Page 26 of Psycho Saviors

I took him in now, his hardened mask dropping ever so slightly. He looked tired and worn.

“I know we owe you as well. So thank you,” I said quietly.

“Don’t mention it.” He stared at Kenny now, where I was gently stroking the purring feline, his eyes closed in contentment.

“Can I ask you something?” I watched him closely, and his jaw twitched as those dark eyes flicked to mine.

“You do anyway.”

“Cristian said he got shot, ended up in a coma for three months. Said his best friend died as well. Can I ask what happened?” I’d been wondering how it had all gone down ever since he’d said it.

Tyrone’s eyes narrowed slightly as he lifted his head, something flashing through his eyes, but it was gone before I could make it out.

“He’s taken quite a liking to you. As has Julian,” he said as he turned his head, looking out the window once more.

“Yeah, I think Cristian likes me for some reason, I think you’re wrong on Julian though,” I said as I focused on Kenny, although my stomach knotted. Julian had treated me differently too. Was it possible things had really shifted there?

“Hmmm.” Tyrone fixated his gaze on me, drawing my focus from Kenny. It was hard not to be sucked in by those intense eyes as they bored into me, and I fought the urge to retreat under the blankets more. Why was he looking at me like that? Like he was trying to figure out something, pull me apart and read my inner workings.

“The Russos kidnapped some people we were connected to, including Xavier. It was a show of power in their eyes, a move to try to overthrow our position as head of the city. It became a big showdown, and we went in to rescue them, bargain for the lives of those we cared for. But the Russos wanted to prove they held power, that they had the upper hand, and they shot Xavier right in front of us as he begged for his life, that he didn’t want to leave his wife and children.” Tyrone’s gaze had darkened, and I swallowed at the despair and guilt flooding through them now. “I knew how much it hurt Cristian to witness it, but he was calm, as we’re supposed to be, and he didn’t react while we tried to talk it out. That was, until a sniper shot me down.”

“You got shot down?” My eyes widened, and his jaw ticked as he nodded.

“They missed a fatal shot, they were likely going for my heart, but I was bleeding out. I went down, our men moved in to fire back, and things went to hell. Julian and Cristian were pinned down with me, our men were being mowed down. It wasn’t looking good at all, but Cristian decided to use himself as bait. I was in no state to stop him, and he ran out, drawing their fire as Julian got me to a safer location.” Tyrone’s face shifted, a shadow falling over his expression as he glanced out the window like it was going to relieve him of this painful memory. “Cristian got shot down, but thankfully, our backup arrived only moments later. The Russos were forced to retreat, but we lost a lot of good men that day. I had to ride with Cristian, and no one could tell me if he was going to live as our medic struggled to keep him alive. He ended up in the coma after that. I got lucky, the bullet I took was fished out in surgery, and I was out and patched up in a few hours, while Cristian fought for his life for months.”

“That must have been terrible, seeing him like that,” I said, knowing exactly what he felt as he refused to meet my gaze. He was blaming himself for it, for not protecting his little brother.

“If he hadn’t baited them, I have no doubt we’d all be dead. Cristian was always more reckless, willing to do anything for us, even if it meant putting his life on the line. He’s even more reckless now since that whole thing,” he said as he turned away from me, his focus locked on the city.

“But he’s okay now. He survived,” I said, knowing it would do little to ease that guilt and despair that niggled at him. It wouldn’t help me accept it either.

“Yeah, he survived. But he’s not who he used to be, and that’s on me. I got sloppy.” His tone was low, and the self-hatred underlying his words made me bite my cheek.

We all had our demons. And I’d just discovered Tyrone’s.

11

TYRONE

Scarlet wasn’t wrong, seeing my brother on that hospital bed, fighting for his life, had been hell. With our parents gone, and the weight of the entire family on my shoulders, I relied on my brothers heavily, knowing they were the only ones who I could count on entirely.

And he’d sacrificed himself to save us without hesitation, an act I was still proud of even today, even though it never should have been an option. I was the eldest brother, it was my duty to protect my brothers and keep them safe, and I’d failed.

The day he’d woken up had both been a miracle and a nightmare. The man who’d been foolish and reckless was now damn mad, a need for pain and chaos far worse than I could have imagined.

But considering what he’d done for us, when I was bleeding out, I’d move heaven and hell for him. He was my brother, after all, and he’d saved me.

“You’re bleeding out. We need to do something!” Cristian barked as Julian tried to plug the hole in my chest that was oozing blood. Fuck, it hurt like a bitch, and gunfire was raining down on us now as we took cover behind the warehouse pillar. We were pinned down with nowhere to go, and my men were dropping like flies.

“What do we do?” Julian said, his voice low and his bloody hands frantically trying to stem the blood pouring from me as my brain struggled to come up with a way out of this mess. I was losing too much blood, and my head was spinning.

I had no clue on how to save them now. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. We’d acted too rashly, rushing in to meet the Russos head-on after they’d stolen people we loved and cared for.

“Get him somewhere safe.” Cristian’s face blurred as I turned to look at him, but it was steeled, his mind set on something.

“What are you?—”

He took off, firing with his handgun as he rushed out into the gunfire, drawing their attention from us.