Page 106 of Bittersweet Revenge
“You’re okay.” His voice comes out broken.
“You are too. We’re going to fix this. You’re going to be fine, I promise.” I run my hand over the hair I just cut last night. My chest aches. Tears run down my face, landing on Dean.
He was willing to sacrifice himself for me. He gave up his chance at killing my father, for me, and I can’t live in a world without him, not after that. Hell, not even before it.
My mom rips open his shirt, blood bubbling from the wound. “Call Conan,” she shouts at me.
I freeze, unable to move, to think.
My mom reaches out, placing a bloody hand on my cheek. “Tiernan, we’re going to fix this. I’ll take care of him. I need you to call Conan.”
Yes. Make a call. I can fucking do this. Dean is going to be fine. If not, the world will have hell to pay because of it.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Dean says choppily before his eyes fall closed and he loses consciousness.
CHAPTER FORTY
Dean
Ifeel likeI’ve been run over by a truck.
My eyes flutter open, and the first thing I see is a large window across from me. I’m in a room I don’t recognize. It doesn’t look like any hospital room I’ve ever seen, but one glance down shows an IV in my arm.
What the fuck?
Flashes of memories begin to come back to me—Tiernan tied up, his father holding a gun to his head. Me putting down my weapon to try and save him…being shot…then Tiernan leaning above me, crying.
My pulse spikes, running a marathon beneath my skin. What happened after that? Is he okay? “Tier-nan.” My voice cracks on his name. I turn my head slowly to the side, unable to move too quickly, but then I see him—sitting in an armchair, eyes closed in sleep.
“Dean! You’re awake,” Aislin’s voice comes from the other direction. I look her way as she steps up beside the bed. “Hey. You’re back.” She smiles, then kisses my forehead.
Why is she being so nice? The last thing I remember is she hated me, and she has every reason to. “Where am I?” I manage to ask, voice rough and broken.
“You’re at our house. We have a doctor we call when we need help. He’s been seeing you. You were shot between your shoulder and chest and lost a lot of blood. Luckily, it didn’t hit anything major. You’ve been in and out of it for a few days. It was scary…you should have woken up earlier.”
Shit. That’s a lot to take in. It makes my brain spin.
“I’m so sorry for being upset with you. I know who you are, and you wouldn’t hurt us…wouldn’t hurt Tiernan. He told us what you did for him…that you put yourself in danger for him. I…”
“I lied to you.”
“You were defending your family…first with your parents, and then my brother. That’s all that matters to me.”
“Cillian and Rory?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
“You sacrificed yourself for Tiernan. He explained it to us, so we understand. You’re not losing us.”
My eyes tear up. Jesus, I’ve never cried as much in my fucking life as I have recently, and I don’t fucking like it. “Thank you. I won’t lie to you again. You’re the only family I have.” The family I was meant to have. I know it to the marrow of my bones.
“I know.” She rubs a hand over my head. “Now I’m going to wake my brother up. Since you got here, he’s only left this room when he was forced to.”
I nod and watch her, afraid to take my eyes off her, afraid this is all a dream. If it is, I don’t want to wake up.
Aislin gently shakes Tiernan’s shoulder. His eyes pop open but don’t linger on Aislin. They almost immediately find me.
He scrambles to his feet, still half asleep, stumbling as he rushes over to me, bending over the side of the bed. “I will fucking kill you if you ever do that to me again.”
I hear the door open, then close, and know Aislin slipped out.
