ARI
THIRTY
The next time I opened my eyes, they felt even heavier than the last. The night had been long and stressful, and no amount of sleep was ever going to make up for it.
I looked beside me on the couch, but it was empty. Save for a huge black dog resting its head on me. No Wyatt, though. Which didn’t surprise me considering his apprehension and fear of coming out.
“Hello! And who are you?” I asked the big dog.
It blinked as I stroked its head, and Duke walked in to answer my question.
“That would be my fluffball, Max,” he said, and I spent the next few minutes falling in love with the big Labrador turning putty next to me. “Did you sleep here? Are you okay?”
I shuffled in my seat and turned to the young blond man as a big yawn escaped me.
“Here, there. Everywhere,” I said. “Have you seen Wyatt?”
I looked around me as if he was just going to pop out from behind the couch or the door and surprise me, but naturally, he wasn’t there.
“Or Warren?” I added when I noticed Duke staring.
I had to be careful about that. Considering how almost everyone was paired up with another guy, I couldn’t just blurt out Wyatt’s name or I ran the risk of people getting suspicious of our relationship, and the last thing I needed was for all this to end before it even started because people found out.
“He’s in the guest room with Nino,” Duke answered, and I almost jumped off of the couch.
It was about time I remembered I had a patient to look after.
“Is he okay? Did something happen?”
Duke walked up to me and squeezed my wrist with a smile. “He’s fine. Don’t worry. He’s out of the woods.”
I nodded and patted his hand then excused myself and went upstairs to check on my patient. And Wyatt.
“Are you sure about this?” I heard Warren ask Wyatt, and I walked in to find the two brothers sitting next to each other looking hardened and serious.
“It’s the only way,” Wyatt replied and cleared his throat as he turned to face me. “Good morning, Ari.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to be nosy and blurt out all the questions I had, and greeted both brothers before I turned to the bed.
“It seems I’m missing a patient.” I put my hands to my hips and hummed.
“Ah yeah. Santiago was feeling better, so I unhooked him and he went home. He just left,” Warren said, and I nodded.
“And he looked all right to drive?” I asked.
Warren nodded.
I could feel Wyatt’s gaze burning the side of my face, but I focused on my job and checked Nino’s blood pressure.
“It’s all good. I’ve been checking it every hour. He even woke up at some point, but he was drained,” Warren said.
I looked at the bedside table where Warren had kept a record of all his checks, and after examining my patient, I studied the report for any irregularities.
“Is he going to be okay?” Wyatt asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper that made my heart break with its delicacy.
It didn’t matter what I said or how many times, he would always carry the guilt for what happened to Nino, and there was nothing I could do to change that. It didn’t mean I was going to stop trying to get through to him. One day he might finally believe me.
“He’s looking good. I think the worst is behind us. But he’ll have a long recovery ahead of him. I really would feel more comfortable if he was in a hospital.”
“King has reached out to Nino’s people in New York. They’ll arrange something so you don’t have to do it all yourself.”
“Arrange something? Like what?” I started but then changed my mind. “You know what? I don’t want to know. As long as he’s taken care of, I’m good.”
Both Warren and Wyatt nodded in agreement. The less we knew about Nino’s crime life, the better. Probably.
As I sat by his bedside and tried to think of my next steps, a gurgling noise cut through the silence, and I turned to look at Warren who grabbed his stomach and grimaced.
“How about breakfast?” He laughed.
“You should go. I’ll stay with him,” I said.
Warren looked from Wyatt to me and back to Wyatt then excused himself, and I was left alone with Wyatt. And the sleeping patient.
“Sorry I didn’t stay by your side all night,” Wyatt said when I decided to change Nino’s wounds.
I stopped and stared at him. “What? Don’t be silly. It’s okay.”
“I couldn’t sleep. And you looked so tired, I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Wyatt, it’s okay,” I said and made sure to smile so he would believe me.
“And the more I watched you, the more I wanted to kiss you—”
I burst out laughing. “You have to stop apologizing. I’m okay. I’m not upset. Don’t worry. Are you okay? How are you feeling today?”
He shrugged. “Still crap. But at least now we have a plan.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Was that what you were talking about with Warren?”
He nodded.
“Care to enlighten me? Because it sounded like he wasn’t on board.”
Wyatt sighed and got up from the armchair he was occupying.
“Whether he is or not, it has to happen, or we’ll never be rid of Salieri.”
I nodded and listened to the plan for the next few minutes. By the time he was done, my heart palpitations were through the roof and I had to check my own blood pressure.
“What do you think?” he asked when he finished.
“I hate it. There must be another way. A different way.”
“There really isn’t. I started this, I should be the one to end it.”
“And that’s exactly why I hate it. What if he ends you before you manage to end him?”
He looked into my eyes, and for the first time, I looked back and a chill ran down my spine. It sounded more like a suicide mission than a plan.
“You know I’ll hate you forever if you die on me, right?”
Wyatt smirked and took my hands in his. “No, you won’t.”
“Yes, I will. I can’t…I can’t go through this again.”
“You won’t have to. I promise I’ll be extra careful.”
I held my breath for a moment and shoved down every feeling telling me to hold him, tie him up, and never let him go anywhere near that evil man.
“I have to do this,” he told me, and it was only then I realized I’d said my thoughts out loud. “I have to do this for us as much as everyone else.”
“What…what do you mean?” I blinked.
His eyes shone a little brighter when he spoke, and I felt equally frustrated and taken by him. “If he ever found out how much you mean to me, he’d hurt you, and I can’t have that. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
I sucked in a big breath and held his gaze because I didn’t know what to say.
This was brand-new territory for me. For anyone.
I could make all the promises in the world, and so could Wyatt, but it didn’t guarantee anything.
It didn’t guarantee our safety or anyone else’s.
And even though putting himself in danger was the last thing I wanted for him, I knew the kind of person he was.
He wouldn’t be at peace with himself if he didn’t do something about it.
“Just…promise me one thing,” I said.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You’ll be careful? Because I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you either.”
Wyatt smiled and gave me a gentle nod. “Promise,” he said and offered me his pinky.
I chuckled.
“Oh boy, can Azrael’s mom cook!” Warren declared and entered the room entirely unaware of the moment his brother and I were sharing.
We both turned to look at him as he rubbed his belly and paused to stare back at us.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I shook my head.
Wyatt did the same and walked back to the armchair he’d been occupying.
As soon as he sat down, a large dog stormed into the room through the open door and sniffed Warren’s legs before trying to climb on top of Wyatt.
“Whoa!” he said.
But the German shepherd wasn’t deterred. It jumped on his lap and sat on him, wagging its tail as if unaware of its true size and weight.
“Princess, get back! Princess!” Duke called out and appeared at the door before he zeroed in on the dog. “I’m so sorry. He got away from me. Let me get him out of the way.”
He walked toward the dog and tried to grab him by the collar, but he refused to leave Wyatt’s side.
“Go on, big boy. Follow the good doctor,” Wyatt encouraged him and petted him, but it didn’t work.
“Looks like you’ve been chosen,” I said, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Wyatt scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“Seems like to me too,” Duke agreed, and Wyatt made sure to glare at him too. “Do you want him? He’s the bestest boy.”
“Are you kidding?” Wyatt exclaimed. “I’m homeless and almost got someone killed. I don’t have time for a dog.”
Duke shrugged. “Sometimes they choose us at the time when we need them the most,” he said.
Wyatt rolled his eyes and pushed the dog off him, but Princess turned around and begged for some affection from him, and even though Duke tried to drag him away, Wyatt did spend a minute or so stroking his head and apologizing to him.
Princess looked at him dead in the eyes like he was in love, and who could blame him?
“Wow. He’s really taken a liking to you. Are you sure you don’t want to adopt him?”
Wyatt pulled his hands away, and Duke apologized again before he dragged the dog out and closed the door behind him.
“That was cute,” Warren said.
“Yeah. He was,” he answered, and I didn’t miss the way he glanced at me, or the glimmer in his eyes that made him look so fucking handsome.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Duke was right. If the dog had found him and chosen him because they were meant to be, and if that was true, was it also the case for us?
Were we meant to be?