The Power of Love Read Online Free

damn flame. She had to have faith in that. It didn’t matter what the witnesses said or the so-called proof that had been spouted around: it was bullshit. She knew it, Josh knew it, and the rest of the world should have known it too. Unfortunately, it was the latter that counted. It was the latter that could send Luke to jail for a crime he hadn’t committed.
    At the sound of an engine crunching to a halt and wheels spinning against their loose gravel drive, Gia hurried from the kitchen, her feet slipping on the floorboards as she ran. Ever since she’d learned he was coming home, she’d been obsessed with getting the house clean. That meant some parts were so “hygienic” they were a fire hazard.
    Nearly slamming into the front door thanks to the overwaxed floor, she yanked it open, then pulled a pirouette when Lexi slammed out of nowhere and rushed out into the yard to meet her daddy.
    The army Jeep sat there, engine vibrating, small curlicues of heat blurring the lines of the hood as Luke tried to get out of the vehicle.
    She stood there, staring at him, so goddamn grateful he was alive that for a second, she watched. Absorbing the fact he was here; on the same continent, in the same city, on the same land. Lexi was equally transfixed. She gawked, her little frame quivering with the need to go to her father, but he was so stiff, Lexi registered how much pain he was in too.
    Alighting from the car looked like a task in torture in itself. “Luke,” she gasped out, hurting for him.
    His head turned so quickly it could have given him whiplash. Spying the bruises in every shade of the rainbow, and the cuts and tears on his face when she finally caught a glimpse of him, made the muscles in her belly clench. She ran forward, forgetting to take care in her haste to be close. She collided into him, wrapping him so tightly in her embrace that he gritted out, “Relax, baby, you’re hurting me.”
    She stopped squeezing him and peered up at him as a little body clashed into theirs. “Papa!”
    He groaned again, and she knew Lexi was hurting him too. Considering their little girl could only just pick up a gallon of milk without dropping it, the chances of her hurting her daddy were close to nil. That meant the bruises went deep.
    Foot deep. Fist deep.
    He’d been beaten. Recently, too. Though he was injured from a bomb blast, that had been over a month ago. Some bastards had laid into him and caused these extra injuries. She’d seen wounds from a beating far too often to be mistaken. The memories were painful, buried in the past, but they were as fresh as though they’d happened yesterday.
    She pulled away from him, half turning to let Lexi stand between them, and rested a hand on their daughter’s shoulder, murmuring, “Let go, darling, we’re hurting Papa.”
    Lexi pouted but did as she was told, and as she pulled away, she looked up at him and bit her lip. Her attention was on Luke, but her question was aimed at Gia. “What’s wrong with Papa’s face?”
    That was as polite as a five-year-old could get.
    He’d been assaulted, that was obvious. But it wasn’t like she could tell her baby girl that.
    “He’s just arrived home, Lexi. From the Middle East. Remember we talked about that in geography?”
    Lexi nodded, her sage eyes widening. The Middle East featured prominently in their classes. Gia supposed it was only natural for her to be curious as to where her father had gone and why. It had been damn hard watering world events down to make them understandable and palatable for such a young if wise child though.
    “Are you okay, Papa?” she asked, her joy in his arrival fading as reality resurfaced and Lexi started to equate the bruises with pain.
    “It’s good to be home,” he half whispered, totally avoiding her question. “How are my girls?”
    Her cheeky grin peeped out, revealing two dimples that rivaled the sun with their brightness. “I like being at home too, Papa. It’s school now as well, and