Why couldn't she understand? Was she just here to torture him? Did she want to throw his failures in his face and make him admit them out loud? As if he could even face himself in the mirror – it was hard enough facing his teammates and their pity. And every time he saw King with that damn bandage covering half his face… Diggs shuddered.

He'd spend the rest of his life making it up to him. But first, he had to get Audra out of here. She was the last person that needed to be anywhere close to someone like him. He loved her more than he loved himself, and he was man enough to realize that in order for her to have the life she deserved, she needed to be as far away from him as possible.

And she needed to take Trigger with her – no way could he live with that kind of a reminder of Audra.

Resolved that he would at least do this one thing right, Diggs clasped her wrists in his hand and tugged her towards the door. "Go and don't come back."

“I’m not leaving you!” She fought him, tried to dig her heels into the carpeting but even with his injury she was no match for his strength.

Diggs clenched his jaw and kept his lips pressed together. Her words caused pain to burn through the empty hole in his chest where his heart had once been. He was beyond talking now. He reached the door. He grabbed the knob.

"Coward."

Diggs froze, turning slowly to face her as the burning in his chest turned to ice. "Yes, I am."

The fury on her sweet face fell and her eyes filled with tears. Diggs resolve teetered. Damn, he couldn't stand it when she cried.

"No, you're not. You're the bravest man I know." Her voice cracked and she stopped trying to pull her hands from his grip. Instead she stepped closer, tilting her head back to stare up at him. "I love you. Please, don't do this."

A great shudder worked down his frame and Diggs closed his eyes, fighting the almost overwhelming urge to take her into his arms. "I have to. I can’t protect you."

She tugged and this time he let her arms go, all of his strength focused on keeping his arms at his sides. And then he felt her fingertips touch his jaw and he opened his eyes and the raw, un-filtered emotion he saw in her gaze nearly took him to his knees.

"Diggs, you saved me. After Jeremy died, I didn't believe in anything anymore. I didn't trust anyone, I thought all the good men in this world were gone." Her lips trembled and she paused, drawing in a shaky breath. "But you showed me how wrong I was. You showed me it was okay to love."

Her words stole his breath, giving him a small surge of hope. Hope he needed to stamp out. He covered her hand with his and pressed a gentle kiss to her palm, savoring her sweet smell. "Audra.”

"I love you.” She pulled her hand from him, rose up on her toes and kissed his lips softly. "I will always love you."

Couldn't she see he was trying to do the right thing? What kind of life would she have with him? Always on the run, always hiding from a maniacal power-hungry general who wanted to experiment on them. "I love you too. But I'm not good for you."

He let his lips hover just an inch from hers, savoring her closeness this one last time.

"You're the only thing in this world that is good for me. I'm not going anywhere, Diggs. No matter what you say, I'm here to stay."

Diggs groaned, losing the battle under the crushing onslaught of emotion, gathered her up in his arms and crushed his mouth to hers. She moaned and dug her fingers into his hair, clutching him just as tightly. Diggs peppered kisses across her cheeks and her nose, down her stubborn chin and back to her lips. "Dammit, Audra, I love you so much. I tried to let you go but I can't. I need you."

"I need you, too.” She kissed him back with fervor. “Now.”

Diggs lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bed, laying her out like a beautiful gift beneath him, he fell on top of her, holding himself up by his elbows as he got lost in her emerald eyes. He kissed his way down the slender column of her neck and pulled her shirt off over her head.

"I'm sorry it wasn't me who avenged your brother."

Audra's fingers parted his hair and she yanked his head back, forcing him to face her. "You saved me from myself. You protected me. And I love you with my heart, my body and my soul. And even if you can't see the truth, I can. You're my hero.

Diggs’ heart slammed in his chest as if coming back to life. "I love you, Audra.” He lowered his head and kissed her lips. "I don't deserve you, but I'm sure as hell never giving you up."