Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
ROSALIA
I can hear a beeping sound in my mind, and I whimper, wanting it to stop. Let me die in peace. Why is it so loud in here?
“Rosa?”
“No,” I breathe, refusing to open my eyes.
“You have people waiting to see you.”
I don’t recognize the authoritative voice, but I’m not surprised since everything is fuzzy and confusing. My eyelids feel as if they’re glued to my eyeballs, and while I don’t know if that’s possible, the grit makes it so uncomfortable, I couldn’t open them if I wanted to.
“Fine. Your body needs to rest and I don’t want you to get too upset right now. Go back to sleep.”
“There’s no rest in Hell,” I croak out. “Avery will just wake me up soon enough to remind me of that.”
Whatever else the voice says is lost to me as the darkness drags me back down. This place is cold, sterile, and soulless. There’s no comfort here, and truthfully, I don’t want or deserve it.
I didn’t fight hard enough and now I’m alone and dead. I don’t deserve my pack because I let the darkness win.
* * *
“I know you’re awake.”
The words sound like glass and pull my eyes open. Curiosity has always killed the cat, and since I’m dead, what’s the harm in exploring?
I’m out of lives anyway.
It takes effort to blink my eyes, and it feels as if I’m relearning how to do such a simple thing.
Nico’s face is right up against my nose, and I squeak in terror. I don’t know what I expected to see, but it wasn’t him.
“Hi.”
“Am I dead?” I whisper, tears welling up. I feel as if I’ve cried a million of these, yet they never seem to dry.
“No, mia cara moglie. It was a very close thing. You’re still here, though.”
I can feel the warmth of his breathing, see his gorgeous eyes that tell me our bond is still in place, and his lips twitch with happiness to see I’m awake. Oh my god…
Sucking in a breath that hurts, I shudder at his words.
I’m still here.
I don’t know if I’m happy or sad about this. Even if I only get to see my pack once more, it’ll be worth it.
“You’re not near death, Rosa,” he growls.
It’s almost as if he can read my mind, because I’m certainly not in any state to speak my darkest thoughts.
“I’m not above tethering your soul to mine and searching for you in death to bring you back.
I haven’t been taking very good care of what’s mine, but I plan to Velcro myself to you. ”
His fingers brush along my forehead as he moves back slightly, his chin on the mattress in front of me so I can focus better on him. I hate that he’s blaming himself when it wasn’t his fault.
“Where am I?” I whisper. His voice is all fucked up, and a part of me knows why. I disappeared, and he didn’t take it well.
“Our home. Dr. Walsh and Riley pretty much moved into the house to help take care of you. It wouldn’t be very nice if you died after all the work they’ve put in.”
His words begin to come easier now, but he doesn’t stop touching me.
“That’s an interesting guilt trip,” I rasp, burying my face in the sheet as I’m overcome with a coughing fit. Every gasping breath feels as if it’s torn from the world by force, and my back pulls with pain. I don’t understand why it feels like this.
My fingers clench around the sheet as my body shudders in pain, and my heart races from the strain.
I think I’m missing pieces of my memory, and I’m worried about what will happen when I’m reminded of what happened to me. It feels like someone used scissors to cut through my brain, and now it resembles Swiss cheese.
“Drink, Rosa.”
Panting, I shift my face so it’s no longer buried in the sheet and wrap my lips around the offered straw. My skin feels chilled as I begin to sweat, and the word ‘cut’ pulls at me. Why is that important?
“Don’t drink too quickly. Dario is getting everyone to eat, which is why I’m the only one in here,” he whispers. It seems whispering helps the gravelly nature of his voice. “He’s been a busy beta, keeping everyone going while we’ve been waiting for the sleeping beauty to open her eyes.”
I stay silent as I stare at him to tell me more, and he sets the water cup on the ground beside him. I flex my fingers and wiggle my toes out of reflex, frowning when I feel something pull slightly at my hand.
“There’s an IV in your left hand, feeding you antibiotics, fluids, and really good drugs,” Nico explains. “Dr. Walsh found a bunch of shit in your system and is still flushing it out. He said he had to be careful choosing a pain medication that wouldn’t exacerbate anything.”
“What…”
How do I ask about how they found me? I remember Avery and her minions, but only parts of my time with them are clear.
“Dr. Walsh and Riley…” Nico closes his eyes as he takes a deep breath. “There are things you don’t remember, yes?”
“Yes,” I whisper. My throat still hurts, but as long as I keep my voice low, I can talk.
“There are cuts all over your back. Verona heard you screaming in your mind, and she is the only reason we found you,” he explains.
“When Dario, Pablo, and Verona approached the group surrounding you, they began wildly stabbing you. I suppose they decided since they paid for a snuff session, that was what they were going to do. Even if it killed them.”
“Did it kill them?” I ask.
“Yes. There’s no way they were walking out of there alive. Unfortunately, they died too quickly. Extending their lives while you were dying wasn’t possible.”
I let those words sink in. I’ve been floating in a bubble where I thought I was dead, but it doesn’t appear this was very far fetched.
“There were still knives in your body when you were removed from the warehouse, and Riley and Dr. Walsh stitched you back up while keeping you from bleeding out at the house,” Nico continues.
“Somehow, the knives managed to miss all the important internal organs, but they’re monitoring for any changes to that.
While all that was happening, I was a little useless.
I passed out while they were searching for you. ”
“Shh,” I rasp. He doesn’t get to keep talking to me if he’s going to be mean to himself.
“Verona gave you a sponge bath a couple of times this week. Your hair is currently a lost cause, but I might be able to wash it in a basin now that you’re awake.”
I blink at him, wondering how long I’ve been in this bed, and he blows out a breath as he squats beside me. His fingers tangle carefully in mine, and he swallows hard.
“You’ve been unconscious for a week, Rosa,” he finally says. Nico takes in the shock in my face before nodding as if I had spoken. “We haven’t been very patient. Dario has been searching for specialists while Dr. Walsh told him it’ll take time, and Riley called him an old quack who’s washed up.”
“Fuck.”
“Riley doesn’t think much of Dr. Walsh,” he admits, leaning in as if telling me a secret.
“They might end up killing each other, but they’re keeping their shit together for the most part.
The equipment is to watch your vitals. I don’t want to get you too upset because I don’t want to share yet. I’ve missed you.”
Tears soak the sheet underneath me as I whisper, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Nah. You’re the strongest fucking person I know. We just needed to find you.”
Picking up a tissue box by my pillow, he pulls a few out as he dries my tears.
“Dr. Walsh says you said someone’s name a few days ago. Do you remember?”
Digging deeply, I shake my head slowly.
“Avery.”
That one word makes my heart begin to race as he winces.
“I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“Papa sold me to her,” I rasp, gasping in a breath. My memories flood in quickly, becoming overwhelming. “One of his guards got away the night of the charity event. The only way he could know what he did is if he hid like a coward because we killed everyone in sight. He didn’t say it…”
“Of course not,” Nico scoffs. “Made men don’t enjoy looking bad. In and out, baby. That’s it.”
The monitor is complaining at me, and a hand slaps the door behind me.
“She’s awake.” Hearing Dr. Walsh’s voice triggers the dream I thought I had, and I realize he was the one speaking to me when I first opened my eyes.
“She is. Rosa is talking about difficult things, and that’s why the fucking machine is angry with us,” Nico explains.
I can hear Dr. Walsh as he walks around me and he does something to fix the noise. “I reset it so it won’t do that again unless she’s very, very upset or going into cardiac arrest. Let’s not do either of those things, okay?”
“Yes, Doctor,” Nico says, pretending to be abashed. He waits a moment before making a face once he leaves. “They’ll all be here soon. I don’t blame them, we almost lost you, baby.”
“Almost,” I whisper.
“Things are going to get hard, baby, but you can do this,” he promises. “Sometimes, living is the hardest thing you can do.”
My eyes close for a moment before I nod.
“You didn’t find her, did you?” I ask, opening my eyes.
“No. The bitch abandoned the building. Easton found a video camera above your body, and he thinks that she watched a stream of what happened.”
“Did it record?” My fingers shake at the thought of a video of it existing anywhere and Nico shakes his head.
“The video camera went dormant once the police arrived, and Easton climbed up on a ladder and pulled it down.”
“Thank you,” I sigh.
“I didn’t do anything,” he says, smiling. “Easton also made sure to destroy your blood so it can’t be used for anything. Your father’s experiments have altered your body, and we don’t want anyone getting ideas.”
“Has Dr. Walsh run any tests on my blood?” I ask. “Avery wanted to break our bonds. She was obsessed with it, and she shoved a bunch of shit into my blood trying to figure out how to do that.”
“She’s a fucking monster. I’ve heard stories about her, but this is next level evil shit.”
“There’s something broken inside of her. I hate that we didn’t find her,” I rasp.
My eyelids begin to droop as I speak, and Nico rubs the area between my eyebrows slowly and methodically.
“You’re going to make me fall asleep,” I complain.