She could not fathom being out that long. What kind of things could have happened to her during that time? It was one of the first lessons Master had taught her—do not ever truly sleep because your enemies will find you and destroy you, leaving you to wander the wasteland of your dreams.
“One day we will talk about Abela Badr,” Dmitry said, clearly reading her face. “We will talk about Sacha and Svetlana Asinimov. We will speak on Ninka and you will tell me all the things the devil did to you. And I will take your pain and fling it to the far corners of the earth, because you are mine, Etzem.”
“I will keep my pain, Asinimov. It’s what keeps me alive,” she murmured.
The hand he’d raised to stroke her cheek fell to his side. His face blanked but she could tell he understood and that made her hate him for a moment. The hate was displaced almost immediately by a deeper, rougher emotion.
She ignored it and called his name. He stopped and she asked, “Can I sleep in my own bed?”
“Finish tonight here and tomorrow we will move you,” he said and then he left.
Her mind went foggy slowly and she knew he’d put something in her IV. She had just determined to get up, find him and castrate his ass for it when she saw the darkness coming for her.
She blinked once and fell asleep.
?●?
Dmitry closed the door once she gave in to the medicine. He leaned against the wall outside the small infirmary and rubbed his neck.
“We were not built for love, Dmitry,” Bullet said softly as she came down the hall. “We were created for war and death. If things are as you told me, she is likely remembering your horror at discovering she was the one to take your father. Give her time and if she’s as important as your face tells me she is, you will win not only this battle but the entire war.”
“You all kept that secret from me,” Dmitry bit out.
She shrugged. It was a nonchalance inherent in them all. They affected the bored killer persona so easily it truly seemed sometimes as if they had been born just to kill. “I will say again that First Team has an agenda that might align with Trident’s but we had our plans in place long before you knew the scope of who First Team was. The secret wasn’t mine to share and my sister comes before all others.”
He raised an eyebrow.
She smiled. “Except Rand. He is my only exception.”
“And she is mine.”
Bullet’s smile widened and Dmitry lost his breath at the beauty of it. It was rare to see the curve of this killer’s lips and his chest swelled at the gift.
“Then you will do whatever is necessary to get her through this. But remember, Dmitry, we are one. She will keep things from you still simply because her loyalty is first and foremost to her sisters. It isn’t that she cannot include you, it is that it would break her to do so. Until we are finished, we are our own.”
“She has already broken,” Dmitry pointed out.
“Her body, yes. But her mind is strong and so is her affinity for the kill. Bone has never been like the rest of us. Out of us all, she was the one who lusted for the kill. It is as if when she takes life she experiences acute relief. You look at her now and you see through the eyes of love. Do not make the mistake of denying what else is inside her. Bone will only ever see herself through the eyes of hate and death. It is the same for all of us. So if you truly love her, you will accept her and all that she has done in the name of righting wrongs and giving Ninka the retribution she deserves.”
“I will make this right,” he vowed.
She shook her head sadly. “There is nothing to make right, Dmitry. Just love her and she will be what she was meant to be before Joseph took her and transformed her into a killer.”
He pulled Bullet to him and kissed her forehead in thanks. She allowed it and Dmitry knew she’d given him another gift.
She began to walk away but turned back. “She will always be a killer. Only you have the ability to help her be more.”
Dmitry watched her leave and ran a hand through his hair. His hand ached but his fingers were healing well. Another two weeks in the cast and he’d remove it and begin physical therapy.
He walked back into the infirmary and sat down in the chair he’d taken up residence in the last two weeks. He watched her breathe and rubbed his chest. She barely moved, the fear still holding her mind.
But he was there now and he would protect her. Joseph would never touch her again. He watched her until his eyes closed and sleep weighed him down.
And then he dreamed about her.
Chapter Nineteen
In other world news, Russian President Vladimir Putin vows to find the people responsible for blowing up the east wing of the Kremlin. No one has stepped forward to take responsibility though Moscow has assured the Russian people they have everything under control.
Bone listened to the news report and nodded. Blade. Her sister had made sure the cell and tower she’d been beaten in had been destroyed.
“Would you like to see the babies today?” Bullet asked from the doorway.