Page 52 of The Last Call
“Mr. Sabatini please know we’re doing everything we can for your fiancée.”
Wife. She should be my wife. We should be on our honeymoon. I should be fucking her every second of every day to make her belly round from my baby growing within her.
Instead she doesn’t even have a damn ring. Fuck. So much shit I was going to do. Say. Fix. Buy. Until that motherfucking cocksucking bastard tried to steal her from me.
“Sir?”
I cannot listen to his shit any more. “Get out.”
“Excuse me.”
Indignation sharpens the physician’s voice that has nothing on the rage I feel for him. This asshole is going to die if I have to unwrap my fingers from hers. Without taking my focus off of her, I slide out my gun and point it at him. Not even bothering to use words to threaten him. Less than one second later the door swings open and bangs closed again. Good riddance.
I lay my Glock next to her leg as a warning to any other idiots who think they want to come in here and run their mouths at me. I lean forward and kiss her forehead, cool under my lips. “I know lion, I know. I overreacted but he had it coming.”
The knob clicks again from Phillip stepping inside. Smart enough to remain silent about what just happened since I know he knows from the troubled look on his face.
“Your grandmother will be here in about an hour. Paolo is bringing her up.”
Since Sydney won’t wake up for me, hopefully she will for Nonna. Who can stay with her while I take care of the other motherfucker who hurt her. “You have the other situation under control.”
“Yes, he’s ready and waiting for you as instructed.”
Which means not even a hair on his stupid prick head has been ruffled. I get to have all the fun of making him suffer. I’m going to fucking love doing this for her. She’ll know without a doubt how much I love her.
With nothing left to report, he heads back to his post in the hallway. Good. I like having her all to myself. I stroke Joslyn’s bracelet on her narrow wrist. The jewelry would slide right off if she wasn’t lying down. Jos always swore the leather wrap would keep me safe so I know Syd needs it more than me right now. She probably should’ve been fucking wearing the good luck charm all along. “Did I ever tell you the meaning behind it?”
I chuckle a bit from the memory of Jos’s enthusiasm from presenting the heartfelt gift to me. The man who always wears custom ten thousand dollar suits pairing them with a ten-dollar trinket she bought at one of the granola, hipster music festivals she loved. “The thicker pieces on each side represent us as twins. The thin middle strand is our connection. If you pull hard enough the pieces will tear apart, but she said we would never let that happen.”
Pain that always stabs my chest when I think of her radiates through my body. A throbbing cocktail of regret from the past and fear of losing this future pounds in my muscles. “She was a really good sister. You would’ve liked her. When you get better I’ll tell you more stories. I’ll tell you anything you want to know if you just open your eyes lion.”
Nothing. Only the rise and fall of the damn ventilator forcing air into her lungs. I hate these fucking machines.
I run my fingertips down her pale cheek. Ignoring the stupid, ugly tube stuffed in her dainty mouth. Making my stomach turn from thinking about it being snaked down her throat. Wishing she would smile from my touch. Maybe she will from my confession. Women like being told they’re right. At least that’s what I’ve heard since I’ve never actually told any since I’m the one who’s always right. Except this time. “You know every single thing you’ve accused me of is true. All of it. I’m crazy and stubborn and selfish. But with you I should have been different. I should’ve been better.”
For the first time ever, I have to admit what I never thought I could. To say the words I never thought would cross my lips. “I’m sorry.”
Fear steals my voice that she may never hear my apology but I keep going. “Of all people, I shouldn’t have been an asshole to you. But I’m going to make it up to you. I will make the people pay who hurt you. I will always protect you even if it’s from me. I will try my damnedest to ensure you’re happy being with me.”
I lay my head down on our coupled hands. Waiting, waiting, waiting for her to respond. Gutting me when she doesn’t.
Orders bark from the hallway in a frail yet decisive voice. Never underestimate a worried grandmother. Phillip’s head appears in the window before the door opens, and she shuffles in. Her wrinkled hands flying into the air in almost a touchdown pose from her distraught realization of how bad things really are. She hugs me from the side. Perfect so that I don’t have to release Syd any sooner than I need to.
“Three days is too long for her to be asleep. I will make these doctors do more and take better care of her.”
Oh shit. Now she’s the one on the rampage. I grab my gun and tuck it back into my waistband in case she gets any wild ideas of shooting up the place. “You do that Nonna. You kick their asses.”
She nods. Definitive and done. Confirming I’m leaving my lion in good hands while I’m gone. “I have to take care of something but I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, I will watch over her.”
I kiss Syd and then Nonna before hustling out into the corridor. All gazes hit the floor as I stride down the hallway and wait for the elevator. Relieved that no one is going to say a fucking word to me unless it’s to tell me she’s okay. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear it.
Iwatch him for a long minute.
He’s been in there for hours. You’d think he’d be exhausted. Pacing back and forth in the small room. Running his hands over and over his buzz cut. Peering into the blackened window that reveals nothing of the dungeon on the other side. Must be running on adrenaline.
I tell myself to have patience. Use restraint. Maintain control. But Sydney’s condition has released the beast within. Needing to unleash the monster craving damage and destruction and devastation. I rarely get to let him out with all the enforcers on my payroll. Sometimes you just have to do things yourself. Especially when you’re going to fucking enjoy the hell out of it.
