time. You’re fucking incredible, and I’m proud to be in your Bond.”
He leaned forward and kissed me, hard. Alec caressed the back of my hand with his thumb as Tyler sighed against my lips.
“All right, what the fuck happened last night?” Ethan looked between the three of us, his hands on his hips.
Josh lowered himself into Tyler’s vacated chair. “Yeah, we still don’t have the full story. We got a call in the middle of the night and rushed to the hospital. All Kyo told us was that there was an attack on the event? How did anyone even know about it?”
Someone knocked on the door. Dot stood just outside, Charlie behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Olivia and Henry craned their necks to see in.
“They said you were awake . . .” Dot sounded uncertain.
“I’m still getting reports from operatives in the field and the police. Let’s talk about it later,” Tyler answered Josh, then stepped out of my embrace.
Alec waved to Dot. “Hey, pipsqueak. What’s up?”
Dot took that as an invitation and walked into the room, Charlie hot on her heels. “Don’t ‘pipsqueak’ me. And would you all stop nearly dying and shit? You’re making me age faster. I’m going to have to start getting Botox!”
“Glad you’re OK, man.” Charlie stuffed his hands in his pockets—it couldn’t have been easy for him to be in a hospital again—but the look he gave his cousin was genuine and warm.
“Are you comfortable, sweetie?” Olivia went into mom mode, fluffing Alec’s pillow and pulling the thin blanket up to cover his shoulders. Of course, that made his bare feet poke out. She huffed. “This is ridiculous! There must be more than one measly blanket in this whole hospital. I can’t believe . . .” She muttered and fussed, found a spare blanket, and made sure Alec was tucked in as tight as a cinnamon roll. He grumbled and rolled his eyes, but I think he secretly liked the motherly affection.
When Henry came back, wheeling Lucian in front of him, the guys and I left the room. There just wasn’t space for everyone, and I knew his work friends would want to see him.
In the hallway, I leaned my forehead on Ethan’s chest. He rocked us lightly back and forth as I listened to his steady breathing, his strong heartbeat. After a few minutes, I turned and rested my cheek on him instead.
Farther down the hall, Dana was chatting with another black-clad woman and man as they waited their turn to see Alec. She glanced over, and our eyes met.
Her questioning look held a hint of concern. Are you OK?
I gave her a tight smile and shrugged. Not really. Could be worse.
She inclined her head, gesturing to Alec’s room with another question in her eyes. And him?
This time, my smile was more genuine. I nodded and breathed a deep sigh. He’s going to pull through.
She smiled back, then said something to her companions. As she passed us on the way to Alec’s room, she squeezed my shoulder briefly but didn’t say anything.
I lifted my head off Ethan’s chest and blinked. Did I just have a silent conversation with Dana? Did she let her humanity show by giving me a gesture of comfort? This had to be some kind of dream.
Josh’s amused chuckle brought me out of my stare, and I craned my neck to look at him.
“I can hardly believe it myself.” He shrugged, but his grin was full of mischief.
I rolled my eyes at him as Ethan looked between us. “Can’t believe what?”
My big guy hated being out of the loop, but before I could explain, we were interrupted once more.
“Excuse me.” A polite accented voice drew our attention to the older Japanese man standing a respectful distance away. It was the same man I’d met the night before, the one with the shield ability who’d refused to leave my side.
I stepped out of Ethan’s embrace, but he stayed close. Josh took my other hand, and Tyler boxed me in from behind. Their protective instincts were in overdrive.
“My deepest apologies for interrupting.” The distinguished man bowed low. “I am happy to hear your Bondmate is well and will recover.”
“Thank you.” Tyler spoke for all of us, but his voice was cautious. “And thank you for your assistance last night, Mr. Takata. Has anyone from Melior Group spoken with you?”
“Oh, yes. I have given my statement to the authorities, and your people have debriefed me. I am hoping to speak