Blood Ties

The darkness of the night covered us perfectly, Knox slightly in front as we moved along the edge of the pavement. My eyes scanned the top windows of the houses to our right, every flicker of light had to be accounted for.

“House at the end,” I said roughly, Knox nodding as he watched the street with the restless energy he always carried. His head snapped to a narrow garden verge, a route that would only shave seconds off our approach. Before I could say anything, he vaulted over the low wall. His landing was worse than I anticipated, the drop onto grass much lower than we both expected and I grabbed his shoulder before he could fall, his ankle twisting sharply.

“Fuck,” he growled.

“You okay?” I asked quickly, dropping myself over the wall.

“Yeah,” he whispered but the way he attempted to shift his weight to his other foot told me otherwise. I didn’t argue, not here, we had no time for it and instead I came in front, weaving through the tight back alley, two of the targets guards by the door. Knox handled them with efficiency, his training kicking in, despite the obvious pain showing in his face. As we entered the dark kitchen, I took out a third guard, slicing the front of his throat before he even realised I was behind him. Knox gave me a nod as he kept close to me, breathing heavy but our wordless coordination was seamless, honed from years of training together. The moment I stepped into the target’s room, I knew Knox was securing the exits and as usual, I dealt with it professionally. The target didn’t even wake, my knife in the centre of his neck, but I didn’t relax. As we left the house, the same way we entered, Knox was limping, his tall frame almost dragging his ankle behind him, but I said nothing, until we got to the car.

“We’re going to the hospital,” I said firmly, turning the car in the road.

“No, we are not,” Knox replied and I rolled my eyes, unzipping my black jumper. “Kill,” Knox growled and I refused to look up at him, checking my mirror. “I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

“K, we’re getting it checked,” I spat out, pretending I couldn’t hear him groan at the top of his voice.

“And how did I do it shit head?” He came back, his fury at the tip of his tongue, as always.

“You jumped over a wall,” I scoffed, turning into the hospital car park. He said nothing, because he knew I was right, or maybe because the pain had forced him to shut his fucking mouth for once.

“Yeah, you’re fine,” I shook my head, watching him take pigeon steps towards me, the entrance of the hospital packed, even for this time of the night. As Knox walked, limping, dragging, his face twisted in pain, I found myself getting irritated, calculating how long we would be in this shit hole for.

“Fuck you,” Knox said roughly as he finally managed to walked past me, into accident and emergency.

I stood beside Knox’s bed, my arms over my chest, my jaw tight as a nurse fixed his IV, ignoring his constant arguing that he is fine.

He is not, fucking fine.

I looked down at him, his pupils wide from whatever pain relief had just kicked in, his head tipping towards me.

“Stop glaring, you will scare the nurses,” Knox slurred, his eyes flickering shut. The moment the nurse closed the door I took a deep breath in, my arms still tight across my chest.

“If you had waited two shitting seconds, this would not have happened,” I said forcefully, Knox opening his eyes, a lazy chuckle coming from him.

“Two seconds is what gets you shot.” He wasn’t wrong, but I hate that he wasn’t wrong. Silence filled the room, other than Knox’s uneven heavy breathing. I’m already running through my head how I’m going to get him home, who I need to contact to cover his contracts for the next few weeks, how long until he is mobile again.

A voice broke my thoughts from the door frame, soft and clear.

“Excuse me? Knox Sinclair? I’m doctor Lauren Voss.”

I turned to her voice, dropping my arms as she walked deeper into the room. Her scrubs were dark blue, her light brown hair pulled back, neatly, professionally and a clipboard to her chest. Her whole face was gorgeous but that’s not what hit me first. It’s the way her eyes moved, to Knox, me, back to Knox and finally, back to me again. It’s the double take both me and Knox know by heart, and I see the realisation in her green eyes.

“Oh, you’re twins,” her voice was slow. I didn’t react, because I didn’t have to, at a sentence I had heard in every tone. Admiration, shock, envy, confusion, but her voice doesn’t hold any of those, just curiosity.

“I’m the fun one, he’s the grumpy one,” Knox chuckled, his voice with a lazy drag.

“He is sedated,” I said.

“I can see that,” she laughed lightly, checking Knox’s chart at the bottom of his bed. “Well, the fun one managed to mess this ankle up,” she tipped her head to the side as she spoke, coming around the other side of Knox’s bed, her eyes scanning his ankle and foot. Knox suddenly moved his head back, pointing at her as if he just discovered fire.

“You’re pretty,” he slurred.

Fuck sake.

“Apologises,” I mumbled, “he doesn’t have a filter.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled softly. “I’ve been called worse and better, but mostly worse,” she chuckled, moving closer to Knox’s face, shining a small light into both of his eyes. “He will go to x-ray shortly, you can stay with him, if you like,” she shrugged, looking up at me. Actually, looking at me. Her eyes were steady, no flinching, no avoiding, no trying to compare us like most people do, hunting for differences, like it’s a puzzle. She just sees me.

“What’s your name?” She asked and I felt a tug in my chest, not painful, annoying.

“Killian,” I answered and she smiled, it was warm, her arms going tighter around her clipboard.

“Well, nice to meet you Killian.”

“Don’t make friends, he doesn’t make friends,” Knox groaned but I didn’t take my eyes off her.

“Knox,” I warned.

“What?” He mumbled.

“Stop talking.”

She bit down a laugh, not hiding it well, or not trying to.

“I will come and check on him after x-ray, if you need anything, just call,” she nodded, leaving the room. My eyes stayed at the door, the silence in the room heavy.

“You like her-”

“Shut the fuck up K.” I growled at him, my eyes still on the door she walked through.