Page 95 of The Chaos She Brings

I lower myself into the chair next to her, grateful to be off my leg, and just watch her. Watch the rise and fall of her chest, using it to convince myself that she really is fine.

“What happened?” I ask, my tone hard. I don’t need to look at him for Enzo to know I’m speaking to him.

“With her? Don’t know yet exactly. Our mission was successful (ish).”

I lift my eyes up.

He sighs, shaking his head.

“Mikhail got away. But we dealt with the rest of the Petrov family.”

My eyes widen.

“The whole family?”

His expression hardens. “They went after my sister. They won’t be making that mistake again.”

We don’t really say much after that. But while we wait for Tess to wake, we each take turns making sure someone is always with her while the other showers, or sleeps, or eats something.

I have to trust he’s right when he says she’s okay.

31

What The Fuck

Tess to Carina: Seriously. What the fuck? [delivered]

Tess

Asteadybeepinginterruptsmy dreams, and I’m forced back into reality, my mind immediately remembering the moments before the world faded.

A sob tears from my lips as I remember the pain on Nico’s face, remember the moment he fell, his face going slack as life left him.

“Tess?” a panicked voice says as hands cup my cheeks. I blink my eyes open to see Enzo’s face above me, his eyes filled with sorrow. I throw my arms around him and cry into his shoulder, my body shaking. He strokes a hand down my head and over my back. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not,” I cry, feeling overwhelmed by everything. “Nico’s gone. He sacrificedhimself for me.”

Enzo nods into my shoulder as he continues to hold me and let me cry. “I know. And I know if you could ask him, he would do it again in a heartbeat.”

My tears fall and snot drops onto his expensive suit, but I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for ruining it.

Eventually my tears dry, and I take in the room around me. It’s a bedroom of some kind, with walls painted a forest green. But there’s also hospital equipment surrounding me.

“Where are we?” I croak, pulling out of Enzo’s hold. He steps back then sits in a chair that’s pulled up next to the bed.

“My apartment,” he says. “You’ve been out of it for a couple days.”

The door bursts open and Kai hobbles in with his pink boot. His face is a mixture of relief and pain as he looks over me like he’s assessing all of my injuries.

The pain in my side is now more of a dull ache, and my head is killing me, but the worst pain is the one in my heart. The grief I’m feeling over my friend's death. And that’s what Nico was, a friend.

Enzo gets up and directs Kai to take his seat. Kai then grabs hold of my hand as if he needs to touch me to make sure I’m real.

“Hurricane,” he says, his voice raw and broken.

“Hi,” I whisper, as a tear rolls down my cheek. I smile sadly at him before turning to Enzo. “What the fuck happened?”

Enzo sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as he starts pacing.