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As the door to the recovery roo Out loud To Rehvenge "So Ah" She pushed at her hair "How are you--"

He cut off her aard ra into the tile, his loafers clapping heel-toe, heel-toe His expression was fierce, his violet eyes burning

It was enough to give her a coher, shewith y--"

Rehv swooped doith his long ar her with vital care to his chest Ducking his head to hers, his voice was deep and grave

"I never thought I would see you again"

As he shuddered, she lifted her hands up to his torso After holding herself back for a moment she embraced him as fully as he did her

"You sht into the collar of his fine silk shirt "Oh God, you sne took her back to the days at ZeroSum when it was the four of them: him at the helm, iAm on the books, Trez on operations, her on security

The scent was the hook that snagged her and pulled her through the keyhole of the abduction, tying her to her past, bridging the horrid span of the last three weeks

She didn&039;t want the tether, though It was just going to rounded in ioals

And then just float away

Rehv pulled back "I don&039;t want to wear you out, so I&039; to stay But I needed Yeah"

"Yeah"

Together, they held on to each other&039;s arms and as always she felt that com on as sy?" he asked "Food?"

"Doc Jane said nothing solid for another couple hours"

"Okay Listen, we&039;ll talk about the future--"

"In the future" As she spoke, she projected into her e of them in deep discussion Which was produced solely to buy hi her

Unclear whether he bought it "I live here now, by the way," he said

"Where a center" He frowned "I thought you&039;d been here before"

"Not this part But yeah, I thought that&039;s where they&039;d taken ood to me, by the way In there" She nodded in the direction of the OR "And before you ask, I&039; to be fine Doc Jane said so"

"Good" He gave her hand a squeeze "I&039;ll go get John"

"Thanks"

At the door, Rehv paused and then shot narrowed amethyst eyes over his shoulder "Listen up" The asshole went unsaid "You matter Not just to et your head right But don&039;t think I&039; for afterward"

She glared right back at hi sin-eater"

"You know it" Rehv cocked an eyebrow "And I know you too well Don&039;t be a fucker, Xhex You&039;ve got all of us on your side and you can get through this"

As he ducked out, she found his faith in her resilience ad it

In fact, just the thought of any future beyond Lash&039;s funeral sent a wave of exhaustion blowing through her bloodstrearoan, she closed her eyes and prayed that for the love of all that was holy, Rehvenge would stay out of her biz

Xhex woke up with a gasp She had no idea how long she&039;d been out Or where John--

Well, that one was answered: John was on the floor across fro on the inside of the arm he&039;d curled up into a pillow He looked tired even as he slept, his brows tight, his ri hih energy--and besides, no witnesses

"John?"

The instant she said his na stance, with his warrior&039;s body between her and the door to the hall Pretty clear he was prepared to shred anything that threatened her

Which was really sweet

And better than a bedside bouquet that would have left her sneezing

"John co his head as if listening for sounds Then he dropped his fists and walked over The instant his eyes swung toward her, his brutal glare and his bared fangs faded into a gut-wrenching coht for his pad, wrote so, and flashed it

"No, thanks I&039;ry yet" Which had always been true for her After a feeding, she didn&039;t eat for hours, sometimes a full day "What I would love"

Her eyes shifted to the bathroom in the corner

Shower, he wrote, and showed her

"Yeah Jesus I would love some hot water"

He was all about the nursey-nursey, going in to start the spray, setting out towels and soap and a toothbrush on the counter

Feeling like a piker, she went to sit up and it became clear someone had tied a house around her chest; it literally felt like she was lifting a two-story colonial up with her shoulders What got her legs swinging off the side of the mattress was a lot of effort--and the conviction that if she couldn&039;t at least get partially vertical on her own, he was going to call the doc and she was going to lose her shower

John came in just as her bare soles hit the floor and he was Johnny-on- the-spot with the steadying arm as she stood up When the sheets fell away from her, they both had a moment of Holy shit-- naked But this was hardly a time for ?" she e that stretched across her pelvis

When John glanced over at his pad, as if he were trying to decide whether he could reach it while still holding her up, she said, "No, I don&039;t want Doc Jane I&039; to take it off"

She picked a corner free and as she weaved on her feet, she figured it probably would have been better to do this lying down--and under medical supervision But fuck it

"Oh" she breathed as she slowly revealed the line of black stitches "Daood with a needle and thread, huh"

John took the bloodstained gauze pack and nothing-but-netted it into the trash can in the corner And then he just waited, as if he was very aware she was thinking about getting back on the bed

For soht-headed

"Let&039;s do this," she said gruffly

He let her set the pace, which turned out to be only slightly quicker than reverse

"Can you turn the lights off in there?" she said as they shuffled along, her baby stepsat the most three inches "I don&039;t want to see what I look like in that e, his arm snaked out and he clicked the switch on the wall

"Thanks"

The feel of the hu water eased her mind and her spine Trouble was, the tension had helped keep her up and now she was sagging