Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
To his shock, the crowd parted on its own and a familiar face burst through the group to kneel beside West.
“Hey, Doc Will,” West choked out.
Will tsked at West as he inspected his injuries. “Really, West. You know better than the rest of them. You’re supposed to move out of the way of the bullets.”
“Getting slow in my old age,” West countered, but the words ended in a wheeze and a cough.
Will glanced at Jin, his expression soft and stern at the same time. “Do you have medical training?”
“N-no,” Jin stammered.
“Then I’m gonna need you to move. Kairo has an ambulance on the way, but we need to get this bleeding under control.”
A pair of strong hands grabbed Jin by the biceps from behind and pulled him to his feet. Jin tensed, fighting the person, until he saw Alexei’s worried expression.
“It’s okay. The doc will take care of him. I promise. You and West are safe now.” Behind him stood Gabriel and Ed, looking a mix of exhausted, worried, and relieved.
Jin stood and turned to the men. “The general?”
“The asshole with the gun?” Ed clarified.
“Dead,” Gabriel stated.
“Can you believe he dared to point his gun at my uncle?” Alexei made a clicking noise with his tongue. “Seriously, not a smart move.”
He glanced at Ed again. He swore he’d heard that the big man was supposed to be protecting his brother. “Ming Tao?”
“We ended up taking the prince to the hospital.” Ed raised a hand, stopping Jin’s panicked demands. “He’s fine. No harm at all. It’s just that the bulk of the royal guards were already at the hospital guarding your dad. It seemed like the safest move while we worked to get to you and West.”
Alexei rubbed his hand on his back, catching Jin’s fragmented attention. He jerked his head toward West, where a woman was now kneeling in the spot he’d been, working smoothly with Will. She was a nurse or another doctor, given her skill and how the two seemed to fall into an almost practiced rhythm.
“He’s going to be just fine,” Alexei reassured him.
They were safe. It was over.
West had nearly given his life for him.
His people had fought for him.
And now Jin had nothing left.
He turned to Alexei and wrapped his arms around the slender man, burying his face against his shoulder. “Thank you. Thank you so much. For everything.” The words were so inadequate, but it was all he could think to say as his body trembled with pent-up tears of relief.
Alexei hugged him, his hand still smoothing his back. “No problem, Dianxia. We’re happy to get into a little trouble for one of our own.” Alexei’s chin brushed Jin’s shoulder as he turned his head toward the others and continued in a stage whisper. “Look. I got another son. This one is a prince.”
“You’re not keeping him,” Ed said, his tone so very exasperated.
“Totally keeping him. And one day, he’s going to call me Papa, too.”
Jin’s trembling tears of relief turned to choked laughter. If this was the family that came with West, he was more than happy to keep them all.
EPILOGUE
WESTIN ST. JAMES
Things hurt.
But not as bad as they should.
The pain felt worse because his arms were empty.
Where was his baby?
West blinked open tired, dry eyes to find a woman in nurse’s scrubs standing next to the machines on his right. A surgical mask partially hid her face, but her warm brown eyes smiled at him.
“I just popped in to check your vitals. Do you need something for the pain?” she asked, speaking in a whisper.
“Dianxia?”
Her eyes crinkled more, but she didn’t seem surprised by his question. She took a step closer to the head of the bed and turned a little, staring at a spot across the room. West followed her gaze to find Jin curled up on a cot with a warm quilt spread over him. His features were slack with sleep, but the circles under his eyes had grown darker. His sweet man was also missing his standard xiaoguan and touji. All that long hair was loose around his shoulders and spilling over his pillows.
“Do you know how long he’s been asleep?”
“Just a couple of hours, I believe. He stopped by the nurses’ station as I came on shift. Told us that the emperor has made it through surgery and that everything went well.”
“That’s good,” West said with a sigh.
“Do you need anything?” she repeated her earlier question.
“Water. And maybe something small for the pain.”
She nodded and slipped out of the room. He needed enough to take the edge off without knocking him out. He wanted to be awake and clearheaded when Jin woke from his nap.
It couldn’t have been more than a minute before the nurse reappeared with a glass of water and a straw in one hand. In the other was a small paper cup holding two pills. He took the pills and thanked her. With another nod and an eye-crinkling smile, she left again. Just outside the door, he could catch the edge of formal royal guard uniforms, bringing a sigh to his lips.