Bone Deep(59)

“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.

“Not today,” Bone answered.

She was getting stronger every day. The infection was gone and her injuries healing well. Joseph hadn’t broken any of her bones—but he had cut and whipped her until her flesh burned and bled. The gunshot wound to her thigh was also much better. It hadn’t hit anything vital though it continued to hurt like a bitch.

Bone was growing antsy. With the exception of Arequipa, she’d never been in one place this long. She’d been in Virginia for a little under a month and it made her skin crawl to think of how vulnerable they were not moving from place to place.

It would have been much easier had Dmitry not been present. Indeed, she’d spent most of the last two weeks avoiding him.

The days had been easy. She trained and he did whatever it was he did for Trident. But the nights were…difficult. The darkness somehow shed light on her memories and the feel of his hands on her body, the taste of his mouth on hers and the sound of their breathing as they’d strained together in ecstasy was closer, louder. She’d tried turning on a light. She’d attempted meditation. But nothing took those memories away and Bone had finally given into the realization she didn’t want them to go anywhere.

Should she have a future she would need to fill it with those remembrances of his body on hers. It would be all she had to warm her frozen heart.

He had left a few days ago with Adam and Rand. He hadn’t said a word to her. No doubt, she mused, they were headed to Sydney. Because of their endgame and the slight difference in their motivations from First Team’s, her sisters remained here.

It still blew her mind that Bullet and Arrow had settled enough to be together in one place for very long. But as Bullet said, if Joseph was coming for them, better they were together than separate at this point.

The men of Trident had headed to find Nodachi. He had the boy and the boy was First Team’s. Nodachi could run and he could hide, but Blade would find him and it would be on then.

“They will be returning tonight, but they haven’t found Nodachi,” Arrow murmured.

Bone snorted and glanced at her sisters. “I don’t care when they return. What have you two become? All you’re missing is knitting needles and yarn.”