I didn’t hear anything else he said because that really didn’t matter.
Someone had shot her right here in our building, and I hadn’t protected her.
Someone had tried to kill her.
To the left of me, one of my men skidded to a halt. His jacket was already bundled in his hands. “Press that to her stomach, Matteo,” he ordered.
I shook myself out of my daze, pressing down hard on her stomach. She let out a cry of pain.
“I know it hurts,” I told her when she cried again. “But pain is good. Pain means you’re going to be fine.” I tried to make light of it.
But there was nothing light about how much she was bleeding.
“We need to get her to a hospital,” I muttered and watched in horror as her eyes fluttered closed.
“Ambulance will take too long,” he said. “I’ll get the car. We will be quicker, and she needs medical attention.”
Yeah, it would, and yes, she did need attention. I wasn’t going to lose her like this. I refused to.
No one got to hurt Sophia but me. She was mine to punish.
Standing, I lifted her into my arms.
“Let’s get her out of here, and I want to know who took that shot.”
“Yes, sir.” The man didn’t even try to argue with me. When it came to her, there was no arguing with me. I might hate her, but I loved her as well, and I wasn’t going to let her die like this.
The doctor in his white coat stood in front of me and completely ignored my rage.
“The bullet barely hit her,” he said, but I barely heard him. My eyes kept drifting to the bed. To her, to Sophia. Whom I had almost lost. It didn’t matter how many times I was told that she was in no real danger. I knew the truth.
Someone had tried to kill her. It was just pure dumb luck that they had been a lousy shot.
“She will be sore for a few days, but nothing too bad.” He glanced down at his notes. “But we do need to ask some questions. If she isn’t on any birth control, it’s possible that she’s pregnant again? We will need to do some follow-up tests if she is and…”
My head snapped back around to his. “There is a chance, of course, but I don’t think so. But what do you mean again?”
The doctor fell silent. His eyes widened, and he took a self-conscious step back. “You didn’t know…” His voice wobbled, and for the first time since I had set foot in this hospital, he seemed genuinely afraid of me.
Good.
Scared men were more prone to talk.
“Maybe I am…”
“What do you mean again?” I asked again. Half-crazed, I spun toward the bed.
She lay there, looking pale and in pain. I had never seen her look so small before. The narrow hospital bed seemed to swallow her. But maybe that was because she was trying to make herself look as small as possible.
“You were pregnant before?”
She didn’t answer me. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her and turned her face away guiltily.
I crossed the room in a rage. Grabbing her face in my hands, I yanked her head back.
“You can’t do that.” The doctor yelled, and I ignored him completely, tugging her hair back. I forced Sophia to meet my eyes.
“Answer me. You were pregnant before? You had a goddamn child.”
