Chapter 29 #3
The moment is interrupted when Byron starts firing his gun blindly, bullets ricocheting off the walls, and sparks flash in the dark. “Grab him!” I shout at Percy, who skates around me, but Byron fires at him, and he only just manages to duck out of the way.
Off in the distance, I see another light, and I know that’s my father and Milo. “Gun!” I call to them. At the sound of my father calling back, Byron spins away from me.
And more importantly, away from Denver.
I hadn’t realized Denver was preparing an attack until he lifts something above his head, and it comes crashing down with a sickening thud, and Byron’s body hits the ground.
Silence falls around us, and then I hear Denver’s shaking, heaving breaths and my father’s and Milo’s footsteps.
To my right, Percy climbs to his feet and glances over at me, but I’m only vaguely aware of him.
Denver’s walking toward me, and my knife clatters to the ground as I pull his shaking body into my arms, pressing a kiss to his trembling lips. ‘Little rabbit,’ I sign when we break for air.
He groans, his hands twisting in my hair as he takes another frantic kiss.
Our tongues tangle as I breathe him in, tasting him. He’s alive. He’s safe. And the relief lasts as long as it takes for Percy to find Nico, who was on the floor behind the large stone coffin.
“Where is the fucker? He ruined my shoes.” Nico’s rasping, angry voice cuts into my soft moment with Denver, and I feel a rush of relief as I glance over to find Percy holding him upright.
There’s blood dripping down his forehead, one eye is blackened, and his bottom lip is swollen on the left side. Nico clearly put up a fight, and that reminds me he’s such a different man from the first one I rescued all those years ago.
When Denver sees where my attention is, he lets out a shaky breath as he turns to look at him, and then his attention is back on me.
‘He was going to kill Nico first.’ His hands are trembling. ‘He caught us in my office. I didn’t know it was him.’
‘I know. It’s okay.’ I take hold of his hands and kiss his palms, tasting the dirt lining his skin, but for the first time, it doesn’t matter. He’s warm, alive. Here with me. ‘You did save him. And you saved yourself,’ I sign between us.
He lets out a soft sob, burying his face in my chest as Nico moves toward us, touching Denver softly, bringing his head off my chest.
‘Thank you,’ Nico signs with both hands, and Denver reaches for him, pulling him in for a long hug.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he says when they pull back, ‘This is all my fault.’
“No, no,” Nico says and signs at the same time. His voice rings loudly off the stone walls. “I’m glad I was with you. I’m glad you weren’t alone this time.”
Then he turns toward me and my dad, who is kneeling beside Byron and taking his pulse. After a beat, he nods his head, which means he’s alive. And that means we can take care of making him pay for what he did.
And it means that my little rabbit isn’t a killer. I know he’d do it for the people he cared about, but murder will change him, and I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. And I don’t think he is either.
‘Quite the mess,’ my dad signs with a careful flick of his fingers as he stands up.
Denver ducks his head, but Nico squares his shoulders like he’s preparing to fight. ‘Denver was so brave. I only made it through because of him.’
Denver looks slightly embarrassed and then sinks into me once more.
My dad softens, then looks at me. ‘You chose well.’
Something in my chest softens, and my hands spasm on Denver’s waist, but I can’t bring myself to pull back to sign, and he doesn’t have his CIs on, so I don’t bother speaking. This is enough for now.
“Nico,” my dad starts.
He holds up a hand. ‘I will tell you everything that happened,’ Nico adds, ‘but can we talk at home? I want to wash all this dirt and blood off me. And I think I need to take a bottle of ibuprofen and have a long nap.’
While Milo and Percy pick up the still-unconscious Byron, I wrap Denver up in my arms and bring him up to the surface.
Fresh air fills my lungs, and I can breathe a little easier with Denver pressed against my side. He stumbles a bit as we make our way to the car, and I can tell he’s hurt, but he’s walking steadily, which makes me feel a little more at ease.
I climb into the car, my dad behind the wheel, Nico next to him, and as Denver lays his head on my shoulder, I reach forward for Nico’s hand. He grasps it, but only for a moment. It’s like he knows what I need—what Denver needs. And he’s strong enough to give us that.
As we take to the road, Denver leans his full weight against me, and the heaviness of it soothes me as I watch the scenery pass by. Home, I think to myself as my dad’s SUV eats up the miles. We’re going home.
Glancing down at my little rabbit, I see his eyes are closed, his breathing even, and his hands are loose in my shirt as his fingers toy with the hem. I think there must be a weight lifting off him now that we know both men are caught, and one is dead, and the other is about to be.
It’s over, and he can be free.
And now I can watch him bloom.