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“Despite everything you bastards put her through, she still loved you and probably your father until she finally remembered what he did to your mother. You do not deserve to breathe the same air as she does, and Lucas, you have taken your lastbreath.” I pulled the gun from behind my back and aimed it at his head.
“You’d kill me?” he said, looking affronted. “And, how will you ever be able to look into Sabina’s eyes, knowing you killed the only family she has left?”
“I think I can live with it, and so will Sabina. You can’t hurt her anymore but know this, Lucas: I can and will love her for the rest of my life. As for you, you can join your father in hell,” I said, firing one bullet right between his bewildered eyes. I walked back upstairs, where Oleg and now Gio were waiting for me. I gave Oleg the gun, and he gripped me by my shoulder in understanding. They knew what I had done and knew I had to be the one to finish this. Oleg handed me a drink, and I downed it with one gulp.
“Are we done here?” I asked.
Oleg approached me, kissed each side of my face, and said, “Yes, you and your dove are free to live your lives as it was always meant to be. You are part of us now, Bourne, and so is Sabina. I have a message from Valentin; he wanted me to tell you that you should consider yourselves part of our family. You will always be under our protection. You know where we are if you should ever need us for anything.”
I walked out of that house and vowed never to look back, but I knew that would not be my reality because I would have to tell Sabina about Lucas, but not today; I knew I could not marry her until I shared this secret. Lucas is dead, and I’m the one who killed him. I thought I would feel something after I pulled the trigger and closed the door to my painful past, but I felt nothing. Lucas Santoro was the means to the final ending of this tragedy, and now all I want to do is return to the woman I love and forget that Marco and Lucas Santoro ever existed.
“Is it done?” he asked as I approached him at the entrance.
“Yeah, it is. Gio has become the heir apparent to the Santoro family under Valentin’s watchful eye, but you already knew that, right Edric?” I said with my jaw clenched.
“Yes, it was the only way to get to Lucas,”
“I guess you didn’t factor in Lucas finding out about Gio before it was time and staging a military extraction to take Sabina from me.”
“Yes, and I own my mistakes and regrets, but never the reason behind them. Sabina was worth running the risk of facing your wrath. Just remember you are my brother, and I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. If for nothing else, you remember that.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Sabina
The sun filtered inside when my eyes opened again and brightened my room. I knew I was in a hospital, but why was I alone? And where’s Bourne? Why isn’t he here? I slowly moved my arms from under the covers and did the same with my legs. It felt good to move and be able to. I was recovering from being shot and have no idea how long I have been here.
My muscles were sore, and my side felt tender, but not so much that it prevented me from attempting to get up. I placed my hand on my side and felt the thick bandage covering the wound. It felt like padding that wrapped around my ribcage. I took a deep breath and latched onto the rail, pulling myself up with the arm free of an IV. I released a few breaths and kicked my legs over the side. I sat up and used the IV pole for support.
“Ugh! This hurts,” I said, releasing short, shallow breaths. “Okay, I can do this,” I said, giving myself the pep talk I needed to move. My feet touched the floor, and I wasn’t confidentenough to let go, so I slowly dragged the pole with me. I straightened to my full height and exhaled again. “Okay, so far, so good; now let’s see if I could make it across the room to the bathroom.” I took one small step after another until I reached where I wanted to be and held onto the sink as I felt a zing of pain shoot up and down my side. I came too far not to use the toilet after all that effort. After I finished, I attempted to brush my hair, finding a bag of toiletries next to the sink. After several attempts to lift the hairbrush, I realized it hurt too much to raise my arm. I was tiring quickly, and with my limited mobility, I haphazardly brushed my teeth.
This act of independence exhausted me, and I needed to rest. It was clear that my walk from the bed to the bathroom proved to be too much for me. I only meant to sit on the small bench beside the vanity to catch my breath, but I soon fell fast asleep. I’m unsure how long I sat there until I heard loud shouts outside the bathroom door.
“Where the hell is she? Edric, sound the alarm; we have to find her. What if we’ve been double-crossed and Sabina’s been kidnapped again?”I felt weak and didn’t believe I could stand, so I tapped on the closed bathroom door to get my worried fiancé’s attention before armed men stormed the hospital.
“Did you hear that?” I heard Edric say, and then a second later, Bourne rushed inside with his gun drawn, and as soon as he saw me, he put his weapon away and looked relieved that I was safe.
“She’s in here,” he called out to Edric, who had his gun aimed at the door and ready to fire. Over Bourne’s shoulder, I saw the look of relief on his face, and he quickly holstered his weapon before walking out to give me some privacy. I was only wearing a thin slip of material the staff must have dressed me in. The sides are open, probably for easy access to my wound. I let out a breath and then faintly smiled back at Bourne, who I think was still in shock.
“I’m alright, just a little tired,” I tried to put him at ease, but it didn’t work.
“Oh, my God! I swear, woman, you keep this up, and I won’t make it to my next birthday. How did you even get out of bed? And where is the damn staff?” he shouted, but not at me.
“I don’t know; it’s just me.”
“Come here,” he said, and I sat up just enough for Bourne to lift me into his arms as gently as he could. I winced as he jostled me a little, but I tried not to show my obvious discomfort. Then Bourne noticed, and once he placed me down, his expression went from worry to frantic in a second. He hit the button on the intercom and ordered the doctor to come in right away.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned.
“You’re bleeding from your incision, probably from the exertion of getting out of bed,” he said as he tried to control his temper. The female doctor returned and immediately looked at my bandage. Before she could get a word out, Bourne began shouting again. “Sabina was alone; why wasn’t someone with her? She got out of bed and then walked to the bathroom by herself, and now look at her side; she must have torn a stitch or two.”
“Mr. Atwater, if you are through barking like a German shepherd, then I suggest you move aside and allow me to tend to my patient, please?”
“Fine, but just know that she’s my life, and you better be fucking gentle with her,”Oh, boy! I thought as he continued to yell and pace the room. Edric had stepped inside and said something for only Bourne to hear, and it must have done the trick because he looked a little calmer and finally came over to my side, held my hand, and whispered his apologies.
“I’m sorry for causing all this trouble. I felt better when I woke up and needed to use the bathroom. I was doing fine and then suddenly got tired.”
“No, don’t do that; it’s not your fault. I got scared and gave in to the fear that something may have happened to you. Will you forgive me, Principessa? Please know I’m not this man who always yells, especially with doctors here to help and not harm.”
