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I felt like I’d slipped underwater. Everything sounded muffled and waves rippled across my vision. Arms circled around me, holding me tight as hands pressed tightly against my middle. My mouth tasted bitter, and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep.
“Adriana! Oh, God, no!”
A child’s cry floated somewhere above the surface, and my lips parted in a weak smile. “I broke the cycle.”
Then everything went dark, and I sank to the bottom of the sea.
Chapter Forty-One
Brody
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
The tiny waiting room got smaller by the minute. There wasn’t enough room to pace, and if someone didn’t give me an update soon, I’d tear this place apart with my bare hands. Every time I passed Leighton, she pursed her lips which I returned with a glare.
I was stalking around a hospital in blood-soaked clothes, but no matter how many disapproving looks I got, I refused to change. This was her blood. The only part of her I had with me right now, and I’d be damned if I’d let it go.
I glanced at the clock and ran my hand through my hair. We’d been here over three hours. Three hours since I fired the bullet that severed Ignacio Vergara’s jugular. Three hours since I realized I was a second too late. Three hours since Val walked in with Santi in his arms to find Adriana in mine. Three hours since she slipped away from me.
Three hours since everyone filtered into this piece of shit waiting room to hear if Adriana was alive or dead. I shifted a glance to the corner where a man sat by himself, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Val’s hand landed on my shoulder. “It’s a hard pill to swallow, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
He lifted a paper cup filled with coffee toward the man in the corner. “Your pride. Cristiano was with Adriana before you met her. They have a history. You want to hate him for it, but he just risked his life to save hers, knowing her heart belongs to another man.” Tipping the cup, he took a sip, giving me a side-eyed glance. “Sound familiar?”
I sighed. “Does the jealousy ever go away?”
“No. We’re men, we’re hardwired to protect what’s ours when we think it’s being threatened. But with time, you learn to trust in what you have and the person you’re with. In the end, you just have to remember that, yes, there was someone before you, but despite the stupid shit he pulled to get her back, and regardless of how bad you fucked up, she chose you.”
I gave him a quick glance. “Are we still talking about me?
Val didn’t answer. He just smiled and clapped me on the back. “Sometimes your worst enemies become your strongest allies, Harcourt. You helped me find my son. That’s twice you’ve saved the people I love most in this world. Anything you want is yours.”
I exhaled, the ache in my chest deepening. “I want a miracle.”
His fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Never count a Carrera out. When we want something, we fight for it.”
He walked away before I could say anything else, but it was just as well. My attention was already redirected. Letting out another breath, I walked across the room to make my worst enemy my strongest ally.
Cristiano glanced up, his gaze suspicious as I sat down next to him. “I’m sorry about your father.”
He didn’t answer.
“Look, believe it or not, I know what it’s like to find out you’re the son of a psychotic killer.” That earned me a raised eyebrow, and I shook my head. “Long story for another day.”
“Yeah, well, I’m glad he’s dead,” he said, his jaw ticking with repressed rage. “The world’s better off.”
I believed him. It took balls to come here knowing the blood that flowed through his veins. I had to respect that. “I know that feeling too. Listen, I want to thank you for what you did.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“Christ, can you knock that chip off your shoulder? I’m trying to extend an olive branch here.”
He started to say something, then flattened his lips, silence sitting between us like a rock. Finally, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Is there any news?”
My pride yelled at me to punch him in the face and walk away, but Val’s words kept echoing in my head.
