Vengeance (COMPLETED)

Part 38

Days pass before the relief kicks in. Instead of celebrating our win, we were grieving. Atticus carried me out of the building, forcing my head into his chest to avoid seeing the bodies covering the floor. We didn't make it out scot-free. Two of our men died of their injuries, and 10 are still in hospital, including Angelis. He was shot in the neck. It would've been a lot worse if they hadn't lowered their defences after they caught our decoy car, but still, the effect is crippling. No one is ready to celebrate yet.

I was released from the hospital after 24 hours, with strict orders to stay on top of my fluids. Besides the bruises around my throat, I have no visible injuries. My throat is coarse, but Atticus has been making sure I'm drinking honey and ginger every day. He's barely left my side since we got back. He won't admit it, but I know he feels guilty. We knew people were going to get hurt. We knew I was going to get hurt. The plan went much smoother than expected, but it's never good to know people suffered for your gain.

We won't be celebrating until the dead have been buried and the injured have recovered. Catarina is already planning the party. She stands beside me, rattling off her ideas. I can barely hear her. I'm too focused on the boat pulling up at the harbour. Atticus and Santos offer to help Angelis up, but he declines, instead standing up by himself. He even manages to climb onto the harbour without a hand. He looks like his normal self. If it wasn't for the bandage on his neck, you wouldn't be able to tell he was injured at all.

"Welcome home!" Catarina waves excitedly. He heads over with a smile on his face, his arms open wide.

"Come on," he grins. "Bring it in, you two!"

We give into his hug, wrapping our arms around him. Catarina quickly heads off to speak with Santos, but I stay put.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I say. "I was so worried about you."

"Worried about me? Are you kidding?" he snickers. "You were stuck in that room with him for hours!"

"You got shot!"

"And we still fucking did it!"

"We did!" I grin. "We're free."

"We're fucking free!" he pulls me back into him, this time lifting me off the floor. I laugh loudly as he spins me around in circles.

"Hey! Put her down!" Atticus comes up beside us. "You can't be doing that shit yet — either of you."

"God, you're no fun," Angelis follows his brother's orders, setting me back down to the floor.

"You need to be careful with her, and with yourself," Atticus snakes his hand around my waist.

"Don't pretend you're worried about me, brother. We know it's all her," Angelis winks at me. "But if there's anyone you shouldn't worry about it, it's Erin fucking Michaelson."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I laugh. "It still hurts when I talk."

"Does it actually?" Atticus asks.

"Only a little," I assure him. "It's okay. It'll heal."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Always," I smile. I throw my arms over his shoulders and press my lips against his, embracing him in a sweet kiss. He pulls my body against his.

"I'm glad you're getting back to normal again," he whispers. It took me a few days to feel stable enough to walk this far from the house.

"I feel so much better," I tell him. Not just physically, but mentally, too. It will take a little while longer to process all the pain, but I'm definitely starting to recover. My fear has passed and I've finally allowed myself to see the positives — to see the ultimate outcome of what we did. We achieved our goal. We won. We killed Vassilis. He's dead. "I can't believe we did it. I can't believe it's over now."

"It's done," Atticus says. "We don't have to worry about him anymore. You're safe now."

"We get to move on. I get to be free. We get to live our lives now — together, the way we want them to be."

"I can't wait," he smiles. "I can't wait to start our life together."

"I love you so much. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me."

"I haven't done anything, baby. It's all you. I'm so in love with you, I don't ever want to face anything like that again. I don't want you in pain. I don't want you to suffer. I want you by my side... always."

"I don't want to go to dinner anymore," I speak against his lips. "Take me back to bed."

"I'll take you anywhere you want to go."