Page 82 of Midnight Whispers

“That’s great! That’s great! Now see if you can do it a little more.” He squeezes my hand.

I try again, and this time, I get them open slowly. Nero’s standing beside the bed, looking down at me with tears in his eyes.

“Oh, thank God.” He presses his forehead to mine and wetness coats my cheek, but it isn’t my own.

“I need you to back up, Mr. Voss,” a deep voice from behind him says.

A man in a white lab coat looks over me from the other side of the bed. It’s a bit of a blur. He asks me questions about how I’m feeling and whether I’m in pain. It’s as if as soon as he mentions it, my brain takes notice of the throbbing pain on my left side. He goes on to explain to me that I had surgery to repair a gunshot wound in my side.

“You were very lucky it didn’t hit any internal organs. It will take some time to recover, but you should be fine with no lasting repercussions down the road.”

I don’t say anything. I’m so confused. I don’t remember how I even got here.

Once the doctor leaves, I turn my attention to Nero. “What happened? Who shot me?”

I try to remember, but everything is a blur. I remember leaving the dance studio and being glad to be able to go to bed soon because I was so tired. And I remember thinking that I was going to feel sad when I drove past the gates… because Nero wasn’t speaking to me anymore.

Everything comes back to me in a rush—Maude and Louise showing up at the studio, Nero being upset with me, and us breaking up. So why is he here?

“Go on and tell her, Nero. I’m going to give you guys some privacy.” I hadn’t even realized that Anabelle returned.

“What are you doing here?” I ask once she’s gone.

“Of course I’m here.” He grips my hand tighter.

“The last thing I remember was that you still hated me. Did we make up, and I just forgot?”

He shakes his head, frowning. “No, but we’re going to. Because I’m never letting you go again, Cinder. But we’ll save that conversation for when you’re healed.”

“Okay.” The only reason I agree is because I don’t have any energy. I’m so tired. “Who shot me then?”

His jaw clenches. “Freddie did. He ambushed you after you left the studio. I tried to intervene, and he aimed the gun at me. You saved my life.”

“I did?”

He presses his lips together and nods. “Yeah. Even though we weren’t together, you still saved my life, and you got shot as a result, almost ending your own.” He shakes his head as if he can’t believe it, and his eyes water. “Don’t take a bullet for me ever again, you hear me?”

I’m not surprised by what he tells me. Except the part about Freddie ambushing me. There’s no way I would stand by and do nothing if Nero’s life was in jeopardy.

“What happened to Freddie?” I ask.

“I tell you all that, and you want to know what happened to Freddie? Cinder, you saved my life and almost died in the process. I was so scared when I saw you lying there, bleeding. I thought the universe was stealing someone else I love from me.”

My eyes widen when he mentions the word love, but my eyelids get heavier and heavier. I don’t have long until my body demands that I rest. “So what happened with Freddie?”

I need to know that he’s not a threat to me or Nero or Lisa and her kids.

“He’s been arrested and charged with attempted murder, among other things.”

“Good. That’s good.” But before I can say anything else, my eyelids close, and I drift off.

Chapter

Thirty-Five

CINDER

Aweek passes before I’m allowed to leave the hospital, though a nurse will come see me at the manor every day to ensure that I’m progressing well. The next week will be spent mostly in bed, except for the daily exercises they want me to do. That just consists of getting out of bed and walking ten or twenty feet. It still hurts when I move, and Nero insists on putting me in a wheelchair and pushing me when we arrive at Midnight Manor.

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