“You really are grumpy, eh?”
Logan shrugged. “Is what it is. Listen, I need to do something, okay? And it’s probably going to hurt, so I need you to bear with me a sec.”
It wasn’t like I had a choice. I shut my eyes, gritting my teeth as Logan did the same damn-fucking thing to me that Galen had, and the same agony consumed me, coursing through my blood, waking every nerve, so sharp and bright that I couldn’t even grasp where it was coming from.
Gonna puke.
Again, I didn’t. Maybe because I was dead. Because that’s what the blackness squeezing my vision felt like.
Death.
The end.
“Nash. Stay with me.”
I heaved my eyes open.
Logan’s face was inches from mine, apology written all over it. “Sorry about that. Just trying to keep some circulation flowing. Tell me if you feel sick, all right? That’s really important. I need to know so I can roll you.”
“I’m good.”
Logan sighed, returning his hand to the top of my head. “Can you channel that to Locke? He’s going to be tearing his fucking hair out.”
“You feel it too?”
“Always.” Logan tapped his chest. “Since the womb. Couldn’t get rid of the little fucker if I tried.”
He was probably the only soul on earth who could call Lockelittleand mean it. And in reality, they were exactly the same size. But Logan was older, and I felt that as he moved his deft,uninked hands over me, keeping me alive. That his deep love for Locke was as unique and special as they were.
“It’s not a twin thing, in case you were wondering.”
“Hmm?”
Logan pressed two fingers into my wrist, hard, like Locke had after we’d fucked on Orla’s couch. “The empathy. I thought it was just me and Locke my whole life until I fell in love. Then I realised we got it from our mum, cos I have it with Remy too.”
I let that settle, trying not to track Logan’s mood as he assessed me all over again. I thought about Locke instead. About Orla, and the way they moved around each other like dancers. The way Orla always looked up a split second before I called her name. The way Lockealwaysknew how I felt without me saying a fucking word, even if he had no cluewhy.
Logan’s radio hailed him.
He peeled off his latex gloves, listening. “All received. Nash?”
“Yeah?”
Logan took my hand, his bare skin touching mine for the first time. “You with me?”
“Yeah.”
It took a second for Logan to be convinced.
I held his gaze, fighting to stay there as severity lined his handsome face again.
He nodded, squeezing my fingers. “They’re ready to move you. A paramedic’s going to take my place and give you some hardcore shit. You’re not going to feel any pain, but you might feel weird when the weight shifts off you.Profoundlyfucking weird, like there’s somewhere else you need to be. I’m gonna need you to ignore that, okay?”
“You’re leaving?”
“Nope. Never. But you won’t be able to see me until I can get round your other side. So while that happens, I need you to focus on your breathing and block everything else out. Don’t listen. Don’t think. Justbreathe.”
It sounded simple enough, and maybe if Logan’s face had been that of a stranger’s, I’d have taken his words at face value.