Shit, she would definitely need to tell her. But then again, people change and find partners in the strangest of places. Who was Adria to tell Elena not to try?
“Of course,” Adria said, grabbing the supplies from him.
She ignored the twisting in her gut and the nerves that crept up her spine. She and Bryson hadn’t spoken since their time in the safe house, and since then things had been…cold. Uncomfortable.
Adria squared her shoulders, ignoring the cold sweat breaking out on her back, and took a long breath.
She was Adria Federov.
She could be in the same room as Bryson Winters.
The bathroom wasn’t large by most standards, but for a plane it was huge. Another perk of flying private.
“Sit,” she said, pointing to the bench in the shower.
Bryson winced as he took off his shirt. Adria watched as he peeled off the large bandage revealing his torso.
She had to press her hand into the wall to remain upright. His entire body was covered in marks. Bruises, cuts and what looked like electrical burns.
She forced herself to get the antiseptic from Eric’s bag. Saturating the gauze, her hands shook as she approached him. Maybe Eric would have been better suited for this.
Bryson looked away as she approached, and she felt him tense at her touch.
“How is the pain?” she asked, desperately trying to make small talk.
“It’s okay,” he said.
Great. So now he was not looking at herandlying to her.
Dabbing around the dried blood, she checked the stitches the doctor had put in. They seemed to be holding well.
“I need a shower,” Bryson said.
“I can wait to put the bandage back on until after you clean up,” she said.
He nodded and bent to take off his shoes, wincing in pain again.
“Let me,” she said.
He hesitated but reluctantly let her.
She started to untie his shoes. Why did it feel so cold between them?
Because you sold them to a psychopath.
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes, and her hands started to shake. Kaydon had marks on his arms, and she hadn’t gotten to fully inspect Seth.
Bryson, from what she could see, had been dangerously close to death.
And all that was just the physical. What other hurts lurked under their skin?
What else had she been too late to stop?
Her vision was too blurry to untie the damn shoes, and suddenly there was a hand on hers. Steadying her tremor.
“I got it Dri, A little pain hasn’t killed me yet.”
That was it. The flood gates opened. Tears fell freely from her face, and sobs racked up from her throat.
