Chapter Thirty-Five #2
Henri shot me a look, his eyes suspiciously wet.
My tears faded as bubbly laughter escaped. “You certainly sound like you. Just as mad as usual.”
“Mad?” He grabbed his chest with fake hurt. “And here I was excited to see you.” He reached for my hand and squeezed me so damn hard. “I thought you’d died on me, jaanu. I’ve been going out of my mind ever since I remembered.”
“Remembered?”
“Ah, yes. I might have had a touch of amnesia.” He shrugged with another smirk. “Nothing major. I’m too stubborn to forget for long.”
“You’re definitely stubborn.” Henri kept staring at Peter.
If I didn’t know him, I’d say he had mixed feelings about Peter coming back from the dead, but I did know him.
And I saw how much he struggled to stay composed.
How much he fought the same crippling gratefulness threatening to send me into a faint.
Peter’s smirk slipped a little as he caught Henri’s gaze. Solemnity swirled between the two men as Peter held out his left hand, his right tucked tight in its sling. “I owe you a thank you, Ri.”
“Ri?” Henri shuddered, ignoring Peter’s outstretched palm. “You know I had a dream—might’ve been a hallucination, doesn’t matter—where all of us shared breakfast in the sun. You called me Ri.”
“Is that a problem?” Peter scowled.
Henri shrugged as if he couldn’t catch his bearings. “No...no problem at all.”
I backed up a little, seeing the cracks in my twin flame.
He was failing. Falling.
Three...
Two—
With a guttural growl, Henri bent and snatched Peter in a savage hug.
Peter squeaked, his back bending as Henri smothered him.
I smiled and felt so much love I almost burst into a million pieces.
Peter’s gaze met mine over Henri’s shoulder. He rolled his eyes then closed them, returning Henri’s far too vicious hug with one arm.
It took an age for Henri to pull away.
When he did, he had more composure. Raking both hands through his hair, he cleared his throat and shrugged. “So...you gonna tell us how you did it? Why I’ve been mourning you like a stupid sap? Why I’ve had so many sleepless nights thinking my only friend had died?”
“Aw, I’m your friend, Ri?” Peter snickered. “I’m touched.”
“I’ll punch you if you’re not careful.”
“Ily would punch you right back on my behalf.” Peter winked at me. “Wouldn’t you, jaanu?”
“Hey.” I flung up my hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
“And after all the times I shared my blanket with you in the dungeon.” Peter sniffed dramatically. “Rude.”
All of us chuckled.
My heart flew to the ceiling and bounced like a helium balloon.
“You’ve got to give me some details, Paavak,” Henri muttered. “I need to know how this is possible.”
“Jesus, alright. Rushing my hello. You always were impatient.” Smiling at Henri, he added. “You want the quick story or the one that the docs tried to tell me full of medical jargon, long winded words, and lots of technical stuff?”
“Simple. Short. Concise.” Henri crossed his arms. “And go.”
Peter laughed under his breath. “Fine. The short version. Well, according to the docs, the bullet went through my right shoulder blade and out my chest. It made quite a mess and nicked my lung.” He chuckled as if it was funny.
“I suffocated, fancy that. I’ve envisioned my death a million times, but I never thought I’d go that way. ”
Henri scowled. “I’m not sure how I feel about you having a sense of humour about this.”
Peter smirked. “You try being a prisoner for five and a half years only to die and somehow not die.” He tilted his head back with a heavy exhale.
“Anywho, I woke up here. In paradise.” He pointed at the window.
“The sun is shining, and I haven’t been called to serve.
People bring me food. I’ve been able to watch shitty TV for the first time in half a decade. Life is good. Great, even.”
Henri shook his head, his temper fading beneath Peter’s radiant joy. “You know what, Pete. Life is good.” He cast me a look, his gaze welling with blazing affection. “So fucking good.”
My heart danced as a wash of unbearable gratefulness fizzled in my blood. I wanted to cry and fly and bury myself in both these men’s arms and live happily ever after.
Despite all the emotions clanging inside me, I had no words.
None.
All I could do was stare and stare and stare.
I stepped closer and stroked his cheek again.
He smiled and wrapped his fingers around my wrist. “It’s okay, Ily. I’m real. I’m not a ghost.”
Fresh tears wobbled on my eyelashes. “Y-You took a bullet for me.”
“Cool, huh?” He pulled my hand away from his face and kissed my palm. “Pretty heroic if I do say so myself.” He threw a beaming grin at Henri. “Always told you I was the good guy in all of this.”
“I’d say you earned that title fair and square.” Henri chuckled. “I’ll wear the title of bad guy happily.” He sighed. “I honestly don’t know how to thank you, Paavak. Truly. I’m...I’m fucking speechless at what you did.”
“You would’ve done the same thing.”
“I would’ve.” Henri nodded. “For you too.”
The moment stretched, all of us struck with the aching truth that we were bonded in ways that transcended ordinary friendship. We’d seen each other at our worst, our most pained, our most broken, miserable, and terrified.
We’d been treated as toys, barely seen as human, yet we’d survived.
Together.
Because of each other.
Rolling his shoulders back as if shedding the stress from the past, Henri said, “So...you came back from the dead. You got shot and survived. I’m beginning to think you were a cat in another life.”
Peter chuckled. “If that’s true, I’m pretty sure I used up nine lives surviving Joyero.
” Shifting higher up his pillows, he raked his eyes over Henri.
“Speaking of lives...are you alright, Ri?” He cocked his head.
“You know...I’m the one who’s just come out of some stupid coma, yet you look like you’ve been in that dungeon until yesterday.
What’s up with that?” His brown eyes flickered to mine. “Ily? What did I miss?”
I smiled and sat on the side of his bed. “Let’s just say...Henri’s been a little busy.”
“Oh?” Peter quirked an eyebrow. “Doing what?”
Henri scowled. “Doesn’t matter—”
“Oh, it matters.” Peter scowled back. “No secrets between us. Spit it out. What happened?”
Glancing at the door, Henri lowered his voice. “I might have thought Ily was dead.”
“You what?” Peter gasped. “Why?”
I rolled my shoulders. “My heart might’ve stopped—”
“What!?”
“Only for like a few minutes—”
“It was longer than that. Or at least it felt like a fucking eternity.” Henri raked a hand over his face. “Seeing her die, Pete? Hearing her flatline? I...kinda went a little mad. I went on a little hunt. If you know what I mean.”
“Oh, shit.” Peter stiffened. “You went full Rambo on their asses?”
Henri snickered. “Rambo? Nah...I just paid a few men a visit that’s all.”
Peter touched his nose with a conspiratorial wink. “Right. A visit.”
Henri laughed. “A visit that they won’t forget.”
Peter puffed up with pride. “How many did you...visit?”
“Don’t know.” Henri glanced at the door again. “I wasn’t fully functioning. It’s all a bit of a blur—”
“Thirty-four,” I whispered.
Both men glared at me.
“Thirty-four?” Peter choked.
Henri frowned. “Was it? That’s not as many as I hoped.”
“Not that many?” I shook my head. “Henri, that’s...you saved so many people.”
“But there’s so many still out there.”
“Yes but—”
“You can keep going,” Peter muttered under his breath. “We could exterminate all of them.”
Henri’s grey gaze sparked. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Whoa, wait a minute.” I jumped in. “You’re barely out of bandages, and Paavak’s still in them. Let’s focus on living before we talk about dying again, shall we?”
Henri gave Peter a look. Peter returned it.
Laughing softly, Peter rested against his pillows. “Turns out everything fell apart without me, huh?”
Henri burst out laughing. “Yeah, you could say that.”
Leaning over him, I kissed Peter on the cheek. “Are you going to finish your story? You got shot in the shoulder and lung. You suffocated. That doesn’t explain how you’re here.”
Taking my hand again, he shrugged. “I don’t really know the full tale.
From what the doctors said—doctors on your brother’s payroll, Ri—they said that the response team who joined the fight on Joyero stabilised me.
They said one of them stabbed me in the chest again—glad I didn’t feel that—and released the pressure.
I had a pneumothorax I think it’s called.
The bleeding came from the bullet tearing through my muscle and shoulder blade.
” He sighed and rolled his slung arm. “I’ll admit it hurts like a bitch.
It’ll take time to use that arm again, but they sewed me up and fixed me.
I remember the sensation of not being able to move when I landed on you, Ily.
I was shit terrified that the bullet had torn through my spine, but it didn’t.
I’m all good. I guess it was just shock that shut me down.
Obviously, the doctors have their many rules so I heal properly.
They’ve given me a bunch of precautions and other medical nonsense on rehab and how lucky I was, but...
I’m here. I’m alive. And that’s all that matters.
” He sighed. “I’m just incredibly grateful.
It could’ve gone the other way so easily, so yeah... I’m just thankful.”
“And you’ve been awake this whole time?” Henri asked quietly. “Why didn’t you tell them who you were? Why have you waited weeks—”