Bright white ceiling and blinding lights. Xavier winced and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.
"SIR! YOU'RE AWAKE!" His bodyguard was quick to his side.
"Don, I was stabbed and not... I can hear just fine", he pulled himself up to sit and immediately groaned from the pain.
"You remember?" Don asked as he adjusted his bed to make his boss comfortable.
Xavier was more focused on the wound. He could vividly remember the ghastly sight that was of his blood soaked shirt. The sight of blood has been a sight he could not stand for a long time now, especially his own, and especially after he was shot... He felt the bandage on the left of his abdomen underneath the hospital gown.
"Luckily, the stab wasn't too deep, so no vital organs were hit and you didn't lose a lot of blood", Don explained as he watched Xavier cover himself.
"What happened to those men?" He looked at his hand. His knuckles were bruised and he felt the sting.
"In police custody. We filed a report that they attacked you when you made a surprise visit to your girlfriend and they have to wait until you're conscious to make a statement", Don explained. "And we emphasized on your high social status and asked to keep things on the DL so it doesn't affect Frost Corp."
Xavier's lips lifted into a smirk. He was never a fan of the rich abusing their power but not in this moment: he loved it.
"Do you know why they attacked?"
This thought had been lingering in his mind from the moment he saw them banging on Lorraine's door. She had assured him that they wouldn't attack her anytime soon and he knew she wasn't just saying that to send his men away.
"Here." Don handed him a tablet and watched Xavier's expression turn icy cold as he read through the contents.
"Bastards", he growled as his hand balled into a fist.
The sound of his door opening caught the two men's attention. Who would enter his room like they owned the place? Well, it was not the doctor.
"Sis?" Xavier's brows shot up at the sight of Amy. And right behind her was none other than her man, Zach. Xavier shot a deadly glare at his bodyguard.
"Sorry sir."
Between Xavier and Zach, they feared the latter. And this situation only called for honesty even if it meant going against their boss's orders. The two bodyguards excused themselves leaving the three alone with Xavier shooting a sheepish grin on his face at Zach's serious one.
"Xavier", Amy rushed to give him a hug and observe him. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"Things got a little out of hand while I was playing hero", he answered with a nervous chuckle. "But I'm fine."
Amy had a frown on her face seeing him look so pale. She sighed, not convinced by his words. Zach now joined her side. She took a hold of his hand and laced their fingers.
Amy understood that Zach could not stand seeing his brother hurt like this, especially when there was a woman involved. When he learned that Xavier had been rushed to the hospital after being stabbed and wanted it to be kept a secret, he was both scared and furious. He almost lost him before and didn't want a repeat...
"Darling", Amy whispered as she nudged his arm. Both men still were not saying a word to each other. "We brought you a change of clothes, Zachery said hospital gowns make you uncomfortable."
"Thank you", Xavier received the bag and took out a set of his PJs. He didn't make a sound as he got down from the bed and left for the bathroom. But the pained expression did not go unmissed.
"Babe", Amy whispered again as they watched Xavier disappear into the bathroom.
"He's fine", Zach whispered back only to be met by Amy's glare. "Sit."
He helped her onto a sofa before following his brother. He knocked once before joining him. Xavier was shocked to see him but happy nonetheless.
"Couldn't say no to Amy?" He teased. He had been struggling to find a way to pull up his pajama trousers underneath the hospital gown.
"Not a chance", Zach answered as he took over.
"She couldn't see anything wrong with two men alone in the bathroo-"
"Not funny Xav", he warned.
Xavier chuckled and let his brother help him. He could tell that Zach was still upset with the whole situation. Zach could feel Xavier's eyes practically boring a hole onto the side of his face. Being angry would not solve anything, he needed to understand Xavier.
"Is she worth it?" Zach asked, finally buttoning up the shirt and gave him a stern look. "You barely know her."
"You're one to talk", he smirked, referring to the Amy situation. Zach desperately wished he could wipe that smirk away with a punch and Xavier chuckled, guessing his thoughts before he turned serious. "Look, I know you don't want me to get hurt and I know to never deliberately put myself in harm's way but tonight, it was crazy."
"You didn't think before you could act?" He got the door for them, letting Xavier walk out first.
"That only seems to happen with Lorraine in the picture", he admitted. "Thinking is hard."
Amy chuckled from where she sat when she heard Xavier's response. The atmosphere had improved between the two brothers and she felt relieved at this sight.
"It's still not safe for you guys to move around, right?" Xavier asked with a frown as he took the tablet and handed it to Zach who stood next to Amy's sofa. "What about Roserie?"
"We couldn't just sit at home when we heard you got hurt", Amy answered as Zach read through the info.
"What about the folks? What did you tell them?" He groaned as he got back in bed.
"That we're attending to an emergency", she answered, her face scrunching up from empathizing with his pain.
"You should get treated at home", Zach commented whilst scrolling a finger on the tablet.
Xavier chuckled, "Home? Zach you don't know game. Then getting this would just be pointless", he pointed at his wound.
"Oh, he has game. Why do you think I'm so crazy about him?" Amy looked up at her man, practically swooning. Zach looked down at her with a smirk and gave her a sexy wink making her blush.
"See?" Amy bragged. Zach smiled at Amy's antics.
"Did you come here to check on me or flirt in front of me?" He grumbled.
"Oh", she looked up at Zach, ignoring Xavier's complaint. "He's expecting someone."
Zach didn't give much of a reaction as he caught on to Xavier's plan before they heard some sort of commotion coming from outside. The three looked at the door and Zach instinctively used himself as a shield for Amy even though they had security.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦