Chapter 26 NO SHIT

Chapter 26 NO SHIT
MIA
I wake up with a sharp jerk, pain exploding through my body like I’ve been hit all over again.
My head is throbbing. My shoulder burns, and my ribs feel like they’ve been crushed.
I grumble softly and try to move – big mistake.
Pain shoots through my spine and immediately steals the breath from my lungs.
“Don’t try to move so much,”
 A voice says calmly beside me. “You barely survived.”
Fin is sitting in a chair next to the bed, one arm resting on his knee, the other holding a glass of something amber-colored.
Definitely alcohol.
I roll my eyes. “No shit, Sherlock.”
He snorts, and I rest back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and letting out slow, even breaths.
“Where am I?” I ask.
“Nick's private medical wing,” he replies and takes a gulp of the liquid in the cup.
Great.
“How long have I been out?”
“About twelve hours.”
Twelve hours.
My chest tightens.
“Was it Nick that gave the order?” I ask the very question that I need the answer to.
Fin pauses, “No, it wasn’t.”
I laugh weakly, but it comes out bitter. As much as I would love to believe that, it just sounds absurd.
“Sure.”
“I’m serious,” he says. “Why would he spend so much time protecting you only to order your death?”
That didn’t make sense either, if I’m being honest.
I look at him. “So, you expect me to believe that?”
“Mia-“
“You’re asking me to believe that someone walked into this heavily guarded house,” I cut him off, voice shaking, “shot me, and you’re telling me that he wasn’t part of you guys?”
Silence.
“He was a recruit, and there was an oversight; he was planted.”
“By whom?”
“Dante.”
The me knocks all the air out of me for a second before I pull myself together and scoff. “You guys are really shitty liars.”
“Why are you unable to believe that this guy is the real enemy here?” he almost yells, but he is quick to retract and takes another gulp of his drink.
“Because I know him,” I reply.
This time, he scoffs. I ignore him
“So, what about the guards who opened fire on me? Did Dante do that, too?”
“You had a gun. You were running, they panicked.”
“So, they shot me,” I whisper.
“Yes. Nick's priority might be to protect you, but their priority is to protect him.”
I think about it for a moment and shake my head. “Your version of the story is way too convenient, don’t you think?”
“And yours lacks a lot of facts.” He leans forward. “Nick killed a bunch of those guards who shot at you.”
That makes my eyes go wide.
“What?”
“He lost control. I’ve never seen him like that.”
I swallow.
“Why?” I say, barely audible.
Fin doesn’t answer immediately. Not until I look at him does he say with a low tone. “You know why.”
The door opens without warning, and Nick walks in. he’s wearing a simple T-shirt and neatly ironed pants. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a minute.
He clears his throat. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got shot multiple times,” I answer.
He sighs. “Mia-“
“Do you guys really believe it was Dante who sent that guy?”
“Who else wants you dead?”
I snort. “You’re going to have to give me a few days, and I really big scroll to make a list.”
“It was Dante. It’s not an assumption or a belief.”
I don’t say anything else.
“I’m moving you to my room.” He says, and my eyes go wide. I attempt to pull myself up again and fail, causing myself more pain.
They’re both next to me in a split second.
“I’m okay, I’m okay.”
“Why are you moving me to your room?” I ask.
“Because it’s safer there. And I’ll be there too,”
‘You will?” Fin and I express surprise at the same time.
“That’s really not necessary,” I counter.
“You hate people in your space, Nick.”
“I’ve decided,” he says with finality.
“But-“ I start to protest again.
“Someone walked into this house and almost killed you!” he raises his voice, but doesn’t quite yell. “I won’t let that happen again.”
I open my mouth to argue, but close it immediately.
“Fin, I want all her things moved to my room before the end of the day.”
Fin hesitates. “You’re serious.”
“As can be. I’ve never been more serious.”
Fin sighs, “Alright.”
He steps out, and it’s just Nick and me in the room. Tension passes between us, and for some reason, I can’t seem to hold eye contact.
“I want to apologize, Mia.”
That gets my attention, and I look in his direction but not directly into his eyes.
“You got attacked under my roof, on my watch. And I didn’t even come to save you when you needed it – you did that yourself.” He pauses and takes my hand in his.
“I might not have sent that assassin, but the second bit was my fault. Those were my men, operating on my orders… and they hurt you, because of me.”
I squeeze his hand gently. “That’s their job, Nick. They were protecting you. And I admit, after I fought my way through, I was convinced that the assassin was from you-“
‘Why would you think that?”
I draw in a deep breath and wince slightly. “I guess it’s because at some point, I really did start feeling untouchable in here. I might have started feeling like the only person who could hurt me in here is you. And there was some comfort in knowing who the enemy was instead of being afraid of every shadow.”
He plants a kiss on my knuckle, and the little gesture makes my heart swell.
“Well, if it’s any comfort, if I were to ever harm you, I won’t hide behind the theatrics of an assassin. I’d look you in the eye, and you wouldn’t have to guess.”
I raise my eyebrow and nod slowly, “That’s really comforting, Nick, thank you.”
He smiles, clearly not understanding what he said.