Page 39 of Tell No Tales
"You are ridiculous. I can't leave you injured. Besides, this isn't a life link. I can hide my thoughts from you. You're only getting what I want you to know."
Klaus growled in frustration.
"I need to know, Vadim. What do I mean to you? Do you keep rescuing me out of some misguided sense of duty, or do you feel something more?"
"More," Vadim whispered as he pulled Klaus alongside the rope ladder up the side of the ship. "Always more. You never had to doubt it."
Except he did doubt it, even now. Vadim's thoughts and reactions were so smooth and efficient. He never second-guessed, while Klaus doubted his every move and doubled back at least twice before making a final decision.
"Shh," Vadim said again as he hefted Klaus into his arms and lifted him out of the water. Klaus instinctively clung to Vadim's neck with his good arm as water dripped off them in a torrent. Vadim was only wearing his small clothes, while Klaus still wore his full morning garb from his boots to his double-breasted coat.
"Fuck, that looks bad," Hannah said as they peered over the side at them. "I can help you set the arm, and then I'll give you both a quick bath of fresh water before you take him to the hold."
"Not before I kill that showboating barnacle."
"Nobody's killing anyone," Stan said, leaning over beside Hannah. "Come on, then, up ye get." Stan knew better than to try to take Klaus from Vadim. He lifted them both by heaving the rope up and over the side of the ship until Vadim straddled the top rail and lifted Klaus over it.
"Lie him on the deck," Stan said.
"I'll do it," Vadim growled.
Stan shook his head and took a step back. "Fine, but just so you know, Devon didn't stop us. I did. This is my fault. If you're going to drain someone, drain me."
Klaus tried to catch the emotions on Vadim's face, but he dropped Klaus to the deck of the ship too quickly. The world turned green around the edges for a moment, and he had to fight not to vomit. Fuck, his arm hurt.
"Stay with me," Vadim said. Klaus saw the green mist radiate from Vadim's hand into his chest, and his stomach stopped roiling. "One more moment, and this will be over. Are you ready?"
"Bite down on this." Hannah placed a piece of wood covered in leather into his mouth.
"Do I want to know where that's been?" Vadim asked.
"None of your fucking business," Hannah quipped. "It's clean. That's all you need to know."
Klaus heard Vadim counting in his head, not the usual countdown from ten to cool off, but a simple count starting at three. By the time Klaus considered what he might be counting, Vadim had reached one and tugged on his arm while sticking his foot in Klaus's armpit.
Both Klaus's shoulder and his throat made horrible sounds, and then it was over. The pain subsided, and his heart rate started to slow a little.
"I will fucking kill him," Vadim said, taking a step toward the opposite side of the ship.
"No, you won't." Stan steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. "I thought they needed our help. I stopped us dead in the water, not Devon."
Vadim grumbled something unintelligible.
"What?" Thankfully, Stan couldn't hear him any better than Klaus had.
"I said I can't kill you. You're my friend." Vadim looked even more pissed with each crisp, clear word.
Stan stood motionless with his mouth hanging open until Hannah poked him in the ribs. "Say something."
"Thanks," Stan muttered. "That's the first time you've ever called me your friend. You've spent the last forty years swearing you didn't need friends."
Vadim grunted. "Wish I didn't right now. I really want to hurt something."
Klaus struggled to his feet. He put too much pressure on his sore arm and almost tumbled back to the deck. Vadim caught him and pulled him up, once again scooping him under the knees and carrying him toward the aft stairs.
"You'll want to rinse off the brine before you go down there," Hannah said.
"Gods, why must you all be so damn sensible?" Vadim sounded pissed, but Klaus caught the twist of a smirk on his lips.
