Page 148 of Last Man Standing

“Is my sister in a coma?” he snarls impatiently. Sat in the chair opposite mine, he strokes her hand and holds Nova’s in the other. “This isn’t normal, right?”

“Should we take her to a hospital in town?” Nova rasps. “Where they have more doctors and stuff?”

“We have the best surgeon in the state already on site. He’s very good at what he⁠—”

“But he’s with Mav!” I snap.

In the hall, Mom jumps and whimpers, while the flat line of my father’s lips grows flatter.

“The surgeon is with Mav,” I try again, breathing through my fear and squeezing Scarlett’s hand. But not too tight. I don’t hurt her. I swear. “He’s where he should be. Not letting Mav die. But while he’s there, he’s not here. So maybe she⁠—”

“She’s not in a coma.” Pulling a roll of white stickers from her pocket, then a pen after that, Serena slaps a sticker onto the IV bag and writes the time and her initials in steady black ink. “She’s just resting.”

“But she hit her head,” I groan. “Really fucking hard. And she⁠—”

“Woke up when you first brought her here.” Compassion glitters in the eyes of a woman who, just days ago, suggested I kick Scarlett out of my bed so she could slide back in. She lowered to her knees and attempted to unbuckle my belt. She did exactly what I would’ve loved… before Scarlett. But now she’s just a woman I used to know. Not even a friend, because friends don’t sabotage relationships already wobbling on unstable ground.

Clicking the end of her pen, she drops it and her hand back into her pocket. “She woke up, Sebastion. She told me her name.” Her lips tremble with half a smile, half a sob. “She didn’t even tell me to fuck myself, though she had reason to.” Slowly, she brings her attention around to Linc and Nova. “Your sister is not in a coma, Mr. Castro. She’ll wake when she’s ready, so your job is to allow her the space to rest.” Lowering her chin, she crosses the room and pauses at the door, her eyes glistening with the tears she doesn’t allow to fall. “I’m really sorry, Sebastion. For everything. I didn’t realize this would happen when⁠—”

“Just go.” I bring Scarlett’s knuckles to my lips. “You’ll wake up soon, won’t you, Princess? Cause you’re strong and brave, and your brother is gonna make good on all his threats soon if I don’t deliver you back to him in the condition I got you.”

“You swore she’d be safe here.” He tips his head back and groans, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger. “Fuck, Jameson. You brought her to a place that’d been hidden in plain sight for thirty years. But the one time you got a bogey scaling the walls is the same time you’ve got my sister’s life in your hands.”

Yep. That’s a pretty fuckin’ accurate account of what happened.

“Koda.” My mom’s voice carries through from the next room to ours. “Honey, no⁠—”

I don’t bother turning my body. I don’t even turn my head. I simply shift my eyes and find my baby brother hugging the door frame.

“Well, hello there.” Nova is the nicest of us all. The sweetest. The one who has lost the most, so I suppose all that practice dealing with grief makes her more able to function when I simply… can’t.

Crawling off Linc’s lap, she wanders across the room and lowers into a crouch by the door. “You must be Koda, huh?”

His bottom lip quivers as he nods and swipes spilled tears from his cheeks. “Yes. I’m Koda.”

“I’m Nova.” She strokes the back of his hand with just the side of her finger. “I heard you were so brave today, Koda. Your mom and Scarlett needed help, so you ran back here and got the best dang soldier you knew.”

“Uncle Bas is head of security,” he hiccups. “He’s not feeling very well right now, but still…”

“But still,” she agrees. “I think you might be the hero of the day. You did the exact right thing, even though you must’ve been very scared.” She tips her head back and smiles as my dad stops in the doorway. “You’ve raised three exceptionally brave sons, Mr. Jameson. Even adults struggle sometimes. But to be five?” Nova brings her focus back down to Koda. She lifts one hand and shows off five elongated fingers. “You might be the youngest hero I’ve ever met.”

“I fell into the pool one time.” He swallows his tears and leans back against Dad’s legs. “Bas was very brave and grabbed me out again.”

Nodding, she glances my way and grins. “Very brave.”

“He told me to watch Scarlett today while he was in town. He said I was Adelita’s head of security, since Mav was busy and Uncle Bas isn’t feeling well.” He drags his wobbling bottom lip between his teeth. “He saved my life, so I tried to save Scarlett’s life.”

My heart aches and swells. I swear, it fucking shatters and malfunctions, so all I have the strength to do is hold Scarlett’s hand and breathe in the scent of her.

“I’d say your debt has been repaid,” Nova murmurs. “And since Linc and I are sticking around for a few more days, ya know, so we can make sure everyone is feeling better after this craziness, I hope I get to hang out with you while we’re here.” She gently taps Koda’s belly. “I’ve never hung out with a hero as brave or as young as you before.”

“But you’ve hung out with old heroes?”

“Oh, for sure.” She makes a sound in the back of her throat, a deep, piggish scoff, and follows it with a wave of her hand. “I know loads of heroes. Like, I have a big brother too, and he was my hero my whole life. And then I met Linc, and he became my hero as well.” She wrinkles her nose and inches closer. “Very old, though. Very, very old.”

Scowling, Linc tilts his head their way. “Cool it, Nichols. Be nice.

“And then there’s your brother,” she adds playfully. “Although I rarely call him Sebastion. I mostly call him my pet rock.”