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“Ravage.”

“Don’t ask me to give her up…” My voice was barely coming out when I said, “I don’t know if I have it in me.”

“Shut up and don’t fucking die on me.” His voice was strained with worry. “She’ll never forgive me.”

I wanted to tell him he was wrong. Emery would forgive him. She would forgive us all. That’s who she was. It was one of the many reasons I’d fallen for her. But the darkness was closing in, and the words wouldn’t come.

The last thing I remembered was Knox’s hands still pressed against my chest, holding me together long after the truck came to a stop. I heard voices, felt myself being lifted from the truck, and I could tell by the way they moved it was bad.

They were trying to get me to the infirmary before it was too late. I was too tired to tell them it was okay, that I loved them for trying, and they’d always be family to me, even when I was six feet under. I was also too tired to respond when I heard Emery’s voice ripple through the darkness. I heard the fear, the worry, in her voice, and I wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

We’d won. We’d taken out the Armenians. She could go back to her studio, work with her kids, and have her life back. Of course, the words didn’t come. Not even when she pleaded, “Please, don’t do this… don’t take him from me.”

We were moving, faster now. I tried to lift my hand, but it barely moved. She took it in hers, her fingers wrapping around mine, and she held it tight as she cried out my name. That sound hurt worse than the bullet.

But I didn’t hear it long.

Because everything faded to black.

I woke up in a haze. My head was pounding. It hurt to take a deep breath, and my chest and shoulder were wrapped in enough gauze to make me look like a damn Halloween character. It took me a minute to figure out where I was. It didn’t help matters that the room was dark, but once I spotted the IV jabbed in my forearm, I knew I was in the infirmary.

I guess it beat being fucking dead. Something was grinding into my back, so I tried to sit up. That was a mistake. Pain shot across my chest and took my breath. “Fuck me.”

I dropped back on the gurney with a groan. I took a couple of breaths, hoping the pain would let up, but it didn’t. I was about to call out for Blade or anyone when I spotted her.

Emery was hunched over in a chair with her arms crossed on the gurney and her head resting on her hands. She was sound asleep, but looked uncomfortable as hell. I was trying to decide if I should wake her when I heard Blade say, “She’s been here all night.”

I glanced up at him as I said, “You should’ve sent her to bed.”

“I tried.” He stepped closer. “Knox did too, but she wasn’t having it.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“How you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a fucking truck.”

“I’ll get you some more pain meds.”

“I’ll take a cold one, too.”

He chuckled. “Not happening, brother.”

“Come on, man. I took a bullet. I think I deserve at least one.”

“You can have a whole fucking case as soon as you’re back on your feet.”

“Can’t believe a shoulder shot almost took me out.”

“Hit you just right… Went in at an angle, and damn near hit your heart.” He shook his head. “Bled like a damn sieve, and it was a damn miracle I was able to get a handle on it.”

“Appreciate the effort.”

“All in a day’s work,” he chuckled again.

Emery lifted her head with a sigh, and when her green eyes found mine, the room stilled. She stared at me as the tears started to fall, and her voice cracked as she muttered, “You’re okay.”

“That’s right, baby. I’m still kicking.”