Chapter 18
Katy
The tubes were connected from his body to a machine that was humming quietly in the background.
I was back at the Falcone mansion, and my eyes welled up again as I looked at the man I loved.
Yes, loved. I could no longer deny my feelings for Barun Caruso.
What was the point even? After the emergency surgery, and in the wake of everything that had happened, denying my feelings seemed futile.
Brushing away the tears, I sat on the edge of the chair and prayed.
Barun had been stabbed, and there had been a lot of blood loss by the time Luke and I could get him to a hospital.
My brothers immediately flew in along with Gio.
There had been an emergency surgery, after which we’d brought him home under sedation by air.
Now, forty-eight hours after the incident, I didn’t know what to expect. Barun had to open his eyes to come out of danger. A danger that I had put him in. My lips trembled even as I struggled to contain my sobs. Please live, I prayed.
Ben had been taken into the basement, and my brothers and Gio had already attended to him.
Knowing them, I doubt he’d be alive. I inhaled a shuddering breath, realizing my articles and support for women had triggered Ben into this action.
Clearly, he’d not been right in the head.
His loss of control over his wife and daughter had triggered these actions.
What bothered me wasn’t Ben or his threats. I’d been in the dark about the threats. Fortunately for me, Barun and Luke had been there. What if I’d been caught alone? I deserved full disclosure as an adult, and the denial of that infuriated me.
The door to the medical room opened. Noah and Rhett entered, their faces grim and tense.
“Did you eat something?” Rhett frowned, throwing me a piercing glance.
“You know you cannot stay here forever, Kitty Kat,” my older brother, Noah, chided me gently, infuriating me all of a sudden. In a sudden movement, I got up from the chair next to the bed to face my brothers head-to-head.
I’d been hiding my true self all these years, afraid of hurting their feelings.
In protecting my brothers’ feelings, I’d let go of my true self.
To the extent that I wasn’t informed of any threats to my own safety.
Perhaps it was time to show them I was an adult who could face realities without crumbling.
“Noah, Rhett, it is probably better to have this conversation here and right now. I am not the same girl who was terrified after the kidnapping. Yes, it happened, and yes, I had been severely traumatized.”
I paused, swallowing, when Noah flinched, as if it was too much to hear. Yet I continued, knowing I had to be strong. For myself and for the choices I intended to make. “Do you know how big a risk you put me in by not telling me about the threats?”
“You don’t understand…” Rhett began, making me cut him off with a glare.
“I don’t want to,” I snapped, finally losing my patience after dealing with my brothers’ feelings with kid gloves. “I am a Falcone, as much as you are. In all these years. I’ve picked up self-defense, and I am trained to use a gun.”
Noah sighed, knowing he was losing this battle.
“I am a fully grown adult who can handle bad news. It’s disappointing that my own brothers don’t trust me.” I spat, sparing nothing.
“Is that why you didn’t bother to reveal your blog? And the Mother Teresa activities that could have gotten you killed?” Rhett snapped back, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Do you think you would have allowed me to continue if you’d known?” I challenged him back, meeting him eye to eye.
“Stop it!” Noah intervened, taking over as the big brother, as always. “If you want us to treat you like an adult, then act like one. Any more anonymous virtual presence and activities that you have hidden, this is the right time to bring them out. And for fuck’s sake, do not put yourself at risk.”
“And you,” he turned to Rhett. “Stop fighting with her.”
Both of us immediately shut up, automatically respecting Noah’s authority. Before we could speak again, we heard a faint noise from behind.
“Ka… Katy,” Barun’s voice rasped low, making me gasp. Immediately, I ran to the bed, kneeling beside the bed.
“Barun?” I held his hand, tears pooling in my eyes. I sniffled, glad he was awake. At last.
“I’ll call the doc,” Rhett announced before walking out.
Noah walked to the other side of the bed. Placing a hand on Barun’s shoulder, he squeezed it gently. “Welcome back.”
With a look that said our earlier discussion wasn’t over, he stepped back just as the doctor and a nurse arrived.