I’ve been shot. It takes a second to wrap my head around the fact. I mean, considering what I do for a living, it’s always been a possibility I’ve had to come to terms with, yet now that it’s happened, it feels surreal.
A knock on the bedroom door rips me out of my thoughts. “That will be Z. I texted him when you woke up. He’ll want to check you over again.”
I try to figure out why Z, the hotel owner and manager, would want to check me out. I would have assumed I would have been under the care of a doctor or surgeon, but maybe he’s just worried about us bringing legal problems to his doorstep?
I close my eyes as Atlas answers the door, making it easier for me to hear multiple men’s voices raised in what sounds like a heated discussion in the hallway. I can’t make out any of the words and it worries me that perhaps another assassin was sent to finish what the first guy failed. What if we’re in danger?
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I do my best to push to a sitting position on the side of the bed. I’m facing the wall of windows where late afternoon sunshine is beating in, forcing me to squint against the bright light.
“What the hell are you doing? Lie back down,” Atlas orders from behind me.
Realizing he wouldn’t be saying that if we were in danger, I instead try unsuccessfully to push to my feet as I retort. “I’ve been lying down long enough. I need to get back to work.”
“You’re being ridiculous. You just had a hole shot through your body—literally.”
“Wounds heal,” I argue, starting to feel like he might be right about me rushing this a little bit.
Atlas reaches over to the credenza and grabs something before returning to kneel in front of where I’m still sitting.
“Let’s at least put a T-shirt on you. We have company and I don’t want you flashing those beautiful breasts of yours.”
I whip my gaze down to my body and only now see that I’m completely naked. Raising my hands reflexively, I do my best to cover my breasts with my arms, fighting against Atlas as he does his best to push a hand through the sleeve in an attempt to dress me in one of the oversized T-shirts Rowan had got for Atlas after we’d arrived here with absolutely nothing.
“Before you put that on, let me check her stitches,” Z says, stepping next to me as Atlas bares my shoulder to him again.
“Em…shouldn’t a doctor be doing that?” I ask, unsure why Atlas is flashing my body to his friend.
Z chuckles as he looks me over. “You can just call me Dr. Z. I’m the one who stitched you up. And your wounds are looking good. You’ll be sore for a few weeks and will need to keep these clean, but I don’t see any reason why you won’t make a full recovery.”
It’s Atlas who responds while I’m trying to understand why a doctor is running the hotel. “She’s going to have a hell of a souvenir though. You’re good Z, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do to keep her from having scars.”
“Probably true,” Z answers before standing and allowing Atlas to finally lower the shirt, covering me just as his father’s voice bellows from behind me.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.”
Just hearing his voice brings back so much tension. He’s been nothing but gruff and condescending to me since the first time I met him. Even on a good day he makes me nervous, so I’m not sure I can handle his judgement today.
“Father, I think you should come back later. Valentina is just waking, and she needs rest to recover.” From the tone of Atlas’s voice, he is on the same page as I am where his father’s visit is concerned.
Instead of making his leave, the elder master thief came to stand in front of where I’m still sitting on the side of the bed. He moves into my line of sight so I have no way to avoid looking at him without being rude.
When I look up and see tears in his eyes, I’m confused.
“I’m so glad that you are going to make a full recovery, Ms. Key. I never got a chance to properly thank you for risking your life in New York by coming to the gala to warn my son and me. That alone was a great act of bravery, but then to take a bullet meant to kill my son… Well, that was truly over and above when it comes to a loyalty test. I will not forget what you’ve done for me and my family. I am in your debt.”
His words ring in my ears… I’d taken a bullet meant for Atlas? My gaze moves to Atlas and I see the truth there. The men may not often agree on many things, but the look exchanged between Atlas and his father chases away the awkward nervousness from minutes before.