Page 117 of Tribute
When the medics pushed him out of the way and set to work on Anna, Rehz slowly straightened and turned to Palk, who glared at him.
“Your bitch tried to get theUngrichto kill me.”
“Good.” He delivered a kick right into Palk’s bloodied knee.
Kai caught his arm. “Rehz, come on, now.” He took aim at Palk’s other knee. “Don’t have all the fun.”
Palk eventually stopped screaming and subsided into unconsciousness. Rehz stared down impassively at his body. Even in the depths of the presidential mansion, he could now hear the sound of arriving troops and the heavy tread of feet on the floors above. Anna was rushed by him, carried by the two medics. Bron was lending a hand, holding a bag of fluid high over her head. Her fair hair was streaked with blood, and the left side of her throat was a mangled mess.
His feet were welded to the floor. He couldn’t go after her and take Bron’s place. He couldn’t fuckingthink.
“Fuck this,” Kai muttered and picked Aled up in his arms. “Come on. There’s help upstairs. You can bleed all over me.”
As they passed Rehz, Aled called out. “I’m sorry. I offered to go with her, but she shot me instead. I wasn’t expecting it.”
He patted Aled’s undamaged shoulder. “It’s okay. Go and get that wound seen to.”
He stayed until another medical team came in and took Palk away under guard. When everyone had gone, he spent a few minutes dropping the rest of the explosives Aled and Anna had left on the cabinet down the hole. For good measure, he tipped most of the contents of the room down there as well.
Eventually he brushed off his hands and walked toward the door. He found Bron leaning against the wall outside.
“You okay, Rehz Akran?”
“Yeah. You?”
Bron nodded. “The medics want to check you over.”
“Fine.” He followed the security chief along the corridor and out to the elevator. He only realized how much he was shaking when he couldn’t stick his finger on the elevator button.
He felt . . . weary.
That was it.
Hollow.
“Do you want to see Anna and Aled?” Bron asked. “Kai’s up there waiting for news right now.”
“No.”
Bron eyed him carefully. “You sure?”
“Yeah. Can someone find me a bed somewhere private in this huge fucking mansion?”
“Sure. I’ll send the medics to you right after I’ve shown you to the room. When they’re done, you can sleep as much as you want.”
He paused at the door of the room Bron opened up for him. It was in a part of the house that he’d never enteredbefore. The furnishings were serviceable and the bed was large. Brown drapes covered the window, and there was an attached bathroom.
“Servants’ quarters,” Bron explained. “Still fancier than my apartment.”
“It’ll do. What are you going to do about that huge hole?”
Bron shrugged. “Fill it up and make sure never to put a safe room below ground level again. That could’ve been the president in there. We learned a valuable lesson.” He tapped one meaty hand against the doorframe as if assuring himself that this room, at least, was sturdy and safe. “Do you want me to tell Kai where you are?”
“No. Can you keep it to yourself?”
“They’ll be worried.”
“Yeah.” Rehz blinked back his exhaustion. “Send the medics up here.”
