Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Nina
It takes hours but a doctor finally comes over to me to tell me that Luca made it out of surgery.
“He’s well and resting,” she explains. “But he had a gunshot wound to his chest. It’s going to take a long time to heal. Fortunately, he’s out of the woods. We’ll keep him under observation for a few days and then see where we’ll go.”
“Can I see him?”
“Yes.”
I start to walk forward when I stop and look back at Susanna. “Do you want to come with me?”
Her shocked expression would have made me laugh if I wasn’t so upset. “You want me in there with you?”
“You’re my sister.” I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. “I want you with me. Please.” I’m tired of fighting with her. Tired of all the drama. I just want me and Susanna to be good.
But it’s all up to her.
Slowly, she squeezes my hand back. “Ok. If you want.”
We go into Luca’s private room where he’s asleep still. The bandage around his chest reminds me of where he got shot. How he almost died. It’s a miracle he didn’t.
I break down into tears seeing him this way. My strong husband. The one who lived life with logic but threw it all away to save my life. I’ve never had someone be this selfless for me.
I know in this moment that if Luca makes it through this, I will love him. I will always make it work with him.
“Nina,” Susanna says softly. It’s a tone of voice I’ve never really heard from her before. She pulls me into her arms. “I’m here.”
“Thank you.”
“I know I’ve never been there for you. But… learning how you almost died… it changed something inside of me. I realized I was being petty. I’m sorry I was making life harder for you. I don’t want to lose you, ever.”
“Are you really going to change your attitude?” I ask, wiping my tears away.
She huffs. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
I give her a look and she bows her head.
“I know,” she admits. “I’m not exactly a good person.
And I know I’ll always have a bit of an attitude.
But I don’t want that with you. I was angry that Luca chose you over me but it wasn’t your fault and I never should have taken it out on you.
I’m sorry. If Luca makes it through this, I’ll support you two.
I won’t get in the way. I know you want to be better than me. ”
“It’s not about being better. It’s about growing and maturing.
That’s what I want for both of us. Luca has helped me see that.
He’s always wanted to help me in some way.
His ways of doing that were uncouth, I’ll admit.
And it’s not perfect between us. But I want to be the woman he can be proud of because he saved my life. I’m proud of him.”
“I want you to grow too.” She gives me a soft smile. “I wouldn’t mind that as well. Sometimes I get tired being so angry all the time.”
“I know. I’m that way too. So why don’t we promise to let go of our anger? I’m a married woman now. I am going to change. I am going to grow. I want the same for you one day.”
She lets out a shaky breath and nods. “Chances are, I’ll get married too. I’m sure Alek is already planning to marry me off to someone. Maybe it will do me good.”
“I hope so. Sometimes a new person can show you what you need in life.”
Luca’s eyes open at that very moment.
I rush over to his side without even hesitating. “Hey,” I whisper. “You’re ok.”
He stares at me for a long moment before removing the oxygen mask around his mouth. “You’re here. Alive.”
“Because you saved me. Thank you for that.”
“You’re my wife. It’s what a husband does.”
“I know. It’s just…” I wasn’t sure, given how aloof Luca could be at times. Our first time having sex proved that to me. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. Things need to change between us.
He takes my hand. “I will always fight for you, Nina. I promise you that.”
“But I don’t want it to get you killed.”
“You care about me that much?”
“I do,” I admit. “But we have a lot to work on.”
“I know. Once I’m healed, I need to go after Gabriel and kill him for what he did.”
“That’s not what I mean. I mean between us.”
“Oh.” He goes quiet for a long moment before he nods. “You’re right. But first, I need to talk to Alek about business. I need to talk to Dimitri too. I could have lost you and I never want that. I need to make sure I make an alliance that protects you at all costs.”
“You don’t want to lose me because I’m your wife?”
He cups my face. “I don’t want to lose you because of you, Nina. Because I care for you in a way I’ve never cared for anyone. You were just a political gain for me at first but it’s different now. I know that. I mean that.”
“You do?” I sniffle but the tears still fall down anyway.
“I do. And I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I don’t need you to be the perfect wife. I just need you to be perfect for me. And I realized you are. When I lost you. It was a wakeup call for me.”
“Being taken from you was also a wakeup call for me. It made me realize I missed you. That I want to be with you. That I will choose to make a life with you.”
“I know I chose you at first but it feels good to have you choose me.”
“It feels good to have you choose me too,” I say. “Me for me.”
His eyes settle on Susanna behind me and darken. “Susanna.”
“She was there for me,” I rush in to say. “We spoke. Things will be different. Susanna won’t drag me down like you were worried about. She’ll change as well. We all will.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” His words make Susanna stiffen but he speaks again. “But I want to believe it.”
“I am sorry for being rude at your wedding,” Susanna says. “I could have lost Nina and I don’t want that. I’m done acting petty with her.”
“I’m glad. This will be the best for all of us,” he responds.
The three of us have a lot of work to do but I believe things will be better. That I can be the woman that makes not only Luca proud but myself proud as well.
Luca
After a day of rest, Alek with Dimitri show up in my hospital room. Dimitri is on crutches from when I shot him in the leg.
Nina is beside me, not having left my side all day and night. Behind Alek and Dimitri are Katya and Sofiya. All of our wives are with us.
“We’ve come to talk about a peace treaty,” Alek says.
I turn my eyes onto Dimitri. “You helped me find Nina. So thank you for that.”
“How much of your pride did you have to push down to say that to me?”
“A lot. So don’t fucking push it.”
Alek holds up his hands. “Enough. Dimitri helped us find Nina, even after you shot him. He was angry that we made a deal and was feeling like we were going to turn on him. It’s why he took Nina the other day.
But we’re willing to put all the shit behind us and make a new deal that includes the three of us.
One that will make all of us happy. Are you in on it, Luca? ”
“If I say no?” I ask.
“Then that’s going to make things tough on us.”
I look at Nina and see how she’s pleading me with her eyes to agree to this. My actions put her in danger. I have to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
“Fine,” I grit out. “I’ll make a new deal. One where Nina is kept safe.”
“Where all of our wives are kept safe,” Dimitri says, placing his arm around Sofiya’s waist.
“I agree,” Alek says. Katya saddles up beside him, giving him a soft smile. “We can make this work, the three of us.”
“So does that mean we can go after Gabriel?” I ask.
“You’re still resting and you’re going to be for a while. Dimitri also needs time to heal. We can’t go after Gabriel when you’re both in a weakened state.”
“But that’s when Gabriel is going to strike again,” I say. “When we’re weak. We have to go after him now.”
“Gabriel has gone into hiding after he almost died,” Alek continues. “He’s not a problem for right now. Let’s focus on gaining more strength.”
“I agree,” Dimitri says. “I don’t want to start another war with a different Italian mafia man while I’m in this position. We’ll go after Gabriel in a bit.”
“He didn’t kidnap your wife,” I snap.
Alek holds up his hands. “We know. And I know you’re angry, Luca.
But just think about it. If you strike at Gabriel now while you’re in this state, it could lead to you getting hurt.
You can’t protect Nina at your best right now.
We’ll go after Gabriel again. I promise.
But for right now, focus on healing. Focus on your marriage.
Nina is precious to me. Make things work with her.
If we want this deal to hold, that’s what you will do. ”
It will mean pushing down my pride again but when I look Nina in the eye, I know it will be worth it.
I chose her for a reason. At first, it was because she seemed like the lesser of two evils but now, I know my gut chose her because she’s the woman for me.
She’s made me less logical and more passionate.
“Fine,” I say. “I won’t do anything until I’ve healed. But just promise me that we’ll get Gabriel one day. Yes?”
Both Alek and Dimitri nod.
That will have to do for now.
The four of them leave the room so Nina and I can have more time to ourselves. Susanna, to her credit, hasn’t come by to start drama. Maybe things can truly improve.
Nina takes my hand. “Thank you. For making a deal.”
“I thought you hated Dimitri for what he did to you.”
“I was scared of him, yes. But this is for the best. As long as Dimitri is on our side, I won’t have to be scared of him anymore.
I just want to try with us, Luca. Try to make our relationship better.
That’s all I want. When you chose me, I also agreed to marry you.
I knew what it would entail. I was willing to do my duty.
I still am. But now, it’s more than just a duty to me.
You’ve shown me that I can trust you completely. I want to make this work.”
I kiss the back of her hand, loving how at ease we feel together. “I want to make this work too.”
“I want to talk more. Get to know you better. Open up to me and I’ll open up to you.”
“Ok,” I say with a deep exhale. “Then where should we begin?”
“With whatever feels right.”