Page 60 of Forever Mine

“Ma’am, I was just here with her a few weeks ago. Do you remember me?” I ask, and she nods. “I think the guy who beat her up might have burned her apartment down then. I have to be with her right now. Please. I’m not leaving the hospital, so either you let me in her room, or I sit out here all night.”

She looks at me and sighs in defeat.

“Okay, but you don’t leave the room once you go in there. And be quiet. You don’t make a peep if anyone comes in that room.”

“Got it,” I tell her as I pantomime locking my lips and throwing away the key. “Thank you. I need to be near her. I’m really struggling with all of this.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate your support,” she tells me kindly, and I fight the urge to tell her how strong-willed and defiant myqueridacan be. I have no doubt she will tell me I’m exaggerating things and still want to stay with Emily. Monica isn’t leaving my side for the foreseeable future. As we approach Monica’s room, my cell vibrates with a call.

“I need to take this; it’s Monica’s best friend,” I tell the nurse, and she nods in understanding.

“She’s sleeping, so be quiet when you go in. I’ll check on you before my shift ends,” she tells me as I accept the call from Emily.

“Did you find her?” Emily asks.

“Yeah. We’re at the hospital. Marcus beat her up pretty bad, Emily.”

“What?” she shouts.

“He’s been arrested. I found her right as he was kicking her in the stomach. She passed out on the drive to the hospital,” I tell her, my eyes closing as I visualize that scene. I’ll never forget seeing her curled up in a ball on the dirty bar floor.

“Oh my God, Gabriel! Why would she put herself in that situation? We were all meeting tonight to figure out how to help her, and she just went rogue!”

“Knowing her, I’m guessing he threatened something.”

“She mentioned that he’s been in my house, Gabriel. I assume he threatened us. Or my kids. Or both. Oh my God. She would martyr herself to protect my babies,” Emily says as her voice trembles. “What if they don’t keep him in jail? How can we keep her safe?”

“Now that the police are involved, I hope we have more options. I’m not leaving her side from now on, whether she likes it or not,” I say determinedly.

“She’ll fight you on it,” Emily tells me.

“I know. I’m not backing down this time. I’ve given her enough space. I’ve let her process things on her own timeline, and she almost got killed twice because of it. This time she’s going to have to trust me.”

“She does trust you, Gabriel. She struggles a lot with relationships. She’s been burned in the past and has a really shitty family. All the men in her family are horrid assholes, and she decided all men are the same way. She never intended to get involved with Marcus. She told me more than once he was just there to scratch an itch.”

My blood pressure rises as I think about Marcus and Monica together. To know he’s been intimate with her makes me feel somewhat homicidal.Piçois lucky he’s locked up, or I’d be taking him on. He’s messed with Monica for the last time.

I end the conversation with Emily promising to call her if anything changes before quietly opening the door to Monica’s room. She looks swallowed up by the bed, her face swollen and bruised. The nurse said she didn’t have a concussion, but her ribs were incredibly bruised when Marcus kicked her. She’ll also have some pain and tenderness in her abdomen where he kicked her there.

“Anjinho. Oh, baby,” I whisper as I quietly approach her bed. I lean down and place a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Gabriel …” she moans. Her hand comes up to touch my face. “I’m sorry. I should have believed you.”

“It’s okay,querida. It’s okay. Nothing matters right now except for you. Nothing,” I whisper against her temple.

“Hold me, please.”

I don’t hesitate before climbing onto the bed and gingerly scooping her up, settling her in my lap. I face the door, so I can see anyone as they enter. I won’t be sleeping tonight. Myqueridais my focus, and no one will hurt her again.

Monica sleeps fitfully against my chest the entire night. Other than answering a few texts, I haven’t moved an inch. I let Tommy know that Marcus escalated things and is now detained by MSPD. He has a buddy on the force and is trying to track down information. Emily gave my number to Liam, who is married to one of her other best friends. Liam is a deputy sheriff and wanted to speak to me about what I saw. He asked if he could call, and I said we could communicate over text, so I didn’t wake Monica.

Liam: His name isn’t Marcus. It’s Nicolas Bianchi. He’s from Texas.

Me: Why does that name sound familiar?

Liam: His family is Italian mob, if that helps.

Fucking hell. That’s how I know him. Growing up in Texas, I knew some of the Italian mob families. The Bianchi clan is known for being vile and disrespectful. While other mafia families draw the line at hurting women and children, the Bianchis don’t care. They’ll maim and kill anyone to get their point across.

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