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Stunned, I could only squeak out my disbelief. “He’s alive?” I gasped. Perplexed, I stared into Leo’s eyes, searching for the answer I desperately needed. He gave a small nod, and a faint smile brushed across his face.
“He might not be well enough to walk you down the aisle, but he’s okay.” My heart was bursting with joy and relief; the tsunami of emotions felt like an ocean wave crashing into me.
A million questions flooded my mind in a single moment, but I had to start somewhere. “What happened?” I asked.
Leo looked around. “He was hurt pretty badly. Needed emergency surgery. But he survived.”
Elizabeth’s voice cracked with hope as she cried, “Atticus?” and ran toward us, Hudson scurrying to keep up. Leo glanced between me and her, and I gave the slightest nod. She had saved us.
“He is,” Leo confirmed.
Elizabeth gasped and Hudson held her up as she clutched her chest.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
August grinned, a cruel glint in his eyes. “I had to knock him out before he followed us into that damned castle, otherwise he’d be dead by now,” he said with perverse satisfaction. “He’s in a secure place, no doubt cursing us all.”
“Take me to him,” Elizabeth and I said in unison.
August smirked and laced our fingers together. “I was so looking forward to a bloody wedding, love,” he said mockingly.
I chewed my lip and smiled softly at him. “We’ll still have time for our wedding tonight,” I said, warmth flooding my veins at the thought, “but first, I have to see my Monster.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
ATTICUS
Heavy and sluggish, I blinked a few times, peeling my eyelids apart like I was opening them for the first time. It felt like pushing two brick blocks apart to look around. Every muscle in my body tensed, and my chest felt heavy, like it was filled with concrete. It hurt so fucking bad. My heart pounded in my ears, and just when I thought it would burst from trying to push out of my chest, the pain dissipated.
The bullet almost lodged itself in my heart. The doctors said I was lucky.
Good thing I didn’t have a heart anymore. The fuckin’ thing was a nuisance, so I handed it to Christine for safekeeping. She needed what little love I possessed more than I ever did.
“Atticus?” Christine said hesitantly. The sound of her soft voice made me smile for a moment.
My chapped lips burned as I smiled and croaked, “Little Monster.”
Her hair was plastered to her head and neck, dripping a trail of water onto the floor. A T-shirt that could not contain her beautiful curves was too big for her frame. The tight pants clung to her long legs. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and tears leaked from them when she saw me. “You saved her,” I choked out when I saw Leo and August standing in the corner of the hospital room.
For so long, I thought I had to rely on myself to keep my Little Monster safe. I didn’t trust anyone else to do what was necessary. But when I was fighting for my life, they were fighting to save hers. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to have them loving her too. They stepped up when I couldn’t, and I’d always be in their debt for that.
“I thought you were…” Christine cried before stroking my cheek. She cried silently, a few tears dripping down her cheeks as she looked at me.
I pawed at her hand, my fingers so fucking slow like I was trying to move through molasses. Even that simple movement was enough to make me feel like I was going to pass out. “I’m here,” I gasped, since I was out of breath. “I’ll always be here, Little Monster.” I was open ]and vulnerable in a way that I had never been before.
“I love you,” she whispered, kissing my fingers.
That one sentence was more than I could ever dream of. “I love you more.” My heart beat faster. Were there tears in my eyes? “Are you okay? Is the baby…”
“Leo and August wouldn’t let me see you until I got checked out,” she said while side-eyeing them. “Baby is…good.” I breathed out a sigh, releasing some of the tension in my chest. “I got to hear a little heartbeat.” Before I could fully start breathing again, she continued, “I’m a little weak and they made me get some fluids, though.”
My chest constricted. “You heard the heartbeat?” I asked. I wanted to be there for that moment. I wanted to be there for every moment.
“It was beautiful,” Leo said, his voice a daze from his spot in the corner.
August approached the side of the bed with a smile. “Sorry I knocked you out, brother. Couldn’t risk you getting hurt again.”
“You fucker,” I groaned, making him laugh like the asshole he was.
