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I shook my head at the stupid thoughts. This wasn’t about her hair, but that was so much easier to focus on rather than anything real.
Like the bandages on her arms, like the bruises she had, like the fact she could have died, that she nearly got abducted.
And now she slept there, in the bed in her room, and I couldn’t shake the memory of her diving off that bike. She’d struck the ground and rolled, my heart in my throat as I watched, unable to do a damn thing.
We’d called over a doctor I knew who was willing to examine people without leaving a paper trail, and he’d said no serious issues seemed likely. If she had any problems later, to bring her to the hospital, but for now, it appeared to only be scrapes and bruises, mostly to her arms when she’d rolled and her thigh where she’d hit the ground.
It would have been far worse if she hadn’t worn that helmet.
As much as I hated Lorien, I supposed I had to be grateful for that much.
She furrowed her brows and shifted on the bed, as if in pain.
“Shh,” I whispered, then ran my hand over her head and through her hair. The touch eased her, because she settled back into a deep sleep.
“Still asleep?” Hayden asked as he came into the room, his voice low. He took a seat in the chair beside me.
“Yeah. She was exhausted already before this all happened. I bet she’ll be down until morning.”
“That’s probably for the best.” Hayden rubbed his hands over his face, suddenly looking every day of his age. Then again, the sight of her diving off that bike could age anyone.
“Did you figure out who the man in the office was?” I asked.
“Yeah. No one important—just a lowlife looking for quick cash. There were no connections back to Lorien, nothing to use against him. I bet he killed that man to leave no one who could identify him.” Hayden sighed softly.
Kenz shifted once more, so I looked over at Hayden and gestured toward the door.
He nodded and followed me out of the room. While the idea of leaving Kenz alone didn’t sit well, she needed her sleep, and I didn’t want to risk waking her up.
We headed down the stairs, then to the living room. Tor and Vance were already there, neither of them appearing any happier than I felt.
I plopped down on the couch and ran my fingers through my hair. “You know, it’s funny. If we’d gotten this close to Lorien a month ago, I’d have been fucking elated.”
Vance nodded. “I know what you mean. He’s against a wall, we have something he wants more than anything. We’ve got the high ground finally. This isexactlywhat we wanted.”
“And it feels horrible,” Hayden muttered then let out an empty laugh. “Isn’t that the old saying to be careful what you wish for? It’s never as great when you actually get it, I guess.”
Tor nodded along, seemingly on the same exact page as the rest of us.
I opened my mouth and said something that I’dneverexpected to leave my lips. “Revenge doesn’t seem as important, does it?”
Vance looked at me first, as though he were the most surprised by that. Then again, out of all of us, Vance and I probably had the biggest reason to pursue Lorien.
Vance had lost the use of his hand, and in doing so, lost the thing most important to him in his life—his art. And me? I’d lost my wife, the only person I thought I’d ever care about.
So for me to say this was no doubt shocking.
“It’s because of Kenz,” Hayden said softly. “Before I didn’t see a future, didn’t see any reason for going on beyond making Lorien pay for what he did. That doesn’t feel quite as important anymore.”
My phone vibrated, and it was funny how I already had it in my hand as though I expected it. That went to show how comfortable I’d gotten with Tor and how he communicated.
She made me realize how empty a life lived only for revenge is. She makes me want more.
Vance had said nothing so far, and when he leaned forward with a soft curse, I couldn’t even guess what he’d end up saying. “I thought art was all I had, all I cared about, the only thing worth something in my life. After Kenz, though? I feel like she showed me there was more out there for me.”
“So what does that mean?” Hayden asked. “It’s easy to say something but figuring out what we do is different. This isn’t as simple as just letting Lorien go, since he’s got his sights on Kenz.”
“It’d be nice if he’d just fuck off,” I muttered. “But I agree—it doesn’t seem like he’s going to do that.”
