Page 63 of Bound to the Crime Lord

Rosa took on my weight and helped me down onto the floor. She cradled my head in her lap and pressed down on the wound.

I had no pain in my back, which meant that there was likely no exit point. The bullet was still lodged inside of me. This could either work in my favor or… it could kill me.

How this all played out depended on how fast they could get me to a hospital, and what kind of doctor would be operating on me. From the area where the bullet pierced, I was almost certain it had just about missed a major artery, and now was somewhere between my pancreas and liver.

The chances of me living through this were 60/40, which were not great odds, but at least it was better than zero.

“Rigo!Rodrigo!” Manuel called out into the woodlands. The panic in his voice was a tone I had never heard coming from him before. Manuel was always the cool, calm and collected one. If he was in a panic, I knew that this was bad. “Rigo!”

I looked up at him, seeing a small trail of moisture travelling down the side of his face.

With great effort, I reached out my hand to cup the side of his face. He leaned into my touch and kissed the inside of my palm.

“I’m sorry.” My chest struggled to rise and fall as it took in air. “I killed your brother.”

He shook his head, his eyes shining from the tears he struggled to pull back. “I was going to kill him anyway. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I told you I would protect you.”

I could feel my body shutting down. It started in my toes, the tingling numbness slowly worked its way up my body.

I was going to die. I could feel it.

“I told you that I didn’t need protecting. I could have done it on my own.”

I tried to smile, but even that felt strenuous. “I wanted to protect you, Manuel. I wanted to do it because I?—…”

“No.” He pressed my hand to the side of my face. “Tell me when you’re better. Don’t you dare tell me like this.”

“But I… I won’t get better, Manny.”

“Yes, yes you will.” He choked out the words looking utterly and completely broken. “Tell me when we get back home.”

“Manuel.” I could feel the sting lodged in my throat. I tried to push it down, but the tears had already blurred my vision. I didn’t want him to see me cry. I didn’t want him to feel sad. “Promise me you’ll take care of Ethan. Support… support him in whatever he wants to do after his treatment and make sure that he’s never alone.”

“Stop it!” he hissed. “Rodrigo, dammit! Get help!”

I brushed my thumb against his cheek and wiped away the tear that had fallen from his eye.

“Promise me,amor.” My voice shook, unable to hold it back anymore. “Promise me you will love him the way you do a brother. I need to go knowing he will be taken care of.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Juliette! You’re going to be fine, and then you’re going to live a long and happy life with me, wherever you want, okay? Just… keep your heart beating,amor. Please.”

“Promise me.”

He shook his head, shutting his eyes as the tears rolled down faster. “I promise. But you have to promise me to live. You can’t leave me, Juliette. I only just found you.”

I wanted to give that to him. I wanted to promise him that I would stay by his side, but my body was failing. I only had seconds left in me. And if all I had was seconds, then I had one more thing to say.

“I love you, Manuel Gomez, with my entire heart, soul and mind. I love you.”

“No,amor. Please.”

“I…I…lo…love you.” I stared into those liquid-colored eyes for the last time before my vision turned black, and I heard his rippling scream fill my ears.

Chapter Thirty-One

Manuel POV

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