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I got up and crossed the room to him, and as I gave my brother a hug I said, “Thank you for that, and for everything you did tonight. I’m so grateful.”
“You’re welcome. I love you, kid.”
“I love you, too.” I stepped back and grinned. “Maybe it’s time to stop calling me ‘kid’ though.”
“Yeah, maybe. I really need to get some sleep now, and so do you. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
After he left, I returned to Marcus and kissed his forehead. “I think my brother’s coming around,” I whispered. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you and he ended up being friends one day.” Then I settled in at his bedside, so I could look after him while he slept.
21
Marcus
I awoke gradually, swimming up through a haze of painkillers and sedatives. That was my guess anyway, but it was probably a good one. I remembered the agony I’d been in after I was shot, and since I wasn’t hurting anymore, I could only assume a lot of pharmaceuticals were involved.
It took a while to open my eyes, and even more time to focus on the light fixture in the center of the ceiling. Then I shut them again and waited for the brain fog to clear.
Where was I? This place didn’t feel or smell like a hospital. I tried opening my eyes again and turned my head. What I saw filled me with joy.
Romy was curled up in a chair right beside the bed, sound asleep and tucked under a fuzzy blanket. He was achingly beautiful. More than that—he was ethereal. I remembered thinking that the first time I saw him, and I’d been right.
I tried to say his name, but my mouth and throat were so dry that I could barely make a sound. Instead, I watched him sleep and was reminded of the very first night we’d spent together. At that point, I’d been the one keeping a vigil at his bedside before finally nodding off in the early morning hours.
It was astonishing to think about how far we’d come as a couple since then, and how much I’d changed. In a lot of ways, it felt like I’d finally started living the day I met Romy.
His eyelids fluttered. Then he raised them halfway. As soon as his gaze focused on me, he became fully awake and hurled himself out of the chair as he shouted my name.
While he gingerly went in for a hug, I managed to rasp, “Hi, baby.”
“How do you feel?”
“Drugged.”
He nodded. “The doctor gave you a sedative. It’s probably still working its way out of your system.”
A moment later, a deep voice asked, “Is everything alright?” Fear trickled down my spine when I raised my head and saw Adriano Dombruso standing in the doorway.
While I tried to decide if I was capable of sitting up, let alone defending myself, Romy turned to him and said, “Everything’s great. Could you please do me a favor and bring him a glass of water?”
From my perspective, that felt exactly like a fluffy kitten asking a bristling hell hound to go and run an errand for him. The hell hound nodded and shot me a look before turning and walking away.
As soon as he was gone, I tried to sit up, which sent a sharp jolt of pain through me. “You need to stay still,” Romy said, as he brushed my hair off my forehead. “You were shot twice and stitched back up by a mob doctor. The good news is, the bullets missed your internal organs, but your body needs time to heal, sweetheart.”
My voice sounded like gravel when I whispered, “I like it when you call me that.” That earned me the sweetest smile.
When his brother returned, I tensed up again. He and I maintained eye contact as he went around to Romy’s side of the bed and handed him a glass with a straw in it. After he left again, Romy helped me swallow a couple of pain pills, and then he told me, “You’re safe here, Marcus, and everything’s going to be okay.”
“But I shot someone.” A lot of the night before was a blur, but parts of it were starting to come back into focus.
“He survived, and the police aren’t looking for you.”
I muttered, “Thank god.” A minute or two later, I let the need to sleep overtake me.
22
Marcus
For the next few days, just about all I did was sleep. Romy stayed with me around the clock, and the doctor came by and checked on me twice a day, but everyone else left us alone. I suspected the last part was because Romy had asked his family to give me some time.
Finally, when I was a bit stronger, he said, “My brother’s been wanting to talk to you.”
“Yeah, I figured. I’ve been dreading it.”
