Chapter Sixty Ella
Chapter Sixty
Ella
My grip on the porcelain basin tightens. My legs tremble beneath me like they might give way at any second.
“The car blew up in your vision?” I repeat, my voice shaking as badly as my knees.
“Yes. Lex managed to search the SUV in the chaos after the shooting. He found a bomb,” Claudette says gently. “It was set to detonate ten minutes into your drive.”
Oh. My. God.
The room tilts. Nausea crashes into me so fast I barely register moving before I’m inside a stall, flipping the lid and retching until my throat burns. Hardly anything comes back up, just the bitter remains of the toast I forced down earlier.
Claudette is there immediately, one hand braced between my shoulder blades, rubbing small circles.
When the nausea passes, I sink onto the tiled floor and lean back against the wall, my entire body shaking. I swallow hard against the sour taste lingering in my mouth as the truth of what she just told me settles in.
“That car would have blown up with us in it,” I whisper. “If it wasn’t for the shooting… we’d be dead.”
One disaster stopped another. And this one we never would have survived.
“I wouldn’t have let you get into that car,” Claudette says firmly. “But Ella, do you see now how serious this is? Someone is trying to kill Tiero, you, and the baby. And they won’t stop until they accomplish it.”
Fear seeps into every crevice of my body. She’s right. Whoever is behind this is determined.
“Lex has been working with Carl Freemont on a plan to get you out of here.”
I open my mouth, but Claudette lifts a finger, stopping me. It’s unnecessary. My mind is a blank, buzzing void.
“Lex promised Tiero he’d keep you safe,” she continues softly. “So let him. That’s what Tiero wants.”
I search her eyes. They’re steady, resolute, and full of quiet compassion. A heavy ache settles in my chest, my eyes burning.
“I don’t want to leave him,” I admit. “He handed me over to Lex like…” My voice falters. “… like…”
The rest won’t come.
I suck in a shaky breath.
“Do you think he believed he was dying?”
There. I said it, and I can’t take it back. It leaves me stripped bare.
Claudette pulls me into her arms.
“That man loves you fiercely. He’ll fight death itself if that’s what it takes to get back to you.”
“You really believe that?”
“I do. And he’s stubborn enough to win.”
I cling to her, holding onto her certainty like a lifeline.
She pulls back and cups my face, forcing me to meet her gaze.
“Listen carefully. I’m going to tell you Lex’s plan.”
She lays it out in hushed, precise steps. Every sentence makes my eyes widen a little more. It sounds risky. Impossible, even.
“We’ll wait until after the surgery,” she finishes. “But no matter the outcome, you leave. Promise me.”
I turn on the tap and scrub my hands, buying myself some time. Then something clicks.
“Wait. If someone planned to kill us with a car bomb, why try to shoot us first?” I ask. “Does that mean there’s more than one person after us?”
Claudette washes her hands beside me. “That’s what Freemont thinks. The Chicago mob, and possibly someone in Tiero’s ranks. We can’t trust any of his men.”
My stomach knots. I pinch the bridge of my nose, overwhelmed.
“You still haven’t answered me,” she says quietly. “About leaving.”
“How can I abandon the man I love and leave him among vipers?” I turn toward her. “What if they tamper with his medication? You said yourself they won’t stop until they succeed.”
“Lex has a couple of men here already, working undercover. They’ll watch over Tiero,” Claudette says. “But he can’t protect both of you with the resources he has. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing.”
I know Lex is more than capable, and I do trust him. That’s never been the question.
“Think of Peanut,” she says gently. “You have to protect her.”
“I’m aware,” I snap, then soften immediately. “It just feels… wrong.”
Her expression grows grave.
“After the surgery, we activate the plan. No matter the outcome,” she repeats.
A chill races down my spine.
I don’t get the chance to answer. A knock on the door interrupts us, and Antonio steps inside.
“Everything all right in here?”
“This is a ladies’ bathroom,” I say sharply. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
He shrugs, utterly unbothered.
“I’m checking on you. Your safety is my responsibility until your fiancé recovers.”
Excuse me?
“My safety is my responsibility,” I reply coldly. “Now leave.”
We lock eyes. I refuse to blink.
After a tense moment, he turns and walks out.
“I’ll be waiting for you outside then.”
My shoulders sag.
“I can’t even describe how much I dislike that man,” I mutter.
Claudette exhales. “Yeah, he’s a shady piece of work.”
The scent of antiseptic hanging in the air seems more pronounced when we return to the waiting room. It makes my stomach turn. At least it’s empty now.
Claudette and Lex exchange another one of their meaningful looks. Undoubtedly, she’s telling him she explained the plan to me.
I don’t feel confident. So many things could go wrong. It’s a gamble, but one Lex believes is necessary to keep me and Peanut safe.
Claudette made me repeat the plan twice to make sure I understood every part of it. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since we left the bathroom.
Leaving Tiero when he’s this vulnerable feels wrong, even if Claudette assures me we’ll be reunited as soon as he’s out of the woods.
Twisting the hem of my sweater in my right hand, I stare at the door, torn between wanting it to open with good news and fearing what will follow.
But it remains closed.
Every muffled sound from the hallway makes me jump, my senses stretched to the point of agony.
Unable to sit any longer, I get up and pace the room. The pattern of the floor tiles blurs beneath my restless feet.
The eyes of Tiero’s men are on me, their presence feeding the uncertainty pressing down, threatening to smother what little hope I have left. One of them, possibly more, is a traitor.
I glance at the clock. The third hour is up.
I’m trapped in this anguished limbo, praying for a miracle.
Movement catches at the edge of my vision. The door to the waiting room slides open.
My feet still as a man in scrubs steps inside.
My vision blurs for a heartbeat, my head spinning. I clutch my injured arm without thinking.
This is it.