever hurt you again.”

Kara tried to ask about Jen, but the damn tube in her throat was preventing her from saying anything. Not only that, but she suddenly felt as if she weighed two hundred pounds more than she did. So heavy. Her arms wouldn’t work right, and the room was beginning to fade.

“I’m not leaving your side. Let the drugs do their thing. When you wake up again, you’ll feel much better. I promise. I love you, sweetheart. Thank you for fighting so damn hard.”

His words of love were all she needed to hear to give in to the lure of the sedatives. Nolan was dead. She was safe. Arrow had found her and slayed the evil dragon.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It had been two weeks since Kara was kidnapped by Nolan, and since he’d been shot dead by the SWAT officers who’d arrived in the nick of time to save her from being strangled to death.

Sometimes it still felt as if everything had happened to someone else, but the bruises around her throat were a stark reminder when she looked in the mirror in the morning that it had been all too real, and it had happened to her. Thankfully, the marks were mostly faded now, though there were times when she swore she could still feel that bastard’s hands around her neck.

It was fairly alarming how easily he’d been able to stay under the radar, how many aliases he had, and how he’d managed to stalk her without anyone in their group knowing.

But Kara felt proud of how strong she’d turned out to be, yet again. Yes, she’d been terrified, and Nolan had hurt her, but she’d held it together until Arrow and his friends arrived. Finding her had actually been a community effort. She wished she could thank each and every single person who saw something that stuck out in their minds, and reported it. Without the locals, Nolan would’ve succeeded in killing her.

She’d spent the time since her release from the hospital resting at Arrow’s house. He’d completely spoiled her, taking leave from work to stay by her side. She’d had a few nightmares, but honestly, a lot less than she’d thought. During the day, she hung out on the couch and jotted notes on the next book she wanted to write, watched junk TV, texted her friends nonstop, ate the delicious meals Arrow made for them both, and rested her voice.

The doctors said her vocal cords and throat had been severely bruised, and she needed to speak as little as possible. That was hard on her, as there was so much she wanted to talk to Arrow about, but he was stubborn, and every time she tried to initiate a conversation he’d kiss her silent…which wasn’t exactly a punishment.

He’d finally convinced her to confess her pen name…then promptly admitted he already knew, and had read all three of the books she’d published. Then he’d pouted and begged and promised her all sorts of intriguing things if she let him read the rough draft of the novel she’d completed before Nolan had kidnapped her. It wasn’t edited, and she was scared to let him read it in its unfinished state…but she couldn’t deny him anything.

So she sat on the couch and fretted as he lost himself in her words.

When he was done, he closed the laptop, took her in his arms, and said, “That was fucking fantastic.”

It was the best review she’d ever received.

She’d had a checkup with her new local doctor just that morning, and he’d been pleased with how well her throat had healed. He cleared her for all normal activities, including talking, but told her not to overdo it by participating in a marathon karaoke session or anything.

The first thing Kara wanted to do was see Jen.

Arrow had already explained that the other woman wasn’t doing well at all. She’d been released from the hospital around the same time as Kara, but since then, she’d refused to see anyone in their friend group, even Penny, who lived just down the hall.

She’d recently returned to work, but she’d basically cut her friends out of her life.