could have happened.
I feel a presence in the room but don’t hear anything.
I turn my head and see Siren sitting next to my bed; a window that looks out to the ocean is behind her. It’s a dreary looking day. The sun is barely poking through the clouds, and there is a light drizzle soaking the sand.
Siren takes my hand as we both take a deep inhale and exhale, both settling now that she knows I’m going to survive. I suspect nothing bad did happen while I was out since Siren is here and not trying to get someone else to come in and help her explain some atrocity that happened.
Even though Siren can’t speak much right now, I don’t need her to. And she doesn’t need me to speak either. We’ve been through too much together. We share a connection that transcends the ability to speak. Right now, I’m thankful for that. I know I can use my voice, but I don’t really want to speak.
“Safe,” Siren finally speaks out. The one word is enough to confirm that everyone is safe. No one has been hurt while I was out.
I nod.
Her eyes scan over my body, taking in all my injuries, bandages, and scars. I let her, but I don’t follow her gaze. I don’t want to know all of my injuries. It makes no difference. All I really want right now is to talk to Maxwell and find out what he was talking about before I became unconscious. I want to find out why he thinks we are on the same side. But I don’t know if he’s even still here or if he’s dead. I wouldn’t put it past Enzo and Zeke to kill him. He deserves it.
Siren pats my hand again, drawing my attention back to her. Then she’s hugging me tightly. I don’t feel that either. I don’t feel anything but my aching heart that’s longing to be with Liesel. I don’t care if we have to face a firing squad again; I’d rather be facing death with her than be without her.
Siren’s eyes flick left and right over mine, searching for what I want. She sees whatever it is without having to ask. She holds up one finger and then walks out the door. I don’t know what she saw or who is going to enter my room next. I expect a doctor to come in and examine me, to tell me the extent of my injuries. If it was Kai who was sitting next to me when I woke up, I would have no doubt that that is what is about to happen.
But the door opens, and Maxwell steps in instead.
I grin; Siren always knows me as well as I knew myself.
“You look like hell,” he says as he walks near the queen-sized bed I’m lying in.
“It’s your fault I look like this. You could have just left me for dead,” I say.
He grins. “I could have, but then that would be breaking a deal. That’s not something I do.”
“A deal you made with Liesel to save my life?”
He nods.
“Why did you say we’re on the same side when clearly we aren’t? You’re holding Liesel hostage. You tried to kill my family. You took my kids from me. You took Siren’s voice, Zeke’s hearing, Beckett’s touch, Liesel’s fertility. You’ve taken so much from all of us. Do you really think we can just forgive you and work on the same side?”
Maxwell doesn’t take Siren’s seat. He walks over to the window and looks out at the ocean, taking his sweet time. It’s time we don’t have. I want to jump out of this bed and force him to talk to me, but the numbness in my limbs hasn’t vanished. There’s an IV still in my arm pumping me with drugs, so I’m at his mercy.
“Have you figured out what the treasure is yet? Have you pieced it together?” he asks me.
I frown and shrug. “I assume an insane amount of money or gold or something stupid like that.”
“No.” Maxwell snaps his head back to look at me. “The treasure is Declan.”
“What?”
“The treasure is Declan. We never had him; we just knew the way to get Declan was to solve the puzzle, the clues that Liesel’s father left.”
That’s why Liesel made the trade—not only for my life but to ensure she saved Declan. All the more reason I should be by her side doing whatever it takes to save him with her.
“Her father is