“If you go, I go with you too.”
The car is mostly silent after that. They take us to Fia’s, where the doctor we pay to fix us when we’re fucked up is already waiting. They take Conan and Kat to a room where two hospital beds have been prepared for them.
“I…” Shai starts like he’s not sure what to say or do.
“It’s okay. We’ll take care of her. I’m Fia. You must be Shai. I’ve heard all about you.” She gives Shai the kindest, most loving smile. This woman has been more of a mom to me than my own was able to be, and I’ll always love her.
“He’s mine,” I tell her proudly. I’ve never had somethingor someone that’s mine this way, and I want everyone to know it.
“I know.” She runs her hand through my hair, then kisses my cheek, before giving Shai a hug. “You boys go get cleaned up. She’s asleep and will be for a while. We’ll take care of her. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
Shai lingers, looking at his mom, then me, before he nods. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Pfft. You don’t have to call me that.”
I smile when he blushes. “Come on,” I say.
We walk over to Kat’s bed, and he whispers something in her ear, then lets me lead him away—I have a room I always stay in at Fia’s. We strip out of our clothes, then climb into the en suite shower together.
“It killed me to be away from you.” I wrap my arms around him, blood and grime running down our bodies and down the drain.
“I know. I want you by my side. Always. But you did it, you did it because that was the best thing to do.”
I did. I proved I could do what needs to be done, even with Shai in the mix.
“My mom…”
“She’s okay, baby.”
“She saved me…she took a bullet for me. She…”
“Loves you,” I finish for him. “I like her better now.”
He chuckles, then buries his face in my neck. “I love you so much.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to kill him for you. I should have done that.”
“I think…I think she needed to do it. I don’t fucking care. I’m just glad he’s dead.”
“No one will ever hurt you again.” I take the soap and begin washing him, scrubbing every inch of his body, kissingeach and every bruise, before Shai does the same for me, slow, gentle touches, lazy kisses, stroking hands, until we’re rinsed clean, cocks hard. “Come on.” I grab a towel, drying him the way he’d done for me that night I lost myself after Bruce, then let Shai return the favor. We climb into bed together, naked, aching, just feeling, lying on our sides, looking at each other.
“I have a family,” he says.
“You do.”
“Cillian called his father for me. It’s like everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours is hitting me now.”
I run my hands up and down his back, savoring the feel of his hot skin, the muscles beneath and the curves of his body. “He loves you too, in the same way I love Ollie.”
Shai nods, opens his mouth to speak, but the soft knock on the door stops him.
“Who is it?” I call out, but I already know. Tonight was…a lot. People were shot. We were hurt. We could have died, and just like I can’t stop touching Shai, just needing to feel him, breathe him in, I know that the need for connection exists outside the walls of this room too.
“It’s me and Ollie,” Cillian says.
My skin prickles, need rising and nearly spilling over.
Shai’s breath hitches, his hold on my hip tightening. He knows too. Still, I ask, “Do you know why they’re here?”
