Page 60 of Cruel Devil

I get it, it’s a lot to take in. It looks like the entire Baroque Era got drunk and threw up in here. It’s a godsend that most of the place is cloaked in shadows, the available light concentrated in the sleeping area of the massive chamber where Bryan’s king-sized bed is, else we’d have been blinded by all the gold-plated fixtures.

Bryan’s girlfriend, Viv, looks up when we head in their direction. She’s lying propped up beside him, her pudgy feet sticking out from beneath a ruby-red cashmere throw that’s pulled up to her shoulders.

God, please don’t let her be naked.

When she squints over at us and notices Andy, she jumps up so fast her tits are still swaying behind her silky dress robe by the time she reaches us.

“Andy, baby!” She throws her arms around her daughter. Andy immediately stiffens up, and then relaxes almost reluctantly into the embrace. If Viv had been wearing her usual killer stilettos, she’d have been at eye level with her daughter but, barefoot, Andy has two inches on the older woman.

“I don’t believe it. I thought I was dreaming. What are you doing here?” Viv says when she finally pulls back, and if the tears in her eyes aren’t method acting, then shit, I guess she’s really glad to see her daughter again.

It might have made me nostalgic for a mother’s love, but honestly, I don’t even remember mine.

She died a few months after I was born, some or other complication from my birth. Sergio never speaks about her either, and the family photos I’ve seen were few and far between. I’d almost say it’s too painful for him, but then I’d inadvertently be admitting he has a heart, and even after nearly three decades on this earth, I still haven’t seen proof.

Watching Andy reunited with her mother, though? It makes me wonder if mine ever looked at me the way Viv is looking at her daughter.

Such bright hope, maybe even a touch of wonder.

Viv grabs Andy’s hand, lacing their fingers as she pulls her daughter toward the bed. “Come meet my Bryan. Oh, he’s going to be thrilled!”

I tap out a cigarette from my pack, look over at Bryan’s bed, and hesitate. Maybe not the best idea to be smoking close to someone who looks like he’s been knocking on Death’s door for the past hour and is about to start ringing the buzzer.

Sighing, I shove the cigarette back and inch closer to the bed, not wanting to intrude, but always too nosy for my own good.

“…told you she would come!” Viv holds Bryan’s hand, gently worrying at his arm as if she can somehow rouse him from his near comatose state.

Damn, Savage’s father looks even shittier today than he did yesterday. The fuck is wrong with the old man? I’ve never seen him look this bad, not even the time he took three bullets to the gut in a shootout.

Andy seems just as concerned as I am. Without a word, the redhead peels Viv’s fingers off Bryan’s wrist and gently moves her mother aside so she can lean over the bed.

I know she’s Viv’s daughter, but I still feel a current of unease spear through me at seeing her so close to Savage’s dad. I rip my phone out of my pocket, hastily typing out a message while trying to keep an eye on Andy at the same time.

Vito

Brought Andy to Viv.

She’s doctoring Bryan.

Get here when you can.

I move a little closer, coming to stand just behind Andy. “We all good here?”

Andy peels back Bryan’s lids, so smoothly that it’s done before I realize I should be protesting. I grab her arms, drawing her away from the bed.

Dragging, when she doesn’t come willingly.

She jerks out of my grip. “What the hell are you doing?”

“You shouldn’t be touching him.”

“Because you want him to die?” Her voice is low, but there’s such fervor in it that I blink at her in astonishment.

“Yeah, he’s not looking great, but…”

She snaps her eyes away from me. “Mom, tell me there’s some kind of medical equipment in this palatial dump.”

Viv glances at me, then back at Andy, a worried frown creasing her brow. “Ooh, I don’t know, baby. Some of the nurses carry this big red bag around. Is that?—?”

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