Page 341 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Vasily’s people lift Roman between them and carry him out. Vasily himself is still on his knees, one hand on his throat as he watches the attacker disappear through the ruined doorway, pale and haunted. Kade looks beyond him. Riley is on the ground, but not unconscious. He’s breathing slowly, eyes closed. Blaire is kneeling by him, one hand atop his chest. Kade looks back at Lachlan who, like Vasily, is staring blindly towards where the intruder was taken, unmoving and silent.

Kade spits blood and wipes his mouth.

‘Who the fuck is Roman?’

✴

In Blaire’s ruined apartment, she gathers her things.

The building and its location are compromised now, so she says.

Riley refused any help and is managing to walk but won’t let anyone touch him, which seems fair given the sheer number of injuries he’s healing right now. Kade stays close to him. Vasily Sorrenko went elsewhere.

‘I thought you said Roman Sorrenko died.’ Kade turns to Lachlan when Blaire goes into her bedroom, leaving the three of them alone in her kitchen. ‘You told me—’

‘He did. I held him. He was dead,’ Lachlan answers tightly, still flexing his fingers to encourage circulation. Blaire told him to keep wiggling, that it would help the Morphlox wear off. ‘I don’t understand how he’s alive.’

Riley nods towards the bedroom. ‘I bet she does.’

‘Yeah. How are you holding up?’ Lachlan asks him.

‘Fine.’

‘You look like hammered shit.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Do you want my blood?’

Riley makes a face of utter, exhausted disgust. ‘Excuse me?’

‘We know it can heal. Don’t be such a prude.’

‘We don’t know shit about your blood, Tanner, and you just offering it around like it’s some great cure-all is insane.’

‘I’m not offering it around, I’m offering it to you. You’re healing his injuries. It helped before and it could help again.’

‘Like I said, we have no idea what your blood actually does, and I don’t want it inside me,’ Riley insists, voice tight.

Kade sorely wants to make a case that Riley should at least consider it because, in all honesty, Kade has never been so badly beaten in his life and Riley must feel it.

But he also knows Riley.

So he gives Lachlan a little shake of his head, telling him to let it go.

‘No point in being in pain if you can fix it,’ Lachlan says, like he truly doesn’t understand.

Riley’s gaze lifts to the ceiling in a half-formed eye-roll.

‘I’d rather heal it naturally, thank you.’

‘Martyr.’

Blaire comes out with a suitcase packed, wearing different clothes. ‘I’m ready.’

‘Where are you gonna go?’ Lachlan asks.

‘Being that you caused this chaos,’ she says with a haughty sniff, ‘I will be coming to stay in the Tower you now defend.’