Page 106 of Martyr
Gabriel makes a face. I press a little harder with the gauze on his cheek, and he snatches my wrist.
“Ow,” he snaps.
“Where is Malik?” I demand.
“Hospital.” Saint shakes his head. “He was checked in as John Doe, that’s why we haven’t been able to find him.”
“And?” My breath catches. “Is he okay?”
Malik Barlow has been the last puzzle piece. He wasn’t at Bow & Arrow when we raided it, like Gabriel suggested. He wasn’t anywhere.
Gabriel sighs. “The minions probably brought him there when Ouranos said to keep him alive.”
I scowl and shove my chair back. It’s either that or take out my anger on him, and what would that solve? It might make me feel better for a few seconds, but it wouldn’t rewind time.
“You never visited me,” Lyssa says.
She’s been in all sorts of therapies—speech, physical, occupational—and while her speech is still somewhat disjointed, she’s made massive improvements. She’s improved in all areas, actually.
“I… didn’t,” he murmurs. “No. I did not.”
“I remember all of it.”
Uh-oh. “Um, what does that mean?” I interject.
Her gaze flicks to me, and she carefully tucks her light-blonde hair behind her ear. “Locked-in Syndrome. Means you’re conscious but… stuck.”
My eyes widen.
Saint coughs. “Damn, Lyssa.”
Her lips curl. “So that means all the shit Tem told me…”
“Oops.” I flash Saint a sheepish smile and sidle towards him. “So, um, where are Kade and Reese?”
“What shit did Tem tell you?”
She lifts a shoulder and mimes zipping her lips.
Thanks, I mouth at her.
“We should let them talk,” I tell Saint. I take his hand and tow him toward the door. “Jace can babysit. He owes me.”
“He owes you for what?” Saint chases after me.
“For putting up withyou.” I laugh.
He grabs my hips and picks me up mid-stride. I squeak, but he doesn’t falter when he tosses me over his shoulder.
He palms my ass, his chuckle vibrating through me. “I’ll show you putting up with me.”
You know what? I’ll happily accept that.
44REESE
TWO MONTHS LATER
I blowout a slow breath and look up at the house. It was a foundation a few weeks ago, and then a skeleton of framing, and now… it’s ahouse. The air smells like saltwater, and wide windows in the back of said house give gorgeous views of the ocean. The siding is finished, the blue-gray color striking against the backdrop of ocean and sand. The interior is finished, as of the contractor’s army of trucks pulling away a few minutes ago.
