“I’m okay,” I whisper, though the quirk of Killian’s lips tells me he doesn’t believe me. Dante rests on the other side of us, Scotch in hand as he watches the stitches deftly weave over Killian’s skin.
“How did you find us?” Killian asks.
“Archer,” Dante replies heavily, and my heart clenches painfully. Killian shifts against me, trying to get closer as if there’s even a breadth of space between us and the same pain ghosting over his own face.
“Archer?”
“Yes. He had been trying to reach us and I had been caught up with trying to contact Feliks. Thankfully Archer had the good sense to leave me a message with some vague details aboutBlairbeing here,” Dante explains and her name spits out of his mouth like poison. “When I got through to Feliks he informed me that some of his men had been tracking the old cell and he was on his way to meet them. When he reeled off this address I… I honestly I thought I was coming to see how many coffins I would need.”
His voice chokes up and he drowns it in the liquor as Killian’s right-hand darts out, grasping his brother on the forearm and squeezing. It’s a touch filled with reassurance and love, in the only way he knows how.
“That’s Feliks?” I ask, peeking over Killian’s shoulder to the muscular, tattooed man by the door orchestrating the removal of the bodies. He stands by the window, conversing with a man as another black body bag is hauled up by two men and carried out of the lounge.
“Yes,” Killian nods, shifting his torso to block Feliks and the corpses from my view. “Didn’t think I would ever owe that man my life.”
“I’m glad we do,” Dante remarks with a deep sigh. He shoves his head back and drains his glass, setting it down on the counter as Killian takes a deeper breath.
“Me too,” he says, “but there’s something else you should know. Something—.” His breath catches in his throat and Dante’s brow lifts, concern bleeding openly into his eyes.
“Another threat?”
“No,” Killian shakes his head and he leans into me, seeking comfort and perhaps strength to word his new truth. The movement draws a tut from the doctor working under his arm.
“Blair… she lied. There is no Samuel.” It’s all he can manage before the angry tremble in his jaw seals his mouth shut. I lift my hands, pressing as gently as I can against his torso to provide as much comfort as I can. Killian’s gaze falls on me. In this small bubble of just us, the hurt bleeds into his eyes.
What a way to learn that his son isn’t real.
“What?” Sienna’s voice cuts through that bubble from behind us and Blair, previously quiet, begins to wail once more. She’s silenced immediately by a cold, sharp look from Sienna.
“It’s true,” I manage, finding my voice. “It’s… it’s why I brought her here. Why they were able to follow us. I wanted her to tell Killian the truth herself but now…” Words fail me too as the truth of the situation rests, out in the open.
Now Killian’s hurt and Archer’s in hospital. I created an even bigger mess. Will they blame me? Have I made some terrible mistake?
“Hush,” Killian breathes softly against my cheek, his lips moving to provide comfort by pressing against my forehead.
Dante’s gaze lingers on me, burning deep before his eyes flick down to my stomach, lingering there.
Heat pulses through me like a punch from the inside of my chest, flushing over my skin as he stares for a few long seconds and then it hits me. Killian must have told them that I’m pregnant. It’s not needed but the urge to defend the legitimacy ofmychild rises. I’d prove it until the cows came home. The silence is broken by Sienna, her sharp tones slicing through any growing fear that lingers in my heart.
“Is it true?”
I can’t see her, Killian continues to use his body to block the horrors behind him from my gaze but from the venomous bite in her voice, I can only imagine the edge on her face.
“You don’t understand,” Blair wails, “you don’t know what it was like! You– you have no idea what I–!”
“Stop whimpering and answer the fucking question,” Sienna barks with a power I’ve never heard from her before. Admiration wells up and I try to catch a glimpse over Killian's thick shoulder but he’s too quick for me.
“Yes,” Blair answers wetly, a forceful hiccup bursting from her throat. “But you don’t understand—!”
“I understand enough,” Sienna snaps, and silence falls and Blair dwindles back to her quiet sniffles. Dante glances away from us, meeting the gaze of his wife before he nods his head and turns back to Killian and I.
Killian eyes him carefully, slowly beginning to run his fingertips in gentle strokes along the expanse of my back.
“Sienna will take care of Blair,” Dante says and Killian nods, just once as his shoulders dip. His entire torso seems to deflate slightly as if a weight has been lifted.
“Take care?” I ask but Killian nudges my chin, giving me the answer in a single look. The men may not harm women and they certainly don’t kill them no matter how awful their crime.
But Sienna is no man.