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~Blake~
Vlad and Dresden help a small In
terpol team document the murder of Maria Johanson as I sit in a chair with Lily’s cold hand wrapped in mine. Elaine Monroe sits on the other side of the bed, hooking Lily up to an IV and heart monitor.
“I’m going to give her a sedative, keep her out of it for a few days,” she says moving to her bags.
She fills a needle with a clear liquid from a small glass bottle.
“Is that necessary?” The lump in my throat makes it hard to talk, and it’s taking everything in me not to break down and cry.
“Blake, her kidney was ruptured. She’s got a gash in her back that’s over four inches long, and fourteen other gashes from the flogging she gave herself. If she doesn’t rest, her body is going to breakdown.”
Sighing, I nod. The strongest woman I’ve ever met is weak and cold with no color in her face. Her eyes don’t move behind her lids and if it weren’t for the monitor’s slow beep, she’d be taken for dead.
I press my lips to her hand and lay my head on the bed.
“You should get some rest, Blake.” My father shuffles into the room, past Elaine, and sits on the open side of the bed. He reaches out and tucks a strand of Lily’s hair behind her ear.
“I’m fine. I’m not leaving until she wakes up.”
He chuckles. “I never thought you and her would last. How wrong I was.”
Despite my exhaustion, anger bubbles in my blood. “Unlike you, I don’t give up on the person I love.”
“Blake, I messed up where your mother was concerned. I treated her badly. I know that. You can hate me all you want, but you’ll never hate me more than I do.”
My head snaps up, eyes wide. He’s never once, in all this time, said he felt bad for what he did. We’ve never discussed my mother or what he did to her. He and Carmen always pretend as if it’s some imagined past.
“You’re telling me this, why?”
“Lily has almost died several times trying to save our family and your sister is pregnant. If we don’t fix the issues between us, Carmen and I will lose you both. Despite what you think, I love you and Shannon, and I don’t want the past to be a barrier between us anymore.”
His eyes shine with sincerity. As much as I’d like to tell him to go to hell, something stops me. Lily’s willing to forgive me for everything. She didn’t say as much, but I felt it in her kiss, and the way she held me against her.
If she can, so can I.
“Let’s just try to move on. Maybe you’re right. I’ve held on to the past for so long.”
He reaches across Lily and ruffles my hair as a few tears fall from my eyes. Even unconscious, her love, and willpower continue to heal me and give me strength. All the anger that built up over the last fourteen months melts away. When she wakes up, it has to be a new start. No matter how hard it is, I’ve got to let go of the past if there’s any chance of keeping this beautiful woman in my future.
A knock startles us and I jump in my seat. The door swings open and a sobbing Sorina comes in her head down, followed by Shannon, Dresden, and Samuel.
“How’s she doing, sir?” Samuel’s voice is tight.
I hold my arms out to Sorina and she darts into them. Pulling her onto my lap, she leans forward, kissing Lily’s hand, laying her head on it. Quietly, she sobs into the mattress and methodically, I rub my hand up and down her back.
“She’s in bad shape, but Dr. Monroe’s sedated her. She’ll heal; we just need to give her time.”
“I’ve never understood how much a human can endure until I finally met the Viper,” Samuel says with admiration in his voice.
“Lily Williams is almost inhuman in her ability to endure,” Dresden says with a chuckle.
“Do we know why Maria was so hell-bent on Lily’s destruction,” Shannon asks, irritation clouding her words.
It’s something I’ve wondered for a while now. Granted, Maria was pissed about Lily jacking her up in the hospital, but everything since then has been above and beyond normal hatred.
“I do,” Samuel says, his cheeks flushing red.
