Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Tatiana
A steady beep sounds in my ears. Lights flash behind my closed eyelids. I try to lift my hand but fail.
No.
Not the trunk.
Panic surfaces and with it, pain.
So much pain.
“Tatiana.”
A soft whisper from a deep, gravelly voice. A gentle touch on my arm.
“Tatiana, darling.” A calloused fingertip traces my knuckles. “Can you hear me?”
I fight against the pull that keeps me on the edge of consciousness. It feels as if my eyelids are glued together. It’s difficult to open them.
When I finally manage, I’m met by stark white walls and a curtainless window.
A hospital.
I have a pipe in my nose and an IV in my arm.
My pulse spikes.
“Hush, darling. You’re going to be fine.”
I turn my face toward the sound of that voice.
Dante sits next to the bed, clutching my hand in his. Stubble darkens his jaw, and blueish circles mar his eyes. His jacket and shirt are crumpled. The disheveled state of his dark-blond hair tells me he’s worked his fingers through the strands repeatedly.
“Dante?” I croak.
“I’m here, darling.” He sweeps a hand over my hair, the gesture tender and careful. “How do you feel? Do you need more pain meds?”
It all comes back to me then—the church, the necklace, and the man who shot me.
Dante studies me closely, his expression concerned. “I’ll get the doctor.”
“Wait.” I tighten my hand on his. “Our attacker…” Swallowing away the sandpapery dryness of my throat, I moisten my lips with my tongue. “What happened?”
Shortly after Dante carried me from the church, I passed out. I just remember him calling an ambulance and shouting at them to hurry up.
Dante stares at me with that intense gaze that has the ability to pierce my soul.
“This time, you were lucky. The bullet lodged in your right kidney. The surgeon had to remove the kidney, but he assured me that you can lead a perfectly normal and healthy life with your remaining one.” His throat moves as he swallows.
“The operation lasted six hours. Recovery will take a few months, but I’ll be with you every minute of each day.
You don’t have to worry about anything.”
I hear the facts, but they don’t sink in. They don’t affect me, not yet. All I can think about is… “Noah.”
“You’re still in the ICU. As soon as the doctor says you’re stable, I can bring him for a visit.”
“Is he all right?”
Dante’s eyes cloud over. “He’s fine. He just misses you.” Bringing my hand to his mouth, he kisses my palm. “Fuck, Tatiana. For a minute back there, outside that church, I thought—” His expression hardens. “I couldn’t lose you.”
His clothes aren’t stained with my blood, so he must’ve changed.
“What did you tell the police?” Because they would’ve asked questions if he brought me in with a gunshot wound.
“That we got robbed in the church, that you…” He clenches his jaw. “That you got shot and that the attacker took off with your engagement ring and the cash I had on me.”
It couldn’t have been that easy. “They believed you?”
“I told them you had suffered from selective amnesia and that your memory returned earlier tonight. The memories were traumatic, especially those surrounding your mother’s death, and you wanted to go to the church to pray before the party just like she used to do.”
“That must’ve been even harder to believe.”
“I don’t care what they believe.”
No, he doesn’t. A man like Dante doesn’t have to. He can get away with anything he wants, and he knows it.
Well, almost anything.
Tonight, the necklace was finally in his grasp. He held it in his hands for just a few seconds before it slipped through his fingers again.
I take in the savage, obstinate set of his handsome features. “You didn’t go after the necklace.”
He smiles, the gesture cynical. “Did you think I’d leave you to die?”
I don’t understand. The necklace was all Dante ever wanted. It was more important to him than anything in the world. He fought wars for that necklace. He swore he’d get it back and avenge Lee’s death. Yet he gave it up to save my life.
Did he do it for Noah? Or did a small part of him also do it for himself?
He presses another kiss on my knuckles. His smile turns amused, but he can’t hide the strain that tightens the lines of his face. “Why are you giving me that look?”
I stare at my hand that lies small and pale in his broad, darkly tanned, inked one. “Sometimes, Dante, I don’t understand you.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “I’m not a complicated man. What’s not to understand?”
Lifting my gaze back to his, I search his face—wishing, hoping, and hating myself for it. I emphasize each whispered word. “What do you want?”
His answer comes easily, yet his eyes remain guarded.
“I want you to get better.” When I don’t reply, he adds with vehemence, “I’ll get you the best doctors and treatment money can buy.
We’ll see a nutritionist to work out a meal plan that’ll ensure your recovery and long-term health.
If need be, I can get a full-time cook and nurse to stay at the house. ”
The longer he talks, the more my heart sinks. That cruel thing called hope wilts and shrivels up inside me. Because this is nothing but his guilt talking.
Oh, Dante.
If only he’d given me a chance, we could’ve been so much more.
The knowledge that it’s over hits me far harder than the news about losing a kidney. This is what I wanted when I went to that church, not to be free of Dante but free of the constant heartache and pain of never being enough for him.
I’ve been a fool to think that walking away from him would end the pain.
Now I know better. It will only get worse, and nothing can take it away.
But I’m worth more than being used as a pawn or arm candy.
I can’t go back to being Dante’s prisoner, trapped in a marriage that was forced on me for all the wrong reasons.
He married me for power and revenge but never for love.
I owe it to myself to end this vicious cycle.
I’m tired of being no more than a means to an end.
I just want to be myself and find someone who loves me for who I am.
Yes, admitting that Dante and I are done just when he gave me new hope by saving my life slays me worse than the bullet that tore into my flesh, but I’ll get over it.
Time heals all, doesn’t it? The necklace is gone.
This chapter of my life is finished. I can close the entire book.
It would be so much easier to just let it go. Move on.
But I can’t.
I’ve always loved Dante more than life itself, enough to sacrifice myself for him, and a part of me always will.
My feelings for him run too deep. My love will always survive just like it did before, flourishing in the darkest corners of my heart whether I’m brave enough to face those shadows or not.
That part of me can’t deny him or take away what matters to him most.
“Let me get the doctor.” He stands, still cradling my hand in his. “Can I get you anything else? Say the word, and consider it done. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
What I want will never truly be mine. However, he still has a chance, one shot at finding closure.
“The necklace…”
“Hush.” He puts my hand under the covers, bends down, and kisses my forehead. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Dante, please listen to me.”
At my tone, he stills.
I take a deep breath, plowing ahead even though it hurts to speak. “I planted a tracker in the necklace.”
His eyes flare and then tighten. Something like disbelief sparks in their depths. “You did what?”
“I always had an escape plan, but I never did anything without a backup plan either.”
His gaze pins me to the spot, drilling into mine. “You’re unbelievable, Tatiana Morici.”
The surname jars me. Not for long. Soon, I’ll be Tatiana Teszner again.
Pushing my emotions down, I do what must be done. “Listen to me. There’s still time, but you have to act quickly. It may not be long before they find it.”
“Where did you put it?”
“Behind the mounting of one of the small diamonds. The chip works with GPS.”
“What about the signal identifier?”
I place my hand that lies on top of the covers over the base of my neck. “Where is it? Where’s my necklace?”
He moves to the nightstand and opens the drawer. “Here.”
“The chip is half of a matched pair. I hid a mirror chip inside the top part of the pendant. If you scan the mirrored chip, it will unlock the shared tracking ID. It works with Bluetooth on any smartphone.”
“Have I told you you’re a genius?”
“You better move quickly. They may decide to take the necklace apart and sell the diamonds individually.”
He wraps his fingers around the pendant, seeming indecisive.
“Go.” I wave him away. “Go get your necklace.”
“Tatiana.”
“I’ll be fine.” I smile, proud of myself for managing to keep my voice level. “Go.”
He kisses me and brushes words over my lips. “Thank you.”
Those words say so much. They speak of a lifetime of suffering. Well, it’s only been seven years since Lee died, but sometimes, seven years can feel like an eternity.
“Go,” I say again, forcing back tears.
I don’t want him to see me cry.
Flashing me a brilliant smile, he leaves to chase the only true love of his life—his vengeance.