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The thought clears my mind of all the heartbreak and worry and forces me to focus only on Demitri. On now. On the precious time, I’ve been given to say goodbye.
DEMITRI
I’m not going to lie, it’s a fucking struggle getting back to the compound, and by the time I lie down on the bed, my body’s covered in sweat and burning with pain.
Alexei tucks me in like I’m a damn kid while Ariana runs to get water and painkillers for me.
“You holding up okay?” Alexei asks, his voice tight with worry.
“Stop this shit. I’m fine,” I grumble.
Alexei sits down on the side of the bed and then just stares at me. “You gave me one hell of a scare. What went wrong?”
“The guy got a lucky shot,” I try to play it down.
He shakes his head. “Don’t lie to me.”
I try to take a deep breath, but the pain in my chest stops me, and I wince. “I was focused on taking Yuri down.”
Ariana comes rushing back into the room, and Alexei gets up so she can help me take the meds. Then she’s up again to get a cool, wet cloth from the bathroom. While she wipes the sweat from my face, I try to catch her eyes, but she avoids making eye contact.
My body’s too weak to stay awake, and with Ariana’s scent wrapped around me, I drift off.
Every time I wake up, Alexei and Ariana are by my side, and then I’m dragged back to sleep.
It’s early morning when I finally wake up enough to make sense of my surroundings. Alexei’s asleep where he’s sitting on a chair with his feet resting on the side of the bed. Turning my head to the left, I find Ariana staring at me, curled up on the far side of the mattress.
“Hey,” I murmur.
She pushes herself up, and scooting closer to me, she places her hand on my forehead, then asks, “How do you feel? Do you need anything?”
It feels as if every drop of moisture is gone from my mouth, and I whisper, “Water.”
I watch as she picks up a glass from the bedside table, and then she pushes her hand beneath my head and helps me so I can take a couple of sips.
Fuck, this is frustrating. I’ve never been helpless before, and it makes my temper spike.
“Alexei,” I snap, and he startles awake. “Help me sit up.”
He darts up, and placing his hands beneath my armpits, he gently pulls me up. Ariana positions pillows behind me, and then he settles me against them.
And I fucking hate it.
Christ.
Anger flares hot through me.
Alexei places his hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head.
I’m the one who takes care of them. It’s not supposed to be the other way around.
Pissed off that I’m useless to Alexei and Ariana, I push my body hard and try to get up.
Alexei grabs hold of my right shoulder. “Why are you angry? Calm your ass down and relax.”
It takes more energy than I have to smack Alexei’s hand away, and then I glare at him. “I’m not staying in this fucking bed.”
When I try to move again, Ariana takes hold of my left arm to hold me back, and my head turns to her as I bite out, “Let go of me.”
There’s a flash of hurt on her face, and then she moves closer and pushes me back down.
It makes a frustrated growl ripple from my chest.
Ariana places her hands on my jaw and leaning over me, her face is right by mine. “Shh…” She presses a kiss to my mouth. “Calm down. Please.” She kisses me again, and it douses the anger, making the fire die down to a smolder. “Don’t push yourself like this.” Another kiss, and then she brushes her nose over my cheek to my ear. “I’ve got you, baby. Let me look after you.”
Lifting an arm, I take hold of her wrist. “Stay next to me.”
“I’m right here, baby.” Ariana lies down against my side, careful not to jar my body, and places her palm against my jaw again.
She continues to whisper to me until I’m dragged away by sleep once more.
Chapter 29
ARIANA
I only managed to keep Demitri in bed another day, and then he wouldn’t have any of it no matter what I said.
Holy crap, he’s a difficult patient.
Demitri’s moodiness has made me forget about my own problems because if I turn my back, he’s forcing himself to walk around.
I just get back from using the restroom when I catch Demitri on his feet again. “Oh my God. Sit your ass down!”
He shoots me a deadly glare as he moves back to the couch.
“Don’t give me that look. It doesn’t work on me anymore,” I say as I move closer, and lifting his shirt, I check the bandages. This morning one came loose because his stubborn ass wouldn’t listen to me. “If you don’t stop getting up, I’m going to have Alexei tie your ass down to this chair.”
