Page 66 of Save Me

“I’m okay,” he murmurs.

“Doctor said you need to stay down.”

“Pah, what does he know,” he says and tries to sit up.

“No!” I push him back down. “Don’t make me tie you to the couch.”

He chuckles but then grunts with pain. “Where did everyone go?”

“Revenge mission. They’re pissed and are going to take out the Vipers.”

He blinks. “Who sanctioned that?”

“Me.”

We lock gazes, and for a moment, I think he’s going to go mad, but then he smiles. “That’s my girl. Your mother… she…”

“I don’t want to talk about her.”

“I’m not going to kill her. I don’t want to leave you an orphan if anything ever happens to me.”

“Shut up.”

“Vogue, this is serious.”

“I know, but I can’t right now.” Suddenly, I get all the closure I need. I should’ve realised it before, but was too busy crying over spilt milk. “You know what? Leave her to it. I don’t care. Any love or loyalty I had for that woman has vanished.”

He searches my eyes. “You sure?”

“I can tell you with absolute certainty, she wouldn’t have stepped in front of a bullet to save me. She’d have used me as a human shield to save her own skin.” Memories of Adam’s actions drift through my head.

“I can’t say that I disagree, but I’m sorry it’s come to this, Vogue. I can get her back here if you need to ask her why.” He chokes back a cough, agony ripping through his features.

“I don’t. She made her choice and nothing she can say or do will change that. It’s done.I’mdone.”

He nods and closes his eyes. “Maybe I will rest for a while.”

“That’s the spirit,” I murmur, feeling a weight lift and dissipate into thin air.

25

CALLUM

We headout in Thayer’s SUV toward the storage location, which houses all the illegal weapons we’ll need for this war with the Vipers.

My phone buzzes, and I answer immediately as it’s Vogue. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she breathes out, and I can hear the strain in her voice. “Dad’s resting. He seems okay.”

I let out a sigh of relief because I know how much Aaron means to her now. “That’s good to hear, Vogue. You holding up?”

“I’m fucking pissed off, Callum. I want to be there with you guys, making them pay.”

Her spirit and fire never fail to impress me. It’s also what scares me the most.

“We got this, love,” I assure her, as we approach our destination. “I need you to look after Aaron; make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid like trying to join us.”

She laughs weakly. “No promises, but I’ll do my best. I threatened to tie him to the couch, and that seems to have calmed him down a bit.”