Alexei shrugged. “It seemed fair.”
“To who?”
He didn’t answer, distracted by Saint appearing at his other side with a damp cloth. “Nurse Malone?”
Saint’s mouth twitched, fighting an uncharacteristic smirk. “If you like.”
“I do like. It is cute.”
“That’s me. Cute as a fucking bunny.”
Their easy banter settled the disquiet gnawing my insides. It was a strange vibe for them both and it fascinated me. Saint had his moments with the handful of brothers he sometimes called his friends, but Alexei was, by his own admission, a lone operator. I wasn’t used to seeing him smile with anyone but me.
Liar. You’ve seen them like this before.
I had, but it never got old. It warmed my fucking heart to think that if anything happened to me, what they had between them stood a chance at being enough.
Nothing’s happening to you.I shivered. Not for lack of trying by too many people to count.I don’t want to die.
Damn.
Where the hell had that come from?
Saint stepped into my space. He brought his lips to my jaw, his hand on my hip, the way he always did when he wanted to tell me something for my ears only. “He’s okay.”
I cast a glance around the yard. It was quiet now, but enough eyes were on us that I didn’t lean into Saint and soak him up, revelling in the hypnotic heat of his strong body. “I know.”
“Breathe, boss.”
I snapped my gaze back to him. “Don’t call me that.”
He finally let a dark grin twist his full lips. “Okay.”
He did that on purpose.Jesus Christ. What the fuck was my face doing ifSaintfelt the need to wind me up as a cure?
I didn’t want to know. I made myself look at Alexei again. He was clean of blood, his stare as transparent as it ever was. And, fuck, he was beautiful. My heart felt torn in two as his closeness dug into my soul as much as Saint, but in truth, it wasn’t torn at all. I had no clue where any of this was headed, but I knew they loved me. That maybe, perhaps, if I turned out to be the luckiest man in the world, they could one day love each other.
“Come upstairs with me?”
I spoke to them both, but it was Saint who answered. “You two go. I need to help Nash.”
“No.” The word rumbled from my chest before I could catch it, deep and low, a visceral reaction. “Come with us.”
He shook his head. “It’s my job to protect him. I’ll be back.”
“Promise?”
“You need me to?”
I gripped his shirt and hauled him close, pressing my forehead to his. “Only if you keep me waiting.”
It was a joke, but his dark nod before he broke us apart was anything but funny. Nor were the hands he rubbed up and down Alexei’s bare arms before he melted away. A bullet hadn’t killed me, but watching him fall for Alexei was straining my heart so bad, it felt like an overinflated balloon.
Losing the love of her life had killed my mum, but could you die of finding it in the first place?
Maybe I was about to find out.
* * *