Chapter Six
Sergio
"Tesoro mio, come on stay with me"
I watch as her head drops and know her body has gone into shock, I've seen it enough times in my life to know. I swerve to the side of the road, shove the car in park, jump out and grab a blanket from the trunk. Racing around to her side, I rip the door open and catch her before she falls out onto the ground. Laying her down on the seat, I wrap the blanket around her and rub her shoulders to warm her up before placing my fingers to the pulse point in her neck. A soft whimper escapes her lips.
"I'm sorry, Sugar."
At least she's still breathing and her pulse is weak, but regular. I blow out the breath I've been holding since I stopped the car and glance at the watch on my wrist. It's another half an hour before I can reach Dominic's home where Doc will be waiting. I need to get her home now!
She's so tiny, so badly injured. I hope to fucking Christ I can get her to the house in time. I check she's secure, slam the door shut and jump in behind the wheel. I can't wait to get my fucking hands on Joey, the piece of shit, I want answers for my precious tesoro. Once Kirsty is settled with Miss Brooklyn, Dominic and I can and pay the cazzo a visit
***
Pulling into the long drive leading up to Dominic's house, I feel my body tense, kick into gear like it does before a fight. I know Kirsty is still breathing, I've heard the soft whimpers she's been making, but I need Doc to see her right now.
Not bothering to park the car in the usual place, I stop by the front door, switch off the engine, jump out and jog to the passenger door. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to be carrying Kirsty but me.
"Sugar?" I breath into her ear before easing from the car and holding her up close to my chest. I get no response. Taking the front steps two at a time, I don't get a chance to open the door. Brooklyn is standing in the door way, wide eyed and staring at Kirsty in my arms. I shake my head to indicate things are bad.
"Can you take Evie, she can't see Kirsty like this." Kirsty is wrapped in a blanket but part of her upper body is exposed, both it and her face are a mess.
"Doc is upstairs." Brooklyn understands immediately, turns and hurries into the lounge area the best she can with the cane she needs to use because of her fucking piece of shit ex. She calls out to Dominic.
"Big man, I need to take Evie to Gwen's, while you help Sergio."
"Si, Angel." I'm surprised to hear Dominic speak, as I take the foyer stairs to the top floor, I'd assumed he'd be on his way to the docks to join Antonio. I meet up with Doc coming out of one of the spare rooms.
"Sergio, in here." He indicates the room he's just come from.
Nodding, I stride past him and note he has the room set up and ready. I take Kirsty to the bed and lay her down gently. I pause for a moment, not ready to let her go. Until I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"Doc you need to…"
"I know." He pauses, seeming to weigh his words. "Dominic needs to speak with you, I'll tend her. You know I'll do my best."
I nod, but I'm reluctant to move. What if this is the last time I see her?
"Sergio." I hear Dominic's deep voice from behind me and look towards him, he's in the doorway staring at Kirsty. He turns his eyes towards me and nods.
"Doc," I growl low. "If she dies you're gonna wish you'd never been born."
With my threat hanging in the air between us, I watch as Doc's eyes widen and he swallows before nodding.
Grunting, satisfied he seems to get it, I take one last look at my girl before moving towards the bedroom door where Dominic is waiting.
"Fuck," I growl. When the fuck did I start thinking of her as my girl. I shake my head, not giving two shits if it's too soon after meeting her. I knew she was mine the moment our hands touched. The sharp jolt to my insides was like nothing I've ever felt before.
***
"What the fuck happened, what didn't you say over the phone?" Dominic demands to know as we step out into the hallway.
"We went to the warehouse as planned, but Katherine wasn't there." I blow out a breath as everything hits me all over again. The blood curdling scream, Joey standing over Kirsty with a belt as she cowered against the wall like a scared animal. "Joey was there and he was torturing the poor girl."
"Fuck," he growls, dragging fingers through his hair. "Do we know who she is?"
I shake my head. "Not really. The only thing she managed to tell us is, her name is Kirsty and she is 25 years old before Joey yelled at her to shut her mouth if she knew what was good for her."
"Where's Joey now?"
"Antonio is taking him to the docks as I said on the phone, he wants you to meet him there."
Nodding, he paces the floor before coming to a stop and staring at me. "Do you think Kirsty is still in danger?"
"Si, I believe so, Boss."
"We'll see what the fuck the Doc says about how bad her injuries are and go from there. I'll head to the docks and meet Antonio. I'll call Demetri and the rest of the men to meet us there."
"Boss, I want to be there."
He stares at me for a moment then, looks to the now closed bedroom door where Kirsty is. "She means something to you." It was a statement rather than a question.
"She's mine," I growl before I can stop myself.
Studying my eyes, he must see something there and nods in understanding. "This is going to be a long path for you, are you sure you want to go down it again?"
I don't even hesitate with my answer and it kind of pisses me off that he would even ask. "Fuck, Boss. I fucking felt it."
"Watch it, Sergio," he growls back before squeezing my shoulder.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I have never spoken to the boss like that before. His eyes soften a little as he glances towards the stairs leading down to the front door when we hear it close.
"Si brother, I get it." Is all he says before stepping over to open the bedroom door.
***
Following behind Dominic, we re-enter the room and I see Doc wrapping a bandage around Kirsty's arm where earlier I'd noticed fresh burns. A sheet was draped over the rest of her body, she looked so small in the big bed and all I wanted to do, was hold her.
"Doc?" Dominic's voice draws my attention back to the Doc.
The man finishes bandaging Kirsty's arm and turns to face us. "This girl has been through so much, I'm surprised she isn't dead. I had to remove the coat and her singlet before I could see the full extent of her wounds."
"You fucking what?" I squeeze my hands into fists at my sides to stop myself from punching him in the face. How dare he see my girl naked!
"Enough, Sergio." Dominic snapped.
I breathe deeply to control the anger coursing through me as Doc continues speaking.
"As I was saying. I had to remove her singlet so I could assess her injuries. I have applied cream to the wounds on her chest, as well as the burn to her breast, she was covered in bite marks and bruises. Human bite marks. The bruises will fade over time as will most of the bite marks, but some were quite deep lacerations and I would expect them to leave scars."
I suck in a deep breath as everything the man is saying hits me square in the chest. I glanced down at my hand which reads cicatrici pari forza (scars equal strength) and I hope to fuck it's also true for Kirsty.
"I found numerous old scars which appeared to form a pattern across her body. Some scarring is quite old. When I rolled her over to examine her back, I found numerous fresh welts as well as older, faded scars. Some asshole has been lashing this girl's back for a very long time."
"Fucken shit," Dominic growls in anger.
I'm barely holding myself together right now. "Doc will she be ok?"
"At the moment…" his head cocks toward the tiny figure in the bed. "….as you can see, I have I.V. fluids containing antibiotics on run through. Once this bag is done, I'll set another to run through over twenty-four hours. I've given her a strong sedative so she'll rest and give the shock time to settle. If there are no complications, she should wake in about four to six hours. She'll be tired and in extreme pain when she does wake up so, make sure you have some painkillers handy for her. She's to have plenty of fluids, water preferably and if she wants to eat, keep it light. Try and encourage her to eat, it will aid her recovery. She's very malnourished so four or five small meals a day would be ideal.
"Is Brooklyn coming back?" I ask Dominic, not wanting Kirsty to be alone while we take care of Joey.
"Si, she wanted to drop Evie off and come back to see if you needed anything. You know how she is, she's a natural born mother."
Nodding, I cross the room and take a seat in an armchair in the corner, needing to be near her until Brooklyn returns.
"Doc, can we talk outside for a moment?" Dominic asks before leaving the room.
I bend forward and rest my head in my hands, praying my girl wakes up. After everything the Doc has told us, I can't wait to find the cazzo who has done this and make him pay for every second of pain he has caused her. It was obvious her life had been harsh, but I saw a glimmer of her strength when Antonio was talking to her in the warehouse. I hope to fuck she can keep fighting and stay with me.