“Good,” I murmur. “That’s good, Luc.”
My eyes start to close. Everyone is safe.
“Ava?” his voice is panicked. “I need you to stay awake for me, love. Your head – Ava!”
But I’m already gone.
ChapterSeventy-Three
Nikolai
Ibolt upright in the armchair as the door creaks.
“It’s just me,” Max says in a low voice. He crosses the room and leans in to check on Ava’s bandage, pulling a light from his pocket and opening up her eyelids to check her pupils. She grumbles, her hand reaching up to swat him away. Next to her, Nash snores lightly, his hand wrapped tightly around hers.
My heart hurts just watching them.
“We nearly lost them both, Max.” Running my hands over my face, I blow out a breath, trying to push back the exhaustion. I can’t sleep until I know Ava’s all right, and she’s been unconscious for hours.
“She’s doing well,” Max murmurs. “Her reactions are fine, Nik. She’s just sleeping it off now.”
We both stare down at her, at the bruises ringing her neck like some sort of fucked-up necklace. Dark bruising is already appearing around her eyes and cheeks where Stone hit her, traces of blood still clinging to her hairline despite us washing it off.
“How’s Leah?” I ask, and Max snorts.
“Fine. Just furious that he got the drop on her. She’s got a nice egg on her head to match the bruising to her ego.”
I shake my head. Max’s voice wavers despite his bravado.
We came so close to losing all of them today.
My head turns to the doorway as Bastien hobbles through it, his arm around Luc’s neck as Luc fusses. “You should be in bed, not wandering around the house.”
Bastien rolls his eyes. “There’s a bed right here. Plenty of space for little old me, brother.”
He grins at me. “Make way, we have a gunshot victim,” he says lightly, and Luc swats him.
“Hey! Do the wordsgunshot victimmean nothing to you?”
“Not where you’re concerned,” Luc grumbles, but he ruffles Bastien’s hair as he helps him settle in on Nash’s other side.
Max and Luc settle into chairs around the room, and we settle into a contemplative silence.
“What happens now?” Bastien asks sleepily.
Luc blinks. “I’m not sure.”
Leaning forward, I stroke my hand gently over Ava’s cheek. She nuzzles into my hand as she continues to sleep, her other arm tightening on Nash.
“Wherever she wants to go,” I say softly. Everyone stops and looks at me, and I glance around. “We’ll follow her. Wherever she wants to go.”
Bastien’s face tightens. “She can go wherever she wants.”
She could leave us.
“Have a little faith,” Luc murmurs, his eyes on our little bird.
“Easy for you to say,” huffs Bastien. “You can feel her through the bond.”
