Chapter 26

Eli

"Baby, drink this for me, okay?"

The can of soda felt cold as Mav pushed it into my hand. I wanted to tell him I wasn't thirsty, but I was too tired, so I did what he said and drank. I kept taking sips until he told me it was enough and put the can down on the table next to the chair I was sitting in.

"Is he dead?" I whispered.

Mav hesitated and I knew it was because he was trying to decide whether to tell me the truth or not.

"I don't know," he finally said. "If anyone could have gotten him here alive, it's Ronan."

"He was doing CPR," I said.

Mav sighed and put his hand on the back of my head. He rested his forehead against mine and said, "He's going to make it."

"They were after me," I said when Mav released me. "Those guys," I added as I remembered the two dead men lying in pools of blood. "They thought Brennan was me."

Mav nodded. "It looks like they were looking for something in your apartment and Brennan walked in on them when he was bringing Baby back to your place."

"The flash drive. "

Another nod. I felt numb inside as I remembered the look of terror in Brennan's eyes as he'd tried to draw in breath. And the blood. So much fucking blood.

"Eli?"

I looked up when I heard my name being called and I felt my stomach drop at the sight of Zane Devereaux, Brennan's older brother. He was an older version of Brennan with his tall, fit body, black hair and green eyes. I climbed to my feet and began shaking as Zane hurried up to me.

"I got a call from someone using your phone. They said Brennan was in an accident."

I couldn't stop the sob that got caught in my throat and as tears filled my eyes, Zane's face fell.

"Zane?" Mav said as he put his hand out to steady Zane who looked like he was going to collapse.

"Where's my brother?" he asked.

"They're working on him right now," Mav said.

"What happened?" Zane asked and I could tell by the way his voice broke that he was barely keeping it together.

"He was shot," Mav said.

Zane froze and then the phone he'd been carrying in his hand hit the floor. Mav grabbed him by the arm and helped him into a chair. "Shot?" Zane whispered. "How is that possible? He was taking Baby back to Eli's apartment."

"It happened at Eli's apartment. Two men had broken in and Brennan walked in on them."

Mav didn't expand any further and Zane didn't seem particularly interested.

"Where is he? I need to see him," Zane said in a rush as he stood.

"Mav," I heard Memphis call and I saw Mav follow Memphis's gaze towards a set of double doors that had opened to reveal Ronan. He spotted us and began striding our way. I nearly threw up when I saw the blood covering his shirt. When Ronan reached us, Zane let out a gasp as he saw the blood.

"Is that…is that Brennan's blood?" he asked in horror. He didn't wa it for an answer. "Brennan!" he began screaming as he started heading for the doors Ronan had just come through.

"Are you Zane?" Ronan asked as he stepped in front of Zane. Zane stilled and managed a nod.

"Brennan's alive," he quickly said. "He's in surgery. His surgeons have already managed to stop the bleeding and they're giving him blood to replace what he lost at the scene."

Zane visibly relaxed somewhat and I felt my own fear subside a little bit.

"He's going to be okay?" Zane asked, his voice sounding small.

"The bullet hit his kidney so they might end up needing to remove it, but he can live a normal life with just one. They're still assessing to see if there is any more damage, but it's looking really good."

Zane managed a nod and sank back down on the chair. He looked at me and suddenly grabbed my hand. "You're okay?" he asked.

The question unleashed something raw and powerful inside of me and I ripped my hand free of Zane's and fell to the floor in my effort to escape the chair. Zane stood. "Eli-"

"Eli-" Mav said at the exact same time. He automatically stepped forward, but I put up my hand.

"Don't. Please," I whispered as I scrambled to my feet. "I can't do this."

My need to flee was greater than anything else, but Mav stepped in my path and when I tried to pull free of him, he held on to me and snarled, "You will not do this! You will not take this on yourself too!"

I slammed my fists against Mav's chest as the helplessness and fear gave way to an uncontrollable rage. Mav didn't try to stop me as I hit him over and over again. I lost count of how many times I lashed out at him and even though in my mind I knew I was hurting him, I couldn't stop hitting him. Because at some point he'd stopped being Mav.

My arms burned as my physical strength began to wane and by the time I became aware of my surroundings, I'd stopped striking Mav and was just resting my fisted hands on his chest as he held my upper arms. His mouth was next to my ear and he just kept telling me he loved me, over and over again. When I let out the final howl of pain that was trapped deep inside of me, Mav dragged me forward into a bone-crushing hold. I had no idea how long he held me like that for, but when he finally eased his grip on me, I was terrified to let him go.

"Eli?"

The sound of Dom's worried voice felt like both a balm and a bullet and I pulled back enough from Mav to see Dom standing next to Zane, his hand on Zane's arm. But he wasn't alone.

I closed my eyes as I heard my stepfather call my name and opened them just in time to see him striding towards me.

Only he never even got close because Mav laid him out with one punch and then he was on top of Jack, his big hands wrapped around the man's skinny throat.