Page 15

"But she's… she's just a chef. She's just a normal person."

"I'm not so sure," Raven says, and her tone softens ever so slightly. "The van that she was in, Harvest Produce? She's been getting deliveries from them for three years. She also let them in. From the CCTV in the kitchen, it does look like a discussion went south, but without audio, it's a bit of a guess. My rough estimation is that it looks like she wasn't happy with the quality of the product."

I can't believe it. Sabina's the sweetest person I've ever known. Her passion for creating things and making people feel things with food is so ordinary that it's beautiful to me, considering the world I find myself in.

Could I really be wrong? Was she Mafia all this time, sitting right under our noses?

"What's important right now, Cassian, is that you get on the mend. I want you to rest."

"You can't expect me to just lie here."

"I can and I do. You nearly died and it's only been three days, so take it easy, okay?" Bradley sighs deeply, and it seems to deflate his stature slightly. "For me."

Hard to ignore a request like that. "Fine."

"And stop getting shot." Raven reaches for my arm and pinches me hard as I draw my arm away with a yelp. "I'm tired of sitting by your bedside scared you won't wake up!"

"Ow! I'm sorry, okay! It's never intentional." It wasn't intentional back when I was shot protecting Ivy, and it definitely wasn't intentional now.

"Never intentional," Raven mocks in a deep voice. "Just stop eating bullets!"

Happy that I'm awake, other duties eventually call Raven and Bradley away from my bedside. Valentina visits with Diego, then Zira and Ivy drop by with Ruslan, and it's an hour before I'm left alone with my thoughts.

Guns in the flour and the produce? It doesn't feel right at all, but then again, my affections for Sabina make it difficult for me to view this objectively. If I'm honest, I don't know her that well at all. We've eaten there for three years and she's been a diligent chef, but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

I mull it over, but I keep coming back to how terrified she looked when she was over me, trying to stem the blood flow from my leg. That face didn't look like the face of someone who was used to this kind of life.

I sigh deeply and before long, exhaustion and painkillers pull me back under. I return to dreams of Sabina and time together at the restaurant, but it always ends the same, with blood on her hands and tears in her eyes.

The next time I wake, I finally drag myself out of bed and to the bathroom to relieve my screaming bladder. Once I'm on my feet, it's much easier to walk around, so I dress in a robe and head out into the main area. Sunlight now illuminates my limping path from the medical wing through to the lounge, then to the kitchen where the tantalizing scents of honey and coffee flow like a serene river.

Despite being empty, a couple of mugs litter one counter, and freshly baked brownies pile high on a plate near the stove. I make a beeline for them and pick on up just as footsteps fall behind me.

"You should be resting," Valentina says as she moves past me. "Coffee?"

"Please. And I rested," I say around a mouthful of white chocolate and honey brownie. "Raven make these?"

"Mmhmm. She was stressed while you were out. It was touch and go for a while." She busies herself with the coffee machine, adding fresh grounds and boiling another pot of water. "You know how she is."

"I do." Raven's like a little sister to me, and out of all of us, she's definitely the gentlest. Everyone who comes here always ends up surprised that she's part of the Suit, but given her talents and her knowledge, it's no surprise, really.

"Cassian?" Bradley appears in the doorway like a shadow and makes me jump.

"Jesus!" I nearly choke on my mouthful. "How the hell do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Another coffee?" Valentina asks Bradley.

"Sure," he replies.

"You're built like a tank and I can hear you coming from a mile away, and at the same time, you just appear." I wave my hand in his direction. "Like an apparition."

"You're supposed to be resting." Bradley's thick brows knit together as he walks past me.

"I rested. Now I'm awake."

Bradley grunts and accepts his coffee from Valentina, then passes me mine.