Chapter Twenty-One
Callie
The incessant fucking beeping is going to drive me nuts. Can’t someone switch that shit off?
Slowly, I open my eyes. It takes me a moment to realize where I am, but the smell gives it away. Disinfectant. A damn hospital. I hate hospitals. I try to push myself into a sitting position, but someone pushes me back down. Severu’s face comes into view.
“You need to lie still. The doctor is on his way.”
“W-w-wha…” my voice is hoarse and I can’t get the word out.
“Have some water,” he says holding a plastic cup with a straw for me to drink from. “You were in a car accident.”
Fear slams into me. I remember it all. The blue truck, Mancuso trying to get us away, the crash…
“Mancuso?” I ask in a whisper.
Severu smiles. “He’s fine. Pissed off but alive.” I feel my entire body relax at his words. “He went home to shower, but he knows you’re awake and he is on his way.”
“How long?”
He takes a moment to assess me before speaking. “Two weeks. You lost a lot of blood, broke four ribs, and had a concussion. They put you in a medically induced coma to give your brain time to heal.”
I nod. “The guy?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” At my glare, he continues, “Mancuso killed him.”
“Good.”
“Good?” I can hear the shock behind his words.
“He tried to kill us,” I say. “Cops?”
Severu chuckles. “Believe me, with the amount of money Alceu spends on the police force, we don’t have a damn thing to worry about.”
“M’kay. Tired.”
He says something else but already I am drifting off to sleep once more.
****
“Callie.”
I hear his soft words and feel his hand against mine, but I am so damn tired. I just want to sleep a little longer.
“Please, Love. Just open your eyes for a minute. I just want to know you’re okay.”
It takes way more effort than it should, but I open my eyes and look at him. Mancuso. The man I love. I want to cry at the relief that rushes through my veins when I see him smile. We almost lost each other. Life is short and unpredictable. It may be the pain meds the doctor undoubtedly has me on, but I know I want to spend forever with him.
“I love you,” I say hoarsely.
He kisses me on the lips before placing a kiss on my forehead.
“Being with me almost got you killed.”
“Don’t care.”
“It’s your life! You must care.”
“You’re right. It is my life.”
He stares at me with shock. “Callie—”
I cut him off. “I’m tired. but when I wake up you better be here.”
****
When I wake up, he is gone. And I am pissed. He has no right to make decisions for me even if he thinks they are for my own damn good. I slowly, painfully push myself up into a sitting position. A moment later, Severu stands in the doorway.
“Where is he?” I ask, not having to explain myself.
“He left.” It’s clear he doesn’t want to be the one to give me the news.
“Then you can go too.”
“Callie…”
“I’m not your responsibility, Severu. You don’t even like me.”
“Don’t be like that,” he says coming inside. “Mancuso will be back and I don’t want him trying to kick my ass for not taking care of you.”
“Whatever,” I say swiping at a tear.
For long minutes he sits beside my bed in silence as I cry silently. All I want is to see him and have him hold me, and he left. What an asshole.
“Where did he go?”
“No idea. He did say he’d be back in a few hours.”
The doctor chooses that moment to arrive. Severu steps out to give us some privacy and the doctor asks some questions. Does my head hurt? No. Am I in pain? Not a lot. Etc. etc. etc.
“When can I leave?”
“If your condition holds, maybe tomorrow,” he says with a smile as he walks out.
I wait for Severu to return but he doesn’t. Instead, Mancuso steps inside and closes the door. I glare at him waiting for him to explain where the hell he went.
“Did Sev tell you why you got hurt?” he asks instead.
I shake my head.
“Another family has decided they want our turf. Apparently, we have gotten soft, so they simply intend to walk in and take what they want.”
“Where were you?” I can’t hold back the question any longer, anger surging through my veins.
“I moved all your stuff to the compound. I love you and almost losing you has opened my eyes to how things should be,” he explains. “You’re mine and I’m yours. Being with me will mean you are in danger and taking care of you will be easier at the compound.”
“So, I’m living with you now?”
“Yes. And when you feel better, we are getting married. My last name will offer a small amount of protection.”
“You want to marry me to protect me?” I whisper sadly.
This is not the way I imagined this conversation going. I love him with all my heart, but marriage is a big step. And now he only wants to do it out of some warped sense of responsibility toward me. That’s not how I want to start our lives together. My heart hurts at the thought of him marrying me out of a sense of duty.
“No,” he says vehemently. “I want to marry you because I love you. But I was going to wait,” he explains. “Now I’m just speeding things along.”
“Let me get this right,” I say with a raised brow. “You moved me in without asking me and now you want to get married, and you didn’t even make the effort to propose properly?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’m your asshole.”
“Yes, you are,” I say, grabbing him by the shirt and kissing him.
“So, you’re not mad anymore?” he asks with a smirk.
“Seems I’ll have my whole life to be mad at you. For now, I just want to be happy we’re both alive.”
The End