“I’m going to fucking kill you, you whore,” he shouts as he squeezes tighter.
I hear shots fired, but I’m losing consciousness.
“Get the fuck off her.” I hear Miles.
He pulls Eric off me and punches him over and over again. I grab my knife and go after him. Miles sees me approach and fumbles to the side, leaving me straddling Eric so I can dig my blade into his throat. I turn and see Miles. He’s on the ground and unconscious. I scramble to him.
“Miles.” I wrap my arms around him. “Miles, wake up.” I slap him. I shake him. I put my hand over his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “Please.”
I see the door burst open, and my brothers and Felix rush to my side. Felix takes me in his arms, and I scream at him to let me stay with Miles.But he doesn't listen; he makes his way out of the room. I look back and see blood everywhere and bodies strewn across the ground.
“Your brothers are going to take care of him. I promise.” I see there are two ambulances waiting as we exit the building.
“Please, I need to be with him.”
Felix takes me to one of the ambulances. “Vee, I promised him to always make sureyou’resafe.”
I see my brothers come out with Miles, who’s rushed into the other ambulance. Felix stays with me as we make our way to the hospital. When we arrive, Tomas is already waiting for us. As soon as the gurney is out, Tomas tends to Miles. I’m taken to a room and examined. I’ll have a hell of a headache and bruising, but there’s no permanent damage. Felix never leaves my side. Not even when my brothers come to my room.
“He’s in surgery and needs a blood transfusion,” Gabe informs us. “He lost a lot of blood.”
I can’t fall apart. I need to be strong. Miles needs me to be strong. Caleb comes into the room and holds my hand. “Can you tell us everything, Vee?”
“Yes,” and I do.
Hours pass without an update until Tomas finally enters the room, delivering the news I’ve been praying for. Miles is going to be okay. I’m not even sure when my mother arrived, but she becomes my anchor, holding my hand as I try to keep it together. When Miles is moved into a private room, I ask to stay by his side. No one argues; they simply step back and leave us. I sit here for hours, my fingers laced through his, until I finally feel a faint, answering squeeze.
“Told you,” he whispers, his voice raspy but present. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” I give him a weak smile. That’s all I have the energy for. “Come here.” He gently motions for me to get onto the tiny bed.
“I wouldn't dream of trying,” I say, carefully climbing onto the edge of the bed to be near him.
He pulls me closer, his voice thick with emotion. “I need to hold you. I need to know that you’re real and this isn’t just my mind playing tricks on me.”
I’m trying not to cry. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. The thought of losing you.”
“Hey.” He hugs me as tight as he can. Considering there’s an IV connected to him, along with other monitors. “Shh…it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
He stays for a couple of days. I never leave his side. Visitors come and go. As we’re getting ready to go home, the question comes out. "When did you kill Tony?”
He doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Weeks after your mother’s party. After I saw how you acted and avoided his calls, I hacked into your phone. I saw all the messages. The way he talked to you.” He clenches his fist. “How he treated you. It reminded me of how my father treated my mother. He would emotionally abuse her. His words were no better than if he were to lay a hand on her. I started to follow him. Hacked intohisphone. He’d recorded you having sex with the girl from the club. He was shopping around to sell it.” My body tenses. “He was leaving a bar. It was easy. I followed him to his car and killed him. I shot him, then took any valuables he had and made it look like a mugging gone wrong. There weren’t any security cameras around; even if there were, I’d have taken care of it. I would’ve preferred beating him to death, but I had to be smart and quick. I regret not taking my time killing him for making you feel the way he did.”
I think back to when I found out Tony died. I didn’t feel anything but anger, wishing I could have done it. “I always thought it was my brothers. That’s why I just let it go,” I admit to Miles.
His bruised hand takes mine. “I’m not surprised. But no, that was all me. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Now, let’s go home.”
Home has become his place. After days of recovery, my brothers decide to visit while Miles rests. Serena kept me company this morning. She distracted me by having me help her finalize the engagement party. I felt like it was postponed because of me. But she didn’t want to hear it. I opened up about my issues with sobriety, so she opted for no alcohol at her party. I tried to fight her on it, but again, she wouldn’t hear it.
Now Ian and Gabe are sitting across from me. They brought food and dessert, but I’m too anxious to eat. I decided it’s best to be open with them, but it’s hard to get the words out. Every time I want to say something, the words won’t come. I know they’ll be upset, not only with what I went through, but with each other. I fidget with my nails and look at them. “I need to tell you both something. And I don’t want you to react. I want you to listen. I know that’s an impossible request, but please just listen.” They nod and stay seated.
I tell them everything, and I was right. They both blame themselves. No one speaks. We just sit in silence. Ian is the first to move; he stands up and comes to me. He pauses in front of me. I don’t know what to expect, but he lifts me into his arms and holds me tight. So tight I think I may pass out from lack of oxygen. Then Gabe comes and joins us. It’s been so long since I’ve sat with them both and not wanted to hurt them.
“I guess I should thank you for hiring Miles,” I joke when they each take a seat next to me. “Seems you found the best person to protect me. Not that he needed the job.” I laugh.
My brothers look at each other, confused.
“Well, he is the best. But I was surprised he wanted this job.” Ian sighs. “Seeing as how it was out of his wheelhouse at the time.”
Gabe adds, “He’s my best friend. But him protecting you made me nervous. He made a good case when he approached us to hire him.”
