Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I managed to muffle my shout, but not enough. Rafe jumped up from a chair and came to my bedside. “It’s okay. You’re at Uncle Bébé’s house. You’re going to be fine.”
“Fuck, I was shot.”
Rafe nodded. “That’s right.”
“Alex? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. Remington sent people to your house, remember? They’re keeping watch. I talked to Alex a little while ago and gave him a low-key version of what happened. I told him you’d talk to him whenever you could.”
“I hope you also warned him not to leave my house.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “I made him promise he wouldn’t leave.”
“Good.” I let myself lie back against the pillows again. “Alex is a stubborn hothead. He’s probably going to try to come after me anyway.”
“I know. That’s why the guards are there. They won’t let him leave.”
“So I’ll get to hear all about how I’ve kidnapped him now, and—”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
I considered how much I wanted to say, but this was Rafe. I never kept secrets from him for long. “Yes. I really do. I don’t know how this happened.”
“You smile whenever you talk about him. It’s cute.”
“If my arm didn’t hurt, I’d come after you for that.”
He sighed. “You didn’t tear your stitches when you tried to get up, did you? Let me take a look.”
I waved him off. “I’m fine. Stop hovering over me. You’re worse than Lorenzo.”
“You’re so wrong. You were out of it when he called last night. Just wait until you see him today.”
“He and Niko are coming back? But we haven’t found Dimitri or Ivanov yet.”
Rafe shook his head. “Dimitri is dead. Nikolai and Ivanov’s daughter killed him.”
“What? How the hell did he find them?”
“His family tortured him, then left him out in the bayou to slowly die from his injuries. He managed to evade the wildlife despite how badly wounded he was. He saw one of our guards doing his rounds and followed him back to the safe house. He took the guard and Lorenzo out of commission, but Niko and Alaina were ready when he broke into the cabin.”
“Fuck, he could’ve killed them all.”
Rafe sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on my leg. “I know, but he didn’t. They’re all safe, and they’re on their way here.”
I looked around for my phone. “What time is it?”
“About 10:00 a.m.”
“I slept that long?”
“You needed it, and we kind of knocked you out with pain pills.”
I held up my middle finger. “Fuckers.”
“You needed to rest, and there was no reason for you to be in pain.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I have to take care of you. I promised Alex I would. Do you want to call him now? I could hardly get him to believe you really were alive. He needs to hear your voice.”
I wanted to call him, but I also didn’t, because I knew I would hear fear in his voice. He’d spent the night scared because of me. Talking to him would reinforce why no one with a life like mine should be in a relationship or whatever the hell this was. I’d tried to leave the danger behind, but clearly, that wasn’t a possibility, not when I actually cared about my brothers and the rest of the family.
To truly leave, I would’ve had to move across the country and stop being part of my brothers’ lives. That was not an option.
“Are you nervous?” Rafe asked.
“To talk to Alex? No.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s okay if you are.”
“Fine. I just—I don’t know what to say.”
“That you’re alive, that you’re going to heal, that you’ll be back to see him soon.”
“How soon? I could just go now.”
Rafe glared at me. “Absolutely not. The doctor needs to check you again, and you can’t drive.”
“Someone can give me a ride.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare tell Alex to come pick you up.”
I wouldn’t, but not because Rafe told me not to. “Alex would do it if I asked.”
“I know he would.”
I sighed. “I’m not going to put him in danger like that, and I’m not ready for him to meet the family. How much do they know after last night?”
“I had to tell Remington that you were seeing someone, and they needed protection, but I didn’t give him details or mention Alex to anyone else. Remington won’t say anything. He’ll leave that up to you. The last thing he wants is to get involved in another relationship in our family.”
“I’m leaving after the doctor comes unless we get information on Ivanov’s location.”
Rafe shook his head. “You’re going home even if we do. You’re in no condition to go after anyone right now. What you need is rest and your boy taking care of you.”
“Alex isn’t—”
“Yes, he is, and apparently, you now have a cat to take care of too.”