29. Isa
ISA
My alarm was going off.
Beep, beep, beep.
How annoying.
I tried to reach out and turn it off, but it felt like my arms were made of lead, and I couldn’t move them.
What was wrong with me?
Oh, I just wanted the noise to stop so I could go back to sleep.
I didn’t know how long I had slept, but I was still feeling incredibly tired.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by a bright light, making me cringe.
I let out a small whimper.
“Close the window,” someone said nearby.
Elio?
I went to sleep in Elio’s arms last night? But then, who was he talking to? Why would there be another person in his bedroom?
“Is that better?” Valentino asked him softly.
I was horrified.
My brother was here, too?
Oh God. Was I dressed appropriately?
I would just die if that weren’t the case and?—
Wait.
I attempted to open my eyes once more. It took a while for my vision to adjust, but when it did, I was even more confused.
I was in an unfamiliar room.
A cold, sterile, unfamiliar room.
It took me a while to find Elio sitting next to me on one side of the bed, and Valentino on the other side.
Both men looked like they’d been through hell.
Tears filled my eyes as the memories came crashing down.
I was in the hospital.
That much was obvious. And I remember being held at a house in the middle of nowhere, feeling helpless… and Nova… and I remembered being shot.
“Can someone help me up?” I croaked, my throat feeling like it had been scratched by sandpaper.
Elio repositioned the bed and fluffed my pillow while Valentino went to get me some water.
I drank greedily through a straw, then settled back.
I looked from Valentino to Elio, feeling relieved that I was surrounded by two of my most favorite people again.
That I was safe once more. But I was the only one who was safe.
I grabbed Elio’s arm.
“Nova? Did you save her? Do you know where she went?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. She disappeared without a trace.”
“She did?” I whispered. How could she just disappear without a trace?
“Can you please look for her? She’s the only reason I managed to send that message. That’s how you found me, isn’t it?”
Elio nodded.
Valentino grabbed my other hand. “Yeah. I’m so fucking glad you remembered Tommaso’s number.”
I smiled a little. “He made me memorize it when we first met. I thought it was silly.”
He smiled and nodded.
“I promised Nova we would help her. She was… she was trapped in that life.”
“I’ll send more men out to that house and search the area, okay?”
Somehow, I didn’t think that would yield anything. I just nodded. It was something, at least.
“What happened?” I asked.
Elio tightened his hand around mine marginally.
“You were shot, near your abdomen. But it was a clean shot. The bullet went through the other side. We managed to capture a lot of the Devil’s Wings members at that house, and we’re hunting the rest. We’re not going to stop until every last one of them is hunted down. ”
I nodded because what could I say to that?
“Joseph escaped along with Walter Thompson,” Valentino said.
Joseph?
When did he start referring to Dad by his name?
I looked at him strangely, and a haunted look entered his eyes. I had never seen my brother look like that.
“Tino? Are you okay?”
He grabbed my other hand and looked at it, swallowing hard. I turned to Elio for help, but he had the same haunted look in his eyes as well.
“Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me?” Valentino asked.
“Tell you what?” I whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me that fucker was hurting you?”
My eyes widened. “How do you know…”
He shook his head. “That’s not important. What’s important is why you didn’t think you could turn to me. I wouldn’t have let you live even another day in that fucking house.”
“It's not that,” I said, my heart breaking for him and Elio. I knew it was probably easy to tell.
Tears welled in my eyes. “It wasn’t always bad.”
“Don’t make excuses for that fucker,” Valentino said.
“I’m not.” And I wasn’t. “It really wasn’t always bad. The worst times happened when he was drunk. And by morning, he acted as if everything was normal. I was convinced at one point that maybe he just didn’t remember. That he didn’t mean it. And then it escalated.”
I looked down at the bed sheet in front of me. My vision blurred. I didn’t want to talk about this, but I knew I had to.
“But it didn’t happen all that frequently.”
“Once is fucking enough,” Valentino began. Elio stopped him with a look.
“I was… I was ashamed.” My voice cracked at the end.
“Oh, baby. You know it's not your fault.”
I nodded. A huge part of me knew that. But there was a small, incessant part that made me doubtful.
“I didn’t know how to ask for help, and it became harder as more time passed. And that’s on me, so please don’t blame yourself, either of you,” I said, looking from Elio to Valentino.
I knew they were going to take on the blame for what happened to me. Tears fell down my face, and Elio wiped them away with his hand.
It only made me cry harder. And then it seemed like everything was hitting me all at once.
The floodgates opened, and I didn’t know how to stop them.
A loud sob escaped my throat, surprising all of us.
“Baby,” Elio said, so much heartbreak in that one word. He pulled me into his arms. I buried my face into his chest and completely lost it. I might have said something, my words coming out muffled and unintelligible. I didn’t know what I was saying either.
I couldn’t stop myself from crying.
I felt Valentino’s hand grip mine as he tried to comfort me as much as he could, while Elio wrapped his arms around me, being careful with my injuries.
And I finally let go.
Of everything.
Of all that happened with the Devil’s Wings MC and all that happened with Joseph Gambino.
I just let it all go.
I must have cried myself to exhaustion because the next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital bed once more.
This time, with just Elio by my side.
“Where’s Valentino?” I asked.
“He went home for a change of clothes and a shower. But don’t worry, he’ll be back soon.”
I nodded and looked around, hating the small distance between us, both physically and mentally. It was like he didn’t know how to act with me anymore.
I shook my head. I just needed to find a way to bridge the gap again. I moved over to one side of the bed. “Won’t you lie with me?”
He looked horrified at the prospect. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. Please. I just want you close by.”
He looked torn between giving in and giving me what I wanted and being afraid he would hurt me. But I knew Elio. I knew he would take all the care in the world to ensure that didn’t happen.
I pouted a little, and that was all it took. He slowly climbed into bed with me.
It took some maneuvering on his part, but finally, I was back in his arms, right where I belonged. Right where I was the safest in the world.
I sighed and rested my head on his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“I was so fucking scared when Valentino showed me that video of you being taken,” he said after a while.
I could only imagine. I didn’t know how I would react if I ever saw a video of Elio being hurt.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. But I can’t let you out of my sight, at least, not anytime soon. You might feel suffocated by me. I’m warning you now so you can prepare yourself.”
I smiled into his chest and pressed a kiss there.
His breath caught, and he pulled me in even closer to him.
How could I ever doubt that he loved me?
It was so obvious.
And I should have been brave before. I should have told him how I felt.
“Elio?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I love you.”
He was quiet for a moment as he processed my words. “No one, besides my siblings, has ever loved me before.”
I nodded. I knew that. It was the same for me. Only Valentino had ever said those words to me and meant them.
“I don’t even know if I know how to love properly,” he whispered.
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “We can learn together.”
I felt him press a kiss on the top of my head. “I love you. So fucking much, it hurts just looking at you sometimes.”
I let out a watery laugh.
“I love you,” he repeated.
“I love you too.”
“Good. Because I’m not letting you go. There won’t ever be a time in your life when you don’t belong to me. Perhaps when I’m dead… but no. Even then, you would still belong to me.”
“I know,” I said with a sigh. There were worse things in life than to belong to a man as protective and dedicated as Elio. “Just like you belong to me.”
“Every single piece of my soul.”
I smiled a little, and we didn’t say anything more. There was nothing more to say.
“Baby,” he said after a moment.
“Hmm.”
“When you’re all cleared by the doctors, we’re getting married.”
I pushed up off his chest and looked at him. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
He shook his head. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you. We’re getting married as soon as you can.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then I laughed. How could I not expect this?
Of course, he was telling me we were getting married.
“You’re just lucky that I happen to want to marry you, big guy.”
He smiled, baring his teeth. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said.
“Good. Then I can’t fucking wait to make you my wife.”
Then he leaned down and kissed me sweetly. I pulled away first, aware that I hadn’t really properly cleaned my teeth in days.
I grimaced. How gross.
He frowned. “What?”
“My breath?—”
“Is fine.”
“Don’t lie to me. I know it’s not.”
He shook his head, smiling a little. “I’m not. Now kiss me again.”
I covered my mouth. Nuh-uh. There were just some lines you didn’t cross. His eyes danced.
He was about to say something when my hospital door opened, and Valentino walked in. Elio took one look at his serious expression and tensed. “What is it?”
“There have been sightings of Joseph in Las Vegas.”
Dad was here? Was he stupid? That was a death sentence.
“Do we have eyes on him?” Elio asked, already sitting up.
Valentino nodded. “It looks like he is heading back to the house.”
“Maybe to grab some things. Cash he had lying around?”
“Why do you think he’s back now?”
“Because he doesn’t have the backing of the Devil’s Wings MC anymore. Because the club is scrambling to put itself back together after Waylen’s death, and most of the information Joseph had on us is useless to the MC. I’m sure they kicked him out.” Elio looked at me, conflicted.
“Go do what you have to do,” I said, knowing he and Valentino would want to take care of this themselves. “I’ll be fine right here.”
He nodded and pressed a hard kiss on my lips. “I’ll be back soon. There are men posted outside. Nothing will happen to you. Never again. So be my good girl and rest up.”
I shot him a small smile and waved at my brother.
They left the room shortly after, leaving me alone in the quietness.
I wasn’t worried. While Dad might have starred in many of my nightmares, I knew he was no match against Valentino or Elio.
I just wanted them back with me.
I wanted Elio back so we could start our life together and leave all this behind.