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When I remained silent, she spat, "You always were a bitch."
"Aha, and there comes the real Kira. You know, Riley was right. He tried to tell me, but I didn't listen. I've been saving you since we were kids, and I cannot do that anymore. I won't. Do you know how much damage you've done?"
She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fucking perfect, Tabatha. The moment you got out of the system, you thought you were too good for us."
"Listen to yourself. You invented this narrative that just wasn't true. I've always taken care of you. Anything you needed, I dropped what I was doing to make sure you got it. Every time you got yourself in trouble, I bailed you out because you are my sister."
"I don't have any sisters. You're just some bitch I was locked up with for a while."
I winced as if I’d been slapped. Was this how she’d always felt? All this time when I’d thought of her and Riley as my siblings, maybe not my blood, but I'd looked after them like they were. Had she never cared about me? The pain was almost greater now, understanding that the person I thought of as my sister didn’t exist. That was what hurt the most. I had been a fool, and I'd almost gotten my friends killed because of it. Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them away. "You're going to be handed off to the authorities’ counter-terrorism unit."
Her eyes went wide. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"What did you think was going to happen, Kira?"
"I'm not a terrorist, for fuck's sake."
"Who did you think those men were? When you told them you had a sister in one of the agencies, what did you think was going to happen? Honestly, I’m curious. How did you think that was going to play out as you ran around telling anyone who would listen? Those men were dangerous."
"But I didn't… I didn't know that." She shook her wrist painfully. "You have to believe me. I didn't actually want you to die or anything."
I watched her, her eyes going soft and pleading, and I wanted to believe her. I wanted to lean in and listen and believe every word she said because she was my sister. And maybe that was some of the guilt talking because I'd gotten out and she hadn't, and I still couldn't forgive myself. But my guilt hadn't helped her. After all this time, I was still her favorite person to blame, and for once, I was going to let my sister face her own consequences.
"I love you Kira, and I'm going to make sure that you're not mistreated. But from now on, you and I are done. I'll make sure that you're looked after, but I won’t be visiting you in jail. Because of you, I almost lost the love of my life."
She scowled over at the next bed. "I never told him to jump in front of the goddamn bullet. He made that choice."
"He didn't need to be told. He made that choice because he's a good person. Hell, he made that choice for me, because even though you nearly got us all killed, you're still my sister.” I waved over one of the orderlies from med staff. "She's ready to be moved to her own room, Chris, thank you."
He nodded. "Whatever you say, Tabs. You can stay as long as you want with Gabe."
I met his gaze and he gave me a soft smile and nodded as he pretended to not even suspect that we were together, which, hell, I really appreciated. I turned around and held Gabe's hand. "Come on, you arsehole, wake up. I might not get to have you every day, I might not get to love you openly, but I will be goddamned if you die on me."
I took his hand and squeezed hard, and he squeezed back. My head jerked up as my heart started to thunder in my chest. "Gabe? You're okay?"
He coughed. "Yeah. How the fuck was I supposed to know that round was going to go under my vest?"
"You scared me."
He shook his head. "Apparently, I'm hard to kill, like the Steven Seagal movie."
I coughed a laugh. "Now is not the time for jokes."
"No, it's really not. Why do I feel so tired?"
"I had them pump you with drugs so you'd be comfortable."
He frowned and shook his head. "No, Saff knows that—"
"Sorry, I made the call on the field, and I'll take whatever punishment you might have. But until then, get some fucking rest. I'm not leaving your side until you're better."
"I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, there are a few things you and I need to talk about."
And when his eyes drifted closed and I knew I was completely alone, I silently let the tears fall.
45
Gabe
