“Trev…” I don’t have the words to thank him for what he did for me. For Mik. Putting his own life in danger, risking arrest, fighting the demons I know are haunting him even now.
“No. You willnotthank me. This is what family does, Austin. I didn’t have one for a long time. Or…I didn’t think I did. As much as your parents welcomed me into your home, all the nights I had dinner there, spent spring breaks in New Haven, Christmases…I didn’t see it. I was the orphan. The kid you invited along because you pitied me.”
“We never pitied you.”
“I know.” One corner of his mouth pulls up a little, and he huffs out what might be a chuckle. “Now. Took me a long time to come to terms with it. A solid eight months. Hell, Dax and Ford remind me at least once a week. Or they did until I started to open up to them a little. Talk about what happened in Venezuela.”
“Soon, if you’re up to it,” I say, nervous as fuck I’m going to hurt him with my next words, “we need to talk about Gil. About everything that went down five years ago. We never really…”
“I know, man. Once things settle down,” he nods towards Mik, “you say the word and I’ll come back. After all, I still haven’tmether. Or, you can bring her to Boston. She’s part of the family now.”
“Yeah. She is,brother.” I still have my hand on Trev’s shoulder, and I pull him in for a quick, hug. “Tell Dani I love her and I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“Will do. Get some rest.”
When the door snicks shut and I return my focus to Mikayla, her eyes flutter open, she smiles, and holds out her hand. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Returning to the chair, I link our fingers. Hers are cold, and the heart rate monitor still beeps too slowly for my liking. Or her doctor’s. “Did we wake you?”
“No, that was the blood pressure cuff. I hate hospitals.” She closes her eyes, and I think maybe she’s fallen asleep again, but she squeezes my hand gently. “You can’t sit in that chair all night.”
“I can. Because you need to rest.”
“I’ll rest.” She pins me with a hard stare, despite the exhaustion in her eyes. “If you hold me.”
There isn’t a single thing I won’t do for her, so I lower the bed rail and stretch out next to her. “Your wish is my command, sweetheart. Now and forever.”
“That’s better,” she says, but her body’s still tense.
“Mik, what’s wrong? And don’t say nothing.” Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I breathe in her scent, and though it’s marred by antiseptic and the smell of the decontamination mist from the lab, it still calms me.
“I don’t remember what happened,” she says quietly. “After he…after Wally dragged me into the lab…it’s all a blur.”
I can’t take away what happened. I can’t magically raise her heart rate or get her discharged early. I can’t take her home no matter how much I want to. But this? This, I can do.
I talk until she falls asleep in my arms, telling her how Trevor, Ronan, and I got up to the second floor, how Trev took Arturo down. How Wally and Branch died sealed in the lab because of how much phytotoxin Mik had managed to throw in their faces. About the cop threatening to shoot me. Dax’s lightning fast phone call.
Once I know she’s out, I close my eyes and let myself drift off next to her. I still haven’t said those three important words to her, and I don’t know if she remembers saying them to me. But I know they’re true. And deep down, I hope she does too.
Thirty-six hourslater
I rush around the SUV to open Mik’s door and she scowls at me. “Austin, I’mfine. Clean bill of health. No lasting damage. I can get out of a car by myself.”
“Not while I’m around, sweetheart. At least not yet. My father would rip me a new one if he found out I wasn’t taking care of you well enough.” Scooping her into my arms, I ignore her protests and manage to carry her all the way inside and to the couch before I have to let her go.
“You do realize I’m going back to work in a week, right?”
“I do. And for the next seven days, I’m going to pamper you until you’re sick of me.” I head to the kitchen and flip on the coffee maker, then rummage around in the cabinet for Mik’s favorite chocolate bar—fair trade and organic—a tin of homemade snickerdoodles from Evianna, and a bag of veggie chips.
I hated leaving her at the hospital for even a few hours, but retrieving her favorite yoga pants and Berkeley t-shirt and receiving Evianna’s delivery were worth it. Especially when she gapes at the tray of food I set on the coffee table.
“Holy crap, Austin. When—?”
“Evianna baked the cookies—Dax’s wife?—and Li told me what chocolate to buy. Oh, and there’s one more thing.” I grab the flat box next to the couch and set it on her lap. “That’s from Wren.”
“Seriously?” Mik pulls the top off the box and breathes a faint, “Oh.” The blanket looks like someone skinned a yeti, but it’s soft as fuck and Mik runs her hand over it with something approaching reverence before she pulls it from the box. “I don’t understand…”
Tucking the blanket around her, I take the opportunity to kiss her—really kiss her—for the first time in days. We spent most of her time in the hospital watching old movies on the small TV and just being…together. But I couldn’t find the words to tell her how much I love her. Or explain what she’s gotten herself into with me.
