Page 96 of Witches Be Damned

CHAPTER 30 - KNOXE

“You don’t have to be here, Knoxe,” Serena said. “Go back and claim the victory your team deserves.”

Was that all she thought I cared about? Victory? Claiming points? Vengeance? Not my team’s health and welfare?

“I’d rather stay here with the three of you, if that’s okay with you, Serena.” My reply earned a motherly smile.

I squeezed Pascal’s hand as the doctor injected healing serum into his arm and sang under my breath. Bon Jovi’sKeep the Faith. We all needed all the faith we could muster after the ambush. A set-up designed to kill us and bury the pile of evidence we sat on.

Pascal and I trained together at the Academy. We might not have been friends back then, but we were as tight as family now, and I wasn’t leaving him to fend off the needles alone. To hell with the debriefing. To hell with capturing the fugitives. His comfort was more important in this moment.

The medical team, consisting of the nurse and doc on duty, tended to Serena first because her injuries were worse, then Loco, and Pascal last. I spent the time singing to distract him from the blow he took to the chest and back.

The doctor removed the needle and informed Pascal, “We’re all done.”

“Thanks, Doctor.” Pascal rubbed his arm.

I quit singing and pumped his hand to get his attention. Emerald eyes lifted to meet mine.

“I’m proud of you,” I told him. “It’s getting easier each time.”

“Yeah, it is.” He smiled. And not the shy gesture he made in training. A bright expression that stretched across his face. “Thanks for staying with me, Knoxe.” He tightened his hold on me, wrapping his fingers over mine, giving me a bro shake.

I pressed my second hand over his. “Call me brother.”

“Your singing needs some work, brother.” His crooked smile held a shy, boyish charm. Beneath it lay the blossoming confidence of a man finding his place in the world, and I couldn’t be prouder.

Pascal joking. What was the world coming to? I supposed he had an excellent mentor in Tor.

I laughed. “How bad are we talking? Marilyn Manson bad? Courtney Love bad?”

Pascal shuddered. “Never mention those names.”

Another laugh emerged. “Knoxe bad, then. Probably more in key today that belting out Meatloaf’sI Would Do Anything For Lovewhen we tested out the Elysian nectar?”

Pascal pressed his lips together. “Don’t remind me of that.”

Fine. I was a shit singer and happy to admit it. “Want to teach me?”

“Any time.”

I stretched over him and hugged him, ignoring that the move was uninvited and possibly unwelcome. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

He circled my back and squeezed. “Love you, brother.”

I went to tell him right back when Serena interrupted our little bonding moment. “What about Tor and Astra?”

She winced as the doc sutured up her wounds after cleaning them and administering healing serum into her arm.

“They apprehended ten fugitives.” I left out the part about her son’s team’s involvement in present company. Intel I’d clue her in on later. “I’ve sent a team out to retrieve them.”

Serena gave me a pleased smile backed with pain as the serum took a moment to activate. “Excellent work. How many have we captured in total?”

Normally, she was on the ball with the tally of prisoners left to detain.

“Twenty-five.” Not too shabby for two months’ work.

“Halfway point, huh?” Serena bit on her lip as the doc tied a knot in her stitches. “The end is near.”

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