I wake with a start and try to sit myself up. But, a burning, stabbing pain radiates from my abdomen, quickly bringing me back to reality.
“Fuck,” I hiss, laying myself back down.
I squint, looking up at the IV bags above my head. “What the hell?”
A warm feeling sends goosebumps along my bicep, and I glance down at the dainty hand wrapped around my arm. I follow it to the sleeping goddess next to me.
Her hair is fanned over the pillow, her lips parted as she lets out little breaths while she sleeps.
I try to roll over to face her, but I can’t. Every single muscle is aching. Shit, I need some painkillers.
“Rosa, baby.” I have to cough after two words, which only brings agony.
“Hmm.” She smiles in her sleep.
Memories of her sister, Maria, even Frankie being shot flash into my mind. Does she know?
“Rosa.”
This time, she blinks a few times and rubs her eyes. Suddenly, she throws herself upright, causing the bed to jolt, and I groan out in pain.
“Luca! Oh my God.” She throws her legs over the side of the bed to get up.
“No, wait—” I try to raise my hand.
She cranes her neck and twists to face me.
I don’t care how much pain I’m in right now. I want her. “Come here.”
Her bottom lip starts to tremble, and she scoots over, stopping just a few inches from me. Her eyes scan my body.
“It’s okay, Rosa. You won’t hurt me. I just need you.”
She snuggles her head into my shoulder, placing her hand on my chest. I rest my cheek against her hair and close my eyes.
“I was so scared, Luca. I thought I was going to lose you.”
“Baby, I’m fine. I’m back here with you, and I’m never leaving your side again. There isn’t a single power on this earth that could take you from me now.”
“You think I’m ever letting you out of my sight again, Mr. Russo?” she hiccups and I smile.
“I don’t ever want you to, tesoro. It’s just me and you now. Forever.”
An eternity wouldn’t seem long enough for me to love this woman. She is and will always be my greatest gift in life.
She props herself up slightly so I can see her beautiful face, those gorgeous chocolate eyes staring into my soul.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“Louder.” I want to hear her yell it from the rooftops.
“I love you, more than anything you could ever dream of.”
“And I love you. I have loved you from the moment I took you, and I will love you until the moment I die.”
A tear rolls down her cheek.
“Baby, don’t cry.”
She wipes it away before it reaches her chin. “I can’t deal with more deaths.”
I nod in understanding. My mom’s still fresh in my own mind. That can haunt me another day.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save her.”
She shakes her head. “It’s okay.”
I wince and bring my hand to her face, stroking her jaw. “You don’t have to pretend with me, baby. Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to say, how to feel right now. I’ll have to deal with it all, eventually. We both will. But right now, I just want to be here with you. To be grateful that even after all of this chaos, we found our way back to each other.”
“That I can do, Rosa. I promise you, we are going to have the best life. Anything you dream of, I’m making it happen.”
She leans into my touch. “This was my dream. Being yours.”
“You never stopped being mine, not for one second.”
“And the same goes for you. You are completely and utterly all mine.” She bites her bottom lip and I almost forget the pain.
“Give me a kiss. then. Show me that I’m yours, tesoro.”
Her eyes shimmer, and she brings her face to mine, her lips delicately kissing me. “That doesn’t feel like I’m being claimed,” I whisper, earning me a smile.
“I can’t get you excited, Luca. You’ve just had a major operation, you’ve been stabbed, you must be in so much pain.” She traces my jaw.
“I am, but none of that matters.”
“What am I going to have to do to show you that you do matter?”
“What do you mean?” My bandage crinkles as I lay back.
Her hands stroke my stubble. “You have a room full of people downstairs who would risk their lives for you. You have a woman sitting right next to you whose heart you own. You have nieces and nephews who love you. You have an army of men who respect you, who are willing to go to war for you. You matter, Luca. You spend your life sacrificing yourself for others, but I’m not letting you anymore. You come first, now.”
I can’t argue with her. I know this has to stop. I have to make big decisions about my life soon. But one thing will remain the same. Rosa will always be top of that list.
“I know, baby. I will never ever stop putting you first, but I promise I will keep myself a close second. How is that?”
“Hmm,” she fake pouts. “Well, looks like I’ll just have to make sure I put you first on my list, too.”
She drops a quick kiss and leaves me groaning as she retreats out of my hold and clambers off the bed.
“Where are you going?” The pillow feels colder without her.
“Like I said, putting you first. You need to be checked over by the doctor, and I imagine you need some painkillers? You’ve been too busy putting me first, you’ve most likely been laying there in absolute agony.”
I bite the inside of my mouth to hold back my grin. The woman knows me better than I know myself.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” She stands next to me now, hand on hip and an eyebrow raised.
“You might be.” I’m in absolute agony.
“Honestly.” She throws up her hands. “I’ll be right back.”
“How about one last kiss before you go?” I offer her a smile and she stomps back towards me.
“Please, can we never say those words again?” She sniffles and I want to throw myself out of bed and wrap her in my arms. I can’t and it irritates the fuck out of me.
“Never again.”
She bends and gives me another kiss, but this time, despite the searing pain, I grab the back of her head and deepen it.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips, closing my eyes as she rests her forehead against mine.
“And I love you.”
The next few days go by in a blur of deep sleeping, to the point I might as well be waking up in an alternative universe and snuggling with Rosa.
She hasn’t left my side. My perfect little nurse.
But today is the day I put into place the plans for our future.
Frankie has been busy rounding up our men, waiting for Romano to touch back down in New York.
The war isn’t over quite yet. But my fight is.
Dread pits in my stomach. I’m meeting Grayson and Keller in the office in ten minutes. Deep down, they knew this was coming.
“Rosa, baby.”
Her hand brushes down my chest, she stops when she touches my bandages, I wince in response. They might be healing well, but it hurts.
“Could you give me a hand getting dressed?”
I pull back the cover to reveal her naked form pressed against my side and groan, contemplating if I can postpone the meeting another five minutes so I can have her sit on my face.
She pushes herself up, her tits now lined up with my lips, so I lean forward and take one of her rosy buds in my mouth.
“I thought you wanted to get dressed?” She tries to suppress the need in her voice, but she can’t.
“I do, maybe just after breakfast?” I flash her my best smile.
“You go and do your thing, then you can have me for the rest of the day. How’s that?”
“Hmm.” I tap my chin, pretending to debate my decision.
“There is no ‘hmm’ about it.” She backs away from me with a grin, knowing I can’t chase her right now.
“Try that when I’ve recovered, Rosa. You won’t be able to get rid of me.”
“Good.” She winks and throws on one of my black tops that hangs on her like a dress.
“Do you have to wear one of mine? It’s not fair when I can’t rip it back off you.”
She rolls her eyes and grabs my gray sweatpants and a t-shirt to match hers.
She holds her hand out to me to pull me up. She carefully puts on my t-shirt. As she pulls the top over my chest, I snatch her wrist and look up at her.
“Thank you, tesoro.”
I can’t lie, this hurts my pride a little. Having her dress me, helping me to the bathroom. It kills me she witnessed the state I was in. She’s taken it in stride, for now. I’ve scheduled a call with Dr. Jenkins tomorrow for her; she will need an outlet somewhere. I’m here for her, I always will be, but she also has to find the strength inside, especially when it finally hits her that her sister is gone.
“You don’t need to thank me. I love you, no matter what. You’ve seen me at my worst and still loved me, remember?” She kisses me on the nose.
I will never forget that time. The pain she went through is far worse than a few stab wounds.
“You’re far stronger than me.”
She shakes her head and laughs. “Can you really say that when you spent a week holding back my hair while I threw up? Or when you cuddled me through my nightmares? God, I was so broken, wasn’t I?”
She bows her head. I hold her hand, placing it on my cheek.
“I loved you then, I love you now. It doesn’t matter how we got here. You were never broken, Rosa. You are my perfect little treasure. Only ever mine.”
“I’m yours. Forever.”
Forever doesn’t seem long enough when I’m with her.
I stand outside the office door with Rosa still by my side. I can hear them all chatting in there already.
“You’ve got this. I’ll go make us some lunch. Maybe we can sit outside and eat when you’re done.” Rosa goes up on tiptoes and kisses my cheek.
“Sounds perfect, baby.”
I hobble my way slowly into the office, and Grayson and Keller are grinning at me.
“What?”
“You’re milking this a bit, aren’t you?” Grayson slides me a glass of scotch across the table.
“No, thanks.”
The last thing Rosa needs is me stinking of booze.
“Are you guys just here to give me shit?”
They burst into laughter. “Sorry, boss,” Grayson says while catching his breath.
“About that, I won’t be anyone’s boss anymore. I’m done. Out. For good.”
That shuts them all up.
“So, which one of you is taking me to the airstrip this time?”
“I think it’s best if we both go, in the armored SUV this time,” Grayson chuckles.
“When?” Keller asks.
“A few more days. I have some things to take care of and ideally, I’d like to be able to get myself dressed.”
“Fuck, things are going to be boring around here without you.” Grayson shakes his head, throwing back his scotch.
“I’m sure Frankie will keep you busy in my absence.”
“You trust him?”
“I do. Just don’t ever fuck him over, Grayson. He might be slightly unhinged, but if anyone can ever run New York, it’s him. It’s up to you what role you want to take. You can be his right-hand man, you can run the recruitment process at King’s Gym. Whatever you want, or if you want to take a step back, be with Maddie and Hope. Choice is yours.”
He clenches his jaw and looks down at his glass. “I’ll speak to Maddie.”
Both of them will never completely be able to give this life up. It’s in their blood. The chaos, the violence, the thrill.
We are all the same in that way.
Our women provide us with a calm in the crazy. They bring us back to reality when we need it. Yet each one of us will burn down the world to protect what’s ours.
