“C’mon, sweetheart, it’s time to wake up now,” Paxton’s rough voice murmurs.
My eyes flutter open in hopes that it’s not my imagination, but the real thing. I turn my head, expecting to see Mr. Garcia. Instead, I’m met with the sweetest vision I have ever seen in my entire life.
Paxton.
“Are you real?” I ask, lifting my hand to touch his cheek.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’m real,” he whispers.
The room is dark, but there’s a beeping sound that fills it. It smells like a hospital, and I know that I must be in one.
“What happened?” I ask.
“You were shot, baby,” he chokes before he clears his throat.
I take in his features and furrow my brow. He’s got a full beard on his face, something I’ve never seen before, and his eyes are sunken in deep, as though he hasn’t slept in weeks.
“How long have I been here?” I rasp.
“A month, sweetheart. Never thought you’d fuckin’ wake up,” he says hoarsely before he lets out a cough. “Called the nurses to come and see to you.”
Before I can say another word, Paxton steps away, and my room is filled with doctors and nurses. I’m asked a million different questions, and when I admit that I’m in pain, I’m given medicine in my IV. I start to feel lightheaded, but I don’t want to fall asleep before I can see Paxton again, so I try as hard as I can to keep my eyes open.
Once the doctors leave, his tired face fills my vision again. I grab his hand with mine and give it a squeeze.
“I love you, Pax,” I whisper.
“Love you so fuckin’ much, Cleo,” he says gently as he squeezes my hand. “Rest. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
My eyes flutter closed. No matter how hard I try to keep my lids open, I fall asleep, Paxton’s hand in mine and the image of his handsome, but tired face in my mind.
“How’s she doin’?” MadDog asks. We’re standing in the hallway of the hospital, an hour after Cleo woke up and then fell back asleep.
I turn my head to look at her in her bed before I face MadDog.
“She’s tired and out of it, but she could talk, and she seemed coherent as far as what was happening around her. She was confused, but she knew who I was,” I admit.
“Good. You know all the Old Ladies are gonna be down here as soon as they know she’s awake,” he chuckles.
“Tomorrow?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll try to hold Mary off that long,” he laughs. “I’ll start makin’ calls.”
“I’m calling Lisandro right now,” I inform him. He lifts his chin to me before he walks away.
“What happened?” Lisandro screams in my ear. He does this every single fuckin’ time I’ve called him to give him an update, or lack thereof, until this point.
“She woke up,” I admit. “She talked, and she seems good,” I grin.
“I’m there as soon as I can be,” he announces.
“She’s sleepin’ right now, but yeah, come on down tonight. Wait ‘til Theo gets off work. He’ll be pissed if you leave without him,” I warn.
The past month, I’ve become close with Theo and Lisandro. I’ve discovered that they’re good men. They care about Cleo, but they care about me, too. I feel like I don’t deserve to have them as family, because that’s exactly what they’ve become. I’m completely grateful for them, for their compassion toward me and their love of Cleo.
“You’re right,” he grumbles.
“See you tonight,” I chuckle.
“You want me to bring you dinner?” he asks.
“Fuck, yeah,” I grunt.
I haven’t left the hospital once since I walked in here a month ago. Mary-Anne brought me a duffle bag of clothes, and sometimes a brother or Lis will bring me food, but I’ve been mostly survin’ on shitty hospital food and coffee.
“See you soon,” he sings.
I’m glad that he’s happy again. He’s been a fuckin’ mess.
We all have.
I watch television, waiting for Cleo to wake up again, hoping to get a little more time with her before Lisandro and Theo arrive, but I don’t want to wake her up. I know that she needs rest.
“Are you watching Fixer Upper?” Cleo’s hoarse voice mutters. I walk over to her bedside, pulling a chair with me and taking her hand in mine as I do.
“I was,” I chuckle.
“Love that show,” she breathes as her eyes flutter open.
“How you feelin’, sweetheart?” I ask as my thumb makes circles on her hand.
“Tired and sore, but better than when I first woke up,” she admits. I can’t help but smile.
“Lis and Theo will be here soon,” I inform her.
“Yay,” she cheers softly.
“Fuckin’ hell, baby, you scared the shit outta me.”
“I’m sorry, Pax,” she whispers.
“Don’t be. Not your fault, not even a second. You did the right thing. So fuckin’ proud of how you handled the situation, baby,” I mutter as I cup her cheek with my hand.
She smiles at me, and it’s like a goddamn punch to the gut. She’s stunning, and I missed her gorgeous smile—I missed her even more than I realized.
“Missed you, Clee,” I admit, sounding like a pussy.
“I love you,” she replies.
“Yeah, sweetheart, love the fuck outta you, too,” I grunt.
“Where is she? Where’s my girl?” Lisandro cries. I turn my head, chuckling as I do. “Oh, my god, I swear I haven’t slept a wink in a month. Do you see the bags under my eyes?” he asks as he hurries to her side.
I stand and wink at Cleo, and she rolls her eyes before I walk away.
“Gonna make a phone call,” I mutter.
Theo and Lisandro both wave absentmindedly at me as I walk out of the room. I head over to the window and I watch my woman with her family, her best friends, as I pull out my phone and call MadDog.
“Didn’t ask you earlier, how’s the situation?” I question him before he can even greet me.
“Handled. He was brought in four days ago, and was gone as of shower time this mornin’,” he explains.
Without saying the words, his meaning is perfectly clear. Soar killed Garcia this morning in the showers. I grin at the information as my eyes roam over Cleo. She’s smiling, talking to her friends. Lisandro’s hands wave around in excitement, and I can tell that he’s finally breathing easy.
Lisandro’s been beside himself, been a wreck, emotionally and every other way he could be. His obvious love of my woman makes me realize that he is special, he is family and he is part of our circle from now until the end. Him and Theo are under the Notorious Devils protection, and under my protection.
“She looks good,” Theo says, walking out of the room to join me.
“He’s been taken care of,” I state, not looking at him, my eyes unable to move away from my Cleo.
“Thank fuck,” Theo rumbles. I’ve kept him informed of everything. Probably not the wisest decision I’ve ever made, but a decision that I made anyway. Smart or otherwise. “How’d it happen?”
“The shower,” I grin as I turn to face him.
“Seems fitting,” he smiles widely. “Now we heal our girl.”
“We do,” I nod.
“You’re up for the job? I have a feeling it’s going to be a long road ahead of you,” he states.
“Been sitting by her side every single day for a month. Hardly eating and sleeping. I’m up for it,” I say lifting my chin.
“You’re gonna give her the life she’s always deserved.”
“Nope,” I grunt. His eyes narrow and I continue. “She deserves more than I could ever give her. So, no, I can’t give her the life she deserves, never could. I’m gonna give her the best fuckin’ life I can. Gonna make her smile every day, kiss her every day, and hopefully fuck her every day,” I grin. “Then, I’m gonna fill her with babies when she wants ‘em, however many she wants, too. Build a life for her, and with her. Tell her every single fuckin’ day that I love her, and only her.”
I watch as Theo and Paxton walk back into my room and wait for some kind of crazy lecture. Things were looking tense through the window as they talked, but it seems as though everything is okay now. They both smile and Paxton even gives me a wink.
“I have to work tomorrow, but I’m here all day Saturday,” Lisandro explains.
“Okay,” I murmur as my eyes grow heavy.
“We’ll head out, but we’re so glad you’re awake now,” Theo says as his hand wraps around mine, giving it a squeeze. He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead.
“I’ll bring antipasto Saturday,” Lisandro rambles as he places a kiss on each of my cheeks.
“Okay,” I say with a nod.
They leave a few moments later, Theo having to practically drag Lis out of the room. Now it’s just Paxton and me, and I’m so grateful. I’m also so tired.
“You, okay?” he asks, sitting down in the chair next to my bed.
“Yeah,” I sigh.
“Love you, Clee,” he mutters. “Missed you.”
“It was all awful; but Paxton, I’ve never been happier to have you back in my life,” she whispers.
“Your safety will never be compromised again,” he announces.
“Baby, you can’t promise that,” I say, shaking my head.
“The fuck I can’t.”
“Paxton,” I exhale.
“I’ll protect you until my dying breath. You’re mine, my wife, my woman, and my Old Lady. You’re gonna be the mother to my children, too. So, yeah, I can fucking guarantee that nobody will ever harm you again,” he growls.
“Okay,” I say, not believing my words, but saying them because he believes his fierce words.
“Mean it, sweetheart. Nobody will ever hurt you again,” he growls.
“You can’t know that, Pax.”
“The last piece of the puzzle is eliminated,” he chuckles.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Garcia’s no longer an issue,” he shrugs.
“What exactly does that mean?” I ask, my eyebrows kitting together. Paxton just shrugs and my imagination takes over, my eyes widening as he grins.
“No more talk of him, yeah?” he asks, giving me a wink.
“Paxton,” I whisper.
“I was sitting right here, sweetheart. I didn’t do shit,” he grunts.
“Garcia?” I ask.
“Interesting thing, he was eliminated in prison just this morning,” he shrugs.
I close my eyes for a second and let out an exhale. I’m not happy that this man has been, as Paxton put it, eliminated, but I also can’t stop the immense amount of relief that fills me, either.
Maybe that makes me an awful person, I don’t know, but he’s gone—forever. There’s a solace to the fact that I never have to worry about him ever again.
“Sleep, sweetheart,” Paxton whispers.
“Okay,” I breathe as sleep pulls me under.