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Bear exhales as if he’s been holding his breath all night. I can’t even imagine the chaos he endured as bullets were flying. I’m traumatized enough by memories of the SUV in the river.
Rather than consider how close we came to losing our second chance, I hold Bear’s hand and watch the video of Siobhan with the kids.
“I’m going home with you,” Bear says and yawns. “I’ll stay at the mansion today.”
His words offer me hope. The room is filled with his scent, making me feel like we’re back at his house.
Relaxed now, I doze off to the sound of my babies squealing with delight over the kite held by my best friend.
BEAR
Earlier...
My people surround me until dawn. I’m given clean clothes and take a shower in a hospital room. Afterward, my minor wounds are treated. By midnight, the Hills Chapter has rolled into town and circled the hospital. Caveman is in an especially surly mood since he doesn’t get to kill anyone.
“It’s early,” Aunt Fred tells her brother. “Be patient. Anything could happen.”
Meanwhile, Siobhan receives hugs from everyone. She checks on Sync when he’s out of surgery. I know she wants to see Natasha, but the Syndicate has closed ranks around the injured Kovak children.
Roman’s in bad shape, having taken several bullets to the chest. Petra has broken bones. I’m not at all clear how the hell the sisters got out of the SUV if she was so busted up.
There’s no one to ask since I can’t get to Natasha. Dozing in an ER bed, I often wake up and throw punches at imaginary threats.
Just after dawn, Noble visits me. He closes the door behind him, clearly wanting to talk about private shit.
“We got the men to talk,” he says in a quiet voice.
“Of course you did.”
The club long ago stopped physically torturing people for information. Aunt Fred’s brother Torque came up with the idea of blitzing out fuckers with drugs. People get very compliant when they’re wasted. Sure, they sometimes dream up crazy shit while high, but their tongues certainly get looser.
“The men were pros. Once we got hold of them, they knew they were doomed,” Noble says and fixes the blanket over me. I immediately kick it off, refusing to be treated like a kid. Noble grins at my stubbornness. “They gave up their employer.”
“Who hired them?”
When Noble shakes his head as if in disbelief, I expect him to say the Brennan family was behind the attack.
“Brandon Arany.”
“Who?”
“Petra’s soon-to-be ex-husband.”
My brain’s worn out, both from stress and a lack of sleep. Maybe that’s why I can’t figure out what Noble’s saying.
Later, after I get breakfast, I remember how the bus changed courses at the last moment. I figured the driver miscounted the vehicles. He was so close to slamming into Viktor’s SUV. Except changing courses and hitting the fifth SUV wasn’t an accident. Anyone near the hotel would have been able to see which vehicle Petra was taking home.
I don’t know why a man like Brandon Arany would go to such lengths to kill his wife. Natasha rarely mentions Petra’s ex. She just seems happy to have her sister home.
With the Arany crime family in the mix, the Kovak Syndicate will handle the issue themselves. This isn’t a Banta City battle but something more personal. If Brandon was smart, he’d be on a plane to a faraway country with new ID papers. Living in hiding forever seems better than whatever Viktor will do if he gets his hands on the asshole who came so close to killing three of his children.
Arriving at Sync’s room, I find Kiera and Deirdre taking turns feeding him Jello.
“It’s so good,” Deirdre tells her dad when he doesn’t want another bite.
“Then, you eat it, baby,” Sync says, sounding exhausted. “I think I’m done.”
Kiera’s face crumbles as she begins crying. Sync cuddles his daughters closer and promises he’ll eat all the Jello when they get home tomorrow. The twins look at me when I stand at the end of the bed. I see accusations in their little eyes. Or maybe I’m suffering from fatigue and guilt.
