Page 65 of Dark Truths

“As far as we know,” Rose answers me.

“And it was an accident…right?” I ask when the unpleasant thought of how it may have been orchestrated crosses my mind next.

“As far as we know,” Michael repeats his better half’s words, only his I don’t trust completely.

Rose frowns at my brother before looking back at me. “Enzo and Evie are looking into it, but so far, all signs point to an accident.”

“That’s good.”

“What were you doing out so late, Gabriella?” Raphael asks. He stands on the other side of the bed, next to Lily, who is busy reviewing what I assume is my medical record on a hospital tablet. She notices me looking at her and reaches out to squeeze my shoulder with a reassuring smile.

“Could it have had something to do with Dimitri Volkov?” Michael asks, growling out the name.

I glance at Rose, wondering how much, if anything, she’s told my family. When she shakes her head subtly, I know it’s nothing. So how?

“Who?” It’s a lame question, and he knows it.

“Really, Gabriella?” Michael steps back, slipping his hands in the pockets of his pants, like he needs to hide them or risk doing something stupid with them. “When we got here, he was holding your hand and then he kissed it before he left.”

My eyes snap to Rose. “Dimitri was here?”

Raphael curses softly under his breath and pushes away from my hospital bed. He bows his head and shakes it in frustration.

Michael looks at Rose in shock. “Did you know about this?”

When I say Rose is the other half of my brother’s soul, I’m not joking. She completes him, balancing out his impulsive nature with her voice of reason, while also understanding that sometimes the demons that haunt him need to come out and play every now and then.

“I only just figured it out,” Rose answers him in a vague, roundabout sort of way.

“And were you planning on telling me?” Michael continues, his voice low and angry.

Rose twists to face his challenge with a raised brow. “You know what, dear? I didn’t think it was really all that important, given everything this family has gone through in the last two weeks alone.”

My poor brother. He’s incredibly intelligent, except when it comes to shutting his big mouth when he should.

“All that important?” he repeats in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “My little sister seeing that Russian ice prick scum isn’t all that important?”

Something dangerous crosses Rose’s face when she takes a deep breath and straightens her spine, leveling my brother with a pair of sharp green eyes. “Excuse me?” she asks in an even tone. “Recovering from gunshot wounds, nearly drowning and losing Dominic is, to me, a little more important than who yoursister is seeing. A man who seems to love your sister very much, by the way.”

“He does?” The question slips from my mouth in a whisper.

Rose looks back at me, her gaze softening as she smiles. “He hasn’t said it out loud, but I know the look.”

“You know the look?” Michael scoffs.

Rose rolls her eyes in my direction, and I stifle a laugh because my idiot brother really doesn’t know when to quit.

“Michael, dear,” Rose starts, her tone morphing into something sickly sweet. By the time Michael notices the change, it’s too late. He swallows hard when Rose looks back at him. “Your little sister is recovering from a car accident in the hospital right now and being grilled about the man she’s seeing seems a little unnecessary, as she does. Don’t you agree?”

“Of course,mi flora,” he agrees with a relenting nod.

Rose walks over and rises on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek before she whispers something in his ear. The smile that tugs on his lips tells me he may be in the doghouse, but not for long.

Lily clears her throat, and we all turn our attention to her. “May I talk to Gabriella alone for a moment?”

I frown in her direction. Is there something in my chart?

Raphael kisses the side of her head and then grabs his brother’s arm on the way out. Rose starts to follow, but stops when I call after her to stay. I don’t know why, but I feel like she should stay to listen. I want her to stay.Lily nods that it's okay.

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