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Charlotte peers at me with concern. “Alessandro, you should grab some sleep.”
Ivan rolls his eyes. “You think he can sleep?”
He turns to her and cups her face in his rough hands and whispers, “Do you think I would sleep if you were in that bed? Do you possibly imagine I would take one step from your side? You are stating an impossible fact because my friend will only walk out of here with his woman beside him.”
Charlotte’s eyes glitter with tears as she nods, her husband’s emotion striking where it was intended. Her heart. Ivan flicks a glance toward the glass window and the pain in his expression reminds me we all loved Winter in our way.
“Are you ok man?” I rest my hand on his back and he nods.
“I’ll be ok when Winter wakes up. We all will.”
Angelo heads outside and says with a sigh. “I’ll find the doctor. Ivan…” he turns to our savage friend and says firmly, “Take Charlotte back to the house. Roberto will arrange it. You have an empire to build and can’t hang around.”
“But Winter.”
“We will inform you if anything changes. Flynn is setting my phone on fire, and I wouldn’t put it past him to show up. Malik is dealing with all the shit on his own right now, so put your house in order. We’ve come too far to let this fail now.”
Ivan is conflicted and as his eye catches mine, I jerk my head toward Charlotte. It appears the adrenalin is wearing off and the shock is beginning to hit her.
He stares at his wife and his expression softens. He nods. “I want to know the minute she wakes up. We all do.”
He takes his wife’s hand and smiles softly. “Let’s get you home.”
Her tired eyes flicker between us, and she hesitates for a moment and then says sadly, “I never met Winter until today, but I have heard a lot about her. I understand how special she is to you all and watching her bravery in the middle of a potential gunfight makes me admire her more than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s strong, and women that fight back continue to fight. It may not look like it now, but inside, Winter is fighting to come back to you, and you know what, she will make it. You wait and see.”
We stare at the fragile beauty who has more strength than anybody would imagine, and her pure emotion wraps us all in comfort. It’s almost too much, so I say with amusement, “What are you, a fortune teller now as well as a doctor?”
My friends smirk as she grins. “You better believe it. It’s called manifestation and I’m a great believer in positive thought.”
She smiles sadly as Ivan pulls her close to his side and drops a light kiss on the top of her head.
“Come malyshka. I’m manifesting something in my own mind I need to make happen.”
He grins as she rolls her eyes and, as they head off, Angelo laughs softly. I’ll never grow tired of listening to them. Who guessed there was a woman out there who could tame the Savage?”
“Or the boss.” I remind him of his own domestic bliss waiting at home, and he nods, looking a little pensive.
“What is it?” I’m seriously hoping there’s not trouble in paradise, and he says with a gruff, “I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For telling you to stay away from my sister. I’m guessing you ignored that request anyway, but I just want you to know that if this all works out, I couldn’t ask for a better brother-in-law and husband for her.”
I can’t even answer him because that must have been hard to say and as we hug it out, I battle my emotions once again because if I get the chance to pick up where I left off with Winter, I would be the luckiest bastard in the world.
CHAPTER10
WINTER
It’s as if I’m waking from the deepest dream. My mind floats in and out of consciousness and my limbs are heavy and ache. It’s difficult to make out shapes, and the light hurts my eyes if I open them.
I hear voices, but they could be outside. I’m not sure where I am even. Am I still dreaming? I must be because like most dreams, nothing is making sense.
Am I floating above my body? Perhaps I am because something doesn’t seem right.
I open my mouth to call someone, but I don’t know their names. While I think about it, I don’t even remember my name. Yes, it’s a dream. I’ll wake up and everything will be fine.
Once again, sleep takes me away from the scary place, but the next time I wake I’m still here. Is this a recurring dream? It must be, so I run with it. I have no control anyway, an emotion that hits me more than anything.
