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I nod and kiss her forehead, refusing to take my hand off her skin.
“Mihnea.”
Lily’s entire body tenses. She disengages from Sorina and shakes my hand off before taking a few steps forward. Vlad and Dresden both move to stand to the side. Lily is hurt, but that doesn’t mean she won’t beat someone’s ass.
“For the duration of time you’re in this house, you will refer to me as Lily or Agent. Is that understood?”
Both her mother and sister nod, barely looking up from the floor.
“I know why he brought you here. But I can assure you, I don’t want to know you. I don’t need or want closure. Everyth
ing I’ve been through, every disgusting, painful memory I have is thanks to you.”
Before anyone can utter a word, Lily turns and limps toward our bedroom. A low whistle, like Morse code, eerily dances across the space, and Vlad and Dresden both turn and follow her.
I look around at the stunned faces of our broken family. That’s what this is. It’s not a team. It’s a family. A much screwed up one, but it's family nonetheless. Shaking my head, I head for the bedroom as my daughter heads over to console Lily’s biological family.
Whatever is going to happen in the next few days is going to happen, but something tells me it won’t be good.
†††
~Lily~
“I told him not to find them. Just for the record,” Dresden says as he flops down on the end of my bed while I hobble to the bathroom.
Everything hurts. It’s been a while since my ass has been kicked this bad, and all because I couldn’t fight back.
Wouldn’t.
“He’s only trying to help. And I think what Blake did is the last thing this team needs to be discussing,” Vlad says, venom lacing every word.
“Yeah, she fucked up. Obviously. But now we have several problems on our hands instead of just dealing with one,” Dresden says.
“Who gives a shit if her family is here? They’re not even a problem. We have bigger fish to worry about, Dresden. Or did you not notice that Lily looks like she’s been trampled by a herd of hippos?”
I lean against the bathroom sink and glance up at my reflection while they argue in the background. Ugh. They’re not kidding about how bad I look. Bruised and cut just about everywhere. It almost looks like my skin is actually tinged blue. Alien-like. I definitely need someone to set my nose or it is going to heal crooked.
I slowly hobble back to the bathroom door and lean against the frame just as Blake walks into the room and quietly shuts the door behind him. He stares at me and there’s no anger in his eyes, which worries me more. I can’t tell what he’s thinking at all.
“Guys,” I say just loud enough to get their attention.
Vlad and Dres both go quiet and turn to stare at me as well.
“Either of you remember how to set a broken nose?”
Vlad walks toward me, stopping a few inches from my body, and gently puts both hands on the sides of my face and tilts my head toward the light. My hair falls back exposing all of my face, and he sucks in a breath. “You realize how bad this is, right?”
“I fucked up, Vlad. I’m sorry.”
“Wait . . .” Dresden says without bothering to hide the surprised tone in his voice. “Did she just admit she was wrong?”
Blake chuckles and Vlad rolls his eyes as he gingerly presses around my nose. I wince as blinding pain radiates through my eye sockets and forehead.
“Hold still,” he says, placing his thumbs firmly on either side of my nose. In a quick snap motion, he pushes inward on either side with a loud crunch. I scream as warm liquid runs from my nostrils and the room spins.
Steady hands snag around my waist while black dots blur my vision. Someone presses a warm cloth under my nose and tilts my head back further as I’m lowered onto my bed. I squeeze my eyes shut for a few moments, waiting for the wave of nausea to pass before opening them again.
When the room comes back into focus and the pain moves to a pulsing ache, Blake is kneeling next to me, his hands on either side of my waist, while Dresden is holding a towel to my face. Vlad walks out of the bathroom with a few pieces of medical tape hanging off one of his fingers.
