Chapter Twenty-One
“And what happened next, Mr. Seaver?”
The FBI agent watched Bas with calm, sympathetic eyes as he scribbled notes on a paper, but Bas couldn’t answer. He looked down at the hospital scrubs he’d been given to replace his bloodstained clothing and picked at the material on his thigh. He looked up at the brightly colored posters on the waiting roomwall.
Still, the words just wouldn’tcome.
“He’s just doing his job, Bas,” Cam whispered, voice heavy with fatigue and sorrow. “Answer his questions. It’ll beokay.”
Bas looked at his brother, at the dried blood that still matted his hair and caked beneath his fingernails. He looked like an extra in a horrormovie.
And still, Sebastian wouldn’tspeak.
Because what had happened after Drew had held him back, after he’d screamed and the gun had gone off, was the single most terrible moment of Bas’s life. And in a life where both of his parents and his fiancée had died together in a plane crash, where he’d been threatened and nearly bombed, that was sayingsomething.
He’d already been sobbing by the time his knees hit the floor, and he’d yanked Drew down to shield his body before Alexei could get off another shot. If they both died, he’d reasoned, so be it. It would be better thatway.
He’d been dimly aware of shouts behind him. Of someone - Damon? - rushing toward Alexei. He didn’t care. Not about any of it. Notanymore.
He’d known in an instant that Drew was gone. The amount of blood and gore on his face - in his hair, soaking his tuxedo - was beyond what any human could stand to lose. He’d dropped his head to Drew’s chest, his own breath coming in painful gasps, and screamed all of his grief and rage into Drew’sflesh.
What the hell was he going to do?A selfish thought. He’d always been selfish. But Drew had known that. Had loved him anyway. There would be no one else in his entire life who would ever know all of his flaws and all of his weaknesses the way his best friendhad.
He had wasted so much time. They both had.Somuch fuckingtime.
Ask me when this is over, Drew hadsaid.
We’ll go to an island when this isover.
When it’s over, over,over.
And now… itwas.
But there was no point to itanymore.
“Why did you do that?” he’d whispered against Drew’s shirt. “I hate you so much.”I love you so much. “Hate you.”Love you, loveyou.
“Bas?” Cam said, bringing himback.
The agent with the kind eyes was still watching him. “We can finish this later,” heoffered.
Bas nodded. Later, when he’d vented some of the emotions that choked him, maybe he’d be able tospeak.
As the man walked away, Bas lifted his eyes to Cam. “Shouldn’t you be with yourboyfriend?”
Cam nodded. “I will be. Damon’s in there now, and he’ll come get me as soon as Cort wakesup.”
“The surgery was asuccess.”
“So they say. Through and through. We’ll have to put up with hisjust a flesh woundjokes until the end oftime.”
Bas huffed. “I owe him at least thatmuch.”
“You know what he’ll say to that, right?” Cam said gently. “There’s no debt when itsfamily.”
Bas lifted his chin.Right.
“You know I love you, right,Cam?”
