Death Kings

Chapter 3

Etienne

I can't breathe. There is somethin' in my throat that hurts like fire. My eyes open to a white blur.

No! No!

Machines are beepin', causing panic to set in. I can't pull in air.

"Easy, Pheata, calm down. I got you, pet." I hear Doudou coax me.

I can't see him, though. My contacts must have been takin' out. Everything is a haze.

"Move, you waste of space! He is panicking because of the respirator. He is trying to breathe on his own. Get the RT in here now!" Chouchou demands. "Easy, Sugar. We got you." I hear the calming voice of the men I love. However, Ryder sounds raspy, as if he has been in the desert for days with no water.

"Hey, handsome. We are all here except Dom and Cal. We sent Dom to go shower and get some rest at Grimm's. Cal is with Ranger," I hear the voice of my angel say hoarsely.

"Dom brought your glasses. After the respiratory therapist removes the tube, I'll get them for you. I know you can't see us, but we are here with you," the voice of my fiancé was just what I needed to hear. "Your kidney and a lung were hit. We were rushing you here when we ran off a cliff. They discharged me about a month and a half ago, and they discharged the other two weeks ago." I can hear the grimace in Jaxson's voice.

"We all now have plated ribs. Ali and Jax have fractured arms. I have a whole new knee," Ryder says flatly. "We are all going to look so lovely for graduation next week," he says, letting out this caustic chuckle.

"It's nothing makeup won't cover, love," Natalie says to him before her attention is back on me. "Our casts came off last week," Natalie states.

"Well, my face is still beautiful even if you two are now disfigured," Jaxson sounds haughty as he says that.

"Keep it up, Darlin', and one of my throwing stars might just find itself embedded in your cheek." Ryder's tone is frightening with a hint of mirth.

"I just might help him by holding you still," Ali hisses but then giggles hoarsely.

"Oh, come on! You two are still the most beautiful people in the world to me. Tee takes first place now since he isn't mean to me," Jaxson taunts. He sticks his tongue out at them.

He is blurry, but he is close. I can at least make out some of his face. I can smell the sweet strawberry scent of Jaxson and feel his warm body press against mine.

"Oh, you're awake." I don't recognize that voice. "I'm going to get that tube out of your throat and get you unhooked from this machine. The nurse said you awoke in a panic, but it seems like your fiancé calmed you down."

There is a dark, blurry man. He gets to work doing things I can't see. When he finally removes the tube, I pull in a deep breath on my own. I can breathe now.

"I'm going to keep you on a nasal cannula for now since your oxygen stats still aren't quite where I want them," the man says. He must be the respiratory therapist.

"Okay. Thank you, sir," I rasp out and he leaves.

"Here are your glasses, Pheata." Jaxson hands me the thick black plastic glasses. I put them on my face.

I'm finally able to see all the fading bruising and minor cuts on his handsome face. His tight spiral red curls are a little more unruly than normal. He is still a beautiful man. I'm just not going to tell him that to inflate his already overblown ego.

"You're so cute," he coos.

"Sit up. I want to see how adorable you are," Natalie says.

Jaxson plays with buttons on the bed so I'm sitting up with him laying against my side. I glance to the right of me to see Natalie's scar now on her nose and under both eyes. There is a round, jagged scar on her neck and the lower part of her arm. On Jaxson's arm, there is a recent scar that goes up to his shoulder, starting at his hand.

"You look sexy in those glasses," Ryder purrs.

My gaze finds Ryder sitting on a bed with his legs crossed at his ankles, with Natalie sitting beside him, her feet hanging off to look at me. Neither of them has shoes, just socks. Natalie is in yoga pants and a band tee. Ryder in gray sweatpants and a black V-neck tee.

Jaxson hands me a foam cup filled with ice. I dump some into my mouth and let the icy water trickle down my throat. It instantly soothes the burn.

"The same goes for you, Chouchou. You look sexy in glasses too, you," I retort, my voice just barely over a whisper. Ryder is wearing a set of frameless glasses with rectangular lenses.

"I've got to say, seeing you guys in glasses is sexy for me. Doesn't Cal wear glasses too?" Natalie asks, touching her braided blue hair.

"Yes," Ryder and I say in unison.

"Jax hasn't been getting much sleep. He has refused to leave your side. This is the first time he has fallen asleep this soundly," she says distractedly, changing the subject. I peer down at Doudou seeing that yes, he is asleep snuggled against me.

"We need to move up the wedding timeline before one of us ends up dead. How about on my birthday we get married and then have a substantial wedding later?" Ryder suggests.

"That makes sense. Every time we turn around, one of us is in the hospital," Natalie sighs.

She lays down, snuggling up under Ryder's shoulder. Ryder turns so that she is a little spoon against him.

"At this rate, ma Renard Chouchou, your neo-Nazi uncle will inherit your company if you and your pa kill each other off," I remind Ryder.

"Even if I die, the last thing I want is for my company to fall into that bigot's hands. You okay taking it all over for me, Angel?" He asks Natalie, who just shakes her head.

"Dominic will help you run it, or you can sell it to him. I'm positive if I die, he will be more than willing to marry you in my place." Ryder winks at her playfully, but I know he is serious.

"Seriously, Foxy? Trying to pawn me off already, huh?" She cocks a dark brow at him. "Some husband you are," she sighs with an eye roll.

"Seeing as how Domi and I promised to marry one another when we were eight... I guess I could marry him the day you die." She shrugs her shoulders tentatively.

"Ouch! A wedding on top of a funeral, so frigid, wife." With a mischievous grin, Ryder quips, "I'm always the frosty one, yet you're remarrying before I'm even buried. So long as my corpse is in that wedding, that could be fun." He bounces his eyebrows up and down with a mischievous look that reminds me of Jaxson.

We all laugh, stirring Jaxson briefly, but I soothe him back to sleep by rubbing his back. It's great to see another side of Ryder besides the cold persona he shows to the outside world. That man might come across as emotionless to the outside world, but inside our family, we see them. He shows his emotions only to us because we won't use them against him like other people will.

"You know, Grimm could officiate a small family wedding and sign the license. He is an ordained minister, unbelievably," Natalie says this nonchalantly.

Ryder and I both share a look of disbelief on our faces.

Speaking of the devil. Guess who walks through that door?