Falling with Grace - Page 190

“Dr. Navarro is on standby. He’ll take a look at you on the plane before we get home.”

“No.” My breathing hitched,my dirt-caked fingers curled around his forearm. “Not him.”

“You need to be looked at.” Elias took the blanket from Javier as he rushed up, then wrapped it around my shoulder, the rough material scraping the sensitive bruises. “I won’t leave your side.”

I swallowed the leftover bile tainting my tongue. “You won’t?” My swollen eye twinged as I gazed at him. “You promise?”

He drew me into his arms. “I promise.”

The cry bubbled up, and I turned into him, my hands covering my face as I wept.

“Can I carry you?” His hands hesitated in their touch around my body.

I nodded and sniffled.

Elias cradled me in his arms, my feet leaving the dirt floor as he held me to his chest and limped through the archway, Javier rushing ahead of us. “Let’s get you home.”

“But I’m so broken.” I sobbed, running my arms around his neck and holding on tight.

“I’ll fix you,” he whispered.

“What if you can’t?”

He tucked me into the large SUV. “I’ll never stop trying.”

The hours dragged on, Elias never leaving my side, as he promised, while Dr. Navarro treated the vast array of wounds plaguing me.

I soaked in the fresh air, mingling with the aroma of polished leather from the oversized seats, which swallowed my curled body. The steady whirring of the massive jet engines provided a stark contrast to the deafening silence within my cell.

The clouds didn’t look the same as before when we’d flown to Tulum, his mother beside me, a smile on my face.

Now, the atmosphere was somber. The laughter had faded, replaced by a heavy silence that weighed upon us.

“Did y-you catch Miguel?”

Javier sat next to Elias and nodded. “My bullet did. Right between the eyes.”

I winced and closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath through my nose, my knees drawn beneath me, the blanket drawn tight.

“He tried to help.” I raised my good brow. “At least that’s what he said.”

“I have something for you.” Elias leaned over and pulled out my hand, laying something light and cool in my palm. “I thought you’d want to have this.”

The rosary settled in my hand, the cross dangling from my grasp. “I thought I’d lost it.”

He shook hishead. “It was in your pant’s pocket.”

Fresh tears trailed down the corner of my eye, seeping into my blanket. “Thank you.”

“Get some rest. We’ll be landing soon.”

The world beyond the window wore a vacant hue as if drained of its usual vibrancy, and the steady thrum of the engines drowned out the intrusive thoughts that clamored for attention.

We touched down, and the doors opened, allowing everyone to venture into the bright morning light peeking above the horizon.

Elias swept me into his arms and carried me off the plane, then held me in his lap on the drive home as though I’d broken my legs along with my will.

“Is she alive?” Rosa whispered as he carried me into the house, her gentle hand pressing against my shoulder.