Page 102 of Beautiful Devil

“N-no, sir. I mean, sometimes when a person's body goes through so much in a short amount of time, it goes into fight or flight mode by placing itself in a coma to protect itself. Only Gia will be able to determine how long she’s in the coma. The best thing you can do right now is just be there for her and let her know that you’re there. Sometimes talking to the patient to let them hear your voice and know they can wake up and you’ll be there helps.”

“Where is she? I need to see hernow!”

“She was just moved into room four in the ICU. It’s just standard procedure when a patient is in a coma to place them in an ICU room.”

I don’t say anything. I just turn and start walking toward the elevators. I can hear Marco’s heavy footsteps behind me. I don’t turn around to acknowledge him. I just keep heading on my path to the elevators. The quicker I can get to Gia, the better.

Stepping off the elevators, I follow the signs for her room. This entire floor is dark and gloomy. It feels like someone is holding a raincloud over us, and at any given moment, it will pour down on us. As I’m walking to her room, I can hear the beeping sounds of other patients' machines and the whoosh of a ventilator. God, I hope Gia isn’t here long. This place is extremely depressing.

I finally make it to her room, and I’m feeling anxious, another emotion I haven’t felt before. I just want mydolcezzato be okay. Maybe after seeing her, this weird feeling will go away. Pulling open the door to her room, I’m instantly met with the same beeping sound of the monitor that I heard from the other rooms while walking down the hall.

My eyes instantly land on mydolcezza. She's in a hospital gown; her face is beat up, swollen, and bruised, but to me she’s still beautiful. As I walk closer, the sound of the machines gets louder. Taking a seat in the chair next to her bed, I slip my hand into hers. It feels smooth and cold under my touch. The feeling sends a pang of anger and sickness to my stomach. Seeing her like this…I’m finding it hard to control my temper. If that bastard Dante is still breathing right now, he won't be for very much longer. I’ll make fucking sure of that.

I lean down and place a gentle kiss on her forehead, and her scent fills my nostrils. I relax a little at the comfort it brings me. She’s still here, she's still with me, I still have her. I sit down in the chair beside the bed, my hand still in hers, and the sounds of the machines surprisingly not as loud as they previously were.

“Wake up,dolcezza, please. This wasn’t how this was supposed to be. Come back to me,amore mio. I need you.”

A noise disrupts my thoughts. Turning my head, I see Marco enter quietly through the door. He slowly moves towards the bed, his gaze landing on Gia before meeting mine.

“Told you she’d make it through. She’s a tough one, boss.”

I give him a death glare.

Not the time, asshole.

When I don't reply and turn my attention back to Gia, he lets out a loud, exasperated sigh.

“Look, brother, the main thing is she’s alive. She’s going to be okay. She’ll wake up soon enough, and then you can go back to living your guys’ fairytale.”

His words roll around in my head. I’m praying he’s right and that before I know it, my beautifuldolcezzawill be awake.

“I want her to have her fairytale, you know. I want her to want this with me.”

“I know, brother, and when she wakes up, she will.”

“Did we at least kill that figlio di puttana?”Son of a bitch.

“Yep. That shot you fired went straight through his chest. He had no chance.”

I breathe a sigh of relief knowing he’s not out there anymore, knowing he can’t harm her. The only thing that does annoy me is that thestronzodidn’t suffer more than he deserved. We sit in silence; the only sound is the machines in the room. We sit for over an hour before Marco clears his throat and rises from his seat.

“I…ah, I was gonna head out boss. There’s two guys outside the room and another two outside in a car. Do you want me to send any more?”

“Nah, it's okay. He’s gone. She’s safe now. I’ll be here.”

He gives me a stiff nod before turning and exiting the room, closing the door gently behind him.

* * *

I’m startled awake by a noise. I jump up and see a nurse has entered the room. She sees the scowl on my face, and her eyes widen in panic.

“Sorry, sir. I-I just need to check on Mrs. Moretti.”

I sit up straight in my chair and nod. The nurse begins to quickly and quietly carry out her assessment on Gia. Within a couple of minutes, she’s done and gives me a small, tight-lipped smile before slipping back out of the room. I sit again in silence for a few moments before leaning forward to speak to Gia.

“I’m so sorry,dolcezza. I promise to never let you out of my sight ever again. Wake up for me,gattina. Wake up.”

I take the hand I’m holding and give it a gentle kiss. I sit back and wait, hoping, wishing for some kind of response. But nothing happens.

---