Oh,thank God.Gabri’s booming voice, commanding and without any hint of distress, is music to my ears. Gunfire erupts as the de la Rosa men recover from the shock of being ambushed, and it seems like it’s an eternity before silence reigns again. I’m still dangling, numb from the cold, and likely in shock. As someone about Nikki’s size moves to cut me down, Dominico’s raspy voice calls out from where he’s lying behind the body of one of his men.
“You don’t get to take your sister home with you, Santoris. Your family defiled my sister. You’re lucky I’m just killing yours.”
All I feel is the cold as the shot rings out, louder than any I’ve ever heard. Nikki is in the wrong position to block me, but as I brace for the bullet in the second I have to think, a giant jumps in front of me before crumpling to the ground. I wait to feel warmer, not expecting death to still be so cold. I had hoped to see Leo, somewhere, and maybe Nonno…but I’m still here, strung up in this hell, as chaos erupts. Gabri has pulled his helmet off and is in a standoff with Valencia, and Nikki is at my feet, calling for guards to carry Teddy to the hospital.
Teddy?
Oh my God. OhmyGodohmyGod. Teddy jumped in front of me and took the last bullet Dominico de la Rosa ever fired. He’s not moving, just like Leo wasn’t moving, and it isn’t long before our men are carrying him back out the door and toward the hospital.
“Hey. Hey, Ellie. You’re okay. We’re here. Everyone’s okay.” Nikki murmurs soothing words as he frees me from my bonds, my muscles screaming in protest as they experience freedom for the first time in hours. I collapse into him, and he goes to the floor with me.
The room is in sharp focus, and everything else is easier to stomach right now than the reality of my own situation. I shake, feeling complete panic grip me, wondering why Nikki would lie and say everyone was okay.Teddy was obviously not okay…
“You have to breathe, Elia. For you and the baby. Tell me five things you can see.”
My sob must get the message across because Nikki squeezes me even tighter. “Okay, I know. You don’t have to say it out loud. Just think about it. Five things you can see.”
The chains that held me. Dominico de la Rosa’s lifeless body. A gruesome, sickly stain of Teddy’s blood on the cement floor. Gabri, gun under Valencia de la Rosa’s chin, staring at her with hatred and cruelty that I’ve never seen in his eyes. Valencia staring defiantly up at Gabri with just as much revulsion and pain. As if she wishes he would shoot her to end her misery.
“That’s my girl. You’re the toughest of us all, Ellie. Now four things you can touch.”
The rough fabric of Nikki’s tactical gear. The freezing floor. I bring one hand to my lower stomach to feel the safe space where my nugget still grows, and the other to my chest where my own heart still beats.
“Yep, you’re still here. Good job. Three you can hear.”
Nikki’s rumbling voice. The clatter of activity as our men wander about, ensuring all the de la Rosas have been neutralized. Gabri growling at Valencia.
“You. You’re the reason my brother is dead. Not sure what he saw in such a scrawny thing.”
Valencia looks tired now more than anything.“Either let me go or shoot me. But don’t stand here and defile your brother’s legacy by pretending to understand anything about love, or what he and I shared. You’re nothing but a bloodthirsty bully, and I can’t believe you share the same DNA as Leo.”She spits at his feet, then puts her chin back on top of his gun.
After a beat, he steps back.“Get the fuck out of here. Don’t ever let me see you again, or you’ll be with your precious Leo.”
“Alright, almost there. You’re doing such a good job breathing, Ellie. Now, two things you can smell.”
Blood. Mint from Nikki’s gum.
“Good. Now, what’s one thing you can taste?”
It isn’t one thing. It’s a million. Smoke. Gunpowder. Nonna’s ragu. Blood. Steak on my first date with Teddy. Bile. Salt in the air on the beach.
“We’re ready, let’s get her to the hospital. Mama and Papa are already on their way.”
Gabri’s gruff voice is the last thing I hear before I faint, but I still taste one more thing.
Teddy’s lips the last time I kissed him.
Chapter 36
“It’s just amatter of time. We aren’t sedating him heavily anymore. He’ll wake up whenever he’s ready.”
“Mr. Taranov, if you can hear me, I’m your nurse. I’m just going to check your vitals, okay? It won’t hurt at all.”
“We’ll do another scan, but there were no abnormalities on his MRI that would lead us to believe he suffered an anoxic brain injury during his cardiac arrest. He received high-quality CPR immediately in the field, thanks to your…employees. He could wake up at any moment.”
So many voices and beeps. Constant beeps, overhead announcements, and people in and out of my space. Wherever the space is. I guess it’s a hospital. I heard these same sounds when I got my tonsils out back in the day. Everyone wants me to “wake up,” whatever that means. I don’t think I’m asleep. Or, if I am, I’m lucid dreaming.
There’s only one reason I have to wake up, and I haven’t heardhervoice yet.Two reasons…My love and my baby. All of this back and forth…none of it matters anymore. She didn’t trust me; I didn’t trust her. The only thing that matters is that she’s okay, our baby is okay, and she forgives me. Even if I never open my eyes again,I need to know they’re okay. If I knew that, maybe it would be easier to wake up.
