Chapter 37
Alessa
Ican’t stop pacing outside the door, waiting to see what they say about Leo.
I angrily tore off my heels on the third pass and kept pacing.
All the guys keep eyeing me warily after I bit off Ryder’s head for trying to lead me away.
Now they’re all lined up against the wall, just watching me.
I didn’t mean to snap at him, but this is Leo.
The one who should have never been involved in this is lying in a room with a gaping bullet wound because of me.
I know, I fucking know this is Viktor. They weren’t aiming to kill; it was a warning of his capability.
He doesn’t understand that he just pissed off the one woman more powerful than him by hurting one of her guys.
I don’t give a fuck I was in that car, but my guys were; my whole life was in that fucking car.
“Les,” Ryder says gently from his position sitting on the floor. “Please let me take care of your leg.”
I frown. “What?”
“Your leg. It got cut,” he reminds me, slowly standing up. My eyes light on all the blood on his arms where he rolled up his shirtsleeves in the car, all of it from Leo, and it all slams into me again.
“I’m fine.” I wave my hand and start pacing again.
What the fuck was Zane doing there? He saved our asses, no doubt, but why? Now he’s saving Leo by giving him blood? I’ve never been more confused and pissed off in my life.
“Pretty girl,” Gage says, stepping in front of me, holding up his hands when I glare. “There isn’t anything we can do right now. Let Ryder take care of you.”
I finally let my eyes focus on his face, which is lined with worry. “This is Leo,” I whisper, knowing he’ll know what I’m trying to say without saying it.
“I know,” he whispers back, leaning his forehead on mine. “I’ll be right here. Take care of the leg, and you can come right back.”
I nod and can hear everyone in the room take a breath of relief. Ryder gently places his hand on the small of my back and leads me toward the stairs, where he swoops me up in his arms.
“I can walk,” I say much harsher than I mean to.
He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, I can see how fucked up he is over this. “Please let me have this, Il mio sole. I could have lost you.” He swallows. “Give me this.”
I nod because I don’t know what else to say. What can I say? That I don’t care that I almost died? That I only care that they almost died?
He shoulders his way into my room, goes straight to the bathroom, and sits me on the vanity beside the sink. I look at his arms again and have to swallow back bile. I’m not squeamish about blood; I’ve seen it more times than I should have, but it’s Leo’s blood.
“Please get rid of that.” I gesture weakly to his arms. He looks down like he forgot it was there.
He unbuttons and shrugs off his shirt, then starts scrubbing his arms of the dried blood.
I watch it wash down the drain, remembering him being so gentle and apologetic to Leo when he was getting him out of the car.
The same guy he hated a week ago; he just dropped all of that and helped him.
He takes a washcloth, wets it, and starts scrubbing at his stomach, where the blood soaked through to his skin.
He dries himself off and digs underneath the vanity for the first aid kit that’s in all rooms. He stands up and lays it in front of him, taking out what he needs.
Gently propping my foot onto his leg, he looks over the cuts.
They don’t look bad on closer inspection, not that I care anyway.
He cleans the dried blood off, and gently pushes around the cuts to ensure there isn’t any glass stuck there. I watch the top of his head the whole time he’s working, overwhelmed with emotion.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” he asks without looking up from spreading alcohol over the cuts; I don’t even feel it.
“For being so good with Leo.” I can hear tears clogging my voice again.
He looks up finally, and I see the worry in his eyes too.
“As much as I didn’t want it, Il mio sole,” he sighs and looks back down, continuing his cleaning.
“He’s a part of this family now. He saved my ass.
This means he’s mine to protect, just like all the others.
” He slathers antibiotic ointment on my leg, then covers it with a big gauze, taping it on.
“Get changed, and you can go back to wait for Leo.” He places his hands on my waist, helping me down from the vanity.
He kisses my forehead. “I’ll be downstairs. ”
I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “I love you,” I whisper. The same thing I whispered to Leo downstairs. It seems so stupid now to hide our love. If anything, it makes me want to announce to them that I love them.
“I love you too, Il mio sole.” He pecks my lips, disappearing from the room.
I go to my walk-in closet in search of clean clothes.
I reach every way, trying to unzip my dress, but I can’t reach the zipper.
On the fourth try, that’s when I lose it.
Busting into tears, all emotion slamming into me like a freight train just because I can’t get my fucking dress unzipped.
I collapse to the floor on my knees, big sobs racking my body and no way to stop them, crying so hard I can’t catch my breath.
“Les!” Gage busts into the closet, dropping to his knees beside me. “Les,” he says, worried, pulling my face up to him.
“I can’t get my dress off,” I sob.
“Pretty girl,” he murmurs, tears gathering in his eyes.
He sits on the floor, gathering me on his lap, rocking me back and forth against his chest. “He will be okay.” I know he’s saying that for his sake too.
Gage might not want to admit it yet, but he has more than sexual feelings for Leo.
I knew it when I saw him protecting Leo with his own body.
“He has to be,” I sob, tears soaking Gage’s shirt.
“He will,” he says adamantly. He pulls my face up with a finger under my chin. “He will,” he says again, tears spilling down his cheeks.
We stay like that until my sobs are just hiccups. “Let me help you out of your dress,” he offers, and I nod.
He helps me to my feet before jumping to his. He gently turns me around, unzipping the dress. “You know this is not how I wanted to see what was underneath this.”
I laugh despite myself. “I’ll wear it again,” I promise. This isn’t how I wanted him to see it, either. I had plans for tonight that involved all of them in my bed.
He lets the dress slide off my shoulders and puddle at my feet on the floor; he takes my hand, helping me step out of it. His eyes take in the lingerie. “Definitely wear that again.” He shakes his head, jerking his eyes away. “See you downstairs?”
I lean up on tiptoes, kissing his soft lips. “I’ll be down in a few.”
He takes one last look before leaving the closet.
I unlace the lingerie and grab for whatever is in the panty drawer, not caring if it matches.
I slide some panties and bra on and shove my legs into a random pair of cotton shorts with one of the guy’s shirts I’ve been collecting every time they leave them in my room after a night with me.
I don’t even know who’s belongs to who anymore.
I rush back down the stairs to the room Leo is in. All the guys are still sitting vigil, having also changed into more comfortable clothes, except Evander and Mateo, who stayed behind at the gala when we left.
“I’m sure one of the guys has some clothes you can change into,” I offer, walking into the hallway.
Evander smiles sadly. “We’re fine.” He looks around. “What happened?”
“Viktor,” I answer angrily, ripping out the bobby pins that are holding my hair up. Ryder knocks my hand away and more gently starts plucking them free.
“You think this was Viktor?” Mateo asks, unbuttoning the top button of his dress shirt. The jacket and bow ties on both of them are long gone.
Ryder runs his fingers through my now-loose hair, and I have to take a minute to appreciate the relief. “Without a doubt.”
Zane pops the door open, looking deathly pale. “Doc said he’ll be fine and that you can see him later,” he says, shutting the door behind him.
All the air whooshes from my lungs so fast that I feel like I might pass out. “Let’s go to the living room,” Ryder suggests, rubbing my back.
I go to argue, but we’ll be close just in case Leo needs us, so I nod and let him take my hand, leading me to the living room.
He tucks me into his side on the loveseat, and Gage tucks into my other side.
Dex sits in one of the chairs while Evander and Mateo take up the couch.
Zane looks two seconds from making a break for it.
“Sit,” I say, pointing to the chair beside Dex.
I need answers. He looks resigned but sits down.
Holden pops around the corner, looking around the room.
“Is he okay?” he asks quietly. I didn’t even know he knew what was going on.
“He will be,” I assure him and myself. He looks relieved, walks over, and sits in front of the loveseat next to my legs. I run my hands through his curly hair, relieved we couldn’t talk him into going.
“I heard what happened, but I didn’t want to get in the way,” he answers my unspoken question.
Ryder reaches down and squeezes Holden’s shoulder. “You’re never in the way, Holden.”
I look at Zane. “Explain.”
He looks relaxed in his seat; I know he’s anything but. His shoulders are rigid, and his eyes are taking in everyone in the room. He’s in the room with criminals who will kill him without a second thought. “I was behind the SUV at the red light.”
“You were following us?” Ryder grits out.
Zane turns cold whiskey-colored eyes on him. “No, asshole. My apartment is the same way.”
I hold a hand up before they can start arguing. “Okay. Keep going.”
He shrugs. “There isn’t much to tell. I saw the SUVs rush in and open fire. I shoved the driver out and got you guys out of there.”
Mani walks in, tosses keys to Zane, and Zane catches them out of the air with a confused look. “We got his truck out of there right before the cops rolled in.”
Ryder had sent Mani and his crew down there to check the scene. I messaged him immediately to look for Zane’s truck or department-issued car. I knew he didn’t fucking walk to us, and I was just hoping the keys were in it.
“Thanks, man,” Zane says with a nod.
Mani grunts. “Don’t thank me. Thank her,” he says before striding back out of the room.
The whole place outside is crawling with guards making rounds, on high alert. I don’t think Viktor will try to attack my home, but I didn’t think he would order an open hit, either.
“Why?” Gage asks the one question I can’t figure out.
He looks at me and doesn’t need to answer that question. “Her,” he answers honestly.
Does he think this is his way back into my life? He’s still a cop; it doesn’t matter that he just saved our asses.
Gage laughs without humor. “You think that will win her over? You’re still a fucking traitor.”
“Why save my brother?” Evander asks, sitting forward on the couch, eyeing Zane like everyone else. With hatred.
“I couldn’t just let him fucking die, okay?” Zane stands up from the chair. “Can I go?”
“I don’t have to remind you to keep your mouth shut?” I say out of habit. Something tells me Zane won’t be mentioning this to anyone.
He scoffs, “No. You don’t.”
“Thank you,” I tell him honestly. It’s hard to tell what would have happened if he didn’t get us out of there. Or if he didn’t volunteer to donate his blood. “For everything.”
He jerks a nod and hastily leaves the room, slamming the front door on his way out.
“You’re just going to let him leave?” Ryder asks me incredulously.
“What do you want me to do? Shoot him?” I rub my temples against a building headache. “We have bigger things to worry about.”
“He saved us out there,” Dex points out. “Whether you want to accept that or not.”
“That piece of shit is up to something,” Ryder argues.
“He might be. But I don’t care,” I cut in. “We need to figure this Viktor shit out. We will deal with Zane if that time comes.” I sit up on the couch. “They weren’t shooting to kill.”
Mateo nods. “I saw the limo on the way in, and those bullets were strategically placed.”
“I’m so sorry about Leo,” I say, my eyes searching theirs for any animosity.
“No need, Alessa,” Evander says, waving that away. “We knew bringing him into our lives that this could happen.”
Mateo smiles. “He knew what he was getting into, and something tells me he won’t leave you even now.”
I acknowledge that with a nod, and my throat constricts with emotion again. I clear my throat. “This was his warning.”
“What’s your answer going to be?” Dex asks.
“That he just fucked with the wrong Poletti.” I look around the room. “Viktor just brought a war to his doorstep.”
I see everyone's resolve hardening, especially Evander and Mateo. Viktor just pissed off the woman who loves their brother and, in turn, pissed them off for shooting their brother.
If you believe in a God, Viktor, you better start praying to him.
Because we’re coming for you.