Caught by Menace (42 page)

question but it had to be done.

question but it had to be done.

“We brought him back with us. He’s in storage in the

mortuary. I wasn’t sure if Naya would want to bury him

properly.”

“She wil.” Menace couldn’t imagine Naya doing

anything less. No matter how badly her brother had

treated her, he was stil her family.

“I thought you would want this back.” Cipher held out

Naya’s red notebook. “I’ve already given a decoded

copy to the Shadow Force unit.”

Menace grasped the smal book and ran his finger

over the red leather. Protecting her privacy seemed a

moot point now. “What was in it?”

“Not what Terror expected,” Cipher answered

honestly. “It was her record of favors owed and debts

repaid. She kept inventories of her acquaintances. Just

initials,” he explained, “but tied to their occupations. I

think it was her way of knowing who could help the

people who came to her with various needs. The back

section was filed with contact information for various

shops and warehouses in Connor’s Run and The City.”

Regret gripped him. “I should have let you decipher it

the night it came into my possession.”

“Hey,” Cipher said gently, “you couldn’t have possibly

“Hey,” Cipher said gently, “you couldn’t have possibly

known what was going to happen. You did the right thing

respecting your wife’s right to privacy.”

“A lot of good it did her,” Menace grumbled. His gaze

swept the lobby and settled on a surgeon coming toward

them. His heart stuttered and he leapt to his feet. Hands

clammy, he fisted them at his sides—and waited.

The doctor nodded at the crowd. He stopped in front

of Menace and smiled. “She came through the repairs

beautifuly.”

Al around him, there were sighs of relief. Vicious

clapped him hard on the back.

The surgeon gestured in the direction he’d come. “If

you’d like to come with me, Menace, I can let you see

her. We’l move her out of recovery into a private room

in a few hours.”

Menace glanced at his friends. Vicious sent him an

encouraging smile. “Go. We’l be here if you need us.”

In lockstep with the doctor, Menace walked to the

double doors leading to the surgical unit. Once they were

inside and away from his friends, the surgeon began to

give him more facts.

“It was touch-and-go in the beginning. We were able

“It was touch-and-go in the beginning. We were able

to gain control of the bleeding and repair al of her

injuries. She responded wel to treatment in the operating

room. We’re holding back on administering accelerated

healing drugs. I worry that the shock to her fragile and

very smal system might be too much at this point. We

hope to begin a slow, steady infusion in the next two or

three days.”

“Whatever you think is best,” Menace croaked, his

voice thick with worry. He glanced around the recovery

ward. The rooms were large and filed with beeping,

hissing machines. Medics sat at computer consoles

outside each room and monitored their patients’ vital

signs.

The surgeon stopped outside a room. He gripped

Menace’s shoulder. “You should know that one of her

ovaries was damaged beyond repair. We were forced to

remove it and the attached falopian tube. Her uterine

artery suffered a nick, but we’re extremely confident in

its repair. She wil be able to have children, possibly

requiring the help of some medical intervention, but not

for some time.”

Numbness spread through his chest. His stomach

lurched painfuly. How was he going to tel Naya? Even

lurched painfuly. How was he going to tel Naya? Even

though she hadn’t wanted to start a family immediately,

she’d made it clear she wanted children. The thought of

her losing out on that dream because of this clusterfuck

sickened him.

“I’ve recommended that she be fitted for a

contraceptive device before she’s discharged. If she

chooses to stay,” the surgeon amended. “I understand

that her status is stil in question?”

Menace’s jaw hardened. “Yes.”

The surgeon didn’t ask him to elaborate on the

situation. Instead he left Menace alone. Reluctant to see

Naya’s battered body, he entered the hospital room with

some hesitancy. She looked so smal and pale in the big

bed. Tubes and wires snaked out of her limbs and

mouth. A ventilator breathed for her while they kept her

in a medical coma to heal.

He made his way to the chair next to her bed.

Desperate to feel the life coursing through her, he

reached for her hand and softly stroked her skin. His

fingertips drifted to the underside of her wrist. He felt her

reassuring pulse. For the first time since rescuing her, he

believed she would live.

believed she would live.

Touching his forehead to the bed, Menace let his tense

muscles relax. He tried not to let any of the troubling

what-ifs invade his mind. Right now he could only focus

on sending her the most positive healing thoughts. He

prayed that she could feel his love wrapping around and

cradling her broken body.

The medics and doctors who came in and out of the

room did their best not to disturb him. They adjusted her

medications and refiled her IV fluids. When she’d

proven stable enough to move to a private room, the

switch was made quickly and efficiently. His confidence

in the medical team on the
Mercy
grew exponentialy.

Half an hour after settling her into a private room,

Menace heard a knock on the door. Halie poked her

head inside. “May I come in, Menace?”

He nodded. “Please.”

She stood at the end of Naya’s bed and stared at her

friend. He read the sadness on her face. “Gosh, this

brings back memories.”

Menace chuckled softly. “Except you were the one in

the bed that time.”

“Yeah.” She came closer and rubbed his upper back.

“Look, she’s going to be sedated for a day or two. She’s

“Look, she’s going to be sedated for a day or two. She’s

stable and doing wel. Why don’t you go back to the

Valiant
? You can take a shower, get a hot meal and

pack a bag. Take a nap if you want. I’m happy to stay

here with her until you return.”

If anyone else had made the offer, he would have

turned it down. Knowing that Naya shared such a strong

bond with Halie made it easier to accept. “Thank you,

Halie.”

Menace kissed Naya’s forehead and smoothed some

of her hair out of the way. He lowered his mouth to her

ear. “I love you.”

Out in the halway, Menace found Venom, Raze and

Vicious waiting for him. Vicious gestured to the closed

door. “Raze has agreed to stay here in case Halie needs

something or you need to be reached.”

“And you and Venom?”

“We’re coming with you to settle a score.” Vicious’

tense features said it al. “We’ve had the sparring room

cleared. Terror is waiting for you. Pierce and Torment

wil stand with him. Terror agrees the old way is the only

way.”

Though brutal and violent, the Harcos way of settling

Though brutal and violent, the Harcos way of settling

feuds worked. Bloodlust exploded within Menace. By

the time he was finished with him, Terror would need a

bed onboard the
Mercy
.

* * * * *

With a long, slow inhale, Naya surfaced from the

heavy weight of sleep. She gazed at the strange silver

ceiling for a few seconds before finaly remembering

where she was. She’d been in and out al day, never able

to stay awake for longer than a minute or two before

being dragged back down into the warm embrace of

sleep.

Her brain worked overtime to piece together al the

clues. She’d been shot—by her mother. That memory

was crystal clear. She remembered the ful-on assault

and the firefight. Menace came to her rescue—with

Terror of al people! The wonderful sensation of

Menace’s fingertips gliding over her face and his deep,

husky voice confessing his love for her spiled over Naya

like sunshine.

He loves me. He came for me.

Warmed by that thought, she glanced around the

room. She was in a hospital of some kind. A dul ache

room. She was in a hospital of some kind. A dul ache

throbbed through her entire body, but there wasn’t any

real pain. The machines beeping and swooshing al

around her probably had something to do with that.

Her gaze fel to her bedside where she discovered

Menace in a cramped chair. He had his long legs

stretched in front of him but held her hand. Head tilted

back at a terrible angle, he snored. The sound brought a

smile to her face, but the sight of his right arm and hand in

a heavy cast made her frown. She noticed the bruises on

his face and neck.

Movement near the doorway drew her gaze. Terror

stepped out of the shadows. Her heart monitor beeped

wildly as she laid eyes on her tormentor.

“Relax,” he said gently. “I’m not here to finish you

off.”

“Like I believe that,” she snapped back, her voice

gravely and throat sore. Now that he was fuly

iluminated, Naya saw the awful bruising on his face. His

nose was broken and taped. One of his hands was in a

brace. He leaned al his weight on his right foot because

the left was in a cast. She spotted the crutches leaning

against the wal.

She looked at Menace and then back at Terror. “Did

he beat you up?”

“There was no other way to restore my honor and pay

for what I did to you. I’m sorry by the way. For almost

kiling you,” he added lightly.

She pursed her lips. “Apology not accepted, Terror.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d be an easy sel.”

More seriously, he said, “You’l be happy to know I’m

leaving the
Valiant
. I think it’s best for everyone

involved if I find a new home base for my operations.”

Good fucking riddance.
She gestured to her broken

body. “You’l understand if don’t make it to your going-

away party.”

He smiled, the subtle curve to his mouth softening his

harsh face the smalest bit. “No offense taken.”

Stil irritated with him, she asked, “Did you get what

you needed?”

“I did. Your actions saved the lives of countless

citizens of Calyx and members of the Harcos forces. It

won’t be forgotten.” He glanced at Menace. “I didn’t

give him any choice when it came to you. He thought he

was helping you by giving me permission to interrogate

you. He believed that if he showed cooperation I would

you. He believed that if he showed cooperation I would

remember our friendship and not unleash hel on you.”

“I figured as much.” Naya narrowed her eyes at him.

“After the way you twisted my arm, I could only imagine

what you’d done to him.”

“That’s my job,” he answered simply. “Menace loves

you, Naya. In my line of work, I see how very rare it is

for two people to share what you have. After al you’ve

been through together, you’d be a fool to let him go

now.”

Her eyebrows shot up at Terror’s relationship advice.

Maybe it was the meds making her halucinate, but she

actualy thought it was sound advice.

“Besides,” Terror said with an evil grin, “think of the

ammunition you’l have to use against him the next time

the two of you have a domestic dispute. You’l win every

fight from now until the end of time.”

Naya groaned. “Realy, Terror?”

He laughed. “What? Is it too soon for the ammunition

joke?”

“You are such an asshole.”

“I know.” He grabbed a smal red envelope from the

roling tray near the door. Hobbling, he brought it to her.

roling tray near the door. Hobbling, he brought it to her.

“I thought you two would want this as soon as it came

through the office.”

She grasped the envelope. “What is it?”

“Open it when I’m gone and when he’s awake. I’m

sure he’l want to experience the good news with you.

Oh and you should be receiving your settlement offer in

the next few days.”

“Settlement offer?”

“We did almost kil you after wrongfuly accusing you

of terrorism,” he pointed out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if

it’s a rather large sum.” He considered her for a moment.

“Maybe you could use the money to fund that little