We ride the rest of the trip in silence, then take the helicopter to the penthouse. It’s a tiring trip for anyone, but I’m barely stumbling along, the pants they gave me low on my hips, already stained with the dried blood on my skin.
When I can open my eyes again, I seek out Rose to make sure she’s still here. She gives me her hand, refusing to let me go unless necessary. Knowing she’s here makes the whole thing easier since I know she’ll be with me when I wake up.
The penthouse looks the same, and I’m so happy to be home I can’t even say the words. Which is fine since no one needs to hear them.
Valentina comes from somewhere and surveys all of us. “Oh, my god, is that all your blood?”
I can’t tell her Rose killed the councilwoman since it’s not my story to tell. “None of it, actually. I’ll be fine, promise.”
She sags in relief, her eyes searching out her cousin, who has already followed Adrian, no doubt pestering him for a doctor.
I sink to my knees on the hardwood and close my eyes.
Michail pats me on the back. “Come on, buddy, let’s get you in bed so the doc can have a look. You can’t stay here on the cold floor, or someone will murder me for allowing it.”
When I don’t respond, he shifts around me to get my arm over his shoulder and heave me to my feet. I’m home, so it doesn’t matter where I lay my head now.
34
ROSE
I am torn between keeping my eyes on my husband and following the clean lines and high-end decorations of Adrian’s penthouse—or more like a compound, by its look. I can’t complain, though, since it means he is keeping Valentina safe. I spot the view as we step off the elevator, and I want to go check it out, but Kai comes first.
Adrian and Michail haul Kai between them to his suite, and I trail the men, fussing over how gently they lay him on the dove gray coverlet.
I wave at Kai, staring down Adrian. “Can we get a doctor in here, now?”
He narrows his eyes at me, his frown shifting to a scowl, one I give right back. For some reason, he must be mistaking me for a simpering fool if he thinks I won’t demand Kai be cared for. It’s the reason we came here after all, and not to his own family.
Adrian sends a text on his phone and then sits on the bed next to Kai. I’m two seconds from fussing about it when Kai reaches out to take my hand.
“You might not approve, but we’re married, official, legally,” Kai tells him, caressing my fingers.
Adrian pulls something out of his breast pocket. “I heard rumors you took a wife, although they reported it was a marriage of convenience.”
I nudge Kai with my shoulder. “There is nothing at all convenient about this man.”
His piercing eyes focus on me, and I can see how Val became ensnared. He seems to be able to see you from the inside out. It’s mesmerizing and creepy to me.
The doctor rushes into the room, saving me from having to make small talk with him, though.
We move off the bed and take up similar stances at the end of the bed to monitor the doctor’s progress.
The doctor checks his vitals and looks at Adrian over his shoulder. “Do you know what drugs he was given?”
Adrian crosses his arms and scowls; she doesn’t need to look at him to know what he’s thinking. One of them should have grabbed the drugs so the doctor could treat him effectively. An idiot move on all our parts. To be fair, we’d been focused on the dead councilwoman and then the new council member catching us red-handed.
Michail lingers near the door, keeping a sharp eye on both Kai and Adrian. I wonder if I fall under his supervision now too.
When the doctor finishes, he prods the back of Kai’s head where he’d been knocked out. Nothing seems to be wrong, but the doctor warns me to wake him up every so often and make sure he drinks lots of water on top of the IV.
I wait, barely constrained, until the doctor sets up an IV and leaves Kai to Adrian and me again.
“If you have something better to do, I can take care of him,” I say, not taking my gaze from Kai’s now that I have him again.
Adrian lingers at the end of the bed, watching Kai, watching us, but it doesn’t bother me. He’s worried about his friend, and I can understand that. I snuggle up under Kai’s arm, and he shifts me into him so my legs are entwined along his longer ones.
Finally, Adrian nods to Kai and walks out without another word.