Page 87 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

“Well?” she snarled.

“I already told you everything the doctor said earlier,” I reminded her. “Nothing has changed in the thirty minutes since I gave you the last update.”

“Watch your tone,” she warned, her voice rising.

“Keep it down,” I snapped. “Loud noises cause her pain. And hearing you out here will only upset her.”

Eyes the same blue hue as Samara’s turned to slits, but she pressed her lips together. I leaned back against the wall outside the door, exhaustion bearing down on me. As soon as my baby girl was cleared for travel, I was taking her on a vacation. With any luck, it would also be our honeymoon.

We were both quiet for a long moment before Anya spoke again. “I’m taking her back to New York.”

Smirking, I crossed my arms over my chest. She was crazy if she thought for even a single moment Samara would roll over and take that kind of bullshit. Or that I would ever allow it. “Good luck with that.”

“You think I’m joking?”

I shrugged, unconcerned. “We both know that Samara isn’t going anywhere unless she wants to.” And I’d make sure she never wanted to leave me. As soon as I got her home, I was going to put my ring on her finger. Then I knew she’d never go anywhere without me again.

Movement to my right drew my attention. Ryan. I ignored him, keeping my attention on my future mother-in-law. “Did Cristiano come with you?”

She muttered something in Russian under her breath, but the fight was already fading from her. She was a smart woman and knew when she didn’t have a leg to stand on. In a battle of wills, Samara would win, hands down. “No,” she said quietly. “The trip would have been too much for him.”

I nodded my understanding. Samara had told me about her dad’s dementia after she’d come back from New York, which I’d already known about since I’d been watching her for the last three years. But other than that, we didn’t talk about him or his health. She tried to pretend he was okay, but every time he called or texted her, she couldn’t hide how shattered she was over his illness.

“Does he know she was in an accident?”

“No,” she said with a heavy exhale. “And we can’t tell him. It will probably trigger an episode, and that will only distress Cristiano and her.”

“How is she?” Ryan asked when he reached us.

“She’s resting right now.” I pushed off from the wall and reached out to close the door completely. They both wanted to see her for themselves, but she was sleeping too peacefully for me to let them into her room just yet. Their presence would only agitate her because she wouldn’t be able to fully relax with her mother and brother hovering. “Let’s let her sleep while we grab some coffee in the cafeteria.”

Before we reached the elevators, I paused at the nurses station. “Getting some coffee,” I let the older woman behind the desk know.

“No problem.” She gave all three of us a quick smile. “Next round for vitals is in an hour.”

“We will be back before then.” I couldn’t leave Samara for that long, regardless of her family being there. My chest felt uncomfortable before I could push the button for the lobby where the cafeteria was located.

Ryan spared me a glance as the elevator descended. “You look like shit.”

“You sweet-talking me now, Vitucci?” I batted my lashes at him. “Want to leave Nova and run away with me?”

The bottom half of his face never changed, but his eyes filled with wary amusement. “My sister would dismember me if I tried.”

“Probably.” I snorted. “She threatened to stab the doctor with a scalpel earlier. The doc didn’t take her seriously, but I made sure there weren’t any sharp objects in the room after she fell asleep.”

“Smart,” he commended.

“Where is Nova anyway?”

“She’s in Colombia visiting her parents. I was supposed to fly down to join her and the kids tomorrow.” The elevator doors opened, and we stepped off into the lobby. Only the lights over the vending machines were on when we entered the cafeteria, but there was a self-serve coffee station at the end of the row.

“Are you sure Cristiano is okay?” I grabbed a paper cup and offered it to Anya.

“He has his nurse, Walter. And since both his sisters and my brother are now aware of his condition, I asked Victoria and Adrian to check in tomorrow.” She opened up three sugar packets and emptied them into what was supposed to be dark roast, according to the sign, but looked like brown water.

“Sammy mentioned Walter.” I doctored my own cup. It wasn’t likely I was going to get the jolt of caffeine I needed, but at least I’d get a sugar high. “Has Cristiano been doing okay?”

“He hasn’t had any more major mental breaks.” Ryan didn’t even bother pouring himself a cup of coffee, but he eyeballed his mom’s cup curiously. “He still gets anxious around me, though. Keeps saying shit about an impostor and calls me…”

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