Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Dominic
Never would I have imagined I'd be sitting in a hospital room again so soon, beside another one of my loved ones, worried for their life, yet here I am.
Percy's body is still, and the steady beep from the machine beside him is burned into my brain.
The wires leading to his body hang beside my arms, taunting me.
Leo's presence behind me is heavy and daunting, but I haven't turned to look at him in the thirty minutes I've been sitting here.
I know he wants to talk to me, but I'm not ready for a conversation just yet.
Fury is still seeping through my veins, betrayal sitting heavy in my heart, and my mind is clouded by a hundred thoughts.
I'm still in disbelief, running through everything Alicia admitted before I stormed out of the apartment.
She deceived me.
She sold me out.
Betrayed me.
I can't wrap my head around it.
I know I was horrible to her, and I took things too far, but I never thought she'd do something like this.
The shootout at the marina, and Percy being shot.
She's behind it all.
She set all of this in motion.
Burying my head in my hands, I scrub at my face in frustration.
"Dom—"
"Shut the fuck up," I hiss, turning my venomous glare towards Leo. "I don't need you to talk to me right now."
"I just want you to—"
"You knew!" I shout, pushing myself out of the chair beside Percy, and storming over to Leo, who's by the door of the hospital room. "You knew what she'd done, didn't you?"
"Yes," he states, unfazed by my realisation.
Raising my fisted hand, I throw it into his face, shaking my head and making a noise of disgust as I shake my hand out.
"You both lied to me."
"Get over it," he scoffs, stretching his jaw out. "If you thought about everything properly, you'd understand."
"I'd understand? Are you fucking joking me?
" I roar, jabbing my finger into his chest. "She snooped around my house to find out information and gave it to her brother.
He could've killed us all at the marina the other night, and he almost killed Percy tonight!
How the fuck would I ever understand anything like that? "
He pushes me backwards, creating more space between us.
"She acted irrationally. We've all done that before. We've all done things we wish we could take back. It's a part of life, Dom! Quit feeling sorry for yourself and thinking you're the only person who was affected in all of this."
"I am!"
"She almost died as well, Dom!"
My brows furrow, and my jaw drops as I shake my head.
"What are you on about?"
"The other day, when I came home with Alicia from shopping, after she'd been attacked, and she was covered in blood, she almost died."
"That has nothing—"
"Yes, it does!" he bellows, pushing me again. "It has everything to do with what's going on because Lenny was the one who sent that man after her."
A cramp starts in my sternum, and I rub my hands against my chest, hoping to relieve it.
His words filter through my mind, and I shake my head.
"But why would he send someone after her?"
"Because she backed out, Dom. She gave him the information, yes, but she realised after she'd made a mistake, and she tried to fix it, but he knew she was lying. That's why she came and told me. She didn't want either of us to get hurt, so she warned me, and then I came to warn you."
Flopping into the seat behind me, I rub my hand over my face, sighing.
"She knew she was risking her safety by doing so, Dom, but she still did it because she cares for you. She didn't want you to get hurt."
"She still betrayed me," I state, although my voice lacks conviction.
"Can you blame her?" he asks, raising his brows, giving me an incredulous look.
I frown. "You think she was justified in doing so?"
He shrugs.
"You've been pushing her away the whole time you've been married to each other.
You handcuffed her to the bed, man. Twice.
You practically pretended like she didn't exist, yet you tried to control everything she did.
You didn't want her to leave the apartment, and you did everything you could to prevent her from doing so.
She was angry, and she had every right to be! "
The tension leaves my body, and I slump further into the seat as his words resonate in my mind, and a wave of guilt washes over me.
"It's time to pull your head out of your arse.
She isn't your enemy, Dom. Lenny is. She made a mistake, but she never meant for any of this to happen.
It's not her fault, and you can't blame her for it.
She cares for you, possibly even loves you, and I can tell the feeling is mutual, so you need to go and fix this shit while you still can. "
Huffing, I nod.
Glancing over at Percy once more, I stand up and place my hand on his arm. Squeezing it gently, I walk past Leo to the door.
"Stay here, and ring me with any updates," I tell him.
"Where are you going?" he asks.
"To talk to my wife."