Tears blurred Aian’s vision and he felt rather than saw a hand reach around to pull out his earpiece.
It was dropped to the ground to be crushed into the concrete by a shiny black shoe.
“Can’t have any of that now, can we, little whore?”
His vision swam but Aian recognized the voice. He was forcefully wrenched up, still by the hair, and dragged back out of the gun fight and behind some crates.
Every step was agony and his left arm hung limply at a strange angle by his side. They paused there for barely a minute before he was being pulled from the building by a back entrance and thrown in a car.
Nevi forced him across the backseat and handcuffed him to the seat belt. He quickly slammed the door shut and strode around the car before slipping into the driver’s seat.
The car roared to life then they were racing away from the warehouse. Aian whimpered as pain shot through him with every bump of the vehicle.
The rest of the trip to wherever they were going was quiet. Neviseemed lost in his own thoughts so Aianused the time to gauge his injuries. His right arm was handcuffed to the seatbelt and other than some tenderness, it appeared to be okay. His left arm wasn’t so fortunate, though. It was clearly broken, part of his arm hanging limp at an unnatural angle. The break was in his forearm, a bit before his elbow. He must have landed on that arm during his fall. It hurt like hell. The pain radiated out from the break and seemed to crawl up his arm. Every bump in the road speared new pain through him in an agonizingjolt that had his eyes watering and he bit his lip to stop from crying outloud. Not the time to be a wuss about things now. Aianwas dizzy and could barely feel the rest of his body. He wondered if he had hit his head during the fall too. He must have, surely. Especially considering he blacked out
Agony pulled him back into awareness and Aiangroggily raised his head to look around. Neviseemed content to let him regain his bearings as he crouched in front of him with a knifeglinting in the light of the room. His eyes zeroed in on the gleaming blade and the insane man chuckled at his reaction. “I told youthat you owe me some fun for making me wait. I’m glad that you are able to stay awake for this. Its far more entertaining this way.” Nevi brought up the knife and set it against Aian’s freckled cheek. He flinched at the feeling of the cold blade digging into his skin but otherwise didn’t move. Closing his eyes, Aianbit the inside of his lip as the blade was pushed in further and dragged across his skin, slicing it open. It wasn’t a deep cut, but enough that he could feel the warm wetness of his own blood oozing out and trailing down his face. The knife was pulled away from his cheek an
Kalvinthanked Blakeas the man handed over a takeaway cup of coffee. He wasn’t sure how many hours he had been sitting in the hospital waiting room but a glance outside the windows showed a faint grey tint to the sky. Morning was on its way. He watched as his secretary handed out cups to the other occupants of the waiting room. Dalesat on his right and Glyniss, Aian’s mom, face pale and drawn, was on his left. A few chairs down sat Caleb’s mother and one of his younger sisters, beside them sat Shawn’s father. Chad’s emergency contact had turned out to be a friend that advised they would pass on a message to his family but had told Blakethat they most likely wouldn’t come, even if he died. Kalvinwasn’t one to pry into the private lives of his subordinates but he found something sad in such a capable and loyal young man being so estranged from his family. Some of themembers of Team Creeshiaalso sat around the roo
It had been a few days of bleary waking hours and constant naps but Aianwas finally perking up. Unfortunately,with his wakefulness came boredom. He was stuck mostly unable to move and often alone. He thought maybe he could play games on his handheld gaming device but thatalsorequired his left hand. As did trying to hold and navigate on his phone. He had been left with some books but holding them up while trying to turn the pages was awkward and reading on his phone wasn’t much better. He had his headphones on and listened to music but the energetic beat just reinforced how much he wanted to move. And how much he can’t. The worst part was that he could feel The Tug. He had never felt it before but he knew that’s what it was. It was faint, a slight tugging for him to get up and move in a certain direction. He checked on the map on his phone earlier and realizedthat it pointed to Ecliprises. H
Calebstretched. Or at least tried to. He winced as the dull ache sharpened through his body as he moved. His right hand and wrist were encased in a cast and his shoulder was braced as well as possible to stop him from tearing open the bullet wound. The rest of his body ached as though he had been hit by a car, although the force of him hitting the ground wasn’t too far off being the same. He had to admit he was grateful for the Ecliprises-sponsored hospital treatment. Private ward and a room shared just with him and the other two injured guards. On top of that, he had a bed that was actually comfortable and a regular food that was decent. He also had a constant stream of visitors to keep him occupied, his mother with different siblings accompanying her each time and all the security team members had dropped in to say hello and keep them all company. He was surprised when a nurse came in and set up the unmade fourth bed afte
“Hello, Nettie.” “Is that how you greet an old friend, hmm?” she sat down on the chair beside her basket. “Honestly, you haven’t been over to visit for a drink and a chat in ages. I was giving you time to settle down with your little twin flamehaving all your attention but I swear, if he wasn’t your twin flame, he would be your midlife crisis.” “I’m not that old,” Kalvinhuffed out and Aianlooked torn between finding it funny and embarrassing. “If I didn’t know any better, I would dispute that. But it’s not about age, it’s about life experience. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Hell, I would be behind this relationship all the way,twin flamestatus or not,if it means youget toactually relax and we get to see that you’re a human with feelings. Honestly, I could do with a cute little midlife crisis myself.” She gave a selfdepreciating laugh. “I swear I may as well be married to my restaurant! But you n
Having been in the hospital for a full seven days, Aianwas itching to leave. Kalvinhad wheeled him outside a few times so he could bask in the fresh air and sunshine but honestly,Aianwanted to go home. It didn’t help that Chadhad been released into Otto’s care yesterday morning, leaving only the three of them in the ward together. Aianwas rightthat sharing the room was so much better than being by himself, though. They had a constant stream of visitors from the security team, both to visit them and to guard the room. He had also met some of Caleb’s and Shawn’s family members, all of whom were surprised to find out who Aianwas. Now he was caught up on all the movies and shows he wanted to watch and had even learneda few new card games as well. But he wassoready to go home. Kalvinsat on a chair beside his bed,reading through a few work documents that Blake 
Aianwas ecstatic to be back at the penthouse. Kalvinwould still be around a lot, choosing to spend more time working from home for a few weeks and his security team would be around more to help out physically as well. He was still stuck being wheelchaired around for the next few weeks but at least he wasn’t stuck in a hospital bed. Kalvinwas wheeling him past one of the the spare room when he noticed something familiar through the door from the corner of his eye. “Wait. Hold up, what’s in that room now?” Kalvinstopped in place but didn’t respond. Aiancraned his head around to stare up at his twin flameonly to be met with a blank face. Highly suspicious. “Kal, what’s in that room?” Still no answer. “Wheel me back.” The man seemed to weigh up his options before reluctantly pulling him back so they were beside the door after he asked a second time. Aian