“How is she?” Alexander asks, rounding the foot of the bed and coming to stand beside me.
I clench her hand to my chest as I turn to look up at my oldest brother. His face, usually fixed on pissed, softens when his eyes meet mine.
“What are the doctors saying?” Ivan steps forward, his own voice tight.
“They aren’t saying anything right now. They’re waiting on blood work, but it’ll be the same as last time. She’s healing. We need to let the medicines work to fight the infection.”
I kiss her knuckles. “I should have gotten there sooner.”
“You didn’t know she’d gone there.” Alexander grips my shoulder, squeezing it as though he can transfer his strength into my body.
If it worked that way, Sienna would have been healed days ago.
“I should have put a tracker on her phone. I should have injected her with one.” I blow out a slow breath. “I didn’t take the threat seriously enough. I should have known they’d do something like this.”
“Kaz, you got there as soon as you found out she’d gone.” Ivan grips the bedrail at the foot of the bed.
I shake my head, looking up at her face. Her beautiful, soft face that has the power to make a monster like me fall to his knees. But I didn’t show her enough of that man.
“She thinks I wanted her dead.”
“She was delirious. The doctor explained that,” Alexander reminds me.
“She didn’t even know I was here.”
“The fever was making everything messed up in her head. She probably won’t remember any of it when she’s better. And she’ll get better,” Ivan says.
“Did you track down Vicente?” I ask, needing to put my thoughts somewhere else. Because if I let my mind travel down the road of what might happen if she doesn’t get better, I might scare more of those nurses out there.
And Sienna needs them. She needs their help and their expertise, because I can’t fix her. There’s no one I can threaten to make this better. No gun, no knife, no bribe is going to make the infection inside her body go away.
“Yes.” Ivan nods.
“Where is he?”
“The pit.” Alexander pauses a beat. “He’ll be there when you’re ready to deal with him.”
I stroke my fingers over the back of her hand. My knuckles are still swollen, still cracked and bruised from beating Dante. I’m tired.
“Take care of him.” I lift my eyes to her face. “Just take care of him and get all the rest taken care of, too.”
“You don’t want?—”
“I want it handled.” I cut off Ivan.
“You got it.” Ivan pulls out his phone, presses it to his ear, and walks out of the room, already muttering orders in Russian.
“The girls wanted to come, but I talked Megan into hanging out with Tommy instead.” Alexander grips my shoulder again. “Kaz, she’s going to be okay.”
“She never wanted any of this. Her brothers were as cruel to her as they were to anyone else. She was never one of them. I used her for revenge. I’m no better than them.”
“Kaz.” He sighs. “You need to get some sleep. Eat something. Get some coffee. A shower.”
“I’m not leaving.” My body clenches at the idea of getting up from this chair. I can’t let her wake up again and not see me here.
I won’t let her think I abandoned her.
I’m not perfect.
