“Sir, I’m sorry, but you’re not family.”
I clench my fists as I glare at the nurse. “She’s my girlfriend and I’m the closest thing to fucking family that she has here.”
“I’m sorry.” The nurse holds his hands up.
Angelo wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Vin, come on. Let me take care of this.”
I want to fight him. I want to fight everyone. But I know that won’t help.
“Fine. Do it.” I shake him off and step away.
I rode in the second ambulance with Annie, but Sasha was right ahead of us. I know she’s here. I just need to know if… If she’s…
I grip my hair and squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t think like that.
“Vincent.” My mom’s calm tone penetrates my defenses. “The doctor has cleared Annie.”
“Okay.” I take a deep breath. The last thing I want it to do is traumatize Annie further with my temper.
I follow my mom into Annie’s room. She looks too young, sitting on the hospital bed in her pajamas.
Randal must have been planning this for weeks. In the years since the attempted kidnapping, he’s clearly been mastering his tech skills. My guys have pieced most of it together. Randal found a way to spoof phone numbers, and he sent Annie a text that looked like it came from me, asking her to come outside. Annie replied asking if it was to see Sasha’s dress and Randal rolled with it. At the same time, he texted my mom pretending to be her best friend in Florida dealing with a family crisis, therefore distracting her. I don’t know how he knew about her friend, or the fact that they’re always texting, but he was very convincing.
In the moments leading up to this, Randal injected a seizure-inducing drug into a random resident of my building who was passing through the lobby, causing a distraction.
The second Annie stepped out the apartment door into the hallway, Randal grabbed her and used a syringe of Propofol to knock her out.
Lucky for us when I kicked Randal out the window he landed on his back, so the label on the vile that was in his front pocket was still legible. That dead piece of shit drugged my girls with the same stuff they use to knock you out at the dentist.
I grit my teeth wishing I could kill him all over again. Slower. I can only hope that he was alive the whole way down before his impact with the sidewalk. I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. And since no one was injured on street level, I figure – no harm, no foul.
The doctor makes a note on Annie’s chart before standing. “Alright, Miss Mazzanti, you are free to go home and get some rest. Remember to stay hydrated and to take it easy. We’ll be calling to follow up with you tomorrow.”
My mother nods. “Thank you, doctor.”
“Yes, thank you.” I say automatically.
He gives us a soft smile. “She’ll be alright physically.”
I know what he’s saying. Her body will recover quicker than her mind.
“We understand, doctor.” I tell him.
With one final smile, he leaves the room.
“Dad?” Annie grabs my hand. “Will you stay here?”
“Here?” My brows furrow.
Her big eyes blink up at me. “Yeah. I think you should stay with Sasha. She should have someone waiting for her.”
Just when I think my heart can’t take anymore…
I pull Annie into a hug. “Are you sure?”
She nods and a glance at my mom shows she agrees.
I know how guilty and angry my mom’s feeling right now. Annie was in her care when Randal got to her. None of this is her fault, but no matter what I say, she won’t stop apologizing. It’ll be good for both of them to spend time together.
“Okay.” I squeeze Annie tighter. “Okay.”
