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Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My mind races as fly down the road, tires spinning and skidding when I rip the wheel into a sharp turn. Dirt flies up behind the SUV, gravel spitting and hitting the sides of the car, and I rev it faster. Andrea and Donatello are coming behind me, but I’m driving much faster. My body went cold when I heard the gunshot ring out, but I refused to believe Beverly was hit. She was fine.
She had to be.
The SUV slides sideways as I slam on the brakes in the middle of Gavino’s driveway, my heart racing as my eyes lock onto Dylan lying in the middle of it, a body sprawled beneath him.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I’m slamming the car into park and ripping the door open before I’ve even come to a complete stop, the SUV jolting as I sprint toward them. Dylan growls, his white teeth stained red, blood smeared along his face and coat. My mind barely registers the two men lying on the gravel near them, clearly torn apart by the dog, but I don’t care, pushing forward. He snaps, a loud bark echoing in the trees as he hovers over Beverly’s still form, ears pinned to his head when I move closer, my speed not slowing.
“Piede!” I yell the command to heel as I get within biting distance, hope guiding my movements that he’ll listen. Begrudgingly he does, but he doesn’t go far, pacing just within arm’s reach as my knees slam to the gravel to reach for Bev. My eyes flicker over the blood that’s staining her shirt, a puddle that’s partially absorbed into the rocks and dirt below. Palms cupping her cheeks, I straighten her head, looking down into her face, as my fingers feel for a pulse, “Cuore Mio, come back to me, baby.”
I give her a small desperate shake as I the blood still seeping from her wound, adjusting her body to frantically begin CPR. I’m moving on autopilot, heart thumping wildly in my ears as I hear Andrea running toward us. He drops to his knees beside us, checking for a pulse as I continue to pump her chest with trembling hands and breathe into her lungs. I’m vaguely aware of him yelling to someone, feel a hand on my shoulder that I shove off, all my attention focused on Beverly.
“Remy! Let the Paramedic see her!” Donatello has my face gripped tightly in his hands to get my attention, pulling me up by my arm and away from Beverly as two EMTs rush to take my place—one starts CPR while the other stops her bleeding.
I realize I’m shaking as I stand uselessly behind them. My throat is so tight I’m almost choking on my fear. I’ve never been so scared of anything in my life.
I can’t lose her.
She’s my fucking heart.
Without her, I cease to be.
They’re hooking her up to a defibrillator, her beautiful face turned my way as the first shock shakes her body. I sink to the floor, head in my hands as they shock her a second time.
I hear their words, but they don’t sink in right away.
“How far long is she?” It’s repeated, louder this time.
I blink, my brain slow to connect to my mouth.
“She’s pregnant. How far along is she?”
Both Donatello’s and Andrea’s eyes are on me, waiting for an answer.She’s pregnant.My eyes flick over her form, noting the bump beneath her torn and dirty shirt. New anger rises in my chest, a bitter answer finally making its way out of my mouth. “I don’t know.”
Beverly is pregnant.
And I know the baby is mine.
I know it as surely as I know Gavino is the reason she hid this from me.
A new panic bangs in my chest as I watch them shock her a third time, her body jolting.
Beverly has to live. My child has to live.
And Gavino will die.
My eyes lift to meet the EMTs for a fleeting moment, sharing a wordless conversation as my bleeding heart pauses its frantic rhythm in my chest to match the tune of Beverly’s.
Chapter Twenty-TwO
REMY
Almost six hours later and Beverly still hasn’t woken up. The in house doctor has her on a drip IV and two heart monitors; one for her and one for her belly. The beats are steady as I bend over her sleeping form, my palm wrapped around hers to rest my lips against her knuckles. Julian had shown up to help the second he was back in town—he was the only one that was able to control Dylan once I had left with Beverly in the ambulance.
I’d sent Him, Donatello and Andrea home an hour ago, telling them to get some sleep because we had business to take care of that they’d need their rest for. I should have been heading my own advice, but I couldn’t sleep even if I tried. Not until Beverly woke up.
