Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
GRAYSON
P ain had a way of stripping you down to your essentials.
The knife had slid between my ribs with surprising ease. I remember thinking how strange it was—that moment of pressure followed by the hot rush of blood. Then it had withdrawn and sunk into my flesh twice more. The world had lurched sideways as Sofia screamed my name, her voice muffled like I was underwater.
Now, bright lights passed overhead as they wheeled me through hospital corridors. Someone was applying pressure to my wounds. Voices barked medical terms I couldn't fully comprehend. The metallic scent of my own blood filled my nostrils.
"BP dropping. We need to get him into surgery now."
Sofia. Where was Sofia?
My thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm. I tried to speak, but something was covering my face. An oxygen mask. I couldn't form words, couldn't ask about her.
Instead, my mind drifted, pulling me back to the first time I'd truly seen Sofia. Not as Meredith's friend, but as a woman who knocked the breath from my lungs.
It had been at some work dinner Meredith had begged me to attend for her. Turned out she was getting recognition, and wanted me there for it. Sofia had walked in wearing a deep blue dress that hugged every curve. Her dark hair cascaded down her back, and when she laughed at something someone said, the sound cut through the pretentious chatter of the room.
I'd known her for years by then—my sister's best friend, off-limits by an unspoken rule. But something shifted that night. The way she carried herself, confident and untouchable. The slight Italian accent that emerged when she was passionate about something.
"Starting central line."
A sharp pain in my arm pulled me briefly back to reality before I slipped away again.
Another memory surfaced—Sofia arriving home after a shift just when I'd moved in with her, scrubs spattered with blood, completely unfazed as she described saving some kid who'd been in a car accident. Her hands had been steady as she gestured, explaining the procedure. Those same hands that had been pressed against my wound minutes ago, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes.
God, her strength. That's what had drawn me to her from the beginning. Not just her beauty, but the fire that burned inside her. The determination to do what was right, even when it cost her.
"Heart rate's dropping. Push another unit."
The voices around me grew more urgent. I felt cold, so damn cold.
I couldn't die. Not now. Not when I'd finally found her. Not when our child was growing inside her. A child I might never see.
My mind conjured an image so vivid it felt like reality. Sofia sitting in a garden, sunlight catching in her hair as she held a dark-haired toddler. A little boy with my eyes and her smile. He was laughing as he toddled toward me, arms outstretched.
"Da-da!"
The vision blurred as tears formed behind my closed eyelids. I needed to live. Needed to see that moment become real.
"We're losing him. Get the crash cart!"
Darkness pulled at me, but I fought against it. Sofia needed me. Our child needed me. I couldn't leave them unprotected in a world where men like Ernesto and Juan would hunt them down.
I loved her. God, I loved her more than I thought possible. Not just for carrying my child, but for everything she was. Her compassion. Her courage. The way she looked at me like I was worthy of something good.
The last thing I remembered before consciousness slipped away completely was a promise I made to myself: I would survive this. For Sofia. For our child. For the family I never knew I wanted until her.
* * *
Beeping. Steady, rhythmic beeping pulled me back to consciousness. My eyelids felt weighted down, but I forced them open. White ceiling tiles came into focus, then blurred again.
Something warm covered my hand. I turned my head slightly, wincing at the pain that shot through my body with the movement.
Sofia. Her head was resting on the edge of my hospital bed, her hand covering mine. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She'd never looked more beautiful.
I squeezed her hand weakly. "Hey."
Her head shot up, eyes wide and immediately filling with tears. "Gray? You're awake."
"Seems that way." My voice was rough, throat dry from the breathing tube they must have used during surgery.
She reached for a cup of water with a straw, holding it to my lips. The cool liquid was heaven on my parched throat.
"How long was I out?" I asked after taking a few sips.
"Just the night." Sofia's voice trembled slightly. "The doctors said you were lucky—the knife missed your vital organs by millimeters."
I noticed we weren't alone in the room. Meredith stood from a chair in the corner, relief washing over her face. Leo leaned against the wall, his usual stoic expression softened with concern. Even Gabriella was there, standing near the window.
"He's too stubborn to die," Leo said, moving closer to the bed. "Glad you decided to stick around."
I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "Can't leave you to run things on your own. You'd fuck it all up."
Leo chuckled, but I could see the tension in his shoulders ease slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Meredith asked, coming to stand beside Sofia.
"Like I got stabbed." I attempted to shift positions and immediately regretted it. "Fuck."
Sofia's hand tightened around mine. "Don't try to move. You lost a lot of blood, and they had to repair some tissue damage."
I looked at her closely, noticing the redness around her eyes. She'd been crying. "The baby?"
"The baby's fine," she assured me. "I'm fine. You're the one who decided to play hero and get hurt. And even that stress didn't upend anything."
"What happened after..." I gestured vaguely at my bandaged torso.
Leo's lip quirked. "Daniel shot him dead, we've contained it, trying to find his connection, but no luck so far. It was clearly a hit. Either Ernesto or Juan, but we're still trying to tie it to them. Sofia has set things in motion now."
I raised an eyebrow, which hurt less than trying to sit up. "What things?"
"I contacted Caterina through Mama,” Sofia explained. "She wanted to organize a meeting to discuss how this should be done. Julia is onboard with it all. We should have the right backing for it now."
"When?"
"This evening. In a small town outside the city. Caterina will meet with me, while Julia and Bianca will join via call. Caterina will relay it to the others she has ready to back and support her."
I didn't like the sound of Sofia meeting anyone without me there to protect her, but I was in no condition to argue. Besides, if Julia was involved, it meant our plan to expose Ernesto and then remove him from play was coming to fruition. If she failed, Caterina would step in. This was all coming together.
"You've been here all night. Let's go down to the cafeteria, get some food, stretch your legs. He's okay." Meredith said, touching Sofia's shoulder while offering me a relieved smile.
Sofia hesitated, looking at me.
"Go," I told her. "I'm not going anywhere, not like this. Besides, I've got Leo here. You need to eat, princess."
Her lip pulled into a soft side smile at the nickname. She leaned down and pressed her lips to mine, a gentle kiss that conveyed everything she couldn't say with Leo and the others in the room. "I'll be right back."
I watched as Meredith led Sofia out of the room, noting how exhausted she looked. The stress couldn't be good for her or the baby. We just couldn't catch a damn break.
Once they were gone, I turned to Leo and Gabriella, who remained behind. "I need to talk to you both actually. It's important."
They exchanged glances before moving closer to the bed. Gabriella took the chair Sofia had vacated while Leo remained standing.
"What is it?" Leo asked, his voice low.
I took a deep breath, wincing at the pain it caused. "I need you to make sure Sofia doesn't do anything stupid."
Leo's expression turned guarded. "Define stupid."
"You know exactly what I mean. She's pregnant, Leo. And now she's planning to take on Ernesto." I tried to keep my voice steady, but fear crept in. "She thinks she has to be the one to handle this, to protect everyone else. And with me like this, I can't exactly be there fully to protect her."
"She's stubborn, always has been," Gabriella said with a heavy sigh. "Hard to change her mind when she's got it set."
"Which is why I need you both to promise me something." I locked eyes with Leo. "If anything happens to me?—"
"Nothing's going to happen to you," Leo interrupted.
"If anything happens," I continued firmly, "you take care of her. Both of you. Get her somewhere safe, away from all this. Make sure she and the baby are protected."
Leo's jaw tightened. "You know I would. She's carrying my niece or nephew."
"And she's my daughter," Gabriella added. "But Grayson, Sofia won't run. Not now. Not when she believes the only way to truly protect her child and those she loves is to remove the threat completely."
I closed my eyes briefly, knowing she was right. Sofia wouldn't run, wouldn't hide. It wasn't in her nature.
"Then help me protect her," I said, opening my eyes again. "Because I can't do it from this hospital bed, and it's killing me."
Leo leaned forward, his voice dropping even lower. "We've already increased security. Roman has men watching the hospital, and I've got people trailing both Ernesto and Juan. No one's getting near her."
"And the meeting tonight?"
"Caterina suggested the location," Gabriella said. "It's a small restaurant owned by a friend of hers. Safe ground."
I wasn't convinced. "No place is completely safe. Not with Ernesto desperate."
"Which is why I'll be there," Leo stated. "Not in the meeting—Sofia needs to handle that herself—but close enough to intervene if necessary."
It wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing. I nodded slowly, then turned to Gabriella. "There's something else I wanted to ask you."
She raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"I want to take Sofia as my wife when the time is right. And I want your blessing."
Gabriella sighed as she clasped her hands together, mulling over my words for a moment. "I hoped to one day get her away from this life, to let her live a free one, where she no longer had to look over her shoulder. But I see now that it was never in the cards. She was born into this life, it runs in her veins."
"I swear to you, I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe."
"I believe you will try," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "But understand this, my daughter has made her choice. She's chosen to fight rather than run, to step up and make a change for the good of the family. The best you can do now is stand beside her, support her. She's strong, she's done things she wishes she hadn't. I only want the best for her."
Her words hit me hard, because I knew she was right. Sofia was a warrior in her own right. She'd told me of the things she'd done, the lives she'd taken.
The man she'd loved that she'd killed, which was the turning point for her.
She could protect herself as well if needed, I just hoped she wouldn’t need to while I was there.
"I will give you my blessing, as long as you promise to always stand by her and make sure the Savoca ways change."
"Thank you."
Relief swept through me as she patted my hand, offering me a soft smile. "I think, when you decide to ask her, you should do so with this." Gabriella slid a ring off her finger and offered it to me. It looked old yet elegant, the main diamond glistening in the center, rubies embedding in the gold on either side. "It was my mother's, she was a woman Sofia would have adored, the Passeri were much like your own family I believe, and my parents were devoted to one another. Their love was one I hope you both mirror, powerful yet gentle."
"Thank you." I took the ring, smiling as I turned it in my fingers.
"It's a family piece, she used to love it when she was younger, she wears several of her Grandmother's rings from my side already. I told her stories about her grandparents a lot when Antonio wasn't around. She will adore it." Gabriella's face was a mix of emotions, her eyes glistening softly.
"It's perfect, thank you." I pursed my lips and offered it back. "Perhaps I can get it off you after I'm out of the hospital? I don't exactly have pockets right now."
She chuckled and shook her head as she took it back. "Of course, I'll get a box for it too."
"So what now?" I asked after a moment, looking to Leo, hating how helpless I felt while Sofia was getting things done.
"You get better. Fast. Because she's going to need you at full strength for what's coming." Leo didn't bother to sugarcoat it. It wasn't something he knew how to do.
"Then get me whatever I need to make that happen. Pain meds, physical therapy, whatever they say will get me better fast. I'm not spending one more day in this bed than absolutely necessary."
A hint of a smile crossed Leo's face. "There he is. I was wondering when the stubborn bastard I know would show up."
"Never left," I replied. "Just took a short nap."
I would be there for Sofia and our child. No matter what it took, no matter what I had to sacrifice. They were my family now, and I would protect them with my last breath if necessary.
But first, I had to heal.