Page 167 of Sin & Sapphire

I scoffed. “A lot of people desperate for my fortune,” I sneered. “I need to get out of here. I won’t stay alive for long without protection.”

The nurse raised an eyebrow. “I hear you blew up a church.”

My laugh sent pain shooting through my body.

“I figure you’ve got a little bit of time before the mob comes to get you,” she continued. “You’re fuckin’ fierce. I love it.”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? I didn’t care about whether I was fierce or not. I never had. I wanted to choose my own path, to marry whomever I wanted, and to build the future of my dreams. I wanted the white picket fence, kids shrieking with joy as we pushed them on swings, surrounded by—my heart stopped and broke again.

Surrounded by three men who only saw me as a pawn.

When I didn’t answer, the nurse tutted over me, adjusting the pillows under my arms and face. “You’re in bad shape,” she murmured. “The doc’ll be in shortly.”

I nodded and closed my eyes, allowing my brain to disassociate from the intense pain of my injuries.

The firm snick of a door brought me back to the present, and a doctor with skin the color of bronze in the sunshine moved into my field of vision with a warm smile. “My name is Dr. Moyo,” he said. “You have a lot of people who care about you, young lady. There are some men outside who’ve thrown a lot of money to be allowed in, including a promise to dedicate a wing of the hospital to you.”

“I don’t want to see them,” I said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow. “Then we need to move you to a more secure location. We’re not equipped to stand up to the mafia.”

Of course they weren’t. My presence put every person in this building in danger. All it would take was one man to decide that the Costa empire was worth laying waste to the hospital, and all of this would be for naught.

“Right,” I agreed. Too bad I didn’t have an army of my own, or any property at all. I didn’t even know how I was going to pay my medical bills. “I’ll figure it out,” I said with an exhausted sigh, then immediately regretted the movement. “What’s the diagnosis?”

“Nothing time won’t heal,” he said gently. “We’ve sewn up the wounds on your back and legs. Your left ankle is swollen but not broken. You have what appears to be a mild concussion from the blast, and some scrapes. We’ll put you in touch with psychological services as well, given what you’ve been through.”

“How do you know what I’ve been through?” I asked, tilting my head.

“You’re Ana Costa,” he murmured. “The whole city knows what you did to that interloper.”

My eyes widened.

He stepped closer to my bed. “There are two men desperate for entry into this room—are they responsible for your injuries as well?”

I scoffed. “Only to my heart.”

The doctor nodded firmly. “We don’t have the resources to keep the mafia out, but an absolutely terrifying Italian man has physically planted himself in front of the door to stop them. I imagine he’ll do so for as long as you like.”

My stomach dropped through the floor at the thought of not seeing my men again. I’d thought I wanted my freedom, but I was so fucking wrong. I wantedthem. Ilovedthem.

“There’s something else you should know,” he continued. “I’d tell you to sit down but?—”

I laughed at his gentle joke and the kind way his eyes crinkled in response reassured me.

“You’re pregnant.”

“No, I can’t be,” I said, startled at my sadness at the thought. “I’m on birth control.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind?”

“An IUD,” I answered.

“You definitely do not have an IUD right now. Are you sure you’re safe with those men?”

I laughed quietly to myself. Those fuckers. It had to have been Angelo who’d taken it out. And if I’d known…what? What would I have done differently? Absolutely fucking nothing. And if they knew I was carrying their baby? They’d stay with me for that, and not because they loved me.

Tears pricked behind my eyes. “Don’t tell them,” I said quietly. “Please.”

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