Chapter 60
CHAPTER 60
Silas
“This should be tighter,” Mom says, tugging at my bandage.
“Ow!” I yelp, swatting her hand aside. “Stop.”
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you didn’t get knifed in the first place, Silas,” my mom growls.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I retort.
“Stay still.” She retapes the bandage onto my skin. “There. Better.”
“You really think you can do it better than the nurses?” Dad asks, leaning back in the plastic chair in the corner of my room.
“Yes.” Mom folds her arms. “They do a piss-poor job here compared to a real hospital.”
“A real hospital. Where they will be asking questions about why our son was shot,” my dad grits.
Mom rolls her eyes and throws her purple hair over her shoulder.
“It’s fine,” I say, leaning back in the bed. “It’ll heal.”
“My heart won’t,” she says. “Do you know how worried I was when you called your dad? You should’ve told me you were going to go on a goddamn hunt for the Bones Brotherhood Mafia.”
“She’s right. When you’re out of here, you’re in a fuck ton of trouble,” Dad hisses. “Do you even know what the Bones Brotherhood is?”
“Whatever,” I reply. “The guy was a piece of shit who sent his men to drag a girl off the streets. He hurt his wife and her kid, and almost killed her. He deserved it.”
“I can’t believe you went out there on your own,” Mom rages. “Why?”
But I’m not sure I’m ready to say the words out loud yet, so I let the silence speak for itself.
“Twenty corpses, Silas. Twenty. Maybe more. That’s how many my men had to clean up. Do you know how much blood there was left?”
“Mom …” I sigh.
“No, don’t Mom me.” She grabs my chin, forcing me to look at her. “I know what it was like to be young, okay? I was there.”
“She’s right. She killed a ton of people,” my dad says nonchalantly while staring at the wall ahead.
“Many more violent than the ones you encountered,” she adds.
“And?”
Her grip grows softer as she begins to caress my cheek. “I need you to be more careful. I know murder runs in your blood. But I don’t want to lose you to it.”
She suddenly hugs me so tightly that it catches me off guard.
“I was so goddamn worried about you,” she murmurs. “Promise me you will tell me next time you wanna plan another murder spree.”
“Mo—”
“Promise me.”
I roll my eyes and smash my lips together. “Fine, I promise.”
“Thank you.” She smiles while grabbing my shoulders. “And just so you know … I won’t stop asking why you did this until you tell me the truth.”
I snort. “Good luck with that.”
Max
Being shot twice definitely wasn’t on my bucket list of things to do, but I am so damn glad the doctors were able to take out the bullet while keeping my ability to walk and ride my motorcycle intact. God, do I miss riding … and other things.
I groan as I get out of the hospital bed to go to the bathroom, but the second I open the door, Ivy jumps into my arms, hugging me so tightly I instantly forget all about my mild pain.
“Wow, where’d you come from?” I mutter, confused about how she got here so suddenly.
“The doctor told me you’re finally getting out of here, so I asked Océane to drop me off. I’ve been staying in her sorority,” she mutters. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“How are you doing?” I ask, worried about the wounds she sustained.
“I’m okay. The doctor said I just got bruised ribs, a broken nose, and a concussion from the wound on my head, which they fixed. As long as I don’t hit my head and don’t get hit in the face again, I’ll be fine,” she replies. “What about you?”
“Much better now that the bullet has left the building. And my body,” I say, making her laugh. “But God, these hospitals are boring. And Elliot’s already been discharged, so I can’t go bother him either.”
“Lucky him,” she jests.
I smile and go in for another hug. “It feels so good to hug you while standing up.”
“Me too. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if you’d have died.”
I push her back. “Hey now, don’t say that. I’m still here, in the flesh.” We both gaze down at my hospital gown. “Maybe a little too literal.”
She laughs. “Are you even wearing underwear?”
“No, that’s not allowed.” I frown suspiciously. “Is it?”
She snorts again, and it immediately makes me blush and cover up. “Is it airy in here or what?” I stammer.
She grabs my face and kisses me so gently I completely melt in her arms.
Yep, that’s the one thing that can get me to shut up.
“You always talk too much,” she whispers.
“I just have too much to say, honestly,” I reply. “I mean, you don’t know how hard it’s been staring at a white wall all day, all night. I have plenty of imaginary friends I can talk to now, though.”
She smiles and kisses me again. “Thank you.”
My cheeks heat. “For what?”
“You saved me,” she says.
Well fuck, now I’m really blushing.
“I just did what anyone would have,” I say.
“No.” Heath’s voice makes me look up as he saunters into the hallway with all that swagger he usually carries, putting a big smile on my face. “You knew what she was signing. How?”
I shrug. “I just taught myself.”
His eyes narrow as a slow but hot smirk builds on his face. “It’s that book. I knew it.” He claps his hands. “I fucking knew it.”
“What book?” Ivy asks.
I shush him, but it’s too late.
Heath crosses his arms behind his head. “He learned sign language just for you.”
Her jaw slowly drops, and the sight of them both in awe makes me want to turn this hospital gown inside out just so I can hide.
“You learned it … for me ?” she mutters.
“I wanted to be able to understand you, even if you weren’t able to communicate with words. I wanted to be able to meet your needs, so I could be there for you when you needed me to.”
She suddenly wraps her arms around me and hugs me so tightly I can’t breathe.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Don’t thank me. I only did what was necessary. I can’t really do it well either, but—”
She plants a finger on my lips. “Stop questioning yourself. You are more than I could ever ask for.”
She grabs my face and kisses me so hard I lose my breath as well as all of the thoughts swirling through my head about how I should’ve done better. All the doubts and worries instantly evaporate when she kisses me.
God, this woman.
She fought so goddamn hard to save herself and her little sister. She sacrificed her body and all the money in the world just to provide that girl with a little bit of safety, and I am in awe of her strength.
I would die for her, and I almost did … And still, it wouldn’t be enough to describe the depths of what I’m willing to sacrifice to walk beside her in this world.
Besides them .
Ivy
When our lips unravel, Max glances at Heath, waiting for me to turn around too so he can say what he needs to say. But I’m scared of the consequences, scared that when I do, I won’t ever be able to look away from them again.
But Max’s eyes reflect the longing in Heath’s eyes and all the terrible regrets.
Finally, I turn to look at him, and the agony in his eyes is almost too much to take. “Heath …”
He instantly drops to his knees. “I’m sorry.” His nails dig into his knees. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you, for buying drugs from Ivan, for trusting him instead of you, for not believing you when I should have, for punishing you by taking your body, and for not giving you all the money you needed to save Cora and yourself. I don’t fucking deserve your forgiveness … but I will beg for the rest of my life that you do. Because I cannot live without you. Either of you.”
Fuck.
I go to my knees in front of him, interrupting his train of thought by getting on his level.
“You didn’t know,” I say, grabbing his face. “It’s not your fault.”
I wish I could’ve told them straight off the bat, but I didn’t trust them enough with the truth … and it nearly makes me want to tear up because these boys literally killed to get to me.
“If I had trusted you, you wouldn’t have gotten captured by Stefano, and Max wouldn’t have been shot,” he continues. “And your mother would still be alive.”
Max sinks to the floor too, despite the half-healed wounds on his back, and he wraps his arms around Heath. “Stop. This is not your fault. Stefano caused all of this. Stop letting the guilt eat you alive.”
“He’s right,” I say.
“This is why you needed those ketamine pills, didn’t you?” Max asks him.
Heath nods, but he can’t even look us in the eyes. “They gave me a means to escape my own emotions, because it was easier to deny them than to feel like the world was caving in on me,” he says. “To feel like I was being crushed by the weight of my own fucking love for the people close to me. And I failed you both.”
Those pills allowed him to hide, to exist without feelings, to lull the dull ache living in the corners of his heart. He wanted to be loved so badly, and no one ever noticed.
I hug him even tighter, feeling overwhelmed by how much he’s kept buried.
“It’s okay,” I say. “You made a mistake, and you fixed it.”
“I didn’t fix shit. Max did. He gave you an escape,” he says through gritted teeth.
I grab his face to make him look at me. “And you came back for me. Even when you were the only one left standing, you came to my aid. You protected me with your life.”
He lets my words sink in for a moment. I can see it in his eyes.
“I wanted to save you and Cora. No matter if it cost me my life. I needed you to be safe,” he says. “I needed you …” He doesn’t finish his sentence.
Doesn’t finish the thought because that’s just it.
This is the end of it.
This is what he’s been wanting to say to both of us.
“I love you,” he murmurs.
“What?” I mutter, leaning back.
He stares into my eyes, almost as if he wants to drown in them. “Even if you don’t want me anymore. I will fight for you.”
Part of me wants to push back, pull away, and run.
But another part of me desperately wants to return to whatever it was that we had when we were together. All four of us.
And I don’t want to lose that either.
Sudden clapping has us all looking up. “Wow, what a sappy love story.”
We all get up off the floor now that he’s here to judge us.
“Silas,” Max says with an annoyed look on his face. “Glad to see you’re back up and running.”
“Who said anything about running?” Silas retorts, limping closer. “That’ll take a few more days.”
“You sound like you’re back to your old snarky self.” Heath clears his throat. “I almost missed it.”
“Almost?” A filthy smirk forms on his face. “Aw, you wanted me dead instead?”
“Of course not,” Heath retorts.
“You were knifed in the leg, not the heart. Don’t exaggerate,” Max says.
“Well, something hit him in the heart, that’s for sure,” Heath jests.
“What did?” I mutter. Max and Heath stay awfully quiet, and it pisses me off. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing,” Silas swiftly says, clearing his throat. “So how have you been doing?”
Fine. If he doesn’t want me to know, then he can keep the info.
“Good,” I reply, folding my arms.
“You found a place? Or is that lady with the frying pan still terrorizing you?”
“I’ve been staying at Océane’s sorority, Alpha Psi,” I explain. “The girls were quite welcoming. Even to Bagel.”
He nods a few times. “It’s safe?”
Even now, he still wants to know if I’m safe despite the fact that he was the one who used to make me want to feel the fear in my bones.
What’s changed?
Have I? Or did he?
“As safe as can be, with Talon watching over her shoulder like a bulldog,” I say.
Heath snorts. “Sounds about right. I’ve seen him train. That guy could probably take down a dozen guys with just one fist.”
“Well, I’m glad your friends were there to help when you needed them,” Max says, smiling.
“Yeah, I’m grateful,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I’m just glad we got to put this whole thing with my stepdad behind me. I can finally start off with a clean slate and not feel like I’m being chased.” I eye Silas. “At least for now.”
Silas’s eyes narrow.
“I mean, the debt never ends, does it?” I mutter. “Now that you also helped me get rid of him.”
His jaw tenses as he swallows.
Still, he doesn’t say a word.
Why should I expect anything else? After all, he’s still the same guy—still a psychopathic serial killer, still … heartless.
I take in a deep breath. “Anyway, I have to go,” I say. “I have something I need to take care of.”
Max raises a finger. “Wait, but…”
I glance at all three. “Yes?”
“What will you do after? You know, when you can’t stay at the sorority any longer?” Max asks.
I shrug. “I’ll figure it out. I'll make it work as long as I have Cora and we don’t have to run. Somehow.” I turn around and walk.
“Will you come back to us?” Max asks.
I pause. “That depends…”
“On what?” Heath asks. “I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?” I quip.
Even Silas’s eyes sparkle with excitement. “Anything … and everything .”
I remember those words all too well, and they still make me shiver, still make me crave.
I bite my lip and glance at them one last time. “Forgiveness only happens when it’s earned. So earn it.”
Slowly but surely, that same wicked smile that still haunts my soul to this very day forms on his face. “Deal.”