Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“You got yourself shot. What the hell were you thinking?” His voice is a dark rumble of thunder.
The tone that usually rolls over me is inside me, but I’m numb and tingly right now. I glance up at the IV bag hanging over the bed. “I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted. What did you see?”
Something crosses his face, and he swallows hard. “I wasn’t paying attention to you or to Adrian. Not like I should have been. I was stalking your father. I killed him right before the assassin moved for Adrian. Apparently, she was waiting for someone to make a move on Arthur, and the second I touched him, she made her move as well.”
I should feel sad about my father being dead, right? In this numb, tingly space, I don’t care. Not one single bit about the man who abused me in the worst ways, and abandoned me at every turn, is gone. Another time, I might even be happy about it.
He drops his head, bracing it on my hand now. His forehead at the back of my palm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in more danger.”
I scratch my fingers across his head. “You didn’t put me in danger. My father did. He’s always got to be one move ahead. I should have known he’d prepare something to try to ensure his own safety. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I knew that too but didn’t give you guys any kind of warning.”
He stands and scoots onto the bed with me. It’s a bed I don’t recognize, with medical equipment surrounding the room on random steel trays. “Where are we?”
Ivan snuggles to my side and adjusts my pillow so I’m closer to him. “In the penthouse. Adrian wouldn’t allow you to be taken anywhere else. The doctor showed up right after, and you had to be taken to the hospital for surgery. Everything seems to be going well, but you stayed asleep for a week, and it was the longest week of my life. Don’t fucking do that to me again.”
I’d laugh, but it would hurt. “I promise, I’ll try not to get murdered saving your boss again.”
There’s a softness that comes across his features. “He’s not just my boss, but my friend. We are a family. You didn’t save my friend. You saved my brother. A man I respect more than anyone else in the world.”
For him, it’s a long speech. I’m mesmerized by his deep voice speaking each word. It has to be whatever painkillers they have me on, making me loopy as hell. “So what happened to Val? Did they get her out in time? Are she and the baby safe?”
“They are fine. Kai got them out the second he saw fast movement around Adrian. While he’s glad she’s safe, he regrets leaving Adrian’s side. He considers himself Adrian’s main protector. He might be second in the five, but he refuses to allow Adrian any leeway regarding his safety. He’s upset that something like this happened, even though we knew it might.”
Speak of the devil. I stare over the edge of the bed to watch Adrian walk into the room. He seems as calm and collected as he usually does.
“How are you feeling?”
I shrug, but it hurts too much to actually raise my shoulders. “Like someone shot me. Is everyone okay out there? Val? The baby?” Ivan just told me, but I’d feel better hearing it from Adrian or maybe Val herself. Not that I want her to see me like this. She’s probably way more stressed than she should be right now.
Adrian steps closer, staring over Ivan’s prone form. “Everyone is fine. Well, except you and your father. He’s dead, by the way.”
I nod. “I’ll probably care more, one way or the other, once I get the hell off these meds.”
“I owe you my life. Why would you step into a line of fire like that?”
With a long sigh, I close my eyes. “You both need to stop asking me that. You’d do the same for me in a heartbeat. Why is me sacrificing myself for you any different?”
Adrian places his hand on Ivan’s arm. “Because he can’t live without you.”
I pop my eyes open, but Adrian is already walking out. I stare down at Ivan. “What did he just say?”
“He said I can’t live without you, and he’s right. This week has been the longest, most hellish week of my entire life. I don’t want to live without you, Priscilla.”
“I…” But words fail me at his declaration. I can hear the desperation in his tone, and it melts me from the inside out.
Gently, I wrap my hand around his cheek. “If I weren’t laid out with a bullet wound right now, I’d be doing obscenely dirty things to you.”