Page 103 of Knot Playing Fair 2

The thing was, I didn’t care.

All that mattered was Luca, Byron, and Mia’s husband. I hadn’t been able to talk to them before they were whisked off to the hospital, but they were all alive. Ihadseen two body bags and an additional stretcher carried out as I was being questioned at the scene, though. I wasn’t proud about how much I hoped one of those body bags contained Blake Berlusconi.

Barnes Jewish Hospital never slept, but at this time of night, parking wasn’t hard to find. The front desk directed me to Luca’s room despite the late hour, thanks to the magic of waving around my status as both his pack leader and emergency contact. I slapped the pass onto my jacket lapel and hurried toward the correct wing, taking the stairs two at a time when the elevator didn’t arrive fast enough.

The floor nurse looked up with disinterest as I passed her desk, flashing the pass and offering her a strained smile. Thedoor of Luca’s room was open a few inches. Stress-soured omega pheromones wafted out, setting my alpha instincts on edge.

I consciously calmed my scent, slowing my breathing and shaking the tension out of my shoulders before I quietly pushed the door farther open. Two figures were jammed into the too-small hospital bed. Mia looked up sharply at my appearance. Soft snores emanated from the pale, tousled form curled against her side.

“Zalen!” The exclamation was barely more than a whisper.

Luca’s arm was in a sling. He didn’t wake up.

My hindbrain stirred restlessly, convinced that I needed to be in that bed holding both of them. I shoved the impulse down violently.

“Is he all right?” I whispered back.

“Not really,” Mia said. “I’m trying to get him a victim advocate for when the police show up to interview him.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, relieved by Mia’s presence and her practicality. “Can you stay with him for now?” I asked.

She nodded, stroking soft fingers through his messy hair. “Yeah. Emiel’s with Nat. Byron was in surgery—you should go see him if they’ll let you.”

“I’ll go now. Thank you, Mia,” I told her, still wishing I could get my arms around both of them somehow.

She bit her lower lip, rolling it between her teeth before letting it slip free. Her eyes were huge and sad. “Don’t thankme. You were the one who found them.”

Tonyhad been the one who found them. But I couldn’t afford to ruminate on the what-ifs.

“All that matters is that they’re safe now,” I said quietly. “I’ll check back when I can, or you can text my phone if you need me.”

She tried on a watery smile for me. “Okay.”

I withdrew from the room, even though leaving them alone felt like pulling against a full-body resistance band at the gym. When I turned, Emiel was approaching.

“They doin’ okay?” he asked.

A bit of the tension leached out of me. “As okay as can be expected.”

“Youdoin’ okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” I said, not completely truthfully. “What about Nat?”

“The cops came to talk to him and kicked me out.” He lowered his voice. “Might’ve given him a few suggestions earlier regarding what to tell them if they start asking questions about you being there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure he’s the type to lie to the police, but I appreciate the thought.”

Emiel shrugged. “Who said anything about lying? Anyway, I just wanted to warn these two that the cops’ll probably come here next. You going to see Byron?”

“If they’ll let me.” Since I wasn’t listed as his emergency contact or next of kin, I wasn’t sure if they would or not, given the late hour.

“I’ll tell Mia and Luca what’s going on. Then I’d best get back to Nat,” Emiel said. “He’s a bit of a mess after all that.” He hesitated, clearing his throat. “I told him he should come stay with us for a bit while he recovers. Mia’s all right with it.”

I blinked, not having seen that coming. “I don’t have any objections,” I told him, unsure how that dynamic would work, but not averse to finding out after everything that had happened.

Emiel reached out a large hand and patted my upper arm. I stared down in shock for a moment, trying to remember if he’d ever initiated physical contact with me before.

“You did good, Zalen,” he said. “Got ’em back safe, didn’t you? Go on and see Byron now.”

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