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There’s a fucking annoying sound coming from my left and I reach over to knock the damn thing off my dresser. Maybe it’ll shut the hell up and stop making this pounding headache worse, but something prevents me from moving my arm very far. The fuck? I try to open my eyes, but the blinding white light sears my damn eyeballs, so I keep them shut and think about what the fuck is happening. Where am I and how did I get here? My whole body hurts and my nose feels like it’s three times its normal size. Did I get into a fight? Did my foster parents or one of the kids beat the shit out of—Gavriel! Luca!
Everything comes rushing to the forefront of my mind. The bar, Carla and Marco, the explosion. I force my eyes open, trying to ignore the blinding pain in my head. I need to find Gavriel and Luca. Is everyone okay?
As soon as I open my eyes, I begin ripping all the tubes off and pull the needle out of my arm, but a light starts to flash on the machine next to me. I’ve been in enough hospital rooms to know exactly where I am, but I can’t just wait for a nurse to make their rounds to my room. I have to know everyone is safe. When I force my pain filled body off the bed my door bursts open and Gavriel comes rushing in with a nurse on his heels.
Oh, my fucking heart! I swear I thought I’d lost him.
“Amore! You shouldn’t be up,” Gavriel says as he wraps me in his arms. His scent comforts me just as much as his arms do. He guides me back to the bed and lays me down, but I won’t let him go. Hell no. I just lived through the worst fear of my life just now, thinking he was lying somewhere dying.
“Gavriel, baby, where’s everyone else? Where’s Luca and Carla? Where were you hurt? Are you okay? Is Marco okay?” I’m bombarding him with my questions, but I can’t help it, some of the most important people were in that room with me. I need to know they’re all safe.
“Shhh, yes, sweetheart, everyone is going to be okay.” He kisses me on my eyes, forehead, and mouth. I get lost for the moment with his mouth on mine. His lips are a balm to my heart and lavender for my soul, calming my panicked mind. It ends too soon, but he continues to hold me.
“Do you remember what happened yesterday?”
What? I’ve been unconscious for a whole day?
Instead of answering, I ask, “How long have I been here?” I watch as the nurse readies the drip for me and dumps a bag filled with slightly yellow liquid. Wait. Is that pee? My fucking pee? Did they—I reach down between my legs and sure enough there is a fucking catheter in my damn cooch!
I’m about to fucking blow my lid when Gavriel stops me and says, “No man touched you, love, my mother put the catheter in. No one else. Do you think I’d allow a man to touch what doesn’t belong to him and let him live to remember?” His voice goes cold with that last question and the nurse looks like she’s ready to quit her job, but for me it erases my anger. I know he’s telling the truth, so I let my anger slip away.
“The explosion happened last night around three in the morning. It’s now midnight, so almost twenty-four hours have gone by. Your head was hit in the back and gave you a concussion and somehow your nose was broken during the fall but no other injuries. The doctors wanted you to sleep so your body would have time to recover. I’ve been with you this entire time, but I’ve been going between rooms to check on everyone.”
I remember the fall now.
I think I may have broken my nose on Gavriel’s shoulder and blacked out, but I don’t tell him that.
Damn, he’s got some strong ass shoulders, though.
“Did you get hurt at all?” I don’t see any injuries, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t suffer any.
Confirming my suspicions, he says, “Not too bad,amore, don’t worry about me. I can take a few bruises.”
The nurse winces behind his back and runs her eyes over his form. Not in a sexual way, though, more like she’s remembering the bruising he has and he’s playing it down for me. I’ll come back to that. I need to know about my brother and Carla.
He knows what I’m about to ask, so before I can even get the words out, he says, “Carla is doing well. She got a serious wound on her thigh and needed blood, but other than that and being fatigued she’s well. As for Luca, I probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. He jumped on my back when the bomb went off. When the dust settled, he was spitting blood and tried to check on you, but he passed out.”
At my panicked breathing he quickly cups my face and continues, “He’s in the next room over and healing fine. The pole didn’t go in very far before hitting and breaking his lowest rib. The break didn’t splinter, so he didn’t pierce his lung, but the reason he was spitting blood is because a shard of glass stabbed through his cheek. He’ll recover just fine and be up and moving in a few weeks. Until then the doctors want him in bed and only standing to use the restroom or shower.” I wrap my arms around his waist and put my forehead to his abs. I have so much more I need to know, but this fucking headache is killing me slowly. It’s like a drill is making a hole from inside my brain. I guess I must be groaning because Gavriel lays me back and asks the nurse to put the needle back in so I can have some pain medicine.
The last thing I hear before the medicines knock me out is Gavriel’s deep voice whispering, “I love you, Anastasia Renzetti.”
Sometime later I wake up in the same hospital bed, but I’m not alone. My sweet man is sitting next to my bed with his hand wrapped around mine. His head is lying by my thigh, but he’s turned away from me. I wonder how long he’s been in here with me. I slowly pull my fingers free and run them through his hair. I love this man.
Now that I’m awake I see that the sun is just starting to rise, so I’m guessing I just slept through the night. Thinking on last night, I remember all that took place, the way Carla and Marco seem to really be into each other. The way he holds her reminds me of how Gavriel is with me.
Tender and possessive.
A quote by James Russell Lowell comes to mind: “The heart forgets its sorrow and ache.”
It truly has in my case. We may be facing threats and enemies, but my heart has never been fuller and because of that I will spill the blood of the people who’ve tried to take my loved ones away from me.
Gavriel starts to wake up. He turns his head over toward me and smiles, putting a kiss to the palm of my hand.
“How are you,bella? Are you feeling any pain still?” He sits back and stretches and I take a moment to lust after him. He’s the embodiment of perfection. A man who should be on the covers of magazines and not sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair listening to me breathe.
He’s wearing my favorite colored shirt. Maroon.
It’s a color that brings out all his sharp edges. He runs his fingers through his hair, which is mused and out of its normal style. It looks like he's been doing this gesture a lot while I slept. The thought makes my throat burn. He’s been sitting here waiting for me to come back to him. Did I mention that I fucking love this man?
