Page 135 of Violent Pawn

“Two organizations were hunting his ass. He wasn’t escaping.”

Hearing that eases me back against the pillows with a sigh, which also brings the faint edges of black to my vision again. Sleep tugs on my hand, urging me back down. But I’ll be damned if I rest before seeing him.

Vanessa leaves, attention diving to her phone, stating she’ll return in a moment. Alone with Lev, I twist again to take him in. He looks as tired as I feel, with black smudges below his eyes. Dressed in sweats and a hoodie, he’s the epitome of an exhausted hospital guest.

“You and your tracking software forever save us. Thanks.”

“Always,” he replies as awkwardly as he spoke earlier. The stiffness within his tone transitions into his body as he lowers himself to the edge of my bed. A strange expression passes over his face before he reaches for my hand. A finger to the back, and then his palm on top of mine.

“Your care is astounding,” I tease.

“I’m trying. It was easier when Fina was in the hospital.”

“It was Sera, that’s why. She’s the exception to everything. It’s alright.” To drag out his pain for longer because it’s not fair that only one of us is broken. My hand flips to capture his tightly. “Be honest. How bad is it? How do I look?”

In his usual way, Lev holds nothing back. “Terrible and ugly. You’re cut up and bruised. Your face is swollen, and so are your knuckles.”

“I’d punch you if it wouldn’t hurt so badly.”

“You asked for it. Still…” He swallows, then turns to look out the far window. “I’m glad you survived. I’m not sure how to go on without you by my side. Fina might be extra special to me, but you’re my twin. With rest, time, and medication, you’ll be back to your normal annoying self.”

“You really confuse me when you get emotional.”

“It won’t happen often, so don’t stress. Speaking of stress…” He twists back to me, his expression foreign. “Don’t be too hard on Nero. Vanessa was correct. He’s a mess. He looked…”

“Like you did when we found Serafina in the crash, I’d imagine.”

Horror shudders through him. “I suppose so. He’s determined to return to your side, and I’m not sure I could prevent him from doing so without turning it into a full-blown fight, so unless you’re absolutely certain you don’t want to see him…” His voice picks up, phrasing the statement as a question about my comfort over the scenario.

Something close to the sense of safety wraps a blanket around my shoulders and burrows me into the bed at the thought of Nero visiting.

“Are you still mad at him?” Lev asks before I get the chance to explain how much I want Nero here.

“I’m always mad at him.” Since the moment I met him.

Lev’s brows draw together, and he slowly shakes his head. “I’m not. His actions didn’t steal from us, but helped. Maybe it’s for the best that he’s the one who killed Papa. He’s gone, which is what matters. There’s a reason we let him go free years ago. No matter the hatred, no matter how much his death was deserved, our DNA wasn’t able to do it. What’s to say our trip to the Cayman Islands wouldn’t have ended with us leaving him alive?”

Lev’s argument isn’t one I considered. Could I have murdered my papa? It certainly feels like I could, but thoughts and actions are different. When the gun was in my hand or a knife to his throat, could I have gone through with it?

Maybe Lev is right. Maybe Nero saved me in another way.

“I called Nero after everything,” my brother continues. “I told him that I don’t hold grudges the same way. That whatever was happening between you two was only between you two, and not me.” He stares down at my hand. “If you wanted to make him grovel for longer, I think finding you beat up in that warehouse might have been the ultimate retribution.”

“Who are you?”

“Just a man who knows what it feels like to nearly lose his heart. I sympathize with Nero.”

“Now you understand sympathy?” My eyes roll, only to immediately sting at the pressure.

“Blame Fina.”

The door opens and Vanessa returns, sliding her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. She looks between the two of us. “That was Zeno. Vasilyev is officially in custody. Dimitri and I will head over to where they have him. Katya and Sera are in the waiting room, if you’re up for more visitors?”

“Always,” I whisper, feeling my heart swell a million sizes. My life went from an abusive father and equally traumatized brother to an entire group of people who care. “Anything for family.”

Both toss me a confused look. It’s Lev who mutters, “Must be the drugs she’s doped up on.”

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