Page 137 of Retribution

“Lorcan?” I shift my focus between the nurse and Dai Qing.

“Alive,” Dai Qing confirms with a small smile. “He was even more riddled than you. It’s a miracle he survived. The doctors said he’s a fighter.”

“Are the meds managing your pain?” the nurse asks.

“Is he going to be okay? Really okay?” I try to read Dai Qing. Survival sometimes doesn’t mean what we want it to mean.

“He woke up an hour ago. Started asking for you.” Dai Qing raises her eyebrows. “That answer your question?”

Tension whooshes out of me, and I relax into the bed. Taking a deep, calming breath, I say, “Yes. Perfectly.”

“Hit the call button if you need anything.” The nurse checks my IV again before opening the door then vanishing into the hallway.

Dai Qing drags a chair up to my bedside and watches me in silence.

“You’re not going to say anything else?” I ask.

“What would you like me to say?”

“What’s going to happen to Lorcan?”

“He’s cooperating with us.”

I squirm in the bed and groan. “Where the hell did I get shot?”

“Where didn’t you get shot?” She gives me a strained smile. “The bullet to the chest was the worst.” She clears her throat. “You still had Malik as your next of kin, so I had to tell him what happened.”

“Oh, Jesus.” I can’t meet her gaze. “Is he—is he in the hospital?”

“Yes. Though I was pretty sure he was going to check himself out and fly to Boston when I called him.”

I rub my face, pressing my fingers into my eyebrows. “When I get out of here, I’ll need to talk to him.”

“It’ll be a race to see who can heal faster to confront the other. Sounds fun.”

I roll my eyes at the tone of her voice. “Did you want me to tell him about Lorcan when he was injured so badly?”

“No.” Dai Qing wrings her hands. “Part of me wishes there was no Lorcan for Malik’s sake, for the agency’s sake.”

Even without him, I’m not convinced I would have given Malik a fair chance. He was familiar, easy, and safe. Being with Lorcan will never be any of those things. “I can’t help how I feel.”

She sighs. “Ain’t that the truth.”

“I want to see him.”

“When we’re done extracting the information we think we can get, I’ll get one of you wheeled into the other.”

“Who’s with him?”

“Zahir.”

I frown. “He came here to talk to him?”

“He’s the person who offered him the original deal.”

“But Finn’s dead.”

Dai Qing shifts in her chair.

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