Chapter 12 Ari
ARI
Iwatch as Tyler walks out of my room with tears in his eyes, making me feel like a total asshole. The nurse gives me a sympathetic look and starts checking the IV bags.
“How do you feel? Any pain?” she asks. I shake my head, even though my body feels like one giant bruise and my shoulder is screaming. “Don’t be a tough guy.” I give her a look and she laughs. “I’ve seen your type before.”
“And what type is that?”
“The type that grits their teeth through the pain, but that’s not doing you any favors.
Your body needs time to heal, and you can’t do that when you’re hurting.
” She checks a few more things and turns to face me.
“I don’t know a lot about whatever you have going on, but I do know that the waiting room hasn’t been empty since you were brought in.
They aren’t leaving, whether you’re awake or not. ”
I see Axel step up to the door and nod. “Give me a few minutes.”
She pats my hand and smiles at Axel when he walks in. He drops into the chair like he’s aged ten years. “Good to see you awake, but I’m about to knock your ass back out.”
“Who tattled?”
Axel’s eyes narrow. “No one fucking tattled, you fucking dick. I heard what was being said in the damn waiting room. Have you gone insane? Were you without oxygen too long?”
“You know this is the safest option.”
“Did you not learn from my mistakes? As much as I wanted to take Charlie out on my own, I know I couldn’t have done it without my team. You found a group that wants to deal with your tempermental old ass, so don’t fuck it up.”
“This is worse than Charlie, Axel. My father is what Charlie delusionally thought he was.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you can’t sideline the guys and lock Kira and Jason in a tower. Lean on them, Ari.” Axel sits up in the chair, and I know I’m not going to like what he has to say next. “And bring Tivon in.”
“Yeah, fuck that. I don’t trust someone who, instead of coming to me like a man, decided to stalk us.”
“He didn’t do anything that you haven’t done before. You’re just pissed because you couldn’t figure it out.”
“Fuck off,” I grumble. “Tyler said he wasn’t the one at Jason’s apartment or the one who tried to run us off the road. Did you guys just blindly trust him?”
“Do I look like someone who trusts easily? You know me better than that. He has information that you can use. As for the other problem, we’ll need to figure that out too. Any idea who that could have been?”
I shake my head. “Unless it was someone else working for my father, I have no idea.”
“And you’re sure it had nothing to do with Jason?”
“I thought so at first, until they came after me and Kira. The only common denominator is me.”
“Still think it’s a good idea to do this alone?”
“You’ve made your point.”
“I don’t think I have, because I know you’re a hardheaded bastard.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“The difference is I learned my lesson. I just hope you have. You were alone when they grabbed you the first time.” I open my mouth, and Axel holds a hand up.
“Save it. I know you’re going to say you’re prepared this time and know what you’re up against, but it’s bullshit.
Even before you all apparently started fucking, you guys were close.
You leave them behind, you’re going to ruin the only good thing you have in your life.
” Axel squeezes my arm and stands up. “You need to talk to Tivon.”
“I will.” I have a few questions for Tivon. Like why the fuck he followed me to the States. “And Axel? I heard you. I promise.”
With a nod Axel leaves the room, and I hit the nurse call button, asking for pain meds. I’ve fought it off for as long as I could. She’s here within minutes, filling my IV with something that instantly makes me start to drift off.
I let the meds blissfully take me somewhere that doesn’t fucking suck.
I wake several hours later feeling like my eyes have been glued shut. I finally peel one open, and see the top of Jason’s head lying on my chest. I kiss his hair, and he grumbles in his sleep, making me smile. He stirs and looks up at me with sleepy eyes.
“How are you feeling, Sweet cheeks?”
“I’m okay. Doc says the meds are working, and my heart rate is stabilizing.
They discharged me about an hour ago.” Jason sits up on the bed and grabs my hand in both of his.
“You can’t leave me, Ari. We went through hell in that place together, and it hurts to know that the first thing you want to do is push me away. ”
“I don’t want to push you away, but I would do anything to keep you away from that situation again.” I link our hands together. “But, I’m not going anywhere unless I have you guys by my side.”
I see the relief all over his face. “What changed your mind?”
“Axel mostly, but some of the stuff Keon and Tyler said stuck with me. I should have told you who my dad was.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not, though. I should have trusted you with that information. Maybe not at first, but I had plenty of time while I had you under my roof to tell you the truth. So for that, I’m sorry.”
“No more secrets?”
“You’ve seen all of me now, Sweet cheeks.”
Jason starts playing with my fingers, so I know something is on his mind. “What about Tivon?”
“What about him? He was on my team back in Israel, but he was young. Which I guess explains why I didn’t remember him, but I remember the name.”
“I’ve talked to him a little bit.”
“What are your thoughts on him?”
“He’s nice.” Jason shrugs. “And really hot.”
“Jason,” I growl, making him crack up laughing.
“I’m just joking. Sort of. Anyway, I think you should talk to him.”
“Is he still here?”
“He hasn’t left. He’s made sure the team is eating, and he’s guarded your room when something else is going on.”
“Can you send him in?” We need to get some shit out in the open if I’m going to even consider bringing him into the fold.
“Of course.” Jason lays his lips on mine, and I want to deepen the kiss but can’t, because my face is still a damn mess.
Before he leaves he helps me sit up in the bed, and I hate every second of having to depend on him.
I need to get the hell out of this bed. Jason gives me one last peck on the lips and leaves the room.
Tivon comes in a minute later and hovers at the door.
“Have a seat.” He hesitates for a second before coming to sit down.
“Why didn’t you just come to me?” I figured getting that part out of the way first will clear up most of the confusion I have.
Now that I know who he is, I remember him clearly from that time.
He was a quick learner, could shoot anything you put into his hands, and could fight like a demon.
“I didn’t think you would trust anyone from back home, and I did it how we were trained.
” I nod, because he’s right. We were taught to infiltrate for information instead of making ourselves known.
As much as I hate that it meant getting close to Kira, I can’t fault him. “My only regret is hurting Keon.”
“That, you’ll need to take up with him.”
Tivon moves his head to the side and there’s a bruise on his cheekbone. “We’ve already handled it.”
I bark a laugh and immediately regret it when fire rips down my throat. “Keon did that?”
“Yeah. I expected no less.”
I relax on the bed, trying to get my thoughts together. “Look, my team seems to trust you, but I’m not there yet. Yeah, I remember you now, but that doesn’t give you a pass. You could still be working with my father.”
“I would never work for that motherfucker,” Tivon growls, making me look at him. “He killed my brother in front of me to make an example out of him for what happens when you cross Mossad. He had just turned sixteen.”
My heart sinks even more, but I still search his face for even the slightest bit of deception. I don’t find any, but I refuse to let my guard down yet. We’re trained to hide our emotions, but he’s letting his all show. “I’m sorry that happened.”
Tivon inclines his head. “It’s something that I’ll live with every day, but that doesn’t stop my current mission.”
“Bringing down Aharon?”
“And Abraham. I still have eyes in Israel, and we’ll know the second he touches down.”
“Do you think he ran back home too?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t succeed, and I don’t know if he has the balls to face your father.”
“What are your plans now, Tivon?”
“I’m staying, but the rest is up to you. I can help, Aryeh.”
“Ari,” I correct out of habit. “We’ll take it one day at a time. I need to heal enough to get out of here first.”
“I have a safehouse that only two of my team know about, and that’s only because they’re here.”
“Is that where you hid after we found you the first time?”
Tivon grins, and it takes some of the severity out of his expression. “Yes. I must admit, I’m impressed you found me that fast.”
“Nolan can find anyone given the right information. Did you want us to find you?”
Tivon shrugs. “Yes, but I could have used a little more time. I knew my CIA alias wouldn’t hold up under too much scrutiny from you guys. Gavin almost got the drop on me.”
“He’s damn good at what he does.”
“You all are. You’ve built a good thing here.”
I settle against the pillows, feeling a little better about him being here. “Do you know who broke into Jason’s apartment or tried to run me and Kira off the road?”
“No, but I’ve been looking into it. It sounds like something Abraham would have set up to throw you off your game, but it could also be someone entirely different. I’m keeping an eye on your team while you're here.”
“I appreciate that. I’m guessing you couldn’t find anything on the security footage at the college either?”
Tivon shakes his head. “No, but my team is still looking for the car. That’s our only link right now.”
I sigh because I don’t want to ask what I have to next, but I need to know how badly my father has ruined what I once considered home. “How bad is it over there?”
“Honestly? A fucking mess. He’s pulling in kids that are barely eleven to train, killing anyone who goes against him, and everything in between.
Everyone is afraid to breathe. My team and I have done what we can, but there’s only so much that we can do before we end up six feet under.
He has too much security surrounding him to overthrow him, and without someone in place, it will go to Abraham by default.
” And that will be a thousand times worse.
“We need a plan.”
Tivon cocks his head to the side, studying me with dark eyes. “We?”
“I’m going to need all the help that I can get. You still have allies over there, I don’t. And I need to get the fuck out of this hospital.”
“I’ll work on getting the safe house set up.” Tivon stands from his chair and turns back to look at me. “But you aren’t going anywhere until I know that it’s safe.”
With that, he spins on his heel and leaves the room.
Leaving me to glare at his back.