AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turned my attention back to the woman as she spoke quietly. “You gave everyone quite a scare. Do you remember what happened?”
I nodded slowly, flinching as all the muscles in my neck and back protested. She grimaced.
“Doctor O’Connor said you’d be sore but nothing is broken. You’re going to be okay.” She gave me a reassuring smile, patting my knee lightly.
I tried to speak but my throat was dry and I choked on the words. The man she was with grabbed a cup of water from the table at the foot of my bed, handing it to the woman. She had to help me drink, James still had a hold on my one good hand. The other arm was in a fancy looking sling that strapped it tightly against my body.
I cleared my throat quietly, trying not to wake everyone else. “Who are you?”
She gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mariana Ramirez, and this is my husband Mateo.” She gestured behind her at the model. I narrowed my eyes at him until it finally clicked.
“I know you.”
Mariana stiffened, glancing back at her husband suspiciously. His eyes went wide and he jerked his attention to his wife, shaking his head.
“I don’t–”
She scowled at him but I had no idea why.
“You paid off my student loans.”
He only seemed to grow more panicked, his gaze jerking between me and his wife. Her jaw tightened and she turned away from him, focusing on me instead. I shook my head, they were taking it the wrong way.
“You paid off the student loans of all the women in the STEM program as a gift. You said you wanted to honor the woman you loved by helping women as smart as she is.”
A lightbulb went off and his face brightened. “Oh! I remember that!”
Mariana still looked wary, crossing her arms. He shook his head.
“Mi amor, it was after you left. I was in a sour mood and was trying to keep myself from following you. I tried to make myself feel better with some big donations but they all made me think of you so I left for Mexico the following day.”
He looked so sincere, his expression pleading as he tried to reassure her. She relaxed a little, a smile pulling at her lips. Shaking her head, she turned back to me but I saw her move backwards until she was pressed against him. His arms wrapped around her waist and he stayed silent from then on, probably worried he’d make her mad again.
“Are you feeling okay?”
I started to shrug and flinched. They wore matching grimaces as I tried to breathe through the pain. “Yeah, maybe stick to nods or words. That looks painful.”
It was more painful the longer I was awake but I wasn’t going to fuss about it. I was alive and surrounded by my friends and probably some of the most dangerous people in the city.
Mariana and Mateo kept me company while the others slept. They told me I was gone for a little over twelve hours before Viktor called and said he was bringing me here. I asked what happened afterwards but Mariana shook her head.
“I’m afraid we don’t know. We only got back a little while ago. Jo called as we landed and she sounded so upset that we came straight here.”
“Nothing has happened yet. There was a plan to meet for an exchange but you were found before the agreed time.” Gabi’s husband Dmitriy was awake, resting on one elbow. He spoke softly, trying not to wake his wife, so it took a minute for me to fully understand him with his thick accent
My stomach turned over. “So they’re still out there? They’re still after me?” My heart started to race and Mariana scowled at Dmitriy.
“You’ve always had a way with words,” she snapped. She petted my hair, trying to keep me calm. “There is no safer place than right here with these people. I should know, they protected me when someone was after me too. It’s going to be okay.”
That meant I would still be in lockdown. I didn’t even know if James and I were dating anymore. We were both so angry and then I got taken and nearly got Jo taken too because I was hotheaded and didn’t think things through. He might want nothing to do with me once he realizes I’m okay. That’s probably why he’s here, he is a gentleman after all.
My whimper woke up Jo. Her eyes flew open and she jerked up, startling Liam in the process. He immediately wrapped himself around her, looking for the threat, but she batted his hands away, launching out of the chair to stand at my side near Mariana.
Her eyes watered and her chin trembled. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Are you? I’m sorry I pushed you.”
She shook her head. “Don’t. You saved me. Jaime wouldn’t have had a chance to get to me if you hadn’t taken my place.” Tears slipped over her cheeks and she dropped her chin. Mateo moved Mariana to the end of the bed while Liam took their place, pulling Jo into his arms. His face was dark and tense and it took him a minute to lock eyes with me.
