Rube grumbles something I don’t catch, and then we’re on the move again. He takes me through two more doors, and then the air is filled with the mechanical beep of machinery and the whoosh of life support systems.
Apollo and Cass part, their faces grim.
Rube takes me right up to the bed as if he won’t even entertain the thought of my feet touching the ground.
Zachary’s chest lifts and falls in time with the massive machine on the other side of the bed.
He’s pale and drawn, his cheekbones poking at his skin. Lips bloodless. Deep shadows under his sunken eyes.
My vision blurs. I blink hard, freeing my tears so I can see him again.
Apollo is talking to someone in the background. A nurse? A doctor? Their soft murmurs don’t sound positive.
“Put me down,” I say.
“We should get you back—” Rube begins, but I lift my unbandaged hand and lay it on his chest. Still not looking at him. Still focused on Zachary. “Please. Put me down.”
I have so many questions, but that’s not important right now. Right now, I’m trying to understand why it feels like the world is breaking down around me.
There’s no way I could have imagined the things he did and said, but now it feels like it was all a bad dream. The man lying in this bed isn’t capable of such violence, of such spite.
It’s impossible, but I know it’s true, and those conflicting thoughts make me feel dizzy and on edge. I want to shove away those thoughts and focus on my anger, but when I glance around the room, I see I’m not the only one struggling emotionally.
How can I be angry with him when he’s dying? We can sort out our shit later.
I slide out of Reuben’s arms and land on wobbly legs. He grabs me around the waist, keeping me steady as I lean forward and take Zachary’s hand in mine.
“Hey,” I whisper, and then clear my throat. “It’s me. Trinity. You remember me, right? The little girl who annoyed you so much?”
But nothing changes. There’s no quirk of his mouth, no twitch in his fingers.
I glance behind me and tilt my head back to look up at Rube. “Can he hear me?”
Reuben nods, his grim expression softening. “Of course he can.”
I turn back to the bed. Move a little closer. I stroke my fingers down the back of Zachary’s hand, careful not to nudge the IV drip. “Hey, so, the guys and I were wondering when the hell you’re coming back.” I try to laugh, but it doesn’t come out right. “It’s kinda lonely without you.” My voice catches on “without you” and when I try and speak again, I realize I’ve gone mute.
Cass appears at my side. He slides an arm around my waist, just below Rube’s, and squeezes me. “Yeah, you fucker. I mean, I get taking a vacation and shit, but this is costing us some serious dough.” He laughs too, and it sounds so forced that my heart shrivels up like a dying flower. “Well, guess it’s costing you.”
Apollo walks around the bed, and he hesitates before reaching out and stroking Zachary’s head. “You know we still have asses to kick, right? Can’t do that if you’re lying on yours.”
There’s quiet. Cass, Apollo, me…waiting.
Rube clears his throat. He hands me to Cass, and I miss his arms the second they leave my body.
When he stands over Zachary’s bed, it’s as if someone puts a stake through my chest and twists it.
Compared to Rube’s strong, broad body, Zachary’s looks so…fragile. Broken.
“What you did…” Reuben begins. “It wasn’t right. You know that. We all know that. But I’m hoping it was one of those times you couldn’t help it.”
I turn a puzzled frown to Cass, but he closes his eyes and gives his head a shake, as if telling me he’ll explain later.
Rube clears his throat again. Then he reaches out and lifts Zachary’s hand before lacing their fingers together.
“But then you did something so brave, so selfless…we’d be dicks not to forgive you.” His voice goes thick. “So if you don’t want to come back because of what I said, just know that I was full of shit. I do forgive you, Zach.”
“I forgive you too,” Apollo says. He gives Zachary’s head another stroke. “And I need you, man.”
“I forgive you.” Cass grabs his leg. “And you know I fucking need you.”
Then they all turn to me.
But the words stick in my throat. And when I shake my head, tears spill out of my eyes and race down my cheeks.
They don’t know what he did with the knife.
They didn’t hear how he threatened me.
I can forget about what he did, but I don’t know if I can ever forgive him.
“He saved your life,” Apollo murmurs. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“Apollo.” Rube’s voice is firm, his frown deep.
I glance at Apollo, then back and up at Rube. “What is he talking about?”
Rube points at Zachary’s chest. At the two sets of bandages plastered over his skin. “One of those bullets were meant for you, Trinity.”
“And one was meant for me,” Cass says beside me.
And then it comes rushing back.
My old house.
Gabriel trying to drown me in the bath.
The basement.
Gabriel chasing me down the hall.
Cass at the front door.
When I look down at Zachary again, it feels like someone is wrapping barbed wire around my heart.
“I…forgot.” I swallow hard and put my hands over my face. “How could I—”
“Concussion,” Apollo supplies, and then shrugs when I look up at him with slitted eyes. “What? You asked.”
I lick my lips. He saved my life. Possibly in exchange for his.
Only a cold-hearted bitch would hold a grudge against someone who sacrificed themselves for her.
“I forgive you, Zachary. And I need you too.” I look up at his three brothers, and my next words come easy, because I’ve never spoken truer ones in my life.
“We all need you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Trinity
SIX MONTHS LATER
Water laps against the side of the infinity pool, merging seamlessly with the nearby ocean. It splashes against my body as I slap my arms down on the cool tiles beside the pool. I shiver at the contrast between warm and cold, and almost slip back into the heated water when a pair of bare feet pad into view.
I tilt my head back, blinking water from my eyes as I stare up at Cass.
“Water’s perfect,” I tell him.
But he just keeps standing there, watching me. If it was any other guy, it would have been creepy as all hell. But it’s Cass, and with those stunning blue eyes staring at me, it just makes me feel like I’m melting inside.
“Are you getting in, or you just going to keep gawking?”
“Rube wants to see you,” he says.
I stop paddling my feet, sinking a little lower into the water as a chill races through me. “Now? But—”
“No buts.” He crouches beside the pool, his swimming shorts hiking up his legs. He’s put on muscle in the last few months. Everyone except Apollo has, who flat out refuses to use our mansion’s built-in gym for anything more than some light cardio when it rains longer than a day. “You promised.”