Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
As soon as the waiting room door opens, I jump to my feet. This time, there’s a doctor standing in the doorway. I try to steady myself as he walks toward me. I can’t promise not to completely and utterly lose control if he delivers any bad news about Isla’s condition. For the first time in my life, I open my mouth, yet no words come out.
“How is she, doctor?” Luc asks in my place.
“Alive,” the doctor says with grave seriousness. “You got her here just in time. A few more seconds and she wouldn’t have made it.”
“But now she will make it?” I ask, needing to hear confirmation that I won’t lose her.
“Yes. She survived—barely, but she’ll pull through,” he nods. “It’s going to take her several days in the hospital to recover, and we’ll need to continue to monitor a few things. But she’s out of surgery, and her vitals are all good. We’ll be moving her to a room in a few hours.”
“That’s wonderful news, doctor,” Luc nods. “Thank you.”
The doctor glances over at me and stares at the blood covering my shirt. “You can go home and get cleaned up. I’ll have the nurse call you when Ms. Hart has been settled into her hospital room.”
“No, I’m not leaving,” I say firmly. “As soon as she’s in a room, I want to see her.”
“Suit yourself.” He nods as he turns to leave. “You can wait here, then. I’ll send the nurse to get you when it’s time.”
I’ve never been a praying man. Hell, I don’t even believe in a merciful God, so taking on the title of The Devil was never difficult for me to embrace. But right about now, I feel like dropping to my knees and thanking whatever divine deity has just spared Isla’s life—and spared mine.
“I’ll go back to the penthouse and pick up a change of clothes and some food for you,” Luc offers. “And I’ll make sure that Alonzo and the others are behaving and not doing anything too foolish in the aftermath of this attack at the casino.”
“I appreciate that,” I nod. “And there’s something else that I want you to do, too—interrogate the sniper. Find out as much information from him as you can and then kill him.”
“And when he talks,” Luc says, following my train of thought to conclusion. “When I find out who it was that shot Isla and who arranged this whole thing, you want me to kill them, too?”
“No. I want to do that part myself. Whoever did this, and I think we both have a good hunch who that is—they will deal with my wrath, and I will be the one to watch the life leave from their eyes.”
“You got it, boss.”
After Luc leaves, I sit in silence and wait. But this time, I can relax a little and be patient until the nurse arrives. I use the time to think about my next moves. Angelo will expect me to fly off the handle and react. He will want me to be unhinged now, and he’ll likely be prepared for it. Normally, I wouldn’t care, and I would launch an all-out war against the Barones. But I’m going to do things differently now. I am going to focus on what I want the most in my life, which is a life with Isla. I’m in this for the long haul, and I will take my time planning an excruciatingly accurate revenge on Angelo Barone—one that will make him wish he had never crossed me. But first, I am going to take care of something right now that can’t wait.
“Mr. Moretti?” a nurse calls my name. “Ms. Hart is in a recovery room now. Would you like me to take you to her?”
“Yes!” I say as I follow her down the hall.
As soon as I get to the room, I see Isla lying helplessly on the hospital bed. She looks so weak and vulnerable, with tubes and monitors stuck all over her. But she’s awake.
“Vincent?” she croaks softly as she gingerly turns her face toward me.
“I’m here, Isla,” I say as I rush to her bedside. “I’m here. And I’m never leaving you or going to let anything like this ever happen again. I swear it.”
She smiles and lifts a shaky hand to hold mine. Her grip is so weak that I can barely feel it.
“Isla,” I say as I lean over and place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“I love you more than anything in this world—more than life itself,” I say as I stand there in my bloodied shirt surrounded by the sounds of beeping medical equipment. “And I don’t think that I can live without you. I once thought that love was a weakness, and now I know it’s the only thing worth having in this life. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be mine in every way possible. And in return—I will be yours. Will you marry me?”