“Good to know. So, when can I take you out to dinner, Miss Bianca?”
My smile faltered a little. Torro caught it and simply chuckled.
“How long you been in love wit’ that nigga?” he asked.
I couldn’t hide the shock on my face in time. There was no denying that I felt some type of way about Antonias proposing to that wench.
“Come on, baby. It’s obvious as hell. It’s aight, though. I’ma make you forget that nigga even exists.”
Leaning back, I said, “You sound mighty confident.”
“I am. It would be a travesty if you didn’t get to know me.”
“Well…” Now that my life was in shambles, getting to know another man wouldn’t have been so bad. Only, itwasbad. Antonias was potentially the man of my dreams, and I just let him slip away.
One minute I was wishing this night would just be over. In the next minute, something hot knocked the wind out of me and knocked me off my feet. Before I hit the floor, I felt that same devastating punch and heat again. A split second later, I registered the sound of gunshots breaking through the roar of my heart and the thump of the music spilling from Seas & Shores Restaurant and Grill.
Someone crashed on top of me. Torro’s lifeless eyes were even worse than the gaping wound through his forehead. Just as I opened my mouth to scream, he was snatched off me. Tyrese, one of the security guards, appeared and lifted me off the ground.
“Bianca’s been hit!” he barked.
My body cried with pain. The instant fatigue that washed over me was impossible to fight. As my eyes closed, I couldn’t even register the pain anymore. It was then that I knew I was dying. Adir would never forgive me. My mother would be angry for the rest of her life. What was sadder, was that I had yet to trulytaste Antonias’s lips. Leaving this world bereft of the taste of him grieved me heavily.
CHAPTER 1
ANTONIAS SUAREZ
“Bianca’sbeenhit!”
On everything I love, my heart stopped in my chest hearing Tyrese’s voice through my earpiece. There wasn’t too much shit I ever held on to. However, hearing Bianca’s name mentioned in such a horrible way, I knew there was nothing ever going to eradicate me from the fear I felt hearing that shit.
I was still dressed in designer from head to toe, covered by the blue operating room gown to protect both me and my patient. Bianca’s steady heartbeat was the fuel to getting me through her surgery without breaking down. I hadn’t prayed in a long time,but I surely stood over her and prayed every scripture I could recite. One bullet ripped through her pelvic and another through her abdomen.
Adir, along with Dr. Percy Cartright, stood on the opposite side of the operating table, just as silent and focused as I was as we fixed our girl up. I didn’t have the stomach to look at Bianca’s medically-induced, sleeping face. It would cause me to spiral and burn the whole state down. If there were innocent casualties, I didn’t give a fuck. Whoever did this to my baby was going to feel wrath like they’d never known.
Even as we worked, Alli and Noa were fast at work gathering up any and everyone who could lead us to the person that was responsible for shooting up the venue. The city wouldn’t know peace until I put to death anyone who had a hand in nearly taking Bianca from me.
An hour now, Adir, Percy, and I had been at this. There was so much blood, so much damage the bullets had done. Blood loss, damaged tissue, and trauma made it impossible to save everything. Performing an emergency hysterectomy on a woman who didn’t even know a man’s body was gut wrenching to say the least. Percy, board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, focused on preserving Bianca’s eggs. Although her ovaries would be left, we had to be cautious.
It was a wonder my hands stayed so steady while I sewed my baby back up. Another hour later, Adir, Percy, and I were done. Neither of us said a thing as we undressed from the surgical garb. While I lagged behind to make sure the nursing staff was careful in transporting Bianca to recovery, Adir left the operating room to give his family an update. Percy’s staff followed behind him, taking Bianca’s precious eggs with them.
Mentally, I replayed every moment of Bianca’s emergency procedures from the beginning right down to the last stitch I put in her. My eyes zoned in on the monitor cataloging her vitals andensuring everything looked normal. Once the nurses had her ready to move, I followed them onto the elevator and rode with them to the fourth floor.
Inside the private room where Bianca would be staying for the next few days, I stood off to the side and allowed the nurses to get her transferred and comfortable in bed. Seeing Bianca nearly lifeless… Anger like I’d never known consumed me in its clutches and squeezed so tightly I could’ve combusted.
“Gimme a minute,” I told the nurses, who scurried off at hearing the harshness in my tone. After they left the room, I approached the bed and stood over Bianca like an angel.
Chuckling, I said, “I know you ain’t think you was gon’ escape me that easily, now did you, baby?”
Of course, she said nothing back. Her eyes were closed, and her intubation tube was still in place.
“We won’t rest until whoever did this is no longer breathing.” I ran my fingers down her rich chestnut cheek which had once held the evidence of the tears she’d cried while fighting death. “They tried to take you from me, baby. I can’t have that. Even though you don’t love a nigga, I’ll go to my grave lovin’ you.” I touched her face one last time, then leaned over to kiss her forehead.
Heading out of the room, I briefly spoke to the nurses who would be keeping watch over her. Kelz and Heavy’s aims were just as solid as their nursing skills, so I knew she was in good hands.
“If she so much as sheds a tear, buzz me,” I stated. They nodded in unison.
As I walked away, my eyes stared through the thick glass, the sight of Bianca lying in that bed fueling the furnace roaring inside of me. Inside of the elevator, I pressed the button for the first floor and ran through several different ways I would kill whoever touched Bianca.Shit. And the rest of the family.
