SERA
My eyelids feel like they’ve been glued shut. I can hear beeping, and when the antiseptic smell hits my nostrils, panic isn’t far behind. I attempt to open my eyes and almost cry with relief when both respond. They’re not taped closed like last time. The room is a little hazy, and I blink several times to clear my vision.
Brady is slumped in a chair by my bed, looking wrecked—a little too reminiscent of my last hospital stay. His shirt is wrinkled, and his jaw is covered in at least a day’s worth of growth.
Pain throbs deep in my gut, hot and vicious, like someone has shoved a branding iron into my stomach. I pull in a shallow breath, wincing as memories bombard me.
“Liev?” My voice comes out in a desperate croak, bringing my brother out of his chair. He puts his hand on my shoulder to prevent me from sitting up. “Where’s Liev?”
“Easy. He’s okay. He’s in another room on this floor.”
“I need to see him.” My heart hammers, making the machine next to me beep faster.
The memory of him bleeding out on the floor next to me flashes through me. The image of the first bullet hitting his body, and him continuing to run toward me uncaring of the gunaiming at him. I can’t catch my breath, as hot tears spill down my cheeks. “I need to see for myself.”
“I promise you, he’s okay.” Brady wipes my cheeks. “He’s in better shape than you are.”
“I don’t believe you.” I gasp as white-hot pain stabs at me.
“I wouldn’t lie about that.” Brady offers me a smile as the door swings open and a nurse hurries in.
“What’s going on in here,” she asks frowning at the screen. “She needs to stay calm.”
Brady lifts his eyebrows at me. The nurse moves him aside as she injects something into the IV in the back of my hand.
“Brady, please.”
He takes my hand, as the nurse steps back, stroking over my fingers. “You need to rest. Just sleep.”
My brain fogs. But when the door opens, I see two men standing outside my door. One turns to look at me and winks, before turning to face the hall again. Yuri. The neck tattoos should have given him away.
Brady follows my line of sight. “Interesting life you’ve chosen.”
The drugs are pulling me under. “Pretty sure it’s my life that got us here,” I whisper.
My lids shut, but I hear my brother’s broken voice when he says, “No, this one is on me. I should have climbed down into the jungle to make sure he was dead.” He shakes his head. “I still don’t know how he survived it. I watched Vincent’s shot through the scope… He went off the bend just like we planned…”
I force my eyes to open even if it’s just slits. “It’s not your fault, Brady. If you’d taken the time to check, you might have been caught by the locals who found him. Besides,” I sigh, trying to resist the pull of sleep. “Most likely even the devil didn’t want him yet.” I lick my dry lips. “He’s really dead this time though, right?”
I feel lips brush my forehead. “Yeah, Ser. This time I double-checked.
The next timemy eyes open, the light through the window has shifted.
“Hey, Little Warrior.”
Liev. Emotion swamps me as I take in the bandages visible on his arm and beneath his shirt and peeking out from the waistband of his sweatpants. Tears fill my eyes.
His face contorts. “Are you in pain?” He reaches for the call button, but I put my hand on his to stop him.
Pressing my lips in a tight line to hold the relieved sobs in, I shake my head. I lick my dry lips and say, “I’m just really glad to see you.”
He gives me a lopsided smile. “Trust me, not nearly as happy as seeing your eyes makes me.” For a minute our gazes lock, and I can see my own feelings reflected back to me in his dark eyes.
“I thought my heart was going to stop when I saw you with him…” He roughly clears his throat.
“At least, I didn’t make you watch me run in front of a bunch of bullets.” I do my best to glare at him, but I’m too relieved he’s okay to fake it.
“Pfft.” He smiles. “He was a lousy shot. The one across my ribs was only cause I hadn’t strapped my vest tight enough.”
