Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

The need to protect pulsed through him, and he clasped his hand more securely around hers, cherishing her small, vulnerable outreach. Yeah, he did. Dante gave me hope when I had none. I didn't deserve it, Sarah. I was covered in scars, and my weapons were still bloody. I'd killed someone. Maybe many. We don't know. But Dante didn't care. He hauled me out of that rancid stink, and he offered me a chance to start again. I'll never forget that. Emotions burned in Kane's chest, grief for his leader that he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge since Dante had died. He'd shut it down, like any halfway decent warrior would do, and as hell was his witness, he knew why he did it.
    It sucked to feel this kind of pain. He didn't want to think about Dante being dead. He just didn't.
    Thank you, Sarah whispered. That's beautiful. Your love for him is so powerful.
    Love? Fuck that. What was love? He honored and respected Dante, yeah, but there was no man love between them. Kane shifted uncomfortably, knowing that if love was what she wanted him to describe, he had no chance. He wouldn't know love if it stabbed him right in the eye.
    Ryland jabbed him with the machete. "Don't be an ass. Pay attention to the angel."
    The angel... Kane looked down at Sarah, and saw the faintest trace of a smile at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were still closed, her body still trembling, the cracks still visible on her skin. But that smile. That faint, barely-there smile hovering at the corners of her mouth struck something deep inside him, something he'd never felt before, a soul-deep sense of rightness, of connection, of knowing that he'd done right, that he'd helped her.
    He sifted his fingers through her tangled hair, needing to touch her. Her eyelids fluttered and then opened a sliver. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, like the sky on a clear summer day when the sun owned the earth and there was no one he had to kill. "Sarah," he whispered, her name like a gift of salvation on his lips.
    Her trembling fingers closed around his hand, and the rest of the world fell away until it was just them. No one has said my name with such reverence in so long, she said. It sounds beautiful the way you say it.
    It is beautiful, Sarah.
    She smiled faintly, and her fragility tore at his heart. "Kane," she whispered, her voice so raw and scratched that something inside him cracked. "Tell me what you see when you look at me."
    "What I see?" He could feel her desperation, and knew that she was still searching for more positive energy to cling to. God, this was taxing him to his limits. He could slay a thousand demons for her, but feed her stories of hope and faith? He had no foundation for playing that role.
    Ryland leaned closer, his shoulder bumping against Kane's as he peered at Sarah. "Tell her that she has eyes more radiant than the turquoise feathers of the hyacinth macaw as it takes flight across the Brazilian landscape, with the sun reflecting off its wings."
    "A Brazilian landscape?" Kane stared at his teammate in shock. "Are you kidding me? Aren't you supposed to be nearly insane, almost rogue and a veritable bastard?"
    "This is an angel," Ryland whispered reverently. "Don't you get it? She's why there's any good left on this earth. All goodness comes from the angels. Without angels, it's only darkness." He bowed his head to Sarah. "We honor you and serve you."
    Sarah laughed softly, and she brushed her fingers over Ryland's shoulder. "Thank you," she said quietly.
    Kane froze, his muscles going rigid the moment he saw her touch Ryland. Sudden fury burned within him as Ryland shuddered from the touch. A fierce possessiveness surged through Kane, and the brands in his arms vibrated with the need to unleash his weapons and take down his teammate for getting so close to her. "Back off," Kane said quietly, unable to keep the threat out of his voice. "Now."
    Ryland lifted his head and met his gaze. Defiance flared in Ryland's eyes. "You don't get to claim her, Santiago. She's a gift to everyone." Ryland's fingers tightened over the handle of his machete. "You will not clip her wings and drag her into your personal hell."
    Kane. Sarah's voice was urgent, and she gripped his arm. I need you. Now. Her body was shaking again, and her face had paled.
    Fierce protectiveness surged through Kane, and he didn't give a shit about Ryland anymore. Sarah was what mattered. Only Sarah.
    He hugged her more securely against his chest, as if he could protect her with his