The pain was indescribable. It ripped her into two, red and hot and there. The fire from her belly spread, burned and burned some more, until her heart wanted to explode. Blood dripped, slowly soaking the fabric. She couldn't bear to look. The coppery smell piercing through the excruciating hurt was enough to know. One strong hand held her head, tried to force her to look away. She refused, buried her face in the chest of the man who loved her. His heart was slowing, pounding hard for a little while still…

She kissed his lips, tried to breathe through the pain.

Tears scorched her eyes, unwanted. Tears of love. Tears of pain.

So much pain. Her heart bled, as his sighed and then stopped forever.

Another emotion swelled inside her, unbidden. Rage.

Shadows moved in the dark.

Chloe felt Oliver behind her. "Where's the flashlight?"

"Don't."

Shadows moved in the dark. Too swift, too small to be trees shaken by the hollering wind. Oliver stilled, one hand bruising her hip. "What did you hear?"

He could see like a cat, but she was the one with feline ears.

"Not sure. It's probably just the storm."

Even whispers echoed in the dark.

"We'll see. Call Clark."

"Ollie…"

Shadows moved in the dark, hidden by the rain and the raging storm.

"Call Clark. Have him take you to the airport in Izmir. I'll take care of it."

Shadows hunted in the dark, tortured, and devoured. Her back hurt. He'd sacrifice himself for her then. Not this time. Not again. Never again.

"But—"

"It's you they want. Make sure Clark stays with you. I'll join you as soon as I can."

She spun into him, grabbed blindly to pull his head down to her and kissed him. "I… Be careful."

I love you.

Words to hold onto, words to murmur when they would be safe, when she would be able to see his face when she said them. She pictured his wink in her mind as Oliver answered, "Careful's my middle name."

His fingers lingered for one last squeeze then he was gone, another shadow in the overpowering darkness. One to look for. One set on protection, not murder.

Chloe ran her hands over the table until she felt the hard ridge of her laptop. The screen lit when she struck a key at random. Something crackled in the next room. Her heart thud so hard to escape her chest as she fumbled with the connection with Watchtower.

"Hal!"

"At your service. What's up Blondie? Moonlighting on your hero already?"

The kitchen door swung open and two masses crashed inside. One grunted in either pain or ire. The other simply growled.

"Chloe?"

Something flew in her direction.

Chloe raised her arms above her head to protect her face. She caught the missile by chance and realized it was her purse. God bless Oliver's quick thinking. Her phone, their passports, everything they needed to leave the country was in there. Something heavy wrapped around her shin. Chloe leapt out of the way, her laptop pressed to her chest like a shield. Someone snarled. A sickening crunch followed.

"Get out of here!" Oliver yelled.

"Ollie!"

"Out!"

The urgency forced good sense to prevail. She ran to the door to fling herself outside. Rain drenched her to the bone immediately. Chloe could barely see where her feet went as she crossed the terrace. The Laurel bush stopped her from hitting to the stone wall headfirst. Her sodden clothes impaired her movements but she managed to pass one leg then the other over the guardrail and slid to the other side.

Chloe crouched, breathless. The storm's rage muffled everything. With the lights out, she had no idea what was happening, if Oliver needed help, if he was hurt… For his sake, she pushed forward. She would have cover in the wood cluster.

Her sneakers skid on the muddy slope. With her arms full she had nothing to help her equilibrium. She managed to stay upright by a tread. Chloe squinted to pierce the darkness. The storm botched her sense of direction. When she looked from the terrace, the woods were twenty yards to the right… Her foot got caught against a rock and she lost her balance completely.

A pair of burly arms broke her fall. A scream bubbled up.

"Wow easy there, it's me."

"Hal, oh thank God…"

Chloe sagged into the Green Lantern's large hands. He helped her straighten up, apparently impervious to the rain, his tall frame silhouetted in a faint green glow that fought against the darkness. Magic run through her, and suddenly she was wrapped in a translucent bubble. Relief and panic welled into her eyes in equal measures.

"You have to help Oliver. He's—"

Her friend turned to listen or so she guessed. "Pretty sure he'd want me to get you away first. Ollie can take care of himself. Come on Blondie."

"No! Put me down we have to—"

Comforting arms wrapped around her petite form, and suddenly they were flying. Green dust sparkled behind them as Hal gained speed through the clouds. Her teeth clattered. The combination of height and cold made her dizzy. They pierced the clouds and the setting sun blinded her. Chloe lost track of time and space, unsure where was up and where was down. Before she could wrap her mind around the rush, her feet touched the pavement again. She recognized the futuristic shape of the Izmir International Airport. The lights that poured through its glass walls called to her like a beacon.

Hal gave her bottom one none too gentle push. "Inside. I'll get your mate for you."

He blinked out of view before she could admonish him. Chloe walked into the building on shaky legs. She slanted a look at the man standing guard by the door. She must be a sight, hair disheveled, with muddy shoes and soaking wet. He simply tipped his hat at her politely, as if blonde women in a state appearing out of nowhere were a common occurrence.

Chloe spotted a bench in the line of vision of the door and sat there. She wanted to be able to see Oliver as soon as he'd walk in.

Not bothering to connect to the Airport Wifi, she called the Watchtower Satellite connection and immediately hacked into the alarm monitoring company of the villa. Their system was signaling the disruption but the alarm was yet to be raised. She hesitated. If she placed an alert, they would need to explain how they had covered a two-hour trip in the matter of seconds through the storm of the century. The power outage affected the whole town they'd been in.

Two strong arms hauled her out of her seat to restrain her against a rock-hard wall of muscles and heat. She yelped in pain and fright. Oliver buried his nose in her hair. She clutched to him. Her lungs accepted to function again, barely. "You're here…"

His hold tightened some more. For a few seconds she lost herself to the feeling, only conscient of the panicked beating of his heart against her breast. Then he did what she suspected was a herculean effort based on the shaking of both their bodies and pushed her a foot away from him to examine her from head to toe. His hand cupped the back of her head, fingertips gently touching her wet hair. "You're okay?"

Chloe swallowed past the fear and nodded as firmly as she could. "Yes. You?"

"Safe and sound, as promised."

He had a cut over his eyebrow and a bruise started to form on his scrapped knuckles. His shirt was torn. Chloe wrapped her arms around his torso again, unsure she could stay upright without the support. She wasn't willing to find out. His body was strong and true against her cheek. Oliver pressed his mouth against her forehead, apparently happy to hold her just a moment longer.

"Hal went back to collect our things and he'll bring back the car too. We're leaving."

"Where are we going?"

"No fucking clue. Come on."

Chloe had barely the time to collect her purse and laptop before he dragged her toward the information counter.

"Hi."

"Iyi akşamlar. Oh, hi…"

Chloe felt a wave of rage at the engaging smile the clerk offered Oliver. He looked a little worse for wear, he had a possessive arm was wrapped around her waist while she clung to him for all she was worth, and still the woman flirtedwith him. He's mine…

"Oliver Queen. My jet is parked in the VIP hangar. I would like to have it prepared for take-off."

Chloe scowled after a failed attempt to keep her face neutral. Since the irritating female seemed unaware of her presence—or blatantly ignoring her— her grimace didn't really matter anyway. Oliver caressed her waist with his thumb in soothing circles.

"Bey Queen, it's very late in the evening…"

Chloe slipped her hand under his shirt in retaliation. Her fingers brushed over Oliver's hip and the mark nestled there. He jerked under her palm and shot her a warning look.

"Barely after seven, I believe. Is it a problem?" Oliver asked. His candid tone suggested the only answer to give him was that it wasn't. I am a billionaire and if I tell you I want the sky painted in green, you'll make it so… Chloe almost pitied the other woman.

"I… I'll make some calls. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Almost.

"No, thank you."

"Mr. Queen. Miss."

Chloe tightened her grasp on Ollie then relaxed when she realized the voice close to her ear was Hal's. The dress shirt, and dark slacks were the most formal attire she'd ever seen him wear outside black-tie events. His straight jacket gave out an almost imperceptible green glow, betraying his ring at work.

Hal put their bags on the floor next to Oliver, dangling the car keys on his finger. "I'll drop those at the car rental counter for you Mr. Queen. Page me once you're ready to fill the flight plan?"

"We'll be in there." Oliver pointed at a VIP lounge. He patted his front pockets and winced. "Dang, another ruined phone. Vic is going to kill me."

The nonchalance unleashed the anger that had been simmering below the fear and jealousy all along. Chloe dropped her hands from his shirt, effectively pushing away.

He gave her a weary look before he escorted her inside the luxurious room. A waiter hurried toward them. Oliver ignored him as he continued to a quiet nook in the corner. They were the only people in the room. Chloe grabbed her bag from him, intended on using the complimentary shower. Oliver caught her wrist in one hand forcing her to seat. "Chloe."

"Let go of me."

"Not before you talk to me."

"And say what? You forced me to leave to fight against two men on your own!" she hissed under her breath, even though they were out of earshot.

"I'm not exactly defenseless, Tower."

"You didn't have your gear! And it was pitch-black!"

She blinked frustrated tears away.

"I know. But I'm trained for situations like that. You're not and I had a better chance to take them down if I didn't have to protect you at the same time."

"So I am a nuisance?"

"I didn't say that. Chloe…" His thumb brushed over her wet cheek and she realized she was crying after all. "Come here."

She resisted when Oliver tried to pull her to him on the settee. Oliver placed both hands on her shoulders, angling his head down to catch her stare. His brown eyes pleaded with her to understand. "I took a calculated risk. I'm not sorry I did. It got you out of harm way, and gave you the opportunity to regroup on your own. Hal showed up two minutes after your call. I know you'll always have my back, Chloe, but your best weapons are your computers not your fists."

He was right, and it made the whole ordeal even worse. She was useless in a fight, only valuable when she was remote, sheltered by her screens in her tower, while heroes followed her orders and bled.

Oliver tugged at her arm again and again she refused to give in. Their connection tortured her, demanded more contact, demanded to feel. Tears threatened to flow anew. Chloe rubbed her eyes angrily.

"I need to use the bathroom. Can you order me some coffee?"

"Of course."

He stood as she did and held out her bag with a tentative smile. Chloe turned tail without answering it.