Page 3 of Blood & Heartache

Oh, Ryker would not like that at all.

“You can remove us, but her bodyguard will stay here. We were attacked, and I’m not taking any chances. He will stay out of your way unless something happens that he’ll need to defend her,” Ryker countered. “I suggest you don’t fight me on this, or it will be the last night you practice as a doctor in any hospital.”

Yup, Rykeykins was pissed all right.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to stand in that corner and let us do our jobs. She’s lost a lot of blood, and we need to find where this bullet is,” the angry man ordered. “I need a portable x-ray in here, stat.”

A woman’s face appeared, blocking the light overhead as she flicked a smaller light into my eyes. “Ma’am, I need you to tell me your name.”

“Astin,” I answered.

“Good, do you know what day it is?” she questioned, running her hands over my neck, shoulders, and chest, checking for damage.

“Tuesday night? Or is it Wednesday?” I asked, as more of a question.

So much had happened already this week I’d lost track. I’m not sure I could have answered that even without this happening.

“Did you hit your head during the attack?” she pressed.

“No, the only injury I know of is my thigh. I don’t think it hit anything major. The bleeding wasn’t bad after it happened,” I rambled.

“Okay, Astin, we’ll look into it. The shot wasn’t through and through, so the bullet’s still in there somewhere. We need to find it and make sure it hasn’t caused more damage.”

I knew it hadn’t been a through-and-through, but could I have caused more damage pushing through it? Fuck, what if I lost the use of my leg? What if they had to cut it off? No, no, no. I couldn’t lose more right now. Losing Daddy and my leg would break me. I couldn’t come back from that. I knew it in the depth of my soul.

The nurse draped something heavy over me then started to pull away, but I grabbed her arm. “I don’t care what anyone says or what paperwork I need to sign, but no one is allowed to take my leg. Do you hear me? There will be something else you can do because this leg is staying with me until the day I die.”

The nurse gave me a sympathetic look. “I won’t make any promises, but I doubt the damage is that bad. Regardless, I’ll get you the paperwork to sign since you’re awake, alert, and of sound mind. It will prevent anyone else from going against your wishes.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Okay, the bullet’s shifted way too close to the femoral artery. We need to get her into surgery now,” the angry doctor shouted. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”

And just like that, I was rolled out of the ER, down the hall, and into an elevator. Minutes later, I was being asked to count down from ten and realized I’d never signed the paperwork.

Thankfully, when I woke up, I still had all four limbs to call my own.

“Hey, babe, we’re home,” Jace whispered.

Chapter 2

Blinking my eyes, I hadn’t realized I’d drifted off to sleep. Damn pills knocked my ass out hard, and I hated it. Now that the pain was being dulled, I hadn’t realized how much pain I’d actually been in. In a way, I suppose I’d used it to keep myself from getting overwhelmed with sadness as I struggled through the service.

Before I could protest, Jace scooped me up and handed me off to Boykov, who was outside the limo. We were under the covered entrance to the manor, but it seemed the rain had started to let up some. Boykov placed me in the wheelchair I’d cursed since the day my doctor told me I had to use it for at least two weeks. I’d only been allowed to go to the funeral without it because I was willing to use the cane. No fucking way was I going to let anyone but people I trusted know how badly I was hurt. The wheelchair was never going to be an option outside the walls of this home.

Apparently, the bullet fucked up a lot of my thigh muscle, and I’d made it worse when I continued to act like I hadn’t gotten shot. I’d recover fully, but it would be slow, and I would need physical therapy once the muscle had healed enough. Overall, the doctor was impressed with how well I was doing, but I wasn’t going to tell him what I’d endured growing up. This type of pain I could handle. It was familiar, like an old friend. Besides, it kept me from becoming a mess like Casimira. There was too much to do, and the pain was motivating like a heartbeat drumming away, reminding me what had been done to me.

Boykov rolled me into my home using the ramp someone had made to get me up the short flight of stairs from the entryway into the main area of the house. Once we were in the hall, he released his hold and let me take over, knowing I’d yell at him if he didn’t. I wasn’t a woman who was used to relying on others or letting them see me in emotional or physical pain. Right now was the perfect storm of all those things, making me wild and unpredictable.

Needing a break from people, I rolled my way back to the meeting room, knowing I could lock the door and no one would be able to get in unless I let them. It was where all the leaders of the Caprioni Family before me kept records of our real business. There were also journals and other documentation they’d felt important enough to put into code and leave for those to come. Things had been so busy I hadn’t had time to investigate what Daddy told me about the journal. It seemed now was as good a time as any to find what he’d told me to look for.

“Astin,” Glenda called out to me.

Pausing, I looked over my shoulder to find the woman who’d raised me standing there with a steaming mug of hot coffee. Glenda had been my nanny growing up, and truthfully, she was more like a grandmother than anything. She’s always been with me, looking after me and making sure I didn’t get into too much trouble. Glenda had also known my father as a young man and had loved him as much as she loved me. My family has been her family since she joined our staff forty years ago.

“Can I bring you coffee and something to eat before you lock yourself away?” Glenda pleaded.

This woman knew me better than anyone in the world. Of course, she’d known what I was about to do. I wasn’t one to show weakness. Instead, I hide.