Page 108 of Where Dark Hearts Devour
I take a step back involuntarily. It’s not working. Whatever they’re doing, it’s not working. The only thing competing with my sense of utter helplessness is the steel barrel burning a canyon into my back.
Two more medics run out of the building, one carrying a large syringe. I watch distantly as they plunge the needle into Trilby and pump her full of some chemical. Then the pads are applied again.
I close my eyes before I hear the next bang, and this time I feel it deep inside my chest. Everything goes quiet—even the blood in my own veins.
“We have a pulse!”
My eyelids burst open.
Four medics take each corner of the trolley and run inside the hospital, while another medic packs the equipment away.
“Follow me.” The nurse who kept me back is now cupping my elbow and urging me toward the door.
We jog after the trolley, down a corridor, and through some double doors marked “ER.” I’ve been here before, manytimes, but never for someone I care about this much. Never for someone I’ddiefor.
The nurse leaves me outside the room they’ve taken Trilby into. As she walks away, I grab her arm.
“Is she going to be okay?”
The nurse looks back at me, her expression morphing from one of fearful reverence to one of sympathy. “I’ll have the doctor come speak with you.” She nods toward the team of people quietly but quickly attaching tubes and monitors to their newest patient. “It may be a little while.”
I swallow. “No. I need an update. Now.”
The nurse almost runs away, leaving me staring at the woman on the bed.
She looks so small and innocent, but I know better. She’s stronger than most men I know. She let me—no,commandedme—to rip through her barrier and leave my seed deep inside of her. It was defiant, as if she were laying claim to her own body before she was forced to let someone else take it. She’s carried the burden of saving her family without complaint. She turned her cheek while I walked away, leaving her to her fate. I’ll never forgive myself for walking away so easily.
My thoughts are disrupted by the arrival of a doctor. I’ve hardly breathed in the whole time I’ve stood here. I haven’t thought about anything other than this woman’s survival—not even the fact I should be telling her father she’s in the hospital or considering in grave detail exactly how I’ll punish my brother for this. All I know is the answer starts with “kill” and ends with “him.”
“Mr. Di Santo.” A male doctor appears by my side. “Can I ask what your relationship is to Trilby Castellano?”
Augusto must have given them details of who she is, but ice threads its way down my spine. “She’s my sister-in-law. She’s family.”
She’s mine.
“She’s married to Mr. Savero Di Santo?” A ghost of a frown crosses the doctor’s face. He’s right to question it. The whole city would know if Savero had married her already.
“Not yet.”Not fucking ever.
“I’m sorry, sir.” The doctor swallows nervously. “I need to see a blood relative if possible.”
“I’ll call her father.” I hold his arm as he tries to walk away. “As soon as he’s confirmed he’s on his way, you’ll tell me the status of her condition.”
The demand in my tone reliably roots the doctor to the spot as I press the phone to my ear.
Castellano answers his office phone on the second ring. “Cristiano. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. Savero is here at the port—do you need to speak with him?”
“No,” I rush out. “And do me a favor. Don’t tell him I’ve called. I need you to trust me. Can you come to the hospital?”
A door closes, dimming the sound of trucks moving shipping containers around in the background. “Is everything okay?”
I inhale and glare at the doctor. “I hope so. You need to get over here though—fast.”
“Who is it? Is it Trilby?”
I can’t afford for Tony to let anything slip to Savero, so I don’t answer. “Just get here as quickly as you can,” I say, and then I hang up.
I raise my eyebrows expectantly. The doctor motions to a couple of chairs.
