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Sam’s fingers tighten around mine.
The surgeon continues, “If there’s anything you need, please let the nurse know. If you need any questions answered, she has my contact info. Again, I’m sorry for your loss.” He slips quietly out of the room, having just changed Sam and Bash’s lives forever.
“Bash... Bash.” Sam grabs Sebastian’s hand and pulls him in closer. Sebastian looks dazed, but Sam’s gotten his attention. “Sebastian. Go get Dean. Get him now. Bring Sal back with you too.”
No sooner has the door shut behind Bash than Sam’s stern voice cuts through the thick air. “Don’t argue with me. You need to go to the house. Sal will drive you. I’ll be there as soon as I can get out of here.”
I sit back down on the bed next to him and resist the urge to cup his face in my hands. Instead, I shove them under my legs. “You have to stay here where they can watch you, Sam. You just lost your father. Don’t make me lose you.”
“Snow...”
It’s the tone of his voice that does me in. The one word says everything I need to hear. “I’ll go to the house if you promise me that you’ll stay here. Let them take care of you.”
He tries to reach up with his hand, but the IV gets in the way. Instead, I lift his hand to my lips, kiss his raw knuckles, and then press them to my cheek.
“I can’t take care of everything else if I’m worried about you, Amelia. Go to the house. Stay with Nonna. Bash will be home soon, and he can tell her what’s going on. But you can keep her company, and I’ll know you’re safe.”
I carefully lay down and tuck myself into his side. “Can we go back to last night? Just hit rewind? Maybe take back the last month of wasted time?”
Sam kisses my head, and we stay like that until Dean and Bash walk through the door.
* * *
Once Bash comes back into the room with Dean following behind, I can tell it’s time for me to leave. I begrudgingly stand from the bed and grab my coat just as Dean throws an arm over my shoulder. “You doin’ okay, Amelia? You need anything?”
I squeeze him back and muster my strength. “No. I’m fine. Just make sure this one stays here for me.” Motioning to Sam, I add, “Free cookies for a week if you manage to keep him here.”
Sam groans, and Bash’s mouth might as well hit the floor, it hangs open so wide. “What? Are the three of you like a throuple or something?”
I wouldn’t have believed it if I wasn’t hearing it myself, but Sam actually growls like an animal at Bash’s suggestion. Dean laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and I smack the back of Bash’s head the way Belle always does. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Sebastian. Not everything is about sex.”
“But it could be, Snow White.” Dean slides his hand down my back but gets stopped by Sam.
“Get your hands off her, shithead. You don’t get to call her that.” If looks could kill, Dean would be incinerated before Sam continues, “Where’s Sal? He needs to take her directly to the house and make sure Uncle Nick has everything set before he leaves.” The unspoken words float through the otherwise quiet room.
Is the house secured?
Was the car bomb the only act of violence set to happen today?
“I gotcha, Sam. Sal is waiting outside the door. He knows what to do.”
And just like that. Sam is in business mode. I lean down and kiss a cut on his cheek, whispering, “Stay here. Let them take care of you. I stay safe, you stay safe. Got it?”
His free hand slides up to my cheek and pulls my lips down to his. “Soon, Snow. Go with Sal. Stay at the house. I’ll be there soon.”
I vaguely hear Bash mutter, “Just friends, my ass,” before I’m escorted out of the hospital and back to the Beneventi compound.
* * *
The drive to Sam’s dad’s house is made in silence and takes less than ten minutes. Kroydon Hills really is that small of a town, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It’s one of the reasons I picked this place to start my new life. The city was close enough for blending in, but the town was tiny enough that I thought I’d be able to protect myself more. Be more aware of everyone around me.
And what do I do with my desire to stay safe?
I fall for the son of a mob boss.
A now dead mob boss.
Is now the time? Is it time to run... before things get worse?
