Awakening
Thane thought he had successfully fought and won his greatest battle—but he had no idea what was coming.
Although Brie knew he was there, Thane was still unable to see, speak, or move.
He might as well be dead.
Thane took courage from the fact he had been able to open his eyes. Surely, if that were possible, he would soon be able to move his hand or speak a word to Brie.
This vegetative condition could not be his fate…
He needed to hold Brie again and be there to greet their little girl when she came into the world.
What would be the point of surviving, only to live as a dead man?
Thane returned to his practice of concentrating on each individual muscle group, trying to get them to respond. As motivation, he listened to the constant ticking of the clock Brie had brought with her to the hospital room, believing:
Every second that ticks by is one less second that we are apart.
He was confident that his need to be with her was powerful enough to defeat this imitation of death.
Thane was aware of the presence of others in the room, mainly a woman with a soft voice and gentle touch, but he swore he heard familiar voices coming and going, as well—Anderson, Unc, Nosaka…
Unlike Brie’s voice, however, theirs were not as succinct, sounding more like noise than speech.
All but Nosaka’s.
When he spoke, it was as if the Kinbaku master was able to breach the barrier between them, reaching through the darkness to speak to Thane directly.
Thane was certain it meant he must be healing and would be able to wake from this nightmare, but he was wrong. The nightmare was about to get far, far worse.
It began so innocently while Thane was listening to the easy banter between Brie and Tono as they worked beside his bed. It had become a daily ritual of theirs, and it brought Thane comfort.
He felt a part of their daily routine even though he could only listen in. Hearing simple everyday chatter as Brie spoke of her film and Tono talked about his jute brought a sense of normalcy to this pseudo-death he was lost in.
Thane heard another voice in the room, and then Nosaka told Brie, “Hey, I’m headed to the parking garage for a bit. Seems someone hit my car.”
“That’s terrible, Tono!”
“I’m sure it’s minor. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Brie was called out of the room soon after.
Thane couldn’t explain the reason for it, but he felt fear in the pit of his stomach, alerting him to the fact that something was terribly wrong.
When Brie returned, she seemed distracted and excitable as she explained to him, “Oh my gosh, Sir, I just had the most amazing stroke of luck! Some guy who works for Lilly is only a few blocks from here. He has Lilly’s paternity test and evidence that it was manipulated. If I have solid evidence in my hands, Lilly loses all her power over us!”
He heard her place something on the tray beside him, followed by the sound of ripping paper. “Gotta take this with me or I might end up at the wrong place. Wouldn’t that be tragic?” She broke out in giggles. “Oh, Sir, I can’t believe this. We might finally be free of her!”
Brie gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I gotta hurry. He said he’s not going wait long.”
None of it sounded right. Thane was convinced she was walking into a trap, and silently begged her not to go—but she ran out the door.
In his head, Thane was running after her and grabbing Brie before she made it another step farther. However, the reality was, he was lying there like an inanimate object.
A few seconds later, she was back, laughing.
He felt a flood of relief wash over him.
“Good grief, I almost forgot my purse. Be back soon!”
He heard her blow a kiss, and then she was gone.
Gone…
A cold chill fell over him.
Where the hell was Nosaka? Why wasn’t he here to stop her from leaving?
Thane lay in the bed waiting while his anxiety grew exponentially. Brie was headed for danger, and there was not a damn thing he could do about it.
To his relief, Nosaka finally entered the room. The man seemed frantic as he moved about the hospital room. Thane heard the sound of pounding keys as Nosaka searched her laptop, looking for clues to her whereabouts.
“Where are you, Brie?” Nosaka cried in frustration.
Thane knew she had written something down on the notepad sitting on his tray. Stilling his mind, he shot out one simple phrase like an arrow to Nosaka.
Tray.
He repeated it again and again, trusting the Kinbaku Master would be able to hear him beyond the abyss. But Thane felt a rush of despair when he heard Nosaka heading toward the door.
Thane shot the word out one last time, desperate to save Brie.
Nosaka stopped, and then Thane heard his footsteps returning to the bed.
“What’s this?” he asked aloud, lifting the notepad from the tray.
Without another word, Nosaka hurried out of the room with Thane urging him on.
Thane’s mind was exhausted from the concentrated effort and he slipped into the nothingness, drifting further and further away, consumed by dark visions and hellish screams.
“Sir Davis.”
Thane heard Nosaka and centered his attention on the man’s voice.
“Brie is safe.”
Those words were like rain to his tormented soul.
“The baby is safe.”
If Thane could have cried tears, he would have cried then.
“Thank you for your help, Sir Davis. I would never have found Brie if it weren’t for the strong urge to look on the tray.” Nosaka moved in closer. “I know it was you.”
Thane would have rejoiced, knowing Nosaka had clearly heard him, if the situation had not been so dire.
In the midst of his solitary fight, Thane was given three gifts. The first was a vision of Brie that was so real, he felt as if he could touch her.
She was naked, smiling up at him from the floor, bound up in Nosaka’s jute.
The joy radiating from her face was almost blinding.
In this dream world, he was a ghost, only able to observe—but he had the power of speech.
Looking at her, it seemed so real that Thane was convinced it was a glimpse into the future, and he was overcome with a profound sense of hope.
He spoke that word aloud and was startled when Brie responded, her smile growing wider as she nodded to him. Thane went to reach out to her and, suddenly, she was gone, although the feeling of closeness remained.
Thane lay there, listening to the clock ticking each second until they were together again, and it filled him with euphoria. The time of their reunion was near!
To add to his conviction that he was close to reentry into her world was the second gift.
The loud and passionate voice of Durov. It began with a scuffle between the bullheaded Russian and Nosaka, but ended with his friend pouring his heart out to Thane.
Accustomed to his disconnection from the world, Thane hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the powerful bond between them.
“Moy droog…” Durov took his hand, clasping it firmly in both of his. He became silent for several moments, his voice broken. “We have been through too much, you and me. It cannot end here.”
He placed his hand on Thane’s chest. “You must do whatever it takes to return from the abyss. In turn, I promise to eliminate Lilly as a threat.”
It amazed Thane that Durov knew exactly what he needed to hear.
“We share a similar story,” the Russian continued. “You and I had endured more than most, even at our young age, by the time the two of us met.”
He clasped Thane’s hand again. “You helped me see beyond the hate and despair that filled my world, and I am eternally grateful for your influence.” Durov then leaned in close to Thane’s ear. “But here’s the thing, moy droog. My darkness has returned, and the one man who could save me isn’t here. I need you, brother.”
Thane felt his pain as if it was his own. Rather than being weighed down by it, he added it to his arsenal, using it as motivation.
Durov is here.
Knowing that strengthened him, but Thane was gifted one more surprise—something he hadn’t anticipated.
Brie burst into the hospital room a few days later, her voice bursting with excitement. “I just came back from my latest baby appointment and guess what, Sir? Rytsar recorded our baby’s heartbeat for you! Here, let me play it.”
Soon the sound of a rapid, steady heartbeat filled the room. Hearing that sound shot a bolt of energy through Thane and his heart began to race.
This was it, his bridge back to the living.
“He knows!” Brie cried to Durov. “Sir can hear his baby’s heartbeat.”
“Do you feel it, moy droog?” the Russian asked. “Hope is yours to claim.”
Thane fought hard, commanding his spirit to make that final leap in conjunction with his body. He battled for what felt like an eternity, and just when he was on the verge of breaking through, his body gave out and he felt himself starting to slip away.
No!
Thane had nothing left to give and lay there utterly spent.
“What happened?” Brie whispered sadly. “He was so close. I could feel it.”
I’m still here, babygirl.
Durov answered for him, “Moy droog needs time to rest so he can fight again tomorrow.”
Thane’s heart broke when he heard the disappointment in Brie’s voice.
“It hurts…”
Don’t give up.
Those words were as much for himself as they were for her. To be so close, and then to be pulled back into this pseudo-death, was almost impossible to bear.
Thane was convinced he had lost his only chance, that he would remain a shell of a man, when the name “Lilly” was brought up in a conversation between Durov and Brie.
“Rytsar, you’ve been so mysterious about Lilly,” Brie said. “I believe you’ve found her, but…”
Hearing Lilly’s name, Thane saw a vision of his half-sister—an exact replica of his treacherous mother—however, Lilly had a much more devious heart. All of the rage he’d held for his mother’s many betrayals and Lilly’s attempted blackmail and kidnapping boiled up to the surface.
It became an inferno of massive proportions.
When he heard Durov say, “If you knew what I knew, you would want her dead,” it set off an explosion in Thane’s mind. He concentrated on that fiery ball of hatred. Taking a lesson from Nosaka, he harnessed the immense power behind it.
Breathe!
Thane was blinded by a harsh light. Panic set in as he attempted to take a breath and suddenly found his lungs and throat on fire. His body became consumed by the life and death struggle for that much needed breath.
Brie’s terrified screams filled his ears. “Fight this, Sir. Don’t leave me!”
Thane refused to lose this time.
“Get her out of here,” someone barked.
Brie held onto him tightly, dragging him with her as someone tried to pull them apart. Thane struggled, hearing Brie’s cries as she was dragged away from him, but his body became wracked with pain as it fought to expel the object choking him.
A number of hands suddenly held him down, and he fought them off.
A woman’s voice, which seemed remotely familiar, commanded him in a warm but firm tone, “Relax, Mr. Davis. We are trying to help.”
Despite the overwhelming urge to keep fighting, he let reason prevail and stopped himself. In a matter of seconds, the skilled hands of the woman cleared his throat and he was able to take in a full breath.
The people around him began smiling and laughing.
The woman explained to him, “Mr. Davis, my name is Dr. Hessen. Blink your eyes twice if you can hear me.”
Thane looked around wildly, bewildered by the painful brightness of the light and the numerous strangers around him.
“Mr. Davis, can you hear me?” she repeated.
Thane focused his eyes on her and blinked two times.
“Good. I just took your breathing tube out, which is why your throat is sore.”
He looked at her, wondering why she seemed so familiar when he was certain he had never met the woman.
“Mr. Davis,” she continued, “you have been in a coma for the past four and a half months. Do you remember what happened?”
Thane blinked once, but his heart rate sped up as brief images of fire, a violin, and Brie came to mind.
“Don’t be concerned. It’s perfectly normal to have some temporary memory loss, following a head injury.”
He looked to her for help, wanting to know exactly what had happened and how bad his condition was. The fact Brie was not in the room seemed an ominous sign.
Thane was afraid the physician would say he was completely paralyzed and that there was no hope for recovery. Instead, she said, “The other injuries you sustained in the accident have since healed.”
Thane let out a long, labored sigh, closing his eyes as he took in that welcomed news.
“Would you like to see your wife?”
Although his body seemed to take far too long to respond, he blinked twice in answer.
“Wonderful. I’ll bring her in.”
Thane stared at the ceiling, uncertain if this was yet another dream sent from Hell to torment him, or if it truly was a miracle.
When he felt Brie’s touch, he knew he was no longer in a dream. She lifted his hand and began covering it in light kisses.
Brie…
With immense effort, he managed to turn his head. When their eyes finally met, he felt a surge of relief and deep love for her.
Brie smiled at him, but with each passing moment, her expression of joy slowly became one of concern.
“Sir?”
Fighting the months of atrophy, he refocused his efforts, commanding his vocal cords to utter one word.
“Babygirl…”
Brie broke out in that beautiful smile he cherished. “Oh, Sir, I’ve missed you so much. So very much!”
Thane stared into her eyes, trying to express the relief and joy he felt. After a long battle in comatose Hell, he had finally broken the barrier that separated them.
He had made it back to her…
Thane noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his gaze toward it.
Durov.
Thane stared at his friend with gratitude.
“Moy droog.”
Before Thane could manage a word, Durov held up his hand. “There is no need to say anything. You are back among the living.” He hit his chest with his fist. “And your brother is deeply grateful.”
Thane nodded slightly, a torrent of emotions building up with no outlet for their release. Durov, however, cried the tears of relief and celebration that he could not.
But there were darker emotions that rose up, as well. Feelings of anger, helplessness and concern for Brie and the baby. God only knew how much she’d endured the last four and a half months as he lay between life and death. There were so many emotions he could not express that it left him frustrated.
Durov made quick his exit, telling Thane, “I am stepping out for a moment, but do not slip back into a coma, moy droog. If you do, I will beat the shit out of you.”
Thane would have laughed, but he could only manage the barest of smiles. Thank God for his stubborn friend. No matter how difficult the road to recovery, Durov would remain by his side, spurring him on while taking care of Brie. And, yes, Thane had no doubt if he slipped back into a coma, the burly Russian would hunt him down, even to the ends of the netherworld.
Before Durov left, he grinned at Brie and stated proudly, “Did I not tell you he would be fine?”
Brie’s voice filled the room with joy. “He’s back!”
Durov glanced at Thane and winked before heading out the door.
Brie smiled at Thane as she leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the lips.
Oh, the sweet taste of those lips… Thane groaned in pleasure.
With her face just inches from his, she said, “I have been waiting for this day ever since the plane crash.” Her voice quavered as tears began to fall. “I never gave up hope.”
Hope.
It was the recurring theme he associated with Brie. With great effort, each word coming out in a low, gruff whisper, he said, “I never…stopped…fighting.”
She burst into tears, nodding her head as she took his hand and placed it against her cheek. “You came back to me.”
Thane looked at her, wishing he could hold her tightly in his arms and tell her all the things he needed to say, but his body was uncooperative. He could only express with his eyes a fraction of what was in his heart.
Brie’s honey-colored gaze shone with love, and he soaked it in—all of it.
He broke his gaze from hers for only a moment to look up toward the heavens. If there is a God, I thank you for this second chance to be with her.
He looked back at Brie. Nothing would stand in his way of recovering fully from this accident. No matter the prognosis he was given, Thane would continue to fight until he reclaimed the life he once had.
Looking down at Brie’s growing stomach only added fuel to the fire. The baby needed a father who could protect and provide for her.
When Brie saw his gaze shift, she rubbed her belly and smiled. “Yes, our baby is doing well. Master Anderson, Tono, and Rytsar have all made sure of that.”
His eyes darted back to hers in concern.
“Even though I never lost hope, I struggled for a while…so they stepped in,” she explained.
Tears pricked his eyes.
She shook her head, smiling as she wiped away the one tear which escaped and ran down his cheek. “There’s no reason to feel sad, Sir. Master Anderson made sure that I ate well, Tono encouraged me to work on my films, and Rytsar has been my protector ever since.”
Despite her smile, he knew there were volumes she wasn’t telling him and, based on the vague memories he could bring into focus, he knew some of it had to do with his half-sister. Thane had no idea which of those memories were real and which were only nightmares, but Lilly had been a constant theme throughout.
He was profoundly grateful for his friends, knowing they’d watched over Brie when he could not. Seeing her now, he appreciated that they had kept both Brie and the baby safe. He would never be able to thank them enough.
However, babygirl had a darkness behind her eyes he’d never seen before.
It stirred the Dominant nature in him. He had to recover so he could protect her, and take away the pain and fears she carried. It gutted Thane to be lying here, helpless, when he could see how much she needed him to be strong for her.
Thank God for Durov. He was the only person who truly understood the threat Lilly posed and could be trusted to eliminate the danger, should the need arise.
Although Thane was not a violent man, he would do anything to keep Brie and their baby safe.
Brie’s hand grazed his cheek. “This is the happiest day of my life. Nothing could touch the joy I feel right now. I love you, Sir…”
She leaned forward again to kiss him.
Thane closed his eyes as the kiss lingered, and he expressed with his mouth how deeply he loved this woman. When she finally broke the kiss, her eyes crinkled into a smile. “I’d forgotten just how sexy those lips are.”
He smirked weakly in response and tried to give her a witty reply, but that only ended up causing a coughing fit.
Brie instantly disappeared from his line of sight and returned a few seconds later with a cup of water, which she brought to his lips. “Drink this.”
Thane took small sips and instantly felt the relief of the cold water running down his sore throat. Damn…he’d never realized how good water tasted until now. There was so much he’d been oblivious to.
He nodded to Brie in thanks when she took the cup away, not wanting to speak and possibly incite another spurt of coughing.
“Mrs. Davis?” Dr. Hessen said as she opened the door and walked into the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there are some tests and assessments we need to perform.”
“Of course.”
Brie turned back to him. “Sir, would you like me to stay?”
He shook his head, saying in a hoarse whisper, “Durov.”
She smiled, grabbing his hand and squeezing. “I’ll see if I can find him.” She leaned in for one last kiss, saying, “I’ll be right back.”
He felt a stirring in his heart. Those words, said so often while he lay in the coma, had meant everything to him.
“Brie,” he croaked as she turned to leave.
She was immediately back by his side. “What, Sir?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.
“Love…”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I love you, too, Sir.”
Brie had to drag herself away, and kept looking back as she was leaving. Before she exited, she pointed to her heart, crossed her arms over her chest, and pointed to him.
Thane nodded. He would never get tired of her telling him that, no matter how many different ways she chose to express it.