She didn’t leave his side, even long after the Doc had removed the bullet and finished stitching his wound. Instead, she stayed there, gripping his hand, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at him.
“He needs to rest now.” Lucas fixed the end of a bandage in place and adjusted the electrodes fixed to my brother’s chest. “I’ll stop in and check on him. Right now, there’s nothing more you can do.” He stepped closer, placing his hand on my shoulder, his voice somber. “Apart from taking care of yourself.”
I stared at the bloody instruments laid out on the hospital table next to my brother, my head a damn mess of all the what ifs. What if we lost him…what if I lost them all.
My dad was one thing…
His own fucking betrayal pulled the trigger on his damn life.
But my brothers?
That would be too much to bear.
The door opened behind me and his sister’s gentle voice followed. “Food’s ready.”
“Good.” Lucas smiled at her. “Because I’m starving.”
My stomach growled at the mention of food. The diner food was still sitting in the car, long forgotten. It looked like Rebel was about to have a huge meal. I didn’t want to think about food at a time like this. Still, there were more than me in this. I moved close to her side, brushing her shoulder. “Princess?”
She shook her head. “You go, I’m staying here.”
I wanted to argue, but one look at the woman sitting beside my brother and I knew it was pointless. Wild horses couldn’t drag her away. “I’ll bring you something to eat.”
She would’ve nodded to anything in that moment. I doubted she’d heard me at all. I waited while the others left, then I followed, giving her the space she needed. Kit was already in the kitchen, the clatter of pans drawing me along the hallway.
She had to be the stepsister the doc told us about back at the safehouse, the one that was in trouble, enough trouble to make him gunshy around Benjamin Rossi.
Caleb stood next to the fireplace, watching the first faint flickers of flame erupt from the starter. I hadn’t seen him leave, that’s how out of it I was. I’d barely seen the place when I’d carried T in. But I did now. It was bigger than expected, filled with stone and timber and the scent of pine.
I crossed the living room and headed for the kitchen, now drawn by the heady scent of bacon and eggs. Lucas grabbed a plate piled with fresh buttered toast, eggs, and a mess of crispy bacon and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I watched his stepsister carry another plate to Caleb, who took one look at the food and shook his head. Stubborn motherfucker.
But she was feisty, shoving the damn thing at him until he took it.
Good.
I almost smiled, watching as she shook her head and carried another plate back along the hall to the room we’d just left. I saw Ryth in her, maybe a little too much. Sweet and bratty at the same time. I took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed, then felt nauseaous.
Were we really safe here? Or had we dragged these people into our own goddamn mess. The thought of that made me feel fucking sick…
“She’s lovely.” Kit drew my gaze as she ruffled Rebel’s ears, then glanced my way. “Where did you get her?”
Her howls in that fighting ring pushed into my head. “Nowhere good,” I answered.
“Aww.” She turned back to the pup, stroked her head, and pulled her in for a cuddle. “But she’s good now, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I answered, desperate to protect them all. “She’s good now.”
“There’s a main bedroom at the end of the hall.” Lucas drew my attention back. “It’s big and separate from the rest of the cabin. You and your…family are welcome to whatever you need.”
I gave a nod, chewing my lip, then swallowed. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“No thanks necessary. We all need help every now and then. But those men, Nick. They’re still coming, aren’t they?”
I winced. “Yes.”
“For revenge?”
I shook my head, that sinking feeling weighing me down again.
“Because you have something they want,” he said carefully. It wasn’t a question, more like a confirmation. I waited for the question.
“Do you at least have a plan to get out of this?”
I placed the plate on the counter. “Oh, I have a plan. Just one you won’t like.”
One brow rose. “Tell me.”
I met his stare and said the one name he didn’t want to hear. “Benjamin Rossi.”
There was a twitch in the corner of his eye before he looked away. He didn’t like the idea of bringing in the Stidda Mafia boss, but right now, I was all out of options.
The Rossis were tied up in this somehow and as much as I wanted to push and find out the real story between them, I needed to mind my own damn business.
“Then you gotta do what you gotta do,’ Lucas said carefully.
He went quiet, chewing silently until he moved to the sink. The silence was empty and awkward. I needed to say something…but what was there to say?
He placed his plate in the sink, leaving it unwashed, and stepped away before stopping and glancing my way. “I take it you have…protection?”
“Yeah.” I answered, remembering the bag of guns in the trunk of the sedan.
Lucas walked over to his stepsister, who was still loving on Rebel, and brushed his hand along her thick curls, murmuring words I couldn’t hear. She rose and gave Rebel one last pat on the head before she glanced toward the hall. “She hasn’t come out.”
She met my stare, concern blooming. “I took her food and she said she’d come out, but she hasn’t. I’m a little worried.”
I nodded. “I’ll check on her.”
“I’ll get our things from the car,” Caleb offered before heading for the door.
I left him and turned for that room as Lucas and his sister headed for a hallway on the other side of the cabin, urging myself to mind my own business. I cracked open the door to the surgical room, listening to the same beep…beep…beep that haunted me. But the moment I stepped inside, I stopped.
Ryth had her head on Tobias’s arm, the plate of food untouched beside her. She was asleep, her breaths slow and deep. Fuck, she looked peaceful. I didn’t want to wake her.
The heavy thud of Caleb’s steps carried down the hall, heading to the master suite. He returned, stopping behind me and looking over my shoulder. “Damn,” he said, staring at our sister.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Damn.”
I moved to her side.
“Nick, let me.”
I gave a nod. The last thing I needed was to tear myself up further carrying my stepsister. But as Caleb picked her up and cradled her against his chest, I fought a pang of jealousy.
He carried her to the room at the end of the hall and I followed. The massive king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room. There was a bathroom off to the side.
We worked in silence, taking off her shoes and jeans before tucking her head on the pillow in the middle of the bed. I kicked off my boots and pushed down my own jeans before slipping in beside her. Caleb moved to the door and flipped off the light.
A second was all it took for the bed to sink on the other side. Warm fingers brushed my hand, finding my grasp. Ryth was the only person who could bring us together, even in our hate.
I closed my eyes as darkness pulled me down, but before I slipped completely under, I heard the faint thud of Doc’s steps as he checked on my brother. Then I was falling, and with her hand clasping mine, I slept.
