“Youdounderstand. You know exactly what I’m saying. I’ve been a fool, led by resentment. This is where Tyler belongs. With us. He’soursto take care of. We’ll find a way to make the three of us work.”
More tears of happiness pool in my eyes. I join Felix at the door, pressing up on my toes and brushing my lips to his. “Thank you. I love you. You always give me everything.”
Felix breathes heavily, full of pain. He’s trembling and I feel it in his kiss. “I need a moment alone with my brother.”
“Of course. Call me back in when you’re done.”
Before leaving, I glance at Tyler one last time. Felix pulls up a chair and sits beside the operating table. His head bows and he grips Tyler’s hands.
“I’m sorry, Tyler,” he mutters. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
Not wanting to intrude, I linger for a heartbeat longer, then quietly step out.
Voices echo from down the corridor. Recognizing Theo’s voice, I follow the sound into the entertainment area, finding him sitting at the bar with a handful of bodyguards. He’s pouring shot glasses of vodka and passing them around, each man looking exhausted.
Theo stands the moment I come into view, seeing my tears. “Shit, Harper. Don’t tell me the doctor couldn’t save Tyler.”
I laugh, wiping my face dry. “I’m crying because I’m happy. Tyler is alive. The doctor says he’ll be fine.”
“Thank God. You scared me. Where’s Felix?”
“I’m giving him a moment alone with Tyler.”
Theo slides a shot of vodka along the countertop to me. “Sit. You look like you could do with a drink.”
I shake my head, unable to relax yet. “What happened with the explosion?”
I’ve been so panicked about Tyler’s condition, now is the first moment I’m able to breathe and process everything that happened in that parking lot. The moment Tyler was shot, bodyguards were firing at the drive-by shooter. The car went spinning and crashed, instantly exploding in flames.
Theo helps himself to another shot. “After the fire died down, we checked the car. We found a body in the wreckage, burned beyond recognition.”
“Gregor’s body? I mean, Quentin Ferguson?”
“We assume so. I know a guy who can access vehiclerecords. He ran the VIN through the system. It came back registered to Ferguson.”
“So, he’s… dead?”
“I’ll be looking into it further, but most arrows point towardyes.”
My brows furrow. I should feel relieved. Yet… my intuition tells me otherwise. “His death seems too easy. The man is crazy. He was laughing when I stabbed him.”
“You nearly lost Tyler. I wouldn’t call that easy. You’re new to this world. I’m not sure if you were expecting some massive battle in order to eliminate Ferguson. I’ve knocked off a lot of men in our line of work. Sometimes it’s fast, other times it’s not. Just be glad his death didn’t cost you more.”
Perhaps Theo is right. I lean against the bar, burying my head in my hands. As the seconds pass, the more reality sinks in.
There’s a large chance Quentin Ferguson is dead.
More importantly, Felix says we’ll find a way to make a relationship work with Tyler. In the space of a few hours, I somehow went from anguish to having the two loves of my life back.
I smile at that last point, barely believing it.
Felix and Tyler aremineagain.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
TYLER
Somehow, I’m not dead. My eyelids feel like they’re weighted with concrete, but I manage to crack them open, my vision hazy. The ceiling is unfamiliar, black with gold trim. The room is dim and there are no windows, just emerald walls. I’m in a bed. Not a hospital style bed, but king size and with luxurious sheets. Tubes stick out of my arms, hooking me to a machine. A bandage is wrapped around my torso.
