Page 98 of Born a Queen

"Makes sense." Though he trusted Sotza to take care of his holdings, he was concerned about the ripple effect this attack would have through the Miami underworld. Now was the time to make a show of strength. To show all of his contacts, new and old, that he would not be defeated so easily. "How long was I out? Help me up."

Mateo swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for the IV in his arm. He suspected that he was getting a good dose of morphine along with his fluids. Before Raina could try and stop Mateo, he yanked the tubes from his arm. A trickle of blood welled up and ran down his hand from where he pulled the needle out.

"No, I won't help you!" Raina said, her voice going high with concern. "You need to stay in bed. You literally just had surgery, Mateo."

"Raina," Mateo took hold of her arms and gave her a shake. "How long was I out?"

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "About four hours. They took you into surgery as soon as we arrived and you’ve been in recovery for about two hours."

Good. The sooner he got up and moving the less time his Miami contacts would have to wonder whether he was alive or dead, whether he had left a gaping opening for one of them to fill.

"My clothes?"

Raina's lips tightened and she continued to give him a death glare that made it clear how she felt about him being up so soon. Regardless, she pointed to a chair where there was a tidy stack of his clothes.

It hurt to get dressed, but Raina finally relented in her anger and helped him pull his clothes on, very gently pulling the zipper on his pants and buckling his belt. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she tilted her head up and gave him a half grin.

"Are you seriously getting hard right here, right now, after all we've been through?" she asked with an incredulous laugh.

He wrapped an arm around her neck pulling her in tight against his good shoulder. He dropped his head to kiss her. "Woman, I'd have to be on my deathbed to withstand your touch. And even then, pretty sure I'm going to be going to my grave with a permanent boner."

They laughed together, a much-needed moment. As they left the room, two bodyguards stood up from their positions outside Mateo’s room and flanked them. Reinforcements that Sotza sent. A doctor tried to argue Mateo out of leaving, but Mateo was insistent. Finally, he was given a form to sign saying that he was leaving the hospital against medical advice.

Together, they stepped out into the balmy Miami night. Though Mateo badly wanted to go back to the mansion and put his house back in order, he had to make a few stops first. He had to go to those damned clubs he despised so much, sit down, have a drink with his woman and show the world that there was not a thing wrong with the new Miami boss.

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