Chapter 37
It’s a damn struggle to peel my eyes open. When I finally manage it, my vision slowly turns from blurry to clear, but the light blinds me, and I shut them again.
Mia. Her name tears through my hazy mind and my eyes snap open. A machine beeps next to me. I am in a hospital room, hooked to an IV and a heart monitor. Warmth seeps into my left hand, and I redirect my attention there, my universe realigning.
Mia’s here, holding my hand. She survived and by some miracle, I did too. Happiness floods me, and life flows through my veins. The danger has passed, and I am free to love her. I vow to do that for the rest of my life and beyond.
I see her chest bandaged. Even though Caleb’s dead, the image of her injury puts me in a murderous mood. I can’t believe she killed for me. My love and awe for her, my woman, my life, my reasons are limitless.
A nurse steps inside, and when she sees me, she rushes to my side, making a ruckus.
“Be quiet, she’s asleep. Can’t you see that?”
I know that is rude as fuck, but I don’t care. Mia needs her sleep.
“I will call the doctor.”
“That can wait. Can you bring me a Sharpie, please?”
She puts her hands on her hips, arching a brow at me. “You flatlined twice. Once before they brought you in and during surgery.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Did you hear what I told you, young man?”
“I did. Thank you for your concern, but I am fine. Please, bring me a Sharpie. It’s important.”
“All right, but then I’ll inform the doctor.”
I offer a nod and switch my focus to contemplate Mia. Her full lips are jutted out in an adorable pout, her hair falls to the side of her face. I gently brush it away, having an unobstructed view of her beautiful face. Her soft cheekbones and button nose––all delicate and feminine and most importantly, all mine.
From the corner of my eye, I notice the nurse enter the room, but I can’t take my eyes off Mia.
“She hasn’t left your side. I hope you understand how lucky you are to have someone like her.”
“I’m well aware.”
“But the way you look at her, I don’t think I have to worry,” she says, something light in her tone.
She approaches my bed and offers me the Sharpie.
“You have a few minutes before the doctor will be with you. And after the visit, I’ll inform your family and friends. They’re all in the waiting area. I understand why you fought so hard.”
With that, she leaves, and I bring the Sharpie to my mouth, uncapping it.
Slowly, I write along Mia’s arm, enjoying marking her in any way I can.
I love you.
Stroking her fingers gently, her eyes flutter open. The long sigh ringing of anguish vibrates through me. When she pulls her head up, her gaze lands on her arm, and I love how expressive she is. Her eyes widen, her mouth parts, and when she lifts her quivering chin, our gazes lock. A few tears slide down her cheeks. Seeing that powerful reaction, emotions punch me straight in my chest, and my vision blurs.
“Tell me I’m not dreaming.”
“You’re not, Silver.”
She lets out a deep sigh of relief and drops on top of me. I feel nothing but pure bliss when she forces herself off and watches me.
“What if I hurt you? Oh my god… I have to call the doctor.”
“He’ll be here shortly, and you could never hurt me.”
A small smile graces her lips, and she caresses the words on her arm.
“Do you know who wrote this sweet declaration?”
“If anyone who’s not me wrote that, he’s in big trouble, the kind he won’t be able to get out of.”
She giggles and shakes her head at me playfully.
“The only other man allowed to tell you he loves you, besides me, your father, and brother, and who has my blessing to do so, will be our son.”
I take her hand, needing her to understand something vital. “The moment you crashed into my life and our eyes met, something shifted inside of me. The very fiber of my being changed. You can’t walk away. You can’t stop loving me. If you do, and I am not fucking exaggerating, I will bind you to me by any means. You’re mine for life now, Silver. Not even death will separate us.”
She lowers her face to mine, her dainty fingers brushing against my cheeks.
“I love you so much, Blake. I promise to do that forever. You’re not the only mad one in our relationship. There’s nothing more I want than the picture you’ve painted, including the family and the growing old part.”
“I’ll give you everything, Mia.”
“All I’ve ever truly wanted was you.”
“Silver, you have me completely. Everything that makes me me is yours and no one else’s. I’ve never belonged to anyone and will never belong to anyone else either. You’re my home, my silver lining.”
She presses the sweetest kiss on my lips and when I am about to deepen the kiss, someone clears their throat. I am going to discharge myself this fucking second if I can’t have a bit of uninterrupted time with Mia after all the shit we’ve been through.
“I see you’ve readjusted to being alive pretty well,” the doctor says, and I pin her with a stare.
“Your condition was critical, so you need to take it easy the next few days. But you’re doing better than I expected, so that’s a good sign.”
“How soon can I leave?”
“Neither of us is leaving until the doctor tells us you’re good to go,” Mia says.
“You heard your lady. Listen to her.”
“You kind of interrupted us. Can I have a moment with my woman now?”
The nurse shakes her head at me, pursing her lips, but I see the smile there.
The doctor sends me a hard stare. “Be happy you are fortunate enough to be able to spend all the time in the world with her. I understand the excitement, but first let your body heal.”
I offer a nod, and when we’re alone, I look at Mia, swallowing the knot lodged in my throat.
“How are you?” I ask, and she shrugs, avoiding my glance.
“I don’t know, honestly. I killed him, and although Caleb was an evil man and an awful parent, he was your father…”
I interlink our fingers, lifting her hand to my mouth and pressing my lips against her palm. “Nothing you could ever do will change my view of you. You’re so incredibly good, Mia. I am the one––”
“No, Blake. Please never say that you don’t deserve or aren’t worthy of me again. I am flawed, just like you. And that’s okay because I would do anything to protect the people I love too—just like you.”
“You got hurt.”
“It will heal. And together we’ll overcome what happened to us.”
She looks ahead, fixing her eyes on a point for a few moments before she seeks my eyes.
“And if accepting you as you are and loving you with all of me makes me a bad person, I am fine with that. I am at home only when I am with you. When Caleb basically forced you to tell me what you did, I only wanted to free myself to hug you. It must have been so hard keeping that to yourself, allowing it to eat at you. But you weren’t the one to kill her. You’re a man of action, and both of those assholes knew it. By making you an accomplice, they tried to break your spirit. Even if you would have killed her with your bare hands, I would have understood. My love for you is unconditional.”
“You have me, all of me.”
“Good,” she says, looking pretty proud and satisfied at hearing that.
The door bangs against the wall as our friends stumble in, almost tripping over each other to get to me.
Bailey is the first to come to me, hugging me gently. “I was so worried.”
“I’m here.”
“Don’t you ever put me through something like this again,” Abi says, her eyes shining.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Glad you’re back. You aged me,” Celine says.
“Loving the attention, huh, asshole?” Dane asks to lighten the mood.
“You bet.”
“You’re one strong fucker,” Hunter says, extending his hand. The gesture holds so much more—like he’s giving me his blessing to be with his sister. Not that I’d need it, but I am glad to have it. I shake his hand, and we nod at each other in understanding.
Kaden is so silent as he stares at me. “Tell me. I want to know.”
“Kaden, now is not the time,” Celine tries.
“It’s the perfect moment for this asshole to get it through his thick head that we’re a family, and in our group, we don’t ask—we’re just there for the other.”
“They were poisoning Grandmother. I killed her because I didn’t say or do a thing to prevent it.”
Kaden shakes his head. “I could fucking kill you, you idiot.”
“I almost died so...”
He strides to my side, his expression pulled tight. “I would have buried her personally for you if you had asked me to. Do you hear me? I care about you, and to see you drifting and suffering alone—that hurts the most.”
Something breaks from my chest, and I feel lighter. I never believed I could get absolution, yet my brother just gave it to me. I am too choked up even to form words, and as our eyes lock, potent emotions glisten in his as well. Nothing could break our bond. Knowing he has my back, just as I have his, fuels me with a deep sense of belonging. Right here and now, we set the credo for our lives. Together. No more secrets. No more demons to wrestle with alone.
“We’ll give you a moment,” Celine says, taking Mia’s hand and leading her out of the room.
When it’s just the two of us, he shuts his eyes for a moment.
“I love you, Blake. You’re my brother, an integral part of my family. I can’t do this without you. I am sorry I failed you as a friend and at everything else if you thought you had to do this alone…”
“Kaden, you were in so much pain, man. Adding mine to the mix would have only endangered us.”
“Yet, here we fucking are.”
“I survived, and I’m not going anywhere else.”
“You finally accept what Mia means to you?”
“I was the only idiot who didn’t want to accept facts.”
“No more secrets,” he says.
“No more secrets.”
He offers me a glass of water, and as I sip, I say, “Grandmother was still innocent. Even though she was distant and cold and didn’t give us what we needed, she didn’t deserve that betrayal. She was not evil—not like them.”
“She should have surrounded herself with people who loved her enough to be loyal to her. None of them were innocent, and betrayal has been a part of the Family legacy since the beginning. It will end with ours. Forgive yourself, Blake. I am sure Grandmother would have appreciated how strong you had to be to play everyone. She lived for that shit. And in war, there are casualties. She was aware of that too. Now I get why you basically antagonized her and gave her a reason to hate you. But in her position, she couldn’t afford to hate because it would have meant that she failed. She was the queen in a den of vipers. She must have done something right, though. Look at us, one more willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the others.”
“Your asshole of a father is still alive,” I say.
“And it’s a damn competition between us who will get to kill him. We stopped being innocent when we started to fight for survival. In times of war, you fight for peace. In time of peace, you ready yourself for war.”
When our friends return, Kaden makes room for Mia, who automatically places her hand in mine.
“So what happened?” I ask.
“The security team we had with us found the other location empty except for photos of us lined up and with a red X on them,” Hunter says, fixing his gaze on Bailey. “But one pic was different—Bailey’s had a big question mark.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“We don’t know either,” Abi says, “but that asshole is only going to get to her over my dead body.”
Dane cracks his neck. “Princess, don’t you dare say anything like that again.”
“You know what I mean,” she says softly, cuddling into his side.
“Guys, maybe it means nothing,” Bailey says.
Hunter pins her with a glare. “I won’t take the risk.”
“Why do you even care?” she huffs, looking at the opposite wall.
“Are we bitter, kitten?”
These two are something else.
“He wasn’t there. Caleb was getting ready to fly to him,” I say.
“We found their location once. We’ll find it again,” Kaden states.
Mia looks at everyone. “Guys, Blake needs to rest.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” I say, my voice deepening with fatigue.
She kisses the side of my face, then my lips. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
***
When I open my eyes, the lights are dimmed and night stretches behind the window. Mia is where she said she’d be, curled into the chair and reading, a blush tainting her cheeks.
“What is my girl reading?”
She sits up, her book dropping with a clank on the floor.
“It must have been an intense scene if you were so into it.”
Her eyes are dilated, and she licks her bottom lip. “Ah, so…”
“Mia, tell me what we should try next. There’s no room for shame or embarrassment between us. My only limit is sharing you. But I will give you everything else.”
“They were in public, like anyone walking by could catch them… it’s crazy, right?”
“No, there’s nothing crazy about sex. You’re curious, Silver, and fuck if it doesn’t make me hard as stone to try all those scenarios with you.”
“But what if we get caught?”
“That’s the whole appeal. And the rush will make you come harder.”
She points at my face. “I know that look.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I grin from ear to ear.
She’s mine to please, have, and fulfill every fantasy in and out of the bedroom.
“I need to get out of this fucking bed,” I say, and she’s at my side, helping me up.
“Maybe we should ask the doctor or a nurse first.”
“Baby, it’s okay.”
“You don’t feel pain, and that worries me, okay?”
I cup her cheeks. “I love you, but we have to navigate my condition. It’s not going away.”
“I know, but can you promise me you’ll tell me, even if you think it’s nothing, just for my peace of mind?”
“I promise.” I’d promise her the damn world.
When I am steady on my feet, she lets go of my arm, trusting my word. I will not break it.
As I approach the door, she says, “You will not go out with your ass on display.”
I toss my head back, laughter erupting from me. I forgot that I was in a hospital gown, basically flashing everyone my backside.
“I’m not joking. That is my ass to stare at.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, raising a brow in challenge. Fuck, I am mad about her.
“It’s your ass to stare at.”
She bites into her lower lip, humming with suppressed desire. “It’s a damn fine-looking ass. Round and muscled, topped by those two dimples and those damn strong thighs…”
“Baby, if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be held accountable for what I do to you.”
She makes a gesture of lifting her jaw off the floor. She’s so damn adorable. I truly am lucky.
By the time she helps me change, the door opens. Cassandra steps inside, leaving the guards outside. Clear relief shines in her eyes when she looks at me.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” she asks.
“Don’t insist, but we came to a compromise,” Mia says.
“I stayed in that bed long enough.”
“You’re going to stay in the hospital for as long as it takes,” Cassandra says. It would have sounded like an order if her voice hadn’t shaken at the end. In her role, she tries her best not to show favoritism, but she and I share a bond that only survivors of abuse understand.
“Silver, could you ask the nurse if it would be okay to leave the room with a wheelchair?”
She nods, glancing between us. My girl is so emotionally intelligent, reading the room well.
When we’re alone, I say, “I’m sorry I worried you.”
“You always took high risks…”
“I will stop. I have a family to think of.”
“Good. Celine and Kaden. Abigail and Dane. You and Mia. It’s going better than expected.”
“What are you going to do about Bailey? I don’t know why the fucker would be so interested in her.”
“That’s a worry for another time,” she says, putting a forced levity in her voice that doesn’t ease my worries.
I am about to ask her what she is hiding when the door opens, and Mia rolls the wheelchair in.
“See you at home. I talked to the doctor, and she said you will be discharged in a few days. But it’s bedrest for a while.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Oh, he will rest,” Mia says.
I can’t say no to either of them for two different reasons. One is the matriarch, and she has my loyalty, the other is the love of my life, my woman, and my future. So I am going to listen until I am good as new. I have some fantasies to fulfill.
We accompany Cassandra down to the ground level, and she smiles at me, nodding at us before she slips into the car.
“She knows why Felix is interested in Bailey, but she didn’t tell me.”
“Well, she’s the matriarch. She must have her reasons.”
“We have to watch over Bailey.”
“She doesn’t like the attention and the pressure…”
“Fuck, I know that.”
“At least we know she doesn’t like that. My brother is set to make her explode.”
“How the tables have turned. Do you remember when he called her annoying?”
“I told that idiot that one day he’s going to regret it.”
Pulling her to my side, I kiss the top of her head. “I’ve been one too. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
Tipping her chin up, a radiant smile paints her face. “Thank you for giving me what I wanted so I didn’t have to settle for less.”