Page 51 of The Devil's Bargain
“Perfect.” He’d already cleared things with Nero, bought the man’s silence and sworn him to secrecy. Zane wouldn’t say anything either, he was sure of it, so that meant he’d at least managed to lock this down.
As for the medical staff at the hospital, Aodhan merely stated he didn’t know. By the time he’d arrived at the scene, it’d been over. Not a complete lie.
“Wake up and put a believable spin on this,” he murmured, staring at Mercy’s still form.
“You’ll call me if you need anything, yeah?”
He waved him off.
“I’m serious, A.”
“Your unwavering devotion toward my person and secret boner for me has been noted.”
Nyxian flipped him the middle finger and sauntered off, but Aodhan wasn’t gifted the peace of solitude for long.
“Here.” Zane handed him a cup of coffee, glancing at the monitors within the room while he waited for Aodhan to take it. “They’re stable. That’s good.”
“Nothing is going to happen to them,” Aodhan stated firmly.
“Of course not, brother.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.” He took a sip from his own cup and then gave him a partial smirk. “Titus Mercer is too much of a control freak to let something like this keep him down. The forensic scientist didn’t even get a good shot in.”
“He got Cal.” Aodhan scowled and Zane dipped his head.
“Apologies.”
He sent him a sidelong look. “I forgot you were coming for a visit. Thanks, but why are you still here? Isn’t Pavel going nuts without you? That guy’s a freak.”
“I’m glad that you approve.”
Aodhan snorted. “Since when?”
“Since always.” He shrugged a single shoulder like his confession wasn’t a big deal. “How long do you think they’ll stay like that?” He jutted his chin toward Aodhan’s pod.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Why? Don’t tell me you’re planning on sticking around until they wake up or some shit like that?”
“All right.” Zane took another casual sip. “I won’t tell you.”
The two of them had never been all that close, and a lot of that was Aodhan’s fault. He’d been a crappy older brother growing up, viewing Zane as little more than a family pet meant to be humored, trained, and occasionally experimented on. But that didn’t mean he’d never cared, even if it had been in his own twisted, fucked up sort of way.
He shook his head and grunted at himself. “Bonding with Calix has made me weak. I’ve got a damn bleeding heart now.”
Zane chuckled. “I heard what you ordered Nyxian to do with Mitri. Don’t worry. You’re still the same ruthless devil you’ve always been.”
“Thanks, baby brother.”
“No problem.”
“You hear that, lovers?” Aodhan tapped against the glass. “You better wake up and rein me in before I do something psychotic like set the north wing of the hospital on fire.”
He would never.
Not with Mercy and Cal still in the building.
Chapter 23:
