The Brotherhood

13

Kane sat on the world's most uncomfortable chair and watched Finley breathe on the bed in front of him. Raynar sat in a chair across the bed from him watching him. Warren stood by the door, his large body blocking it completely. Titan slept on the foot of Finley's bed, his large body warming Finley. Kane knew that Xander was standing outside of the door. Miles and Sloan were down the hall, standing guard there. In truth, they didn't all need to be there, but Kane knew that if he told the rest of them to leave they would refuse. They were a pack and today Finley had literally gone to the mat for them. No matter what Finley thought, her pack would die for her. 

Kane didn't regret what he'd said to her earlier when he'd told her that he wouldn't be happy if she was dead. What he hadn't told her was that if she was dead, then something inside of him would surely be dead along with her. What he hadn't told her was that the idea of her being dead made him want to bring the world to its knees. Even now the thought almost sent him into a blinding frenzy of rage. 

Finley hadn't woken up yet and seeing her lying there completely defenseless made him want to scream. Kane clenched his hands tightly into fists on the arms of his chair. The healers had said that Finley had broken three ribs, her nose, and had a severe concussion. The fact that her injuries were so extensive made Kane want to find Anders and kill him. He knew he didn't need to though. The woman in the bed in front of him had already put Anders through the ringer. 

She shifted in the bed and his heart leapt into his throat. She didn't wake up though. Finley just kept sleeping. Kane had about a thousand things that he needed to do, but he knew that he wasn't going anywhere. He wouldn't leave her side, not until he was sure that she was okay. He'd stay here for days if he needed to. He knew that he couldn't though. That never seemed to matter to him, not when it came to Fin. 

Raynar seemed to notice the shift in his mood. He looked up at Kane. Then he said, "You have things you need to do." 

"I'm well aware of that," Kane growled at him. 

Ray didn't let up though. It wasn't his way. That was why Kane had made Ray his second, because he was the only man that didn't piss himself whenever Kane got angry. Ray looked Kane dead in the eye. Ray spoke in the voice that hardly anyone ever heard. He said, "You can't just sit in here all fucking day. You have to go out there and be the fucking Supreme Inherit." 

Kane met Ray's gaze and snarled at him, "I'm not leaving her." 

"Do you not see all of us sitting here?" Ray demanded. "She's going to be fine. We're not going to let anybody touch her. Hell, we're not going to let anyone even think about fucking touching her. We'd all rather die." 

"I know that," Kane snapped angrily, "But I can't, Ray. I can't leave her here." 

Kane hated the way that his voice broke the more he said, the more he revealed. Thankfully, Ray's gaze didn't soften at all. His eyes were still like chips of ice when he said to Kane, "You can leave her here because we're gonna be here to protect her. We've got her back. You need to trust us, Kane." 

Kane considered Ray for a long time. He knew that he could trust Ray, but for some reason that didn't stop him from desperately needing to stay here with Fin. He just couldn't leave here when she was so vulnerable. Kane nodded slightly to Ray. 

"I trust you, Ray," Kane told him. Ray relaxed a bit at his words, but Kane wasn't done. "I'll even trust you to look after her, just not today. Give me today. I can't walk away from her right now, not when we were so close to losing her earlier." 

Ray studied him for a while before nodding back to him. Then Ray relaxed back in his chair, getting comfortable. It was clear that none of them were going to be leaving any time soon. Finley still looked so vulnerable from her fight. None of them seemed willing to leave Finley here like that, Kane least of all.