Chapter 7
T hat bitch knows how to throw a punch, I’ll give her that. I spit the pooling blood out of my mouth and fight the urge to throw up from the pain radiating throughout my torso. Without another word to Dario, I take off on my bike after her, feeling a murderous rage take over.
You can run, little fox, but you can’t hide.
Amaris isn’t far by the time I get on the road. I speed up, trying to close the gap between us. She’s fast, but not fast enough. Right on her tail, I see an opportunity when she goes to turn a corner. Ramming my bike into her back wheel causes the bike to lose control and skid straight towards a curb, ejecting her from her seat over the handlebars. She falls in slow motion, rolling across the pavement until she’s completely motionless.
I’m not even fully off my bike when I notice a small crowd beginning to form from the pedestrians nearby. I wasn’t even thinking in the midst of my anger and confusion at what her problem was. With as many people as there are on the sidewalks, watching with their phones in their hands or pressed up to their ear–presumably calling an ambulance already–I won’t be able to move her from here or even finish the job.
I was supposed to have more time and privacy to deal with Amaris, but she expedited her death sentence with that little show she gave.
Unfortunately, she is unconscious, but still breathing when I reach her body. Keeping my head down, I pat her down for her wallet before I get back on my bike and go straight back to the compound.
Renato is waiting outside when I pass through the gates, much to my dismay. One of his men stands in my path, preventing me from driving straight back to where my house is.
Slowing to a stop but not getting off my bike, I turn to where he stands on his front steps. “Talk,” is all he says.
News travels faster than light around here.
“That little brat showed up at the tavern while I was talking to Dario and started freaking out on me. She kneed me in the groin and took off. I chased and crashed her, but the scene was quickly swarming with pedestrians soon after she crashed, so I didn’t finish it. Tomorrow will be her last day living.”
His face betrays no emotions when he stares back at me. “You are getting sloppy. Do I need to call Luciano to finish the job instead?”
Any time he talks down on me as if I’m a child pisses me off in indescribable ways. My cousin Luciano is the most powerful capo in our organization. We have always been the first two people picked for important jobs. He has always tried to one-up me—I know it’s because he wants to be the one to take the throne instead of me. But after Renato, I’m taking that role. I didn’t come this far for nothing.
“That won’t be necessary, I have it all under control. Give me a day and you’ll see.”
“You have one day to fix this fuck up. I expect you to keep me updated.” He nods at the guard still blocking my path and dismisses me with a wave as he walks inside his house.
Immediately after I round my house, Ace is running up to sit next to me. I grab a cigarette out of my jacket pocket and take a few pulls before dialing one of our men, Benito, who works in cybersecurity. A quick rundown of what happened gives him enough information to figure out what hospital they took her to. Amaris’ license is sitting in my pocket, but the hospital has other ways of finding her information. I have Benito delete any records of her in their system.
“What’s the name of the hospital?”
“Johnson Wingate Hospital,” he replies instantly.
“And what room is she in?”
Rapid clicks are all I hear until he says, “Room 22 in the emergency wing. There will be less nurses on shift between eleven a.m. and three a.m. I suggest entering through the east entrance. I’ll send you a map showing you the easiest way in and out.”
My phone pings right as he finishes his sentence. “Got it. Thanks, man.” With one long pull from my cigarette, I flick it to the grass and go inside with Ace, not feeling any better.
If she doesn’t die overnight, I’ll kill her with my own two hands tomorrow.
A strange emotion begins to weigh down on my chest. Her death doesn’t feel like enough, it won’t make me feel better. I need her to suffer. She is the reason I became this monster. I want to bend and break her. Only then will it be enough.
I hope you get everything you want and realize it’s not enough.
Why the fuck is her voice popping into my head now, too? It’s bad enough that her face haunts me. I grab the glass bowl sitting on the counter in front of me and hurl it across the room. All this energy flowing through me has to be released somewhere. I can’t sit still, but luckily I know exactly where to go.
It’s just past one in the afternoon when I finish my intense training session. My pump from the workout is still running through my body, coupled with my thoughts in anticipation of my hospital visit, as I ride through the busy streets.
Will she be awake? What if she died overnight? I hope not, I want her to feel every bit of pain I’ll put her through.
When I pull into the east wing parking lot, I pull into a spot that’s easily accessible and not far from the door I’ll be going in and out of. A quick scan around the parking lot tells me there’s no one hanging around out here. Benito answers on the first ring when I call him.
“Temporarily disabling the hallway cameras.” I hear him say more to himself than me, so I stay quiet. “You have a thirty-minute window, sir. Stay on the path I sent you and you should be good.”
I thank him and leave my helmet on the bike, keeping my gloves on. I walk in and keep my head inclined towards the ground, but walk with purpose, like I’m supposed to be here.
Because I am.
Most nurses and doctors are too busy to notice me anyway, with their head stuck in a clipboard or too preoccupied with talking to someone else. My steps slow when I see room 20. I’m close. No one notices me as I sneak into room 22 and close the curtains they have over the small window on the door.
There she is. Amaris must be asleep or unconscious, I’m not sure, but she is alive. Her hair is a mess. There is a small, but noticeable cut on her dry lips. Minor scrapes and bruises run up her arms. Even like this, she’s gorgeous.
I fucking hate her for it.
Of course, she didn’t die. She’s too stubborn even for death.
Little does she know her death belongs to me. It’s mine.
As I walk closer I reach out for her neck, ready to strangle her. At the very last second, I hear the damn door creak. It’s a warning that someone is about to walk in, but not with enough time for me to hide. I drop one hand smoothly and lay the other on her cheek.
“Oh,” a soft female voice gasps behind me, sounding surprised. “Hello, sir. Do you know the patient?”
I turn around and paint on the fakest sad smile I can muster. “Yes, I’m a close friend.”
She claps her hands together enthusiastically. “Perfect. We have been trying to find an emergency contact for her, but she must have lost her identification in the accident. Would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment so we can discuss some things?” She rambles then looks at me expectantly.
I do mind, actually.
“Sure, no problem,” I say as I move to follow her out the door.
I hate hospitals.
The nurse looks over her clipboard briefly and lets out a soft sigh. “Jane suffered from—"
“Amaris.”
“Excuse me?” She looks at me puzzled and I’m losing my patience.
“Her name is Amaris.”
“Right, sorry. Amaris suffered from what we call PTA, or post-traumatic amnesia, after the accident. That girl has some real fight in her. Police say it was a hit-and-run, but those motorcycles can be so dangerous. It’s a miracle she isn’t in worse conditions!” She waves her free hand around incredulously. “Anyway, do you happen to know who her emergency contact is or a number for her parents? I didn’t see a ring, so I assume she isn’t married?”
Someone had too much coffee this morning. She’s talking so fast I can hardly keep up.
“Not married, but I am her emergency contact.”
“Oh, even better. Well, like I said, Amaris has PTA so she won’t be able to remember certain memories or people. each case is unique to each individual. It might also be hard for her to learn new things or remember new information. With that being said, if you take her to familiar environments or around close family and friends, it can help trigger her lost memories. But don’t force too much on her at once. PTA can last anywhere from a few weeks to months, or in some cases, the symptoms can be permanent.”
She stops talking to make sure I’m listening, so I nod for her to continue. “We had to put her in a medically induced coma, but she already woke up from it earlier. She has been in and out of sleep. You can wait for her to wake up again or I can try to tap her awake for you if you’d like to try talking to her? She won’t talk to any of us.”
I’m still trying to process what she told me. Amaris has amnesia, but how much of her memory did she lose? For all I know, when I walk in the room she’ll remember exactly what happened and blow everything up. But I would be lying if I said this new development didn’t pique my interest.
“Let me make a call, then I’ll go in there,” I say to the waiting nurse.
“No problem, take your time. I’m going to check her vitals while you do that.”
This chick has impeccable timing. I turn and go somewhere private. Might as well actually update Renato since I have to wait on her to leave anyway.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you fucked this up for me, Kylo. We have been waiting eleven years for this moment.”
Hello to you, too, jackass. “I am just updating you on new information, but I am still fully prepared to take her out when I hang up this phone.”
“Well, what did you find out?”
“She didn’t die from the crash, but she has amnesia. I don’t know what she can or can’t remember or how long it will be until she gets her memory back, if ever, but I—”
Before I finish my thought, he talks over me. “Oh, this is just too good to be true. Change of plans, you are to discharge her today and bring her here to the compound. You can throw her in the spare building over in the back. I have an idea.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Get it done.” With that, he cuts the call, leaving me frozen in place for longer than I intend to be.