Mistletoe (K19 Security Solutions 3)

Mantis had thanked him again and then booked a room at the inn Gunner recommended.

—:—

“If Alegria is able to ride in a car for a couple of hours, you’re both welcome to join us here. We’re in Cambria for Thanksgiving, not Oregon,” Razor told Dutch.

“I appreciate it.”

“No problem. You’re both K19 family. In fact, the two of you should stay here at the house. She’ll be more comfortable than she would be at the inn.”

Dutch thanked him again, hung up, and went into the guest bedroom to check on her. She’d been in relatively good spirits when they left the hospital, but once they got to the condo he’d rented, she told him she was exhausted and wanted to rest. That was six hours ago, and she was still asleep.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected from Mantis when he stopped by before going to pick her up. Maybe he was looking for some sign that they were still friends. He sure didn’t feel like they were.

He’d had a flicker of hope that Mantis would be open to spending Thanksgiving with him and Alegria, but he should’ve known better. It would hurt far too much to spend the holiday with the woman he loved when he believed she was with another man. He knew firsthand; he’d spent many holidays with Alegria and Mantis when they were together.

He’d been able to bury his feelings for years because Alegria had never been his. She still wasn’t, not really. She was too stubborn to admit she wanted Mantis back in her life, but one day she would, and that would leave him the odd man out. One would think that knowing it was an inevitability, he’d walk away now, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her.

—:—

Alegria tried to roll over, but her body didn’t want to cooperate. She needed a pain pill, but didn’t want to ask Dutch to bring one to her.

If she’d been cleared to travel by plane, she would’ve flown to France and recuperated at her parents’ house, but that long of a flight was out of the question so soon after her surgery—the outcome of which was far better than the doctors had initially hoped.

The damage to her spinal cord was significant enough that they’d told her going in that she may have long-term paralysis. When she came to, she could move all her extremities without any difficulty. The kind of pain she was experiencing now, however, they’d warned might be a constant in her life from now on.

Instead of feeling sorry for herself—and she was—she should be thankful she wasn’t paralyzed.

Without realizing how dead-on the random shot he’d fired had been, Petrov had hit her in the back as she was walking away. If she’d been facing his direction, his bullet likely would’ve killed her.

“Mon coeur.” The words Mantis had said to her when she woke from surgery echoed in her head. How lovely they’d sounded, coming from his lips, but what had she done? As soon as she realized Dutch was in the room too, she’d reached out to him, essentially pounding the last nail into the coffin that had once been her life with the man who would hold her heart forever.

“You’re awake,” said Dutch, opening the door to the room.

“Yes.”

“Time for some pain relief.”

He handed her a white pill and a glass of water.

“Merci,” she murmured.

“You need more rest,” he said, stroking her forehead.

“What time is it?”

“A little after two in the afternoon.”

“The pain…”

“I know. Rest.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. If you need anything else, ring the bell.”

“Wait. Dutch?”

He was almost through the bedroom door but came back to her bedside.

“Have you…”

“Ask the question, sweetheart.”