Page 306 of Vicious Temptation

“I’m here.” I cup his face, tears already distorting my vision. “I’m right here. Tell me what you need. Does anything hurt? Do you want me to get the doctor?”

His hand lifts unsteadily from the bed, searching until his fingertips find my cheek. He swallows again, gathering enough strength to speak.

“Don’t...” His lips twitch. “Don’t eat my lollipop.”

For a second, all I can do is stare at him before relieved laughter spills through my tears.

“It’s all yours,” I whisper and press a kiss to his forehead. “I promise.”

His tired smile fades almost as quickly as it appeared, and his attention settles on me. “Are you okay?”

Of course, that’s the first thing he asks.

“I’m okay,” I assure him.

He studies me another second, as if he needs proof before he can believe it. “Helios?”

“It’s over. For now. Elena’s dead. The agents at the warehouse who survived were taken into custody, and everything she’d been running outside Helios started coming apart. The building was raided, but not before every database inside was wiped clean.”

That part doesn’t surprise me. Organizations like Helios don’t wait around for someone else to clean up their messes. They erase what they can, disappear, and rebuild somewhere no one knows to look. Whatever name they use next, I doubt we’ve seen the last of them.

I wonder if Elena had something to do with what Rafe knew. With her dead and every record erased, I may never know.

“Everything?”

“Everything. Whatever they had on my family is gone too. They figured out what Elena was doing at the warehouse. The distress call brought SWAT. Helios was already coming after you, and she sent me that picture, knowing my family would follow.”

He glances down at our joined hands. “How did you get past SWAT?”

No more secrets.

“My family still has people they can call when things go bad. Someone got to your unit before they opened fire and made it clear we weren’t the enemy, Helios was. By the time the order not to engage us came through, I was already inside, and my family came after me.”

His eyes close for a moment. “She brought everyone there.”

“Looks that way.”

“Hoping we’d kill each other.”

“Would’ve saved her a lot of trouble.”

His fingers tighten around mine. “You’re safe?”

“Today we are. Whatever Elena built around my family died with her, and Helios has no reason to come after us. But you know how that goes. Cut off one head…”

“Two more grow back.”

“Exactly. So I’m not stupid enough to believe they’re gone for good.”

Thiago releases a long breath before looking at me again. “Your mom, Remi?”

“She’s okay.” My voice trembles, even after I’ve repeated those words so many times over the past three days. “She needed surgery, but the bullet missed anything vital. The doctors expect her to make a full recovery.”

“And everyone else?”

“Everyone made it out.”

Relief softens his expression as his eyes close. “Thank God.”