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“Starting without me?” I scrambled from Gianni’s side and over to Val’s, slipping my fingers into his. He drew my hand to his lips, kissing the back of my hand softly. “It’s good to see your face, sweetheart. Thought-”
I shook my head, tears running down my cheeks. “No, no. We’re okay. We all are. Tia and Paval. All okay,“ I murmured, leaning down to kiss my man. He held on to me, drinking from my lips, softly and tenderly. God, I had almost lost them from afucking accident.
Had I not taken that test, I would have never met them.
Had I taken the test but Owen hadn’t called the Kolas crew, I would have suffered alone, no doubt dead in the first week.
They saved me in ways I was still figuring out.
Gianni chuckled as he pulled me away again, “Let the man breathe. And rest. He’ll need it. Don’t worry. There’s a couch right here and we can all cozy up and wait for the doctor to come back.”
I threw him a wicked smile, “Is this a legal doctor?”
Gianni grunted. “He is. We just have him on a different payroll so that we don’t have to report all of the extensive damage to the authorities.”
That line of questioning stopped as I was led over to the couch, Gianni positioning me on his lap. Dmitri slowly inched into the room as he handed me Tia. Both of them started at the wires and beeping machines, confused and a little scared. They relaxed as Dmitri promised that Valentyn would be okay, that after this we would be starting a new life together.
I just didn’t know where to begin.
The question ‘what now’ was on my tongue but I didn’t want to discuss that in front of Paval and Tia. They had bonded in a wayI hadn’t expected and I didn’t want to pull them apart. However, I also didn’t want to fucking stay here in this city anymore. Anywhere other than here and France were fine.
We fell into a comfortable silence. I handed Tia my phone, both of them quietly slipping off our laps and sitting on the bench beside us to watch something that caught their attention. They both still looked over at us every few moments, as if to make sure that we were really okay and my heart broke a little more.
Dmitri pulled me a little closer. “Love, what are you thinking?”
“That I don’t want to do this anymore. Wait, no! I meant all the running around. I can’t. Not knowing if you’re going to come home in one piece? And Paval, he needs you guys. There’s been too many close calls and-”
Dmitri cut off my words as he tipped my chin up to kiss me. “Already discussed, Love. After Val’s good enough to fly, we’re taking off. We’re going to try domesticity for a while if you’re game.”
They were asking me to start a forever with them. I threw my arms around his neck and nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.” Then I kissed him, the twin sounds of ‘ew’ making us all fall into a fit of laughter.
Chapter forty-two
RHYS
Two weeks passed rather quickly, Paval following Tia to school while we figured out the logistics of disappearing from our regularly scheduled lives. It had taken me a few days to bolster up the courage to return to campus and put in an indefinite leave. No one seemed shocked at my decision, especially since half of my family and my advisor had been arrested.
The few interviews I had been subjected to amounted to nothing, seeing as how Ada sang like a canary the moment she woke up. No one had been allowed in her hospital room but I heard stories from my men that she was a chaotic mess, trying to pin the blame on everyone but herself.
The hardest pill to swallow was when I realized I hadn’t lost everyone in my life. My parents resurfaced and I couldn’t fault them for the absolute terror they had experienced when finding out what their kids had been holed up in. It didn’t absolve them of everything but I knew they were still in my corner. Havingthem back in the area gave me some comfort, even more so when Tia decided that she wanted to stay.
We had all discussed it and decided that ultimately it was Tia’s choice whether to stay or go with us. The moment she saw my parents, she leapt into their arms, a certain warmth to her cheeks that I hadn’t seen since before my father had dropped her off. Paval wasn’t happy in the slightest to see his friend go, scrunching his face up every time he turned to the side to tell Tia something and then realized she wasn’t there.
A few friends tried to reach out and give their condolences, but my focus remained on Valentyn and his recuperation. Anything he needed, I was right there, at his bedside. Gianni and Dmitri moved him into one of the bedrooms closest to the kitchen, Paval and I spending as much time as humanly possible before Gianni or Dmitri dragged us away to eat or sleep or to breathe fresh air.
I understood the concept of moving on, but I needed my family back. In one piece. With me.
Nights were mostly spent with either Dmitri or Gianni stealing me away from Val’s room so that he could rest and I could actually sleep. Which I did, for the most part, curled up around one of them, lulled into unconsciousness with sweet kisses and light touches. I didn’t tell either of them that I had 100% sucked Valentyn off at one point, both of us needing just a little more loving than we were getting.
Friday rolled around and Valentyn was still stuck in that room. I glanced down the hallway, wondering if he needed help or company or a hug oranything. Paval sprawled across the cushions with two books splayed across his chest. Something about triangles and architecture for kids. He had been obsessed recently, testing way higher in math than any kid at 5 years old should be able to.
Tia was at a school function, Gianni and Dmitri in the kitchen with my parents, trying to figure out dinner.
Domestic.
It felt nice.
Stirring in the back bedroom caught my attention and I left Paval before racing down the hall to see what Valentyn needed. I burst into the room, frantic when I didn’t see him until the sounds of running water met my ears. I needed to see him, my irrational mind unable to comprehend that Valentyn was safe and taken care of until I laid eyes on him. Just like how I had felt with Dmitri.
