Page 10 of Tragic Empire
“Last week,” I whisper. “I was waiting to tell you when I saw you next.”
I didn’t even get to dish about Cole to my best friend before he was murdered in front of me. How messed up is that?
“I’m so fucking sorry, honey,” she tells me, not caring about my naked state as she throws her arms around me in a firm embrace.
I hug her back just as hard.
I cling to Jade like the connection is going to keep me alive. My grief is still a vicious beast, raging inside of me, but it doesn’t feel so lethal with her arms wrapping me up tight.
We haven’t gotten an update from her brothers yet, but there’s no coming back from a bullet between the eyes. The man I chose to give my virginity to is dead, no matter how badly I want it to be a lie.
Eventually, Jade helps me step out of the shower on wobbly legs and wraps me up in a warm robe. She does the same for herself before guiding me to her room with a towel to tie my wet hair into. But when we enter, we aren’t alone.
Ivan Morozov is sitting on her bed talking quietly on his cellphone. He’s not just Dmitri’s little brother, he’s like Jade’sotherother half. The two of them are like twin flames, the best of friends in their own little unique way. When I first noticed how close the pair were, I’d wondered if there was something more between them. I realized how decidedly wrong that assumption was after spending more time with them both.
They may cuddle and hold hands, but there is absolutely nothing romantic in the way they look at each other. Ivan may as well be another Moretti son. He’s Jade’s brother, through and through.
Noticing us emerge from the bathroom, he looks up and lets out a breath. “Gotta go, see you soon.”
“Dmitri?” Jade guesses.
Solemnly, Ivan nods, eyes darting in my direction.
“It’s okay,” I mumble at him. “I know they’re gone.”
Jade sucks in a breath and Ivan hesitates. “Cole is, yes.”
My eyes widen. “Killian?”
“We aren’t sure yet, but he had a pulse. They’re getting him to a secure hospital right now.”
My heart thumps. “He had a pulse?”
“He still does,” Ivan confirms carefully. “It’s not a guarantee he’ll make?—”
“Killian has a pulse,” I echo, interrupting him. Turning to Jade at my side, I cover my lips with a cupped hand. “Killian isn’t dead.”
She smiles hesitantly and agrees. “He’s alive.”
“Stubborn bastard,” I say, surprising myself with the humorous comment.
Killian has always been notoriously pigheaded. I should have known that the bullet he took wouldn’t be enough to snuff him out. Especially since he wasn’t shot the way Cole was. He was given an opportunity to live, even if it was a slim one. I wonder if whoever did this, did that on purpose.
But why?
Suddenly, the relief for Killian is gone and only the realization that Cole is dead remains. Even if Killian ends up recovering, he’ll wake up to his little brother gone.
“Ana?” Ivan asks. My eyes snap to his face, and he frowns. “Why didn’t you mention Bron?”
I blink once, shaking myself out of my head. “Did they find him?”
“You don’t remember?” Ivan questions, confused.
Thinking back, I try to focus on my stepfather’s face, attempting to conjure any memories of him from tonight. Cole’s death and Killian being shot are easy to locate in my mind, but Bron doesn’t come easy. I focus and focus harder until a gasp bursts from my lips. All of a sudden, the recollection comes easily.
Compartmentalization is a part of dissociation for me, and apparently Bron was easier for me to bury in my brain than his sons. Then again, my head does still have a slight throb. Did I hit it in the crash? Did the drugs they shot me up with after the fact make me foggy?
Anxiety builds and builds and I shake my head as if that will brush off the ache radiating there.
