I open my eyes and find him watching me in the dimly lit room. Leaning down, he kisses me on the top of my head. “Morning.”
His voice is scratchy and quiet, like he’s not been awake long.
“Hi,” I murmur before looking around the room and finding Finley and Maverick asleep in the two chairs that were apparently brought in here while I was sleeping. “What time is it?”
“Early. You should go back to sleep.”
I shake my head before snuggling back down on his chest. “When did they get here?”
“About ten minutes after you passed out.”
I frown, sad that I missed them. “Is everything okay? What happened with Panda?”
“They dealt with it. Smithy went back to the house to make sure everything is okay for when we head back later on. Though that took more than a little convincing. The old guy is stubborn as hell.”
I chuckle softly, nodding. Smithy is a big protective papa bear when he wants to be.
“Is Maverick okay?” I ask, and he frowns.
“Why wouldn’t he be?”
“What Panda said about his dad… he wouldn’t look at me after.”
He glances over at Maverick before looking back at me. “He didn’t say anything about that, but we were talking about everything else.”
“He can’t think I’d blame him for his dad’s shit,” I say softly. “Whether Panda was lying or not, I’d never blame Mav for that.”
“You should tell him that.” His voice is low and gravelly, sending a shiver down my spine. Pretty sure that jumping his bones isn’t what I should be thinking about right now, but I’m wrapped up in him, in bed, and I’m only human.
I shake off the thought, focusing back on all of the other shit we have to deal with. “How is East?”
“Luc swung by after you fell asleep and let me know he’s doing okay. He knows you’re here though, so when it’s not the middle of the night, we’ll go see him. Then we can see about getting you discharged so we can go home.”
“Your uncle Luc? He’s in town? How long was I gone? What else did I miss?”
He winces and that just makes me suspicious. “Yeah, Uncle Luc. And you were gone for nearly two weeks, today is Thursday. As for what else you missed… I’ll catch you up later.”
I quirk a brow at him and purse my lips. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
“Because you’re not,” he says, frowning a little. “Now how are you feeling?”
I let out a deep sigh. Just once I’d like the sand under my feet to stop shifting so I could get some balance. Apparently today is not that day. I take an assessment of my body, the aches and pains still very much apparent, but I’m okay. I’m here, back with them, and I survived.
“Am I sad about how everything ended? Yes, of course, and have I dealt with it all yet? Abso-fucking-lutely not. But it could’ve ended much worse.”
Except… it’s not really over yet. Whoever was working with Panda is still out there. I say as much to him, and the frown on his face deepens. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t change the subject. How are you feeling?”
The guy is like a dog with a bone, but I can’t deny anymore that he cares for me. “I’m okay. I swear. It could’ve been much worse.”
“You were stabbed, burned, and have multiple other injuries, Octavia. If he hadn’t killed himself, I’d have killed him my damn self.”
I cup his cheek with my hand and sigh. “I promise, I’m okay. I’ll heal.”
He watches me closely, as if looking for a lie. When he doesn’t find it, he nods and pulls me back against his chest. “I’m going to wrap you in fucking bubblewrap or something.”
I laugh softly. “You could try.”
I feel his smirk against the top of my head.