Chapter 71
ROME
Beeping.
A steady chime filled the space in Seth’s mind, followed by—
“What do you want for lunch?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Adria, you have to eat.”
It was his brothers and Adria.
Seth flexed his hand, and the fingers inside his palm jumped.
“He’s moving,” Adria said, her tone excited.
Sunlight filtered into Seth’s eyes, and the brightness stung as he tried to open them.
“Aw fuck, why is it so bright?” Seth complained.
“Shit, here.”
He heard the sound of a curtain being pulled, and Seth’s vision cleared.
“Is that better, Killer?” Bryson’s tone was so calm, so caring.
His mother was always nice to him in hospitals too.
Alarm bells went off in Seth’s brain.
His eyes flashed open, and he tried to get up.
Move.
“What happened?” his voice cracked. “Why am I here?”
His mind did an inventory of his body. What was wrong with him? Why was he in the hospital?
The beeping consumed his thoughts, and his breathing increased.
Fuck.
The beeping sped up, and he choked on the air in the room.
He reached up, trying to rip off all the shit connected to him.
Adria’s hands were there, wrapping around his.
“He’s fine,” he heard Bryson saying to someone.
“I need to check his vitals,” a foreign voice said, sending a new wave of panic into Seth’s body.
“You are going to make it worse. Back off, friend,” Kaydon said.
“I’m going to call security if you don’t move,” the new voice said.
“Call them,” Kaydon said. “See what happens.”
Adria’s hand pressed against his, and Seth let her move him.
“Seth,” she whispered in his ear, just for him. “You’re in the hospital. Bryson had to pull you into the pool to save you from his father.”
The pool.
Seth remembered.
“You got caught at the bottom, and by the time we brought you up, you weren’t breathing.”
Her voice was calm, and he felt her moving her hand, pressing the wires back onto his body, and the alarm bells ringing fell into silence.
“Sta bene, è solo un attacco di panico. Ho bisogno che ci lasci un momento. O devo chiamare il tuo superiore?” Adria said into the room.
Whatever she said seemed to calm things down.
“Fine,” the foreign voice said. “But I’m coming back in twenty minutes.”
When he was gone, Seth peeked around the room and tried to slow his breathing further. As far as hospitals went, this one was very nice.
“Killer,” Kaydon said, taking his face in his big hands and pulling him in for a kiss.
The monitors started to increase again.
Adria slapped Kaydon on the side. “He needs to rest.”
Kaydon smirked and gave him another quick peck before sitting down and letting Bryson see him.
Bryson ran his fingers along his cheek, tilting him up to meet Bryson’s gaze. “Fuck, I’m glad you’re okay, Seth.”
Seth felt himself smile. “How long was I out?”
“Three days,” Adria said.
Three days.
“What happened?”
Adria pushed her forehead into his. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Seth thought about it. “I’m not sure.”
Her hand wrapped around his neck, and she squeezed slightly before tapping on the right side.
The tattoo.
“Do you remember getting this?”
He could feel his blush growing. “Is it okay? We could get them removed—”
Although that was the last thing he wanted to do.
She looked at him, her green eyes serious. “Don’t you dare. I love seeing my marks on you—on all three of you.”
Seth felt the tension in his chest ease.
“What do you remember about the cavern?” Kaydon said.
“The pool, I remember that,” Seth said, feeling sure.
“But—after that, I remember…” Now he was less sure. “I just remember feeling arms around me.”
“We worked on you for over ten minutes,” Adria said.
Seth let out a soft breath. “Shit, I was probably dead.”
He looked up at the surrounding group. “You guys didn’t do anything corny like tell me you love me and cry over my dead body, did you?”
Adria slapped his side. “He jokes.”
Seth bit his lip and Adria said, “And I would never dream of doing anything so cliché. I prefer to tell my true loves in person when they’re alive, not dead.”
Seth felt his lips tug into a smile. “You do?”
She nodded. “That’s how I knew you couldn’t be dead yet. Because I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell you.”
Fuck, she loved him.
“I love you too,” he said.
Kaydon came and sat next to Bryson, putting his hand on Adria’s shoulder, he said, “Technically, I don’t think I actually heard her say the words. She just danced around them with her fancy mouth speak.”
Adria shot him a glare. “I love you three. There, I said it. Are you happy now?”
Kaydon broke out in a huge grin. “A little.”
Adria put up her hands. “You three are impossible.”
“Kay, stop it and just tell her,” Seth said, leaning his head back into his pillow.
Kaydon’s grin grew impossibly wider. “We love you, Wildcat. I think that’s pretty obvious.”
Their smiles were infectious, and Seth found that they were all grinning at each other like a bunch of teenagers.
“What happened with the Triune?” Seth asked, loving the vibe.
The room fell into silence, and Seth noticed Kaydon and Bryson looking at Adria.
“You guys are killing me. What is it? Kay, spit it out.”
Kaydon just shook his head. “I think I’ll let our Adria tell you.”
Seth’s anxiety spiked.
“Well,” Adria started. “We aren’t dead, so that’s the good news.”
“So, there is bad news,” Seth said.
Adria shrugged. “I suppose it depends how you look at it.”
“Oh my God, Dri, stop,” Kaydon said, flopping into the room’s recliner. “Just tell him.”
Seth shot his gaze back to Adria. “Tell me.”
Adria opened her mouth, but the words didn’t come out. Seth didn’t miss the pinkish color filling into her cheeks.
Bryson leaned into him, his breath close.
“You are looking at, Adria Federov, the newest member of the Triune,” Bryson nipped at Seth’s ear, and Seth shivered.
Seth’s eyes widened. “What? Fuck, Dri, that’s amazing.”
Adria blushed further. “I don’t know what to think about it, frankly. With Alessandro dead, and Callen dead, Sean got seat one, Helen bumped up to two. And that left me.”
Seth let out a soft whistle. “So, you are in the Triune. I’m in awe and terrified at the same time.”
Adria gave him a look that made the monitors start beeping again.
“Now who’s getting him going?” Kaydon said through a chuckle.
Seth let the news swirl around him, and a few things slowly clicked into place. “Wait, Callen’s gone?” he said, twisting to look at Bryson.
Bryson gave him a serious look. It wasn’t sad or angry. “I took care of him, Killer.”
“The evidence against him was pretty damning,” Kaydon said.
“Cole was even able to find some new stuff, between my mom and him,” Adria added.
Seth wanted to say that he understood. That Bryson was stronger than he was. But all Seth found he could do was pull Bryson’s forehead to his.
Bryson was able to do something Seth wasn’t. He knew what it was like to have a complicated relationship with his father. Ultimately, it was something that needed to be done, and as long as Seth knew Bryson, he always got things done.
As Bryson pulled away, his brown eyes sparkling, Seth said, “So what does that make your seat number?”
A huge grin broke out on Bryson’s face. “About that…”
“That honor belongs to me,” Elena’s voice said from the doorway.
She walked in with Eric, who used the door frame for support on his way in.
“Whiskey,” Seth said.
Eric scowled. “I’ll let you call me that, this one time, because you’re injured and I’m—”
“Not even supposed to be out of bed,” Elena snapped. “The only reason you made it this far is because I helped.”
Eric shot her a side glance, and Elena rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I expected a thank you or anything.”
“Kaydon sent me a text that you were awake,” Eric said, like that explained everything.
Seth watched Eric take an inventory of him. There was something familiar in his gaze, and it took Seth a second to recognize it.
“Don’t tell me you were worried,” Seth said, surprised.
Adria moved to help support Eric into the room. He resisted at first, but eventually allowed his arm to be draped around her shoulder.
“Of course I care, kid,” Eric said, like it was the easiest thing to say.
Like it was normal to care about another person. Seth felt warmth spreading through his chest. Eric wanted him to live. Adria, Kaydon, and Bryson were sitting around him, watching him sleep.
Seth wiped at the sudden wetness on his face. “I guess I’m just not used to people caring about me in a hospital.”
Adria pinned him with a stern gaze. “Well, get used to it.”
“Not the hospital part,” Bryson added.
Seth relaxed his head down on the pillow, feeling suddenly tired. A soft kiss was on his forehead, and he fell into a peaceful sleep.