41. Sebastian
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
SEBASTIAN
Asliver of light slips through my heavy, cracked eyelids as a cool breeze drifts across my face. A familiar, sweet scent settles around me, and I know exactly where it comes from because I’m obsessed with it.
Stevie.
I pull my eyes open fully and scan the room—I’m in Thornfell Lodge, then a weight on my right has me circling to the side.
There she is, safely beside me. Stevie is curled under my arm with her eyes closed while tiny sounds escape her parted lips.
My heart is in a vise seeing her next to me. I try to move my left shoulder, but a sharp bolt of pain halts my movement. And then a memory comes hurling back, and I quickly remember getting shot by Silas at Moore Mansion.
What happened after Silas shot me?
Did Hayden and Christian finish them?
How long have I been out?
Oh, fuck. An image of Stevie with her back turned toward me, and the crack of another shot echoes, pulses my eardrums and flashes through my mind. I need to figure out what happened.
A failed attempt to clear my throat, has my voice still cracking. “Stevie?”
Stevie lifts her head; her wide eyes meet mine with surprise. “Sebastian?”
I smile. “Hi.”
“Oh my god!” she shrieks, tears springing from her eyes. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”
I can’t even think about responding right now because all I want to do is kiss her beautiful lips. Biting through the pain, I lift my injured arm and slide my palm along the smooth skin on her cheek. She leans into my touch, closing her eyes.
“I’m so relieved to see you,” I say, then press a deep kiss onto her lips. The salty taste of her tears touches my tongue, showing how much she hurt for me.
Stevie slowly pulls back, her forehead resting on mine. “I thought I’d lost you.” The darkness inside me runs deeper than to ever leave this earth without her. Now that I’ve tasted my dangerous obsession, there is no going back to life before.
All of a sudden, and with a force I wasn’t expecting, she shoves my shoulder. “Never scare me like that again!”
Hooking my hand around the back of her head, I grip a chunk of her hair, pulling her head up. “I would never leave you. I thought I made it clear, I’d take you with me.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” she sneers.
I lose my grip slightly. “Now, tell me what the hell happened? How long have I been out?”
“It’s been three days since Silas shot you.” She pushes the hair away from her face.
Relief washes over me. Three days is a lot less than I feared.
“Did Hayden and Christian take out the rest of the members?”
Stevie nods. “They did. After Silas shot you, they sedated me to get us both back to Thornfell safely.”
A chuckle bubbles from my chest. Of course, they did. Sounds like something both Hayden and Christian would do. “I’m not surprised they did that.”
Her eyebrows snap together. “I am. I was pissed at first. But the last thirty-six hours have been a nightmare, so I’ve let it go.”
“They’ll do anything to keep us all safe and get the job done.” My thumb slides along her lower lip. “River or I would’ve done the same.”
She sighs because she doesn’t like my answer, but understands it.
“Stevie?”
“Mm-hmm?”
I smile. “I know you killed Silas.”
“I did.” Trepidation transforms her delicate features. “I should feel some sort of remorse, but I don’t.”
“Because your insides are as black as mine.”
“I guess so,” she says. “I mean, I killed another human being, but he was a horrible monster. And I think in some ways I’m accepting this new thought that I can do this. I can bring justice.”
Her words.
Her admission.
Her acceptance of the darkness does nothing but make me even more infatuated with her.
“I have found my dark princess,” I say.
“My dark prince,” she mutters, her lips grazing mine.
“Sebastian!” River calls out as he tore into the room.
Stevie and I both startle.
My head whips toward my cousin. “When did you get back?”
River pulls me in for a hug. “When I found out you got shot, Lux and I were on the plane immediately.” He pulls back and crosses his arms over his chest. “Always have to be so dramatic, don’t you?”
“Fuck you,” I spit out. “When am I going to get an update on what happened after I passed out?”
“I’ll let Christian and Hayden know you’re awake, and we can all meet,” he says.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Dr. Charles entering the room. “Welcome back to the land of the living,” he greets me cheerfully approaching the bedside.
River steps away.
Stevie lifts off the hospital bed, making room for Dr. Charles.
“I thought I heard your voice.” He lowers his seeing glasses down his nose, glancing at the machines at my side. “Glad to see you’re up.”
I blow out a weighted breath, then grimace, lifting up my arm to put it back into place after Stevie left. “Yeah, well, I’m alive.”
Dr. Charles leans over to check the bandages on my shoulder. “So, you want the good news first? Or the news you won’t like?”
“I don’t care,” I say. “Whatever you want, Doc.”
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Well, obviously the bullet missed your heart and a major artery, so that’s fantastic. I expect you’ll make a complete recovery, but it’ll take some time.”
I can’t help but glance at Stevie standing off to the right. Her pink lips pursed, and she’s nodding like she’s already heard this before.
I nod.
He continues. “Where we go from here is that you’ll need to keep the wound clean to prevent infection, and we’ll work on keeping the swelling down. In the meantime, you will remain on the pain meds.”
“Okay,” I reply.
River walks back over toward us. He must have gotten a hold of Christian and Hayden.
Dr. Charles clears his throat and continues. “Initial recovery will only be a few weeks, but you’ll need a couple of months of intensive physical therapy to gain a full range of motion again.”
I’m fucking annoyed, frustrated that I’m in this state. It will prevent me from working with the night crew for a while, and for that, I could strangle Silas with my bare hands, if Stevie hadn’t shot him already.
My eyes flicker back to her, and my thoughts soften mildly. At least I’m alive.
I huff. “Okay, thank you, Dr. Charles.”
“I’ll be here on property for another week, then I’ll go down to once a day to check in with you.”
“Get with Aunt Mae to give her all the details regarding my recovery. She’ll schedule everything,” I tell him.
“Of course,” he says, then smiles and pats me on the shoulder. “Glad to see you’re doing better.”
Christian and Hayden come barging in through the door.
“Sebastian!” Christian calls out. “You’re finally up, you lazy shit.”
Hayden pulls me into a casual hug. “Hey, buddy.”
Then Christian does the same.
I laugh. “Okay, fuck you both. I need an update on what happened after I got shot.”
River drags two of the tufted leather chairs from by the fireplace over to me. Hayden does the same. All the guys sit at my side, including Stevie.
“Stevie killed Silas,” Christian blurts with confidence.
I smile. “I know.”
She tucks a loose, corkscrew piece of hair behind her ear with a grin.
I turn to Christian. “So, what went down?”
He clears his throat, leaning back in his chair. “After you were shot, Stevie was a little uncontrollable.” His apologizing eyes shoot over to her. She avoids his gaze. “So, we sedated her. But only because we needed to get you both out of there quickly and safely.”
I exhale. Hayden and Christian are like my brothers, but I’m not happy about them drugging Stevie. “Go on.”
“After we cleared the space, the rest of the guys took an inventory of the bodies,” Hayden tells me. “We counted the four you told us about, which were the remaining Black Veil Society Members, the woman—”
“Clara,” Stevie croaks, as if it pains her Clara had to lose her life in the midst of all this madness. I do not feel remorse because Clara was as much a part of the Society as Silas was.
Hayden nods in acknowledgment. “Clara. And the two security guards at the back entrance.”
Christian rubs his chin. “I took out the security guard at the front entrance before joining Hayden in the rafters.”
Stevie suddenly stands, her lips pursed. Something is on her mind.
“You okay?” I ask.
She shifts on her feet a few times. “Why did it take so long between the first and second shot?”
Not what I’m expecting her to say, but it’s a fair question and one that I was going to bring up when it was me and the guys.
A dense silence blankets the room.
Christian is the first to speak. “There was an unplanned delay. One of the security guards gave us a bit of a fight.”
“That’s what led to Silas getting away, where he eventually ended up shooting Sebastian.” Stevie’s words have anger in them.
They both nod with somber expressions on their faces before Christian speaks again. “Unfortunately, during dynamic situations like this, it’s impossible to predict every outcome. And this is the risk we all take to do what we do.”
“Look, this is never something we expect to happen.” River’s voice is stern. “But it did and the only thing we can do is learn from it and try not to make any mistakes like this again in the future.”
Hayden, Christian, and I exchange a quick glance, and I know we’re all thinking the same thing. We’re fucking crazy. But it’s the only life we’ve ever known.
I grab Stevie’s hand. “I’m alive to continue what we do. And that’s all that matters.”
“That’s it?” She bites her quivering bottom lip, then swipes a tear from underneath her eye. “This is what we do, and that’s that? Sebastian almost dies, and it’s business as usual?”
River opens his mouth to speak, but she interjects. “And you? You’re supposed to be the planner—the organizer out of the four of you? Why would you have let them take on this project without you being here to help them?” she scolds him.
My eyes bounce from Hayden to Christian to River.
He blows out a weighted breath. “You’re right. I was only thinking of your sister and not the organization.”
Damn. She’s even bringing River to his knees.
Fuck, I love her.
“Now, next time any of you take on any projects, it’s all of you or nothing, got it?” Her tone is stern. She slides her eyes back to River. “I’m sure my sister would agree if it were you lying there.”
“I’m sure she would,” he replies.
I understand her frustrations—if I was an outsider looking into our entire operation, I’d react the same way. “This is our life. And with those choices come potential consequences—each one of us will take.”
“So, now I must simply accept this?” she asks again, convincing herself more than asking a question.
“You don’t have to be in it anymore,” I say.
Her hand flies from mine as her arms fold aggressively against her chest. “Of course I’m going to do this with you, Sebastian!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Stevie replies. “Like I said. If all of us can’t take part in the next project, then we’re not taking it on.”
A chuckle vibrates my insides. “Well, okay.”
“Okay,” she returns, tapping her foot. “I have some emails from Nevermore to catch up on.” She bends down to kiss me. Then lifts her head to glare across the bed. “See you all later.” Her tone is curt as she speaks with River, Hayden, and Christian before dashing out of the room.
River’s eyebrows raise. “She’s a lot.”
I run a hand down my face, knowing that all five feet four inches of her is all mine. “Yeah, and you wonder why she drove me crazy at first?”
We share a laugh that rumbles through the quiet room.
River’s head falls back. “Remember a time when women weren’t involved?”
“Yes, but it’s much better now.” I chuckle.
“Speak for yourselves,” Christian bites back. “But I am glad this nightmare of a project is over.”
“Same.” I painfully rotate my shoulder where I was shot. “So, the mansion has been cleared?”
“The night crew cleaned up and got rid of the bodies,” Hayden confirms.
“I reset the security cameras once you and Stevie were back on the Thompson property. We only have nine minutes unaccounted from the lapse in security footage from where I paused it. I took the security guard out with a quick shot and dragged his body into a linen closet, so we’re clear anyway,” Christian adds.
“That’s the missing timeframe?” I clarify. “Where you had to remove the footage and splice with the other?”
“Yeah, but I replaced it with the actual footage from the mansion since I was able to take care of him so quickly,” Christian says confidently.
“Good,” I say.
“All the members’ bodies have been accounted for. They’re all dead.” Hayden crosses one leg over the other, leaning back in his chair.
“Fuck. Finally.” A weighted sigh has me resting my head against the pillow. “Who’s up for a little break after this one?”
“Break?” River scoffs. “I just got back from a break. I’m ready to jump right into the next one.”
“I’m ready,” Christian adds. “But maybe we should take a short break, you know?”
River chuckles. “Fine. Let’s take a look at our database. I’m sure some of those killers were in there. It’ll feel good to change their status to eliminated.”
“I found Larry and Bob, not the others. I’ll have to add them.” Christian stands. “I have some work to do back at Nightrose Hall.”
“Your actual FBI job?” I like to give him shit about how he works more with us than the FBI.
He waves me off from behind. “I don’t work for you guys. Don’t forget that.”
“You don’t have to live here either!” River calls out. “You’re a billionaire too, remember?”
Despite never acknowledging it, he’s one of the majority shareholders in Thompson Innovations.
Christian mumbles something inaudibly on his way out.
“I wish I had billions to ignore!” Hayden shouts and rises from his chair next. “Okay, so, unless anything comes up, we’re going to take some time before choosing the next project?”
River and I both shoot him a side-eye, knowing Hayden has made millions from us.
“Yeah. That’s the plan,” River confirms.
“Okay, get out, you fuckers, so I can bring Stevie back in here and get some sleep.”
I say a quick goodbye to both of them, then reach to the table at the side of the bed to text Stevie.
Me: Come back.
Stevie: Miss me already?
Me: My dick does.
Stevie: OMG Sebastian. Haha.
Me: It’s true.
Stevie: Be right there.
I’m anxious to tell her we’re going to wait to take on another project. Maybe she’ll want to have a say in the next one we choose.
Wait. She’s going to join me, isn’t she? This is my life—but so is she.
Not even a minute later, she’s a vision in black standing amid the shadows of the doorway. I open one arm, gesturing for her to climb in.
And that’s exactly what she does.