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White linen of a hospital bed, beeping monitors and a needle taped into my arm.
What happened? Where’s Luca?
I must have said his name out loud because there’s whispering around me the minute that the thought crosses my mind.
“She’s awake!” I hear somebody whisper. It sounds like Nora, but I can’t seem to open my eyes wide enough to see her. I struggle to sit up, only to be clucked at. “No! Don’t do that! Keep it easy… don’t move too fast or you’re going to tear your stitches.”
Stitches?
Slowly, bits and pieces of my afternoon start coming back to me. I remember a gun, and a shower of bullets. I remember being scared… and then Luca… “Luca? Marci?” I groan. I almost don’t recognize my own voice. My shoulders ache something fierce.
“Shhh,” Nora soothes and moves to stand beside the bed I’m on. At least, that’s what it sounds like. I canfeelthe waves of worry wafting off of them in droves.
I don’t like this. I don’t like that nobody is giving me answers. I don’t care what kind of state I might be in. I need to know if Luca found Marci. He promised.
I need to know if Marci’s okay. If her baby is okay. I need to know that Enzo theprickhasn’t done something stupid or else I’m going to have to tear him apart with my bare hands.
“Somebody tell me what’s going on!” I demand as much as my rough voice will allow.
The bed I’m on starts to move, allowing me to sit up more easily and Ifeelwhy they told me to move slowly. I see the looks of concern on Nora and Jodie’s faces. Alexei is standing by the door with heavy purple bags under his eyes. His arms are crossed in front of his chest and he looks like he could set somebody ablaze with that withering stare etched onto his otherwise handsome features.
Nora and Jodie won’t tell me anything without his permission and we both know it. So, it’s my brother that I focus what is left of my attention on.
While I’m staring, I try to remember how I got here but I’m coming up blank. I can’t seem to remember how I arrived at the hospital. I don’t even remember what caused the accident. I keep trying but I just remember Luca’s firm voice and the commands he issued. He had looked so calm, minus the small lines of tension on the corner of his mouth. I do remember that much.
“Where is he?” I demand of my brother. I can tell by his grimace that he doesn’t want to tell me. That, or he doesn’t like that I have the audacity to demand anything of him in the first place. “Alexei!” I grit out, and then instantly regret it. Angry coughs rack my chest and my body curls forward to try to relieve some of the pressure in my abdomen.
Alexei pushes off of the door and crosses the room to stand beside me. He places a comforting hand on my back between my shoulders. Just like our mom used to do when we were kids. “You were shot. The bullet lodged into a rib and cracked it upon impact. It didn’t puncture a lung but I’m sure your innards areall bruised up. You’ll have a scar… but then you’ll fit into this family I guess.”
I give him a withering look.
Alexei nods to the door right as Luca walks in. He doesn’t look like he’s much better off. He’s got stitches and butterfly strips across the side of his face and his forehead is swollen and bruised purple like he got hit by something really hard. His arm is in a sling that he pulls off despite the noise of protest that Nora makes as he walks across the room to be with me.
My stomach flips in instant relief. I’m sure that it’s written all over my face too.
“I would have come sooner, but that one threatened to kill me himself if I came near you.” Luca nods toward my brother as he speaks.
I would be annoyed, but it’s kind of funny. “But I heard you calling…” he shrugs, then leans in close to my ear so that only I can hear what he says next. “And I decided that dying would be better than having you think that I’m not here for you.”
I can’t deny the butterflies that take flight in my stomach. Luca’s fingers push through mine and I hold his hand tightly. My chin lifts to kiss him and Alexei huffs in annoyance through his nose.
“Alexei!” Nora chastises her husband. “Let them be.”
Alexei’s hand lifts off of my back and I know that his wife has pulled him away from us so that we can have a moment together. Luca’s hand is bruised, his knuckles swollen from goodness knows what but he curls a finger under my chin and kisses me sweetly. Just a soft, lingering touch before he speaks against my lips.
“I thought that you…” He swallows hard and I shake my head, my nose brushing against his.
“It would take a lot more than that. I’m a tough girl, remember?” I tease. “I can take it.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Since when do you like anything?” I can’t stop the grin spreading over my features.
“I like you.”
It’s so damned cheesy it’s cute.
Across the room, Alexei makes a gagging noise. “Spare me. You two will have plenty of time for that later. Right now, we have rather urgent matters to attend to, don’t you think?!”
