Page 107 of Falling for the Enemy

I force myself not to look for her.

Instead, I run to the SUV.

Still, Anna’s voice follows us.

“I’ll do anything, just p-please wake u-up!”

Her broken plea is the last thing I hear before jumping into the backseat of the vehicle with Manzana cradled against me, her erratic pulse a dire warning that time is running out.

I just don’t realize how quickly it’s slipping through my very hands.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Alejandro

Blood and death.

Everywhere I look, it’s all I see.

From the red that stains Ari’s skin and torn clothing, the dark blue fabric of her dress no longer recognizable, to the crimson that pools beneath the gurney where she lies, her eyes closed and body limp, it taunts me, an unending reminder of just how badly I fucked up.

My woman is dying.

That beautiful heart that beats in sync with mine is dangerously close to stopping as she bleeds out, the three holes in her back quickly allowing her life, one she’s too young to lose, to slip away.

And it’s all my fucking fault.

Mistakes are something I don’t ever make. In my position, doing so leads to annihilation. Yet, the one time I fuck up by not reacting quickly enough, life tries to force the woman I love to pay for my sins instead of me.

I won’t accept such a bullshit outcome.

Many would say I’m loco for believing I can change fate; they’re wrong. Death may have its black talons sunk into her soul, but if the grim reaper wishes to drag Ari to the depths of Hell, it’ll have to get past me first.

Nothing is taking her from me.

Chest heaving, I come to a stop amid the hallway next to the ER bay where a small army of medical personnel fight to save my woman, putting an end to the pacing I’ve been doing for the past ten minutes.

“Arianna!” Eyes turn in my direction, Casper’s included, but I pay them exactly zero attention. “You hang on!”

A nurse injects a syringe into the IV that’s placed in the bend of Ari’s arm as an alarm sounds on the machine to her right. One of the attending doctors glances at me over his shoulder, the defeat in his gaze unmistakable.

If he wishes to live, he’ll push it away.

The pendejo isn’t giving up on her.

No one is.

I start to pace once more, my clenched fists hanging at my sides. With my face twisted in fury, and both my clothes and hands soaked with blood, I have no doubt the sight of me is unnerving.

Good.

“Save her, Doc.” My words come out as a growl, the animalistic tone only Ari elicits in me making an appearance. “You don’t and your legs will be the first body parts I shatter, followed by your arms.”

Fear palpable, his eyes widen.

He looks dangerously close to pissing himself.

I throw my arm out, gesturing toward Ari. “Quit staring at me, cabrón, and help her!” Head snapping back around, he immediately diverts his attention from me to the task at hand.

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