Chapter 45
She looks so little on the metal table. Bexley has such a big personality that sometimes I forget how small she really is, but right now, she looks tiny. Willow and her assistant cut her clothes away, so now she’s in a gown under a blanket. Machines beep at her side.
We could take her to a hospital, but no one would take better care of her.
Besides, we have a situation outside, so it’s best not to move her.
Willow said she’s lucky to be alive. She nicked her liver, but Willow managed to patch her back up.
Her heart stopped a few times, but the doctor got it restarted, and Bexley is looking a little better with blood and whatever else Willow is giving her.
She’s still unconscious, but I watch the rhythm of her heart on the monitor without blinking.
“There was fluid in her lungs. I had to drain it,” Willow explains softly.
“She’s a strong motherfucker. Anyone else would have died, but not our Bexley,” she mutters as she checks the monitors and then the IVs.
“She’ll be out for a while, which is probably good.
She needs to rest. It’s all up to her now. ”
Nodding, I keep hold of her hand and brush some hair from her face. “Hear that, hellion? It is up to you. I know you can do it. Come back to us. We are all here, waiting.”
“Brother,” Neo murmurs, but I ignore him. I even ignore my ringing phone. I know by now the police will be there. With that much destruction and that many bodies, not even Dodge could hide it before they arrived, but nothing matters right now other than Bexley.
“Kane,” Zayn murmurs.
“No,” I snap, not looking at them. “Not right now. I’m not Kane or Sai or the leader. I’m just a man who’s in love with this woman and is terrified of losing her, okay?” I look at my brothers, drowning in grief and panic, and they crowd around me.
“Lean on us,” Neo says.
“We’ve got this,” Zayn assures me as we look at her.
“She’ll wake up, won’t she?” I ask out loud.
“Bexley? Of course. She wouldn’t let us win like that. Our girl is petty.” I smile, knowing Zayn is right.
There’s a bang outside, and we all jump, pulling our guns out, but when it comes again, I realize there’s someone at the door.
“I got this. You stay with her,” Zayn orders. Usually, that would ruffle my feathers, but right now, I’m lost. I can’t be who they need me to be, so I let him take over and sit with Neo in front of our girl.
Nobody will hurt her again. We’ll make sure of it.
Zayn
Stepping outside, I raise my eyebrows at the crowd gathered there. A plump, older, oil-stained man barges through with Reacher at his side. “How is our girl?”
“She’s resting. Willow thinks she will be okay, but she needs as much sleep as she can get,” I admit, the words pulled from a place deep inside me.
The fear I felt the moment I saw that blade go in .
. . it didn’t compare to the terror I experienced when I saw her collapse and knew I would be too slow to catch her.
That’s the issue with loving a woman like Bexley. She’s so strong and determined that we can’t stand in her way, but watching her suffer while protecting everyone else is worse than her hatred would be if I had.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure no one disturbs you,” Reacher says.
I don’t know if I believe him, because rows of police cars line the streets.
The officers hesitate beyond the mob, even if they know they need to talk to us.
I have no idea how they found us, but it doesn’t matter.
They aren’t taking any of us from her or her from us.
Pulling my phone out, I shoot off some texts and nod at Reacher and the other man. “You’ll have backup who will talk to the police. I’ve also called in some favors. Their forces will be split with some fires, hostage situations, and robberies spreading across the city to distract them.”
“Smart.” The other man nods. “But get back in there with her and keep her safe. We’ll protect her from here.” He hesitates, looking at me. “Did she do it? Did she finally get her closure?”
“She killed him.” I have no idea who this man is, but I can see the love he has for her in his eyes, and that’s enough for me.
All these people are here for her because of who she is to them.
We control people with money and fear, but she controls them with love without even realizing it.
Every single person here is ready to use themselves as a human shield to protect her from the law.
She was right. These are her streets. She bled to protect them, and now they will do the same.
I want to help, but I’m antsy about being away from her for so long.
I need to see her, touch her, and know she’s okay.
She looked so small and broken in the back of the car, and even now, my hands are speckled with her blood.
I know I will never forget the way her heart stopped, because mine stopped with it.
What started as a game and then a contract between us is so much more. Bexley stole my heart, just like she stole my brothers’, whether she wants it or not, and now I don’t want to live without her.
I can’t.
“Good, that’s my girl.” He nods at Reacher. “Let’s give them the time they need.”
I slip back inside and head toward Bexley like a magnet.
My hand seeks hers, gripping her callused palm, and I kiss it softly.
Kane holds her other hand, while Neo paces by her head.
He’s tense and furious, but I see his fear and how he softens every time he looks at her.
Kane tugs her blankets up, fussing over her comfort.
“Police are here. No idea how they found us—”
“There are videos online,” Neo snaps. “I’m getting them taken down as we speak. They are at the house too. Dodge is dealing with it. I called in our other lawyers. Hope that’s okay.”
I shrug. “She’s all that matters,” I say as I kiss her hand again.
“The mob is creating a blockade. They’ll have to fight their way through if they want to get to us.
Right now, that need doesn’t outweigh the risk.
They’ll need backup, and they won’t have any.
Their numbers will be spread thin when my contacts are through with the city.
The police can’t get through to get to us,” I tell my brothers.
“Every single person in the area is flooding the street in front of the house. The authorities will need to remove them all to take us from her.”
I press her hand against my face and close my eyes, absorbing her warmth. “You hear that, baby? Everyone is here to protect you, so you don’t have to worry. You just have to rest. Let us be strong for you for once.”
She doesn’t answer, of course, and I reach up and brush some of her hair aside, hating that she doesn’t open her eyes and glare at me. I would do anything to fight her right now, anything for her sass and spitting words.
Bexley is larger than life, has been since we first met her, but even queens fall, and these kings will make sure she finds her way back home.
“At least she’s finally free,” Neo says. “Maybe now she can move on and be happy.”
The thought makes my heart clench. She’s spent her life running from her nightmares and fighting to free herself of their grip. Will she let herself be happy now? Will she settle down as much as a person like her can, and if she does, will it be with us?
I don’t know, but I do know she’ll fight us tooth and nail along the way, and I can’t wait.
She’s worth it. If she would give us a chance, my brothers and I would spend the rest of our lives sheltering her and making her as happy as possible.
We don’t want to clip her wings. We just want to be along for the ride.
“She’s not going to make it easy when she wakes up,” I admit out loud. “She’s going to fight to get away from us. You saw her in that house and how his words broke her apart. She’s going to run from us. She thinks she’s better alone, thinks she doesn’t deserve love.”
“She won’t make it easy,” Neo agrees. “But then again, we’ve never done anything the easy way. We’ll just show her that we aren’t going anywhere.”
I look at Kane, but it’s like he doesn’t hear us. Kane Sai has no weakness, or he didn’t until her. I’m not even sure if she is a weakness, more like a strength, but for him? He would destroy everything he carefully built just for her to look at him again.
He was joking when he brought her home, or so we all thought, but he wasn’t.
It was a plot to tie her to us and keep her.
He knew if we all loved her that we would do anything to make her stay.
That manipulative bastard made sure we had time to crave and love her like he does so he doesn’t have to let her go.
It should make me mad, but if anything, it just makes me smile. My brother always does what is best for the family, and he was right. She is what is best for us. She is the only person who could ever make us whole and love us.
No, she won’t make it easy, but if she thinks she could ever escape us, then she’s a bigger fool than we are. We control this city, and there isn’t a place she could hide from us.
Kane says nothing, which surprises me. He’s usually so in control.
By now, he’d be barking orders and controlling the situation, but he doesn’t seem to care.
Instead, he rests his head on her chest and closes his eyes as he listens to her heart, his fingers seeming to tap the beat on his thigh, a habit from his piano days.
I know he’s haunted by the fact that it stopped before.
I’ve never seen Kane like this. Even at the worst times, he’s calm, but right now, he’s anything but.
He looks . . . human. My infallible brother is scared, which is something I’ve never seen, and when I share a look with Neo, I know he sees it too, so we step up and take over.
Kane has spent his entire life protecting us, and now it’s our turn.