Page 107 of Enforcer

When I come to,I’m fighting mad. Hands hold me down as I grasp something that’s gagging me and yank it, which only gags me more.

“Calm down, killer. Antonio went to get the nurse. Breathe through your nose for a few minutes.”

It’s Lorenzo. A voice I recognize, even with my eyes closed.

“How long has she been awake?” a woman asks.

To which Antonio replies, “Only a few minutes. She came to out of nowhere and started yanking on her tube.”

“That’s typical. Alyssa, dear, can you open your eyes for me? If I’m going to take this out, I need you to help me do it, alright?” the nurse says.

I open my eyes, blinking through the remnants of sleep and the fog of what I can only assume are drugs to keep me sedated.

“There you are. Alright, this is how we’re going to do this…”

She gives me instructions to cough as she tugs to help ease the tube out of my throat so I don’t gag as severely. It still fucking sucks, but once it’s out, I take a deep breath of my own and wipe away the water trickling out of my eyes.

“Good job. Good to see you awake and alert,” the nurse says, looking over my poles and monitors. “I’m going to get the doctor and have him come assess her,” she tells Lorenzo.

Both men look ragged.

How long have I been out for?

I try to speak, but my throat feels like someone’s been inside it with sandpaper.

“It’s alright.” Lorenzo sits on the edge of the bed, grabbing my hands and covering them with his own. “Dante is stable now. He’s had two surgeries, and he’s in rough shape, but they finally have him stable.”

I clear my throat as Antonio leans over with a glass of water, holding the straw steady for me to drink.

Once the water slides down, I feel a sense of renewed energy, even if it’s false.

“Will he be alright?” I whisper.

Lorenzo looks at Antonio before answering, and I don’t like its implication. “We don’t know. They’ve put him in a medical coma so that he has the best chance of recovery.”

The news hits me like a ton of bricks. My body flushes with worry and sadness, waves of emotions crashing together like the ferocious waves of the ocean during a storm.

I don’t know how to handle them, either. They’re nearly choking me.

“Brynne and Slate should be here soon,” Antonio tells Lorenzo, to which Lorenzo nods.

“They left their honeymoon?” I whisper, my voice breaking through here and there as it tries to return.

Another look passes between them.

“Stop doing that shit, I’m right here. Talk to me.”

“Sorry,” they both mutter.

“Their honeymoon ended two weeks ago, Lyss,” Antonio says, taking my hand from Lorenzo.

He squeezes it, and it feels like the only thing keeping me sane.

“Two weeks,” I say, eyes watering. “I’ve been here for two weeks?”

The door opens, Brynne walks in, and then she stops dead. Her hands cover her mouth, and then she rushes me.

Lorenzo and Antonio fade to the corner of the room where Slate walks over to them, hands in pockets as they whisper amongst themselves.

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