She called Kai.

The assistant answered it within ten seconds. 'Young Madam, before you get mad, I can explain. Boss ordered me not to

'Austyn fainted!' Kira cut him off. 'We're heading into the hospital right now.'

Kal was stunned into silence,

He slapped a palm to his forehead,

He knew it.

He should not have obeyed Austyn's order and left him alone.

'Which hospital?'

'Where are we going?' Kira asked Giana,

'Alvernia Park,' Giana said,

It was the nearest hospital.

Kira repeated the name to Kai.

I'll be there right away.'

Kai arrived in half an hour.

He talked to the nurse at reception and found Kira outside Operating Room Four.

She was sitting on a bench with her head buried in her knees.

'Young Madam.'

Kira looked up,

Is Boss still in there?'

Kira nodded. "There are two doctors with him. They've been inside for fifteen minutes.'

One of the doctors said something about dehiscence, but she didn't understand what that meant.

All she knew was that Austyn had collapsed and required surgery.

Kai slumped onto the bench, 'Okay,'

He wiped his forehead, which was covered in sweat.

Prowning, Kira asked, 'What's going on? Why did he suddenly faint? Where did the blood come from?'

'Um, Boss has not told you anything?'

'No.'

Austyn just asked her to go home with him.

He didn't say a word about his injury.

Kai stared at the floor. Then maybe you should wait for Boss to wake up and ask him yourself. It's best if this comes directly from him.'

'So you're just going to ignore me like you did for the past ten days,' Kira said with a touch of bittemess.

She thought she and Kai were friends, but this recent incident disabused her of that notion.

Kal Scott was only nice to her because she was Austyn's wife.

He took his cues from his boss.

If Austyn ignored her, so would Kai,

The assistant offered a sheepish shrug. 'Sorry, Young Madam.'

Kira didn't press him for an answer.Exclusive content from .

She knew she wasn't going to get one.

She sat on the bench, staring into space.

The Cat's Out Of The Bag

Kai grew uneasy with the prolonged silence. 'Are you mad?'

Kira shook her head.

'Are you sure?'

Kira rolled her eyes. 'I'm going to get mad if you keep pestering me.' 'Sorry.'

'If you're really sorry, you should give me what I want.

'What do you want? Coffee, tea?' Kai stood up. 'I'll go get it.'

'Don't play dumb. You know I just want answers.

Kai fell silent.

'I don't need the whole truth. Can't you at least tell me how he got injured? The doctors said he has a chest wound.'

She wrung her hands. 'I'm really worried. What if he doesn't pull through?

'That's not gonna happen,' Kai said in a hurry. 'The doctors at Blumore assured me he'll recover. It's just going to take some time.' 'Blumore?' Kira stared at him. "That's where he went? Where's that?'

Kai covered his mouth with one hand.

He shouldn't have let that slip.

Boss ordered him not to say anything to Kira.

'Come on, you've already let the cat out of the bag.' Kira begged him. 'You might as well tell me the whole thing. Please?'

Kai sighed. 'Fine, I guess I might as well.'

He muttered under his breath, 'Boss is going to be so pissed at me when he wakes up...'

Kira waited for an answer.

"The truth is, Kai said, 'Boss was shot a week ago. That's how he got the chest wound.'

'What?' Kira shot to her feet. 'He was shot? Like, with a gun? Someone shot him with a gun?'

Kai nodded.

'When? Where? How? Who did this to him?' Kira grabbed Kai's shoulders with both hands and gave him a hard shake. "Tell me!*

'Okay, okay, I will. Take it easy.

Kira remained standing, too agitated to sit down.

Her mind was buzzing.

She swayed on her feet.

'Are you all right?' Kai steadied her with an arm.

'I'm...I'm fine. Continue, please. Tell me what happened.

Kira's face was pale as a ghost.

She'd skipped both dinner and breakfast and had nothing but ice cream for lunch.

While she was running on fumes, she went through the shock of seeing Austyn alive only to see him pass out.

It was too much to take in

Kai watched her with concern.

Boss was going to be doubly mad at him if he let anything happen to Kira.

'Maybe you should sit down."

Kira did.

She felt weak-kneed.

'Are you sure you want to hear this?'

'Yes, I'm sure.'

Kai held back a sigh. 'Boss went to Blumore because he got a lead on Santoro. He and Mr Matthews put together a plan. They wanted to arrest the man and bring him back to the country." 'Santoro?' Kira was thrown

She knew the police had not given up on locating the fugitive, but she had no idea Austyn was looking for him as well.

Kai nodded. 'We got the tip ten days ago. We had to move fast before he disappeared again."

'So that's where Austyn was for the past ten days?'

"Yes-well, no, technically, we were only in the country for three days. The flight to Blumore took more than forty hours each way. Boss spent three days in the hospital, unconscious. The Cat's Out Of The Bag

Kai sighed. 'The surgery lasted a day and a half. Boss insisted on leaving the moment he woke up.'

He Really Nest

He Really Needs A Filter On That Mouth

Kira tried to process the information.

Kai's answer led to more questions.

Tot before she had the chance to ask, the door of the operating room opened.

Austyn was wheeled out on a gurney.

He was still under the effects of anaesthesia.

Kai stayed with the doctors to find out how the surgery went.

Kira tollowed the gurney into a ward with a single bed.

A nurse taped an IV needle to Austyn's left arm before attaching a tube to a bag of fluids.

The bag hung from a hook on a tall stand.

Then she turned on the machine to start pumping the fluids into the IV line.

Kira watched the nurse move with brisk efficiency.

She wanted to ask how long it would take for him to wake up, but the nurse went out before she could open her mouth.

She was left alone in the ward with Austyn.

Kira pulled over a chair and sat down.

She wasn't the only one who had lost weight.

Austyn's cheekbones were sharp enough to cut glass.

They added to his already intimidating aura.

The last time he shaved must have been more than three days ago.

There was light stubble above and blow his lips and on his chin.

Up close, Kira could see the tiny capillaries under his fair skin.

She stared at his tranquil-looking face and ran through what Kai told her.

A forty-hour plane ride to hunt down a fugitive.

A gunshot wound to the chest.

Spending three days at a hospital, being pulled back from the verge of death...

It was nerve-wracking, just hearing these things.

Kira couldn't imagine how Austyn managed to actually live through them.

She touched his right hand.

When he was in her dorm room, all she wanted to do was chase him away.

She didn't want to hear his explanation.

But now that he was lying on a hospital bed, looking weak and vulnerable, Kira regretted having spoken so harshly.

She recalled how she shoved him multiple times.

He might have groaned in pain, but she did not notice at the time.

Was she responsible for landing him in the hospital?

Kira was filled with self-reproach.