My eyes snap open to find Olivia hovering over me, a fresh coffee in hand.
“You need to head home,” She tells me, “Get some proper rest.”
“I agree,” The voice has me snapping up in my chair, head whipping around to find Sebastian awake, the bed in a propped-up position but that’s a grin on his face.
He’s still pale, his hair in disarray but he’s awake.
“Bast!” I cry, getting up so quick I jolt Oli.
“Hey, Red,” He rasps, watching me, assessing me like I’m the one in the hospital bed.
I stop short at the side of the bed, halting my forward motion so I don’t climb right on up there to hold him.
“Come here,” He says in a whisper and opens an arm for me. I don’t hesitate this time, I climb onto the bed, careful not to disturb any of the tubes and wires attached to him. His arm curls around me tightly, holding me to his chest and while the monitor still beats steadily behind me, it’s nothing on the sound of his actual heart beneath my ear where I rest my head on his chest.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” I grumble.
His chuckle is light and a little tense, “I’ll try my best not to get stabbed again.”
“Good,” I snuggle in further, “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” He answers and tightens his arm, holding me impossibly closer.
Chapter Forty-one
Despite not wanting to leave, Bast, Olivia and even Malakai teamed up to force me. I get it, I do, doesn’t mean I like it. So now I’m in a cab heading back to my apartment, it’s morning rush hour so it’s slow going but I take the time to sit in the silence.
A lot has happened in the past twelve hours, and I hadn’t realized just how tired I am. I need to shower and sleep, probably for a week.
Sebastian is doing good; they are keeping him in for a couple of days which I expected but there is one looming fear hanging over me. Christian hasn’t been found. He disappeared completely off radar after the attack in the parking garage and the fear he couldshow up at any moment to finish whatever it was he had started with Bast is constantly there. I understand that they hate each other but I don’t know why.
I know who Sebastian is, I know what he does, and I get that his job comes with risks, with enemies but this is the first time I have seen it firsthand.
The cab pulls up to my apartment building and I pay before I climb out. The air is warm, the sky clear, a promise that summer is just around the corner.
Entering through the front, I head straight for the bank of elevators, hitting the button for the private elevator to take me up to the penthouse. A couple of hours of sleep, a shower and some fresh clothes and I’ll be back at the hospital with Bast. Olivia and Malakai will likely stay with him, with Kill, Dean and Savannah popping in so I know he’s covered but it just makes me feel better if I can see him. If that makes me needy then so be it.
A sigh of relief leaves me as I step into my home, the comforting smell settling those nerves and the fears that have plagued me since I held a bleeding Sebastian in my arms the day before. I drop my purse on the counter and kick off my shoes, wincing at the soreness around my toes and heels and pad through to the bathroom, hitting the button on the shower.
I strip down and step under the hot spray, immediately loosening my breath as the hot water starts to work at the tension in my body. It cascades over me, and I tip my head back, letting the water run over my face, wetting my hair. I stay like that for at least fiveminutes before I get to work, scrubbing at my body to remove the speckles of blood on my skin and under my nails and once I’m clean, I wash my hair and face and then climb from the shower, already feeling like a different woman now that I’m clean.
With a towel wrapped around me, I head through to the bedroom, my bed calling me, but I change first and get on my hair care, even if I need sleep. I don’t want to deal with the mess of curls when I wake but once that’s done, I climb beneath the sheets and grab my cell, hitting the call button on Bast’s contact.
“Red,” He answers on the first ring, “You should be sleeping.”
“I just wanted to check on you,” I stifle a yawn against the back of my hand.
“I’m fine,” He tells me, a stern edge to his tone, “Go to sleep, Red.”
“It’s quiet,” I whisper, “I don’t like it.”
“I’ll be home soon,” He promises.
I nod, even though he can’t see me.
“Go to sleep, Red, I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“I love you,” I whisper.
