Shattered Vows (Midnight Manor Book 2)

Chapter 36

Thirty-Six

Ilie in Kol’s bed, clutching his hand and waiting for him to wake up. It’s mid-morning the day after my mother…er, the woman who claimed she was my mother broke onto the property.

I’ve only left his side for ten minutes since he was brought here and that was only to shower because I was covered in blood.

The panic I felt when I realized Kol had been stabbed will stay with me until the day I die. The doctor who was called to the property insists that nothing vital was hit, but I still can’t force myself to leave his side.

When the doctor was here earlier to check on Kol, I finally relented and let him check my wrist, which he determined had been badly sprained. He wrapped it up.

When Kol’s hand twitches in mine, I sit up and look down at him. His eyes flutter open slowly, and it takes him a moment to focus.

“Kol, are you okay? How do you feel?” The words rush from my mouth.

He blinks several times. His shoulders lose some of the tension that was there moments ago. “You’re okay.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. How do you feel? I should get the doctor.” I start to shift away, but he grips my hand harder.

“No doctor.”

“Asher said you’d say that. That’s why he insisted you be allowed to recuperate here rather than at the hospital.”

He gives me a wan smile and tries to shift his body, but winces.

“Your ankle is wrapped up because you have a bad sprain, and you have stitches for the stab wound in your lower back. The cuts on your face just had to be cleaned.” I run my hand lightly over his head.

“What happened after I passed out?”

I suck in a breath. I knew I’d have to tell him at some point, but I thought it could wait. I don’t even know why I’m so nervous. “Let’s not worry about that right now.”

Kol narrows his eyes and bares his teeth at me. “I need to make sure you’re safe. If you think that?—”

“Relax, I don’t want you getting agitated. Obviously, you’re feeling like yourself.” I swallow and continue. “I stabbed my mother—I mean, I stabbed her in the chest, and she bled out.”

How long will it take my mind to wrap around the fact that the woman was not my mother?

“Fuck.” He reaches for me, trying to disguise the pain it causes him. I take his hand and set it back down. “I’m so sorry you had to do that.”

I meet his gaze and hold it, wanting him to understand what I’m saying. “I’d do anything to protect the people I love. Just like you.”

“But with my training I should have made sure she was dead and taken the knife. I was so scared, I had to get to you, hold you and know that you were okay. All my training didn’t even register. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about anything. We’re safe now.”

He’s quiet for a moment while tears build in his eyes, then he nods at me. I think if he tried to speak right now, he might start crying and that wouldn’t go with the tough guy image he likes to project to the world. But he understands what I’m telling him—that I don’t hold what he did in the past against him.

There’s a soft knock on the door, and a few seconds later, Asher steps through. “You’ve rejoined the land of the living. Good.” He steps up to the side of the bed, and I think the expression on his face is relief.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Kol says, trying to muster a smirk.

I get the impression that this is their default as far as communication goes.

“Rapsody was just filling me in on what happened after I passed out.” Kol looks at me with concern.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to tell him all of it yet. Well, what I know,” I say to Asher.

Kol frowns. “What am I missing?”

“Sid showed up and called the hospital, who sent the air ambulance to pick you up. Then he called Anabelle to find us so she could lead us the fastest way out of the maze. Thank God she knows it so well. Asher was the one who insisted on bringing you home to recover, against doctor’s orders.”

Asher shrugs. “Figured it was what you’d want.”

“Thanks. Any lead on the two goons who drugged me?” Kol asks.

Asher’s mouth draws into a straight line, and he glances at me for a beat, almost judging whether he can say what he wants in front of me. “They were Marcello Costa’s men from the northwest. I’ve been in contact. He assures me that they went rogue and were not working on behalf of the Costa family.”

Kol seems to mull it over for a moment. “You believe him?”

Asher nods. “Yeah. He was pissed when I told him. Told us to chop the bodies up into bits and feed them to the fish.”

“What’d you do?”

“Just that.” Asher smirks.

I feel the color drain from my face, and Kol must notice it because he changes the subject. “What about Rapsody’s… what about the woman?” He squeezes my hand.

“We called the police for that one. Seemed easier since you were going to the hospital.”

I stiffen. I didn’t realize that—didn’t think about it, if I’m honest. I’ve only been concerned that Kol will be okay.

“Will Kol or I be in trouble because of what happened?” I nibble on my bottom lip.

“It’s fine. Asher will take care of it.” Kol squeezes my hand again.

Asher confirms by nodding. “Already did.”

I guess when you have as much money and influence as them, it’s that easy.

“You figure out how they made it onto the property yet?” Kol asks.

“While I was dealing with the cops, Sid and Nero figured it out. They came in on the weekly food delivery truck. The bodies of the two drivers were found ten miles away, tossed into the woods at the side of the road. The police have no leads on them, but security shows Marcello’s goons driving the truck through security. Rapsody’s mom must have been hiding in the back.”

“She’s not my mother.” The words fall from my lips without me thinking about them.

“Of course. Apologies,” Asher says.

“They must’ve been watching the house for some time if they knew the weekly food delivery schedule.”

“Agreed.” Asher’s voice is ice cold.

“Unfortunate that the families of the two drivers will never know how or why they died.”

“Again, agreed.” For some reason, Asher seems to grow uncomfortable. He shifts where he stands and shoves his hands in his pockets.

“What is it?” Kol asks, obviously able to read his brother.

Asher clears his throat. “It occurred to me when I thought we might lose you that I never had the chance to say something to you that’s long overdue.”

I look between them. “Maybe I should give you guys some privacy.” I begin to get up from the bed, but Kol snatches my hand, cringing in pain from the fast movement.

“Whatever Asher wants to say, he can say in front of you. I don’t want you out of my sight.”

I look at Asher, and he nods, so I settle back down on the mattress.

“I’m sorry,” Asher says.

Kol arches an eyebrow. “For?”

“I should never have enrolled in boarding school and left you to take the brunt of Dad’s abuse.”

It feels as if all the air is sucked out of the room. I look at Kol, who’s looking up at his big brother with amber eyes full of an emotion I can’t quite place.

“I understood why you did it, Ash. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I do.” Asher swallows hard. “It was my job to protect you all, and I bailed on it.”

Kol frowns. “You always thought it was, but it wasn’t.”

Asher pushes a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair. “At any rate, you should know that if I could do it over, I would.”

“I appreciate that,” Kol says.

“I’ll let you rest. The doctor said you need it. He’ll be back tonight to change your dressing.” Then Asher turns to me. “If you get sick of this one’s bedside manner, Anabelle has been asking about you.”

“Okay. I’ll be sure to touch base with her later today.” There’s a warm feeling in my chest that for the first time in my life, I have a friend who’s concerned for me. Once Asher has left, I lie down next to Kol again, taking his hand. “Do you want anything to eat, drink?”

“I just want you.”

Turning my head, I kiss his shoulder. “You came after me into the maze.”

He stiffens for a moment before he relaxes. “I wasn’t about to let her take you away from me. I’d face all my worst nightmares to prevent that from happening.”

“Still… I know that wasn’t easy for you.” Tears well in my eyes, but I suck them back. The skin on my cheeks feels raw from all the crying I’ve been doing in the past twenty-four hours.

“It was easy when I considered the alternative.” He squeezes my hand. “How are you? Are you okay after what happened with Margaret?”

“I will be. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’s not my real mother. I wish I hadn’t had to do what I did.” I squeeze my eyes shut as the image of me plunging the knife into her chest resurfaces. “I would do it again though to save you. I know now why you did what you did for your brother and Anabelle. I’m sorry I doubted you.” A tear slips free, and I swipe it away.

“Look at me,” Kol says.

I let go of his hand and turn onto my side, resting on my elbow so I can look down at him.

“I would have questioned your sanity if you hadn’t doubted me at all.”

A small smile tilts my lips. “How did you find my biological parents?” It’s something I’ve been wondering about while I was lying here with Kol, waiting for him to wake up and going over everything in my mind.

He blows out a breath. “When I couldn’t find any adoption records for you, I figured that you were either bought on the black market or kidnapped when you were a baby. I had a hunch, and I was right. If my child was stolen, the first thing I’d do is upload my DNA into one of those public genealogy databases so that if my child or their descendants ever uploaded theirs, I’d know about it. After you were hurt during that thunderstorm, I sent your blood in to be tested. I paid the company handsomely to keep the results from being public, but I wanted to see if anyone matching your DNA would be a close enough relation to track down your parents. Turns out they were both in the database. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Margaret right away. It was selfish. I thought you might leave me to go find your real family.”

I lightly place my hand on his chest. “You are my family, Kol.”

His amber eyes glisten as he looks at me. “And you’re mine. I’m never going to be separated from you again, sweetheart. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get my head out of my ass, but I promise that if you’ll let me, I’ll work the rest of our lives to make you happier than you were the day before. You’re everything to me.”

“I love you, Kol Voss.”

“I love you more, sweetheart. Believe me. You can’t even fathom how much.”

Careful not to put any weight on his chest, I lean in and kiss him. Just a chaste kiss, but it’s the seal of our promise to each other.

“I’m so glad all of this is behind us,” I say when I pull away.

He frowns. “There’s one loose end to tie up, but I’ll take care of it in time.” Before I can ask what he means, he asks me another question. “Do you want to know about your birth parents?”

I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about everything. But I think I’ll eventually want to meet them.”

He nods.

“Will you come with me if I do?”

He smiles at me. “Is that even a question? I’m going to be worse than Nero.”

My forehead wrinkles. “What does that mean?”

Kol shakes his head. “Never mind, just get back here and kiss me again.”

So I do.