Page 94 of The Arrangement

“Does that really matter right now?”

“Turning tachycardic… Blood pressure is dropping”

“No ocular reaction …”

“Anton?”

“Possible head trauma …”

“Anton?”

“Severe blood loss. Have two liters of type-O on standby …”

Anton blinked up at the face staring down at him then looked around. The emergency room seemed to go on like nothing was amiss.

Like his heart and soul hadn’t almost fucking died two hours before.

No one would give him answers, he wasn’t immediate family. No one would say a thing.

“What?”

The sound of his voice was nothing more than a raspy breath of air. Panic and pain had all but saturated his entire nervous system. Never had he shut down so totally before. There was something to be said for a body that responded to shock in the way his did, and for a moment he was grateful because he hadn’t even noticed the time passing him by.

His fists curled and fingernails bit into the palms of his hands as the memory of her blood staining everything red filled his mind again. The thuds of his heart turned louder, adrenaline rushing through his widening veins like a drug.

Ivan rubbed a hand over his face, chancing a glance over his shoulder.

“Her aunt just arrived.”

Anton was out of his chair instantly. “Who in the hell—”

Ivan’s hands landed on his shoulders, keeping him in place. “This is important, Anton, so shut up for a minute. Sonny’s wife is considered her immediate family. You wanted info, now here’s your chance, okay? Even the bastard’s cousin showed up with her. The one we paid off the first time. They’re either really stupid, or they’re looking for something. Take a breath and decide how you want to go about doing this.”

A beat of silence passed before Ivan asked, “Shit, have you had your neck and arm looked at yet?”

“No,” Anton growled.

Glass had embedded into his shoulder and arm from the blast of the amateur pipe bomb. It didn’t even register over his anger and anxiety. More than one nurse had approached him, but he made it clear if they weren’t there to tell him about Viviana, he didn’t want to see their faces.

Eventually, they stopped.

“Man, this one is bad …”

“Don’t touch me,” Anton spat, jerking out of his friend’s hold.

Several heads swung in his direction, given it was the first time he’d spoken that loud in hours. Too many of his men to count. They all just stared and waited. He didn’t know what to fucking say. So many precautions had been put into place. Rocco had done just was he was trained to do.

Unfortunately, things slipped his eye.

Given her car was left unattended whenever she traveled with him, the device could have been placed at any time. Someone suggested it was likely done during a rain that happened three days before because the wiring hadn’t gone off right for the timer. Maybe water screwed it up.

Anton didn’t care.

It still happened.

“Goddamn it!”

The hard plastic chair met his back again. Ivan was quick to find a seat beside him while Anton studiously avoided the eyes watching his every move. There was nothing worse than feeling like you were under a microscope. Of course his whole life had felt like that, but this was so much different.