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“This is your chance, princess.” Constantine coughed. No blood came up, but I didn’t like the sound of his breathing. I’d had triage training, and right now I needed to get him stabilized. “Do it,” he whispered.
“Do what?” I snapped, wriggling out of my robe and trying to decide which of the wounds was the worst to staunch.
“Do what you came here to do. You can push the bullet into my artery, and I’ll bleed out in seconds.”
I froze, lifting my gaze to meet his.
“Your father sent you to end me,” he muttered. “Here’s your chance. I’m at your mercy.”
Shock rippled down my spine.He knew.Drakos fucking knew. And he was right. This could be the chance I needed.
He lifted a cloth off his thigh, groaning. “Right there. If you were ever serious, if what we had over the last few days was just a play in your cards, then end it. I’m ready for death.”
“No!” I screamed, reaching for him, clasping his face between my hands. “No, Constantine. I’m not going to kill you.”
“I knew it,” he gasped out with a smirk. “It might be the adrenaline making me delirious, but I think I’m falling for you, princess. It’s nice to know you might feel the same.”
A wash of shock shot through me. I mumbled, not able to produce a coherent response. It was a dream—a terrible nightmare! I stood there, gaping at him. I dropped my gaze to the wound in his shoulder. The hole was massive. That caliber of bullet was likely used to take down a big game animal, let alone a man.
“What happened?” I stuttered, knowing at the back of my mind that he needed to keep talking.
He let out a rough laugh. “A gunfight. Occupational hazard.”
I nodded to show him I was listening, trying to stay calm. “Did you get your goods transferred?”
He grinned. “Oh, right...yes. All part of the life of crime.”
And then those ebony eyes rolled into the back of his head. “No!” I screamed, but if fate was listening, she was a cruel fucking mistress.
Forgetting about my state of dress, forgetting everything but Constantine, I struggled and tugged until I’d pulled him from the car and laid him flat on the ground. The thigh wound was the worst, and instead of going to a hospital, Drakos had come here. To me.
“Fucking hell!” Reaching up, I slammed the heel of my hand into the horn. The piercing note rang out, alerting the guards and staff on the property.
“Hang in there, Constantine,” I urged, pressing the cloth back into his thigh. “Don’t you die on me!”
You’re mine.His body blurred. I brushed my cheeks against my upper arm, not daring to take the pressure off the wounds. I needed to see if his chest was still moving and tears only hindered that.
There was the sound of heavy footsteps, and I looked up at one of the on-duty estate guards arriving.
“Get a doctor out here now!” I barked at him.
~*~
Atense hour passed. We loaded Drakos onto the formal dining room table and grabbed the first aid kit. The doctor arrived speedily, and he set to work. I remained standing there, assisting when needed or just holding Constantine’s hand.
A constant litany of prayer repeated through my mind. It was utterly foreign and not something I had called for before. But my prayers were answered, as after a terrible sixty minutes, the doctor declared Constantine stable, although not out of the woods yet.
My shoulders sagged and my eyes pricked—again. This night was aging me years.
The door slammed open as the doctor put another bag of blood onto the IV.
“Why wasn’t I informed?” Iryna shouted.
“There hasn’t been time,” I said, shooting her a look. She’d been staying in Pasadena with her cousin. They’d been club hopping, leaving my husband and me to a few precious days of wedded bliss.
“I had to hear from the doctor’s wife!” Iryna cried, charging into the room. “You should be nowhere near him, spawn.”
That did it. “Get out!” I screamed at her.
