CLAUDE
FUCK.
THAT WAS the first thing that ripped through my head as I came to, groaning like I'd been hit by a freight train. My eyes blinked open, unfocused, until I caught sight of him-Nikolai.
His lap was my goddamn pillow, his hands steady on my shoulders. And those eyes-sharp and steady-locked on mine before his lips twitched into that lazy, lopsided smile of his.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," he murmured, like I'd just woken up from a nap instead of-
I groaned, trying to shift, but my body felt heavy, like my limbs didn't belong to me. "Where are we?" My words came out rough, my throat raw.
When I tried to sit up, Nikolai's hands pressed me back down. "Don't," he said, his tone low. "You got shot, Claude. Pretty f*****g badly, I might add."
I looke
