The Worth of a Coin (BxB)

Chapter 37

-Ruarc Brennan-

I didn't regret telling Quan about what I had done over the past thirty or so years of my life. I might have overshared, but I didn't want to keep any secrets between us, especially after nearly losing him to his father. He had been incredibly honest with me, and it felt wrong not to do the same with him.

Harlen would likely kill me once he finds out, but I wasn't sure if he would be out of jail anytime soon. He was in no rush to leave, after putting himself in there. I wondered how much Candice actually did know about the murders and the investigation, as she most definitely knew that it was members of the family who were being attacked.

I didn't like the terms 'gang' or 'mafia', as it only made me feel worse for my actions. I knew that what I did was to protect my part of town and my friends, and that's all I had to be told at the time. Then the excitement faded, and I was left with blood on my hands and in my mouth. The adrenaline leaves and is replaced by sorrow and guilt.

We were alone for another half an hour before Jade entered the room slowly. She gave a small wave and hurried over to the bed. "Are you okay?" she asked lightly. It made me snicker. She had been practising what to say for the past hour or so, her words grew louder until even Quan could hear them, she had landed on her first option.

"I'm about as good and I can be honestly," Quan replied with a sarcastic tone and a thumbs up. "Ready to run a marathon."

Jade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You're lucky to have friends with wings," she informed. "And supreme knowledge of bandages, because you would've been a very dead Quan if not."

Quan nodded. He had moved away from me as soon as the door opened, but we were still lying side-by-side on the bed. "I'm sure that would solve a lot of problems," he replied in the same tone.

I scoffed. "If you weren't injured, I'd hit you." I nudged his arm lightly.

"You just did," he said with a pout. "It hurts so bad, how dare you?"

A small smile reached my lips, and I admired him, he was being the 'new Quan' in front of someone else. It made me have some more hope than I had earlier, hope that we would be able to see more of this Quan in public.

"Want me to kiss it better?" I teased.

I had expected him to scoff and turn away, but instead, he nodded his head.

I laughed and, without being fully aware of my motions, I pressed a kiss to Quan's arm where I had hit him. "Better?"

He nodded triumphantly. "Much better, thank you."

Jade's eyebrows were furrowed, and she was biting her lip, clearly trying not to smile. "So, I see that you're in capable hands and getting along well. I just mainly wanted to say that Cappi is stirring. And Aubrey's awake." Her smile inched downwards. "I don't know if she and Kanji are getting along very poorly, or if it's just because she's in pain."

"Her injuries should heal before the end of the day," I stated and stood up, stretching. "I don't think werewolves like other werewolves, but I would bet on my life that Aubrey would hate any werewolf which worked for the police."

Jade rocked on her heels. "Okay, so they're ready to kill each other." Jade nodded. "Noted. Is there anything you want me to do? I've been called in for a shift, apparently a lot of people have called in sick today."

I frowned. "That's strange." I didn't know why that was my first thought, as it really wasn't too strange for people to be sick around this time. "Fewesi just left to go to work as well." I wondered if Candice already knew more than I hoped.