Chapter 25
DANTE
The first thing I became aware of was the pounding in my head. It felt like it was going to explode. Why the fuck did my head hurt so much? I tried to sit up, and pain raced up my arm, making me gasp.
I managed to muffle my shout, but not enough. Rafe jumped up from a chair and came to my bedside. “It’s okay. You’re at Uncle Bébé’s house. You’re going to be fine.”
“Fuck, I was shot.”
Rafe nodded. “That’s right.”
“Alex? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. Remington sent people to your house, remember? They’re keeping watch. I talked to Alex a little while ago and gave him a low-key version of what happened. I told him you’d talk to him whenever you could.”
“I hope you also warned him not to leave my house.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “I made him promise he wouldn’t leave.”
“Good.” I let myself lie back against the pillows again. “Alex is a stubborn hothead. He’s probably going to try to come after me anyway.”
“I know. That’s why the guards are there. They won’t let him leave.”
“So I’ll get to hear all about how I’ve kidnapped him now, and—”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
I considered how much I wanted to say, but this was Rafe. I never kept secrets from him for long. “Yes. I really do. I don’t know how this happened.”
“You smile whenever you talk about him. It’s cute.”
“If my arm didn’t hurt, I’d come after you for that.”
He sighed. “You didn’t tear your stitches when you tried to get up, did you? Let me take a look.”
I waved him off. “I’m fine. Stop hovering over me. You’re worse than Lorenzo.”
“You’re so wrong. You were out of it when he called last night. Just wait until you see him today.”
“He and Niko are coming back? But we haven’t found Dimitri or Ivanov yet.”
Rafe shook his head. “Dimitri is dead. Nikolai and Ivanov’s daughter killed him.”
“What? How the hell did he find them?”
“His family tortured him, then left him out in the bayou to slowly die from his injuries. He managed to evade the wildlife despite how badly wounded he was. He saw one of our guards doing his rounds and followed him back to the safe house. He took the guard and Lorenzo out of commission, but Niko and Alaina were ready when he broke into the cabin.”
“Fuck, he could’ve killed them all.”
Rafe sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on my leg. “I know, but he didn’t. They’re all safe, and they’re on their way here.”
I looked around for my phone. “What time is it?”
“About 10:00 a.m.”
“I slept that long?”
“You needed it, and we kind of knocked you out with pain pills.”
I held up my middle finger. “Fuckers.”
“You needed to rest, and there was no reason for you to be in pain.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I have to take care of you. I promised Alex I would. Do you want to call him now? I could hardly get him to believe you really were alive. He needs to hear your voice.”
I wanted to call him, but I also didn’t, because I knew I would hear fear in his voice.
He’d spent the night scared because of me.
Talking to him would reinforce why no one with a life like mine should be in a relationship or whatever the hell this was.
I’d tried to leave the danger behind, but clearly, that wasn’t a possibility, not when I actually cared about my brothers and the rest of the family.
To truly leave, I would’ve had to move across the country and stop being part of my brothers’ lives. That was not an option.
“Are you nervous?” Rafe asked.
“To talk to Alex? No.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s okay if you are.”
“Fine. I just—I don’t know what to say.”
“That you’re alive, that you’re going to heal, that you’ll be back to see him soon.”
“How soon? I could just go now.”
Rafe glared at me. “Absolutely not. The doctor needs to check you again, and you can’t drive.”
“Someone can give me a ride.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare tell Alex to come pick you up.”
I wouldn’t, but not because Rafe told me not to. “Alex would do it if I asked.”
“I know he would.”
I sighed. “I’m not going to put him in danger like that, and I’m not ready for him to meet the family. How much do they know after last night?”
“I had to tell Remington that you were seeing someone, and they needed protection, but I didn’t give him details or mention Alex to anyone else. Remington won’t say anything. He’ll leave that up to you. The last thing he wants is to get involved in another relationship in our family.”
“I’m leaving after the doctor comes unless we get information on Ivanov’s location.”
Rafe shook his head. “You’re going home even if we do. You’re in no condition to go after anyone right now. What you need is rest and your boy taking care of you.”
“Alex isn’t—”
“Yes, he is, and apparently, you now have a cat to take care of too.”
Apparently, I did. “She was a stray. I was feeding her, but then Alex let her inside, and…”
“You couldn’t say no to him or the cute little kitty.”
I scowled at him and held out my hand. “Where’s my phone?”
Rafe laughed as he got my phone from a side table and handed it to me. “I charged it for you.”
“Thanks, baby brother. Thanks for everything, for making sure Alex was safe, for—for coming to get me.”
“I will always come to rescue you, just like you would do for me, or either of us would do for Lorenzo.”
They might drive me crazy, but I loved them both. “I’m lucky to have you two.”
“Yeah, this might be a crazy family, but it’s a damn good one. I won’t be far away. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
As soon as he left, I took a deep breath, let it out, and called Alex.
“Dante, oh my God, are you okay? Rafe said you were, but I’ve been so worried. I can’t sleep, I can’t—”
“Alex, I’m fine.”
“But you were shot. You can’t be fine.”
“It just went through muscle. It hurts like hell, and it bled a lot, but I’m stitched up now. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not going to lose your arm or anything?”
“No. It’ll probably be a while before I can use it as well as I could before, but the wound isn’t all that serious.
” At least compared to what could have happened, and I would do whatever it took to get back my full range of motion.
I wasn’t going to let this injury keep me down.
I would help my family find Ivanov and tear him apart.
“You trapped me here.” His pouty tone made me start thinking about how much he needed discipline.
“I did it for your own safety.”
“But I want to be with you. I don’t want to be here alone.”
“You’re safe there, and you’re not really alone. You have Adenine, but if you need anything—”
“I need you.”
His words warmed me and made my chest grow tight. I hadn’t planned on ever feeling like this about a man, but I would be a fool to ignore it, wouldn’t I?
That’s what I told Lorenzo when he questioned being with Nikolai.
“When are you coming home?”
“Rafe said the doctor’s going to come back this afternoon and look me over. Once she does and I get a chance to talk to my older brother, Lorenzo, I’m leaving.”
“You can’t drive with your arm hurt.”
I could if I had to, but I wouldn’t today. “I’ll get someone to take me home.”
“Not just anybody. I want to know it’s somebody that’s going to take care of you if you feel bad. How far away are you?”
“I’m not that far, baby. Only half an hour or so.”
“You called me baby.”
Heat rushed into my face, and I exhaled. “Yeah, I did.”
“Wait. Are you embarrassed, Professor?”
How could he tell over the phone? “No. Stop asking questions like that.”
“If you’re injured, you can’t punish me for being a bad boy.”
I growled. “I will find a way. Trust me on that.”
“Come home to me as soon as you can.”
I wanted to be there already with him in my arms. “I will. I need to go now, but I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Professor.”
“Goodbye.”
I sat there, staring at my phone after I ended the call, wondering how the hell my feelings for Alex had gotten so strong. I’d been amazed at how intense Lorenzo’s feelings for Nikolai obviously were, and yet here I was, falling for a student so hard I couldn’t stop myself.