“Listen, Vinny,” I start to say at the same time he blurts, “I’m sorry, Haylee.”
My mouth gapes, doing my best impression of a fish. Did..did he just…apologize?
Holy shit. Has hell officially frozen over? I’m not even sure if I’m hearing clearly or if I’m still asleep and dreaming.
This definitely has to be a dream. Vincenzo Andoneli apologizes to no one. Nor does he take the side of anyone other than Bianca Bimbo Barbie Bitch.
He opens his mouth to continue what he was going to say when a thundering of footsteps sounds out in the hall from my room. Vinny jumps up like his ass is on fire and backs away from the bed before anyone can come in here and catch him close to me.
All three of my guys fly into the room, equal looks of shock and elation on their handsome faces. No one says a word; they just continue to stare me down like I have three heads now.
Jeez, how long have I been down? They’re acting like I died. Granted, I thought I was going to.
Gavin steps toward the bed, his entire body shaking as tears glimmer in his light blue eyes. The second he’s within reaching distance, he drops to his knees, clutches my hand, and starts sobbing. What I wouldn’t do for the pain to lessen so I could curl up in his arms and tell him everything is going to be okay.
Cause it will be, right? It has to be.
“Gav,” I murmur, groaning as I lean forward and drop a kiss on his mop of unruly blond hair, “I’m okay, babe. I’m here. Everything will be okay.”
He takes a shuddering breath, squeezing my hand hard like he’s afraid I’ll up and disappear at any moment. “Two weeks,” he mumbles, “two long weeks of not knowing if you were going to wake up.”
Holy shit. Two weeks? No wonder my throat hurts, and my eyes are gritty as heck.
Movement beyond Gavin catches my eyes, and a sigh of pure bliss emits as Arden comes closer. In his hand is a glass of water with a straw poking out of the top. Just what the doctor ordered. I snicker to myself. Now is so not the time for doctor jokes.
“Gav, can you help me sit up?” I whisper, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. It’s evident that he needs to get his head out of the dark space he’s floating in. Being helpful will get it there.
His head pops up, eyes widening as he jumps up from his kneeling position, carefully moving me around. Small whimpers slip through my lips from the pain of the movement, but once I’m settled back against the headboard, I feel marginally better. Gavin climbs onto the other side of me, sitting as close as he physically can without actually sitting on me. He retakes my hand, slotting our fingers together, lightly sweeping his thumb back and forth across my skin.
My casted arm throbs dully, but it’s nothing I can’t ignore for the time being.
Arden steps forward, a small smile playing on his luscious lips as he crouches next to the bed and directs the straw to my mouth. Ice-cold water splashes down my throat, cooling the scratchiness I felt when I woke up. “Small sips, sweets. It’s been two weeks, so you have to take it easy.” I know he’s right, but damn, I feel like someone who’s waded through the desert for a month without being able to quench my thirst.
“God, that’s so good,” I groan, smacking my lips. A round of chuckles hit my ears, and I smile despite the situation. It’s such a good sound to hear. One laugh, in particular, draws my attention. The one man I haven’t seen yet. He’s rooted to his spot still near the door, not having ventured any further into my room. “Hunt,” I breathe.
Not that I’d ever admit it to him, but the alpha looks like hell. Pronounced purple half-moons rest under his silver orbs, and his once skin-tight T-shirt looks slightly baggy, like he hasn’t been eating. And wait… Is that blood on his neck?
Damn, he’s been having fun without me.
My lips push out in the best pout I can muster as he finally strides across the room. But before I can say a word, he molds his mouth to mine, a rumble tumbling around in his expansive chest at the contact. He pulls back and searches my eyes for any sign of discomfort, but he won’t find it. I’ll endure all the pain in the world if he’s going to kiss me like that. Any of them, really.
Except Vinny.
He can fuck off.
My eyes flick over to the corner I saw Vinny retreat to, spying him watching all of us from the outside. Like an interloper. But after pushing me away as much as he has, that’s exactly what he is.
“I’ve got your lunch, sir—” Andre trails off as he steps into the room, his eyes immediately finding mine. The tray teeters precariously in his grip, then finally slips, crashing to the floor. In a few small strides, he eats up the distance between us, his eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “I’ve been so worried about you,” he murmurs with a sniffle. Hunter backs away a few spaces, Andre immediately takes his spot and bends at the waist, dropping a kiss on my forehead.
It’s so good to see him up and moving around. The last thing I remember of him, he was sprawled out across the foyer, that cunt, Bianca, having done something to him.
“I was worried about you too. The last thing…” I trail off as Andre grimaces.
“I woke up as she was leaving and called these guys.” He nods over his shoulder, indicating the mass of men standing around my room.
“Don’t let the old man fool you, sweets,” Arden pipes in. “If it wasn’t for him holding pressure on your wounds, you would ble–bled out all over the floor.” His breath catches as he forks his fingers through his hair, remembering what must have been a disaster when they finally got back to the house.
“He saved your life,” Gavin mumbles, dropping his face into the crook of my neck and inhaling deeply.