Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“Are you going to kill all of us?” Achilles inquired indifferently. “If so, I’ll go ream the flight attendant’s ass, so at least I can die doing something I love.”
“Here.” I stood up and grabbed the pilot by the collar, dumping him back into his seat. “That’s better. Now that we’re at maximum speed, how about I’ll dig my gun into your temple to make sure you don’t decrease it, and you won’t bitch and moan to me about health and safety?”
He nodded, gulping.
_______
When we arrived at the private airport, I rushed into the Ferrantes’ Escalade and leaped out as soon as we hit the Manhattan traffic. I stalked my way between the vehicles waiting at a red light to the front of the line and yanked a biker off his Ducati. I wasn’t gonna wank around sitting at a standstill while Lila’s life was hanging by a thread.
I floored it to the hospital. As I pulled into a double park, a GMC truck zipped past, grazing my left side and slamming me against a lamppost. My right knee smashed into the concrete. I limped my way into the hospital, dragging the leg as I did, ignoring horrified looks and Good Samaritans wanting to help.
I pushed a few nurses out of the lobby elevator to make room, both for myself and my psychotic meltdown. By the time the elevator pinged open, my knee was the size of a fucking basketball. I crawled the length of the corridor the rest of the way, bypassing Enzo and his little minions. He was standing outside her door, yelling in Italian into his phone and ignoring his slithering, bleeding brother-in-law.
Was it my best look? No.
Did I give a shit? Also no.
Two of my soldiers were waiting by her door. I swung myself upright and stumbled inside.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
And there was Lila. My Lila.
So beautiful. So pale. So angelic I sometimes second-guessed she belonged to this ugly world.
Her eyes were closed. Her face was bruised. Her stomach was…intact?
I knew jack shit about pregnancies. The baby still seemed to be in there. But that didn’t mean he had a heartbeat or that he survived.
The sound of a toilet flushing came from an adjacent toilet, and Fintan got out, zipping his trousers. “Brother.”
We collapsed into a hug. It took everything inside me not to sob like a little bitch. Fintan was the first to disconnect.
“I’ll go call the doctor, yeah? He said he’s got some news.”
I nodded, advancing to Lila’s bed and taking her hand in mine. Cold. Frail. Hooked to so many tubes and strings.
I needed to find out who did this to her. Who drove the truck that hit them. I was going to kill that person in a way so painful it had yet to be invented.
“Darlin’.” I crouched down, pressing her hand to my lips. “This is the last time I’m leaving you for more than ten minutes. Whose stupid idea was that?”
The door swung open again. Fintan lumbered in with Dr. Delgwhatever. An overweight, bald man with the grace and poise of an elderly water buffalo.
“Mr. Callaghan. How do you do?”
“Take a wild fucking guess, Einstein.” I held my wife’s hand in mine like it was a grenade I didn’t want popping. “You’ve got news for me?”
“She came to earlier. She’s asleep now. We ran some cognitive tests and she seems alert and coherent. The operation, as you know, was successful.”
“And the baby?”
He cleared his throat, taking a step back just to be on the safe side. “He’s well. Strong heartbeat. We’re monitoring both of them.”
There wasn’t a word in the English dictionary for how I felt in that moment.
Relief. Joy. Unimaginable peace.
Escaping Igor’s hell was just another Tuesday in comparison to this.
“That’s good,” I said. “We want everyone in this room to make it out of this ordeal alive.”
Fintan shot me an alarmed glare. Yes, I did, in fact, just threaten a doctor in uniform.
“O-of course,” the doctor mumbled. “Please let me know if you have any further questions.”
“Will she be up soon?”
“She fell asleep an hour ago, so I think you have some time,” the doctor said.
“I’ll go see my sister, then.”
“She’s awake in the next room,” Fin said, his smile a little wobbly.
_______
“Your priorities have changed,” Tierney croaked.
She looked like shit.
Face swollen, lip busted, every inch of her flesh painted purple and blue.
I sat next to her bed, holding her hand. I didn’t deny it.
I came to Lila first.
And I would do it all over again if I had to.
She smiled sadly at my silent admission. “I heard the baby will be fine.”
“Physically, yes,” I drawled. “I’m going to be his father, so not too much hope for him in the other departments.”
“Will you?” she asked sleepily, her eyelids fluttering like keeping them open took a Herculean effort. “Be his father, I mean. The plan was to…what were your exact words? Unhand her as soon as she gave birth.”