Rushing to it, I turned the knob, and unlike the bedroom, this one didn’t open. I heard a thud, and knowing what a body sounded like when hitting stone, I frantically began to shake the door, rattling the damn thing but getting no response.
“Aurora, baby. Answer me.” Still nothing. “Bellezza.” Again, not a damn sound. “Aurora!” I said more forcefully.
“Where’s the girl? Are you two coming down here?” I heard Cillian say.
I knew what he was likely thinking. My uncles needed to talk to us both about what happened now that the plans had changed, so it wasn’t surprising that Cill was wondering what the hell we were doing. I knocked on the door again. I wasn’t above picking a lock, and would.
As I determined it would be what I needed to do, I went to turn, but something warm, wet, and thick touched my toe. I knew the feel of blood, and looking down at the red liquid seeping out from under the crack of the door and staining my bare foot, something snapped in me.
Stepping back, I put all my weight into it and slammed against the door. It rattled, but it didn’t budge. Not deterred,especially as actual fear crept up inside of me, I kept slamming my side into the door.
Once... Twice... Three times...
Finally, it gave way, and as soon as it did, my legs went out from under me. Aurora was lying in a pool of blood with her wrists as the culprits.
“Bellezza,” I cried out in anguish.
Precious seconds ticked by as I stared at my entire world in ruins around my knees. I’d wanted to break her, but not in this way. God no, never in this way. I lifted one of her arms, quickly trying to locate a pulse. I couldn’t even be relieved upon finding one because it was so faint, and blood continued to pool at her wound.
“Don’t leave me, Bellezza. I won’t live without you,” I swore vehemently as I pulled her into my arms. Her body was growing so cold, and she was so still. “Help,” I screamed, hoping my uncles could hear me.
At the thundering sound of footsteps, I knew they had. By the time they reached the bedroom, I was already back on my feet, holding my unconscious woman in my arms.
“Holy fuck, Z. What happened?” Cillian asked me while Kingston quickly grabbed two hand towels.
“We need to elevate her wrists above her heart, then apply pressure on the wounds. Cillian, go get Nolan. He’s a former medic,” my uncle told me when I looked over at him, then continued barking out orders showing a calmness I didn’t feel. “And tell him we’ve got a bleeder in here.”
I opened my mouth once or twice to speak, but no words came out. Cillian hurried downstairs while Kingston helped me bring her to the bed. We raised her arms up to her shoulders, then he took one wrist while I took the other, and we wrapped the towels around them, then applied pressure.
“What happened?” Kingston mouthed to me.
I shook my head, then returned my focus to Aurora. Her skin was even more pale than usual, and her gorgeous lips were starting to turn blue. “Please don’t leave me, Bellezza. Don’t go.”
“We’re going to help her, Z. Just?—”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up. It’s yours and Cillian’s fault that she did this. If she dies, I’ll never forgive?—”
“Whoa, Z. Don’t say something you can’t take back. Nolan’s here,” Cillian said from the doorway. “Let him look at her.”
My uncle’s right-hand man looked at me dismissively before moving to Kingston’s side. I saw Kingston whisper something to him while never taking his eyes off me. The man gave a nod, then bent down to examine the wound.
The next several minutes passed by in a blur as he was able to finally get the bleeding stopped and both wrists stitched and bandaged up. “This one narrowly escaped death. She struck veins on both instead of an artery. If it had been the other way around, you’d be calling the morgue right now.”
“S-so she’s going to be okay?” I asked, scared to latch onto the smallest glimmer of hope just yet.
“Yes. Kingston, Cillian, and I will stay in Boston overnight and I’ll be back to check on her in a few hours.”
“We need to take care of the Bocharov situation. We’ll be back, though,” Kingston said to me.
I just nodded at them as they filed out of the room. On his way out, Cillian stopped and clapped my shoulder. “Keep the faith, Z.”
“How?” I asked him. “How can I go on without her?”
“It’s hard. I know. I’d spent too many years at the bottom of a bottle, whether alcohol or pills. I’d try to end the pain, but fate wouldn’t let me. I was meant to reunite with my Anamchara and meet my daughter. I’m not sure if it was a guardian angel, but someone was looking out for me. They’ll look out for you, too. And for her. I see the way you look at her, and it’s no lessobsessive than how I look at Reagan or King at Ekaterina. We’ve endured so much in our lifetimes, and you maybe more than all of us. Trust that what you have is truly love, and if it is, you’re never out of the game.”
“Thanks, Cill,” I said, and he wrapped one arm around me.
“Since the day I first met you, I’ve been waiting for that fire to reach your eyes. Over the years, you’ve always just gone along with whatever as if you were on autopilot. You were alive, but never truly seemed to be living. Today, I saw a man who would burn the entire fucking world down for the one he loves. Just know that I love you as well, Z. You’re a Brannington, and nothing will ever change that. It’s probably not even the right time to say this, but I’m fucking proud of you.”
