“What do you mean?”
“You should see how many people are outside. It’s ridiculous. Darling, his two brothers, his sister. Zarya and Sorche. Fain and Hauk have positions at the door and won’t let any medical staff other than Syn in here without them standing over them. And they run every badge before the let them in. Nykyrian and his wife and their oldest daughter and one of their sons. Syn’s wife and son, and her two sisters, and Caillen. His wife and their daughter. Chayden and his friend. Jayne and her husband and three kids. Nero. And Safir keeps checking in. All of them are desperate to see you and know how you’re doing.”
“And the most important one is sitting right here.”
Ture smiled. “I love it when you sweet talk me.”
“All right,” Syn said as he returned. “Let’s get you submerged.”
Ture moved aside so that Syn could help him to the tub. Then Syn surrendered custody to Ture.
“There’s a link right here.” Syn showed it to Ture. “If you need anything, call. I’ll be back in a little bit to check on him.”
“Thank you, Syn,” they said simultaneously.
He inclined his head and left.
Maris lay back against the tub and sighed as the water soothed him. He frowned as he caught the odd look on Ture’s face. “What?”
“Your eyes turn silver even when your head isn’t in water.”
“I know.”
“It’s just so strange to me that it doesn’t pain you to change. It seems like it should.”
Maris shrugged. “I never think about it.” He brushed Ture’s hair back from his eyes. “How long have I been out?”
“Three days.”
He gasped at the length of time. “What time is it?”
Ture checked his watch. “Early evening. Little after seven.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the restaurant?”
“You know here’s the funny thing... I don’t want to leave you. I don’t care if the restaurant burns to the ground right now.”
“Ture—”
He placed his fingers over Maris’s lips, cutting off his words. “It’s true. I went yesterday to close up and...it felt so empty without you there. I kept expecting to see you at my desk or in the doorway. You’ve absolutely ruined me, Mari. I should shoot you for that.”
Maris took his hand into his and stared at them entwined. His skin shimmered with its peculiar silver hue against Ture’s dark, tawny flesh. “I can’t believe I finally found you.”
“Just make sure you keep me.”
Maris smiled, but underneath his happiness was the fear of what was coming for them. Dray wouldn’t rest until he was dead. Neither would Kyr.
In the past, he hadn’t cared. But Ture was a weakness he’d never had before. Today, he was the one in the hospital.
But what if Ture had been with him? What if Dray, out of sheer cruelty, had gone for Ture’s life?
How would he live with himself if he caused the one person he loved above all others to die?
He didn’t say that out loud, but in his heart, he knew the truth. Somehow he was going to have to find the courage to walk away.
Before his brothers killed them both.
CHAPTER 11
This had been the longest week of Ture’s life. What none of them had known was that Dray’s knife had been coated with a slow-acting poison that had sent Maris into seizures. Had anyone other than Syn been his attending physician, Maris would have died.
They finally had him out of danger and resting.
But Ture couldn’t shake the image of Maris flat-lining. If he ever laid hands to Dray, he, the pacifist, was going to cut out his heart, sauté it with onions, and feed it to Kyr.
He heard his link buzzing. Answering it, he smiled at the image of Mari in his hospital bed. “Hey, handsome.”
“Hi, gorgeous. Are you at the restaurant yet?”
“Walking in now.” Ture slid in through the backdoor. He still hated that he’d allowed Maris to talk him into returning so soon. Had it been left up to him, he would have stayed with Maris until Syn cleared him to return home. But Ture had made one condition. He would only return to work if Mari came with him.
Ture sent the link transmission to the large monitor on the wall at the same time his staff bombarded him with questions about Maris’s health. “See for yourselves, he’s on his way to full recovery.” Ture grinned at Maris. “Told you they missed you, too.”
Maris laughed. “Hi, everyone.”
Ture stood back as his staff took turns chatting with Maris while they got ready for the dinner rush. He hadn’t realized how much his staff had embraced Maris as part of their eclectic family until Mari had been injured. In a very short time, Mari had come to mean a lot to all of them.
Anachelle gasped as she came in the backdoor and saw the monitor. She rushed forward with Terek and waved his little hand at Maris. “Hey, Uncle Mari Daddy! We tried to visit, but they wouldn’t let your son in. He’s too young.”