38
Belladonna
Since she’d lost the battle with her nurse, Bella was being wheeled by chair into her father’s room. As a precaution, he’d been transferred from a recovery room to a room in the Intensive Care Unit. In order to aid in his healing, he was kept heavily sedated. But that didn’t stop her mom from carrying on a full-fledged conversation with him.
Bella’s excitement over seeing her dad deflated as soon as she saw his big, strong body, lying helpless in a hospital bed with a tube in his mouth. The nurse must’ve noticed the change in her disposition. She placed a hand on Bella’s shoulder and leaned to whisper in her ear.
“Your dad is breathing on his own. His heart is strong, and his blood pressure is on point. The tube is there simply as a precaution. He’s doing well.”
The nurse’s assurance brought relief.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The nurse wheeled her close enough to hold her dad’s hand. The warmth radiating from his skin was encouraging. She placed his hand to her cheek and thanked God that she still had a dad. Now that she was able to see that he was alive with her own eyes, her fears were focused solely on her sister.
Donatella hadn’t returned and she knew, as well as she knew her own name, her sister was plotting revenge. It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand why she wanted to make someone pay for what happened to them. However, she would’ve preferred that she exercised a little patience and included her in the plan. Bella wanted in on the revenge. And had she known where her sister was going, she would have abandoned the hospital bed to join her.
Bella placed her dad’s hand back on the bed and rested her face against it. She didn’t know if sedation meant that he couldn’t see or hear, but she convinced herself that he could feel touch. When she felt hands gripping her shoulders, she didn’t need to look back to know that it was her man. Not only could she recognize the clean, masculine aroma of pheromones that had allured her to him since the moment they met, but she had gotten to a point where she could actually sense his presence.
She sat upright and placed her hand over his. “I’m fine, babe. Just a headache,” she softly assured.
Lucas leaned over and kiss the top of her head, then each temple. “All better now?”
“I think so,” Bella lied with light laughter.
