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Dr. Bautista assesses me and continues to push and prod my body, moving my arms and legs.
“I haven’t had a chance to chat with Cristina yet,” Severio says.
“It’s been more than two days,” Dr. Bautista answers.
“Which she spent sleeping,” Severio counters.
Dr. Bautista smiles. “Today, then?”
“It depends on your tests.”
“Fair enough,” the doctor says. “We’ll be taking you in for scanning. I’ll have those results for you this afternoon, and I’ll drop by before going home.”
After Dr. Bautista leaves, I turn my head to Severio. “What was that about?”
“Your health and well-being.”
“Boring,” I say with a wink. After a moment, I say, “Severio, I’m ready to tell you what happened.”
“Don’t. Don’t tell me about anything that’ll upset you.”
“Dr. Bautista said the swelling is going down. I’m recovering. I want to talk about what happened.”
“Talk if you want, but it’s not necessary today.”
“We’ve wasted days already. They’ve escaped by now. I don’t want them to get away.” My dad. I don’t want him to get away with this.
“They won’t. They haven’t left the island.”
I swallow. “Did he tell you who he is?”
Severio frowns. “Who he is?”
“My…” Tears cloud my eyes.
Severio takes my hand and kisses the ring he put on my finger. “You don’t have to go through this. I’ve called in the military wing of the Order, and we have the island surrounded. I will hold this island in stasis for a year if I must. We’ll get them. Every single one of them that are hiding on the island, and we’ll get every one of them hiding elsewhere. I’ll close the trafficking rings completely, lay waste to everyone involved, and seize all their properties and assets. I will take their fucking mothers until they all crawl out from under the rocks so I can end them.”
“Amen,” I say. I lift my hand toward my face and wipe away a tear. “My dad met me at the church.” I start to cry hard. Now my headache is back and the machines are beeping, Severio is yelling, and nurses are barging into the room.
I close my eyes and meet the darkness again.
I wake up later that afternoon. Drago’s in my hospital room, leaning against the window, casually sliding bullets into the magazine of his gun. Brown eyes look up, and he lifts his leg toward his body. He slides the pistol into an ankle holster. Corrado’s on my right this time, hovering over something he’s spread out on the bed.
It’s a map lying on my legs.
“Severio’s in the shower,” Corrado says without looking up.
“Thank you.”
“Couldn’t get him to leave for days, and now all of a sudden, he can’t wait to get out. What did you tell him?”
Severio walks out of the shower. He comes to me and plants a kiss on my mouth. He smells fresh and shaved. All shaved.
“Your hair,” I say, wide-eyed. “You cut it.” It’s in a military buzz cut, and my God, this man is beautiful. “The nurses outside will go wild.”
His chuckle stirs the butterflies in my belly. Not many because I’m still a recovering blob on the bed, but enough to know that my affection for him is alive and well.
Drago brings an extra chair, and the three men surround me.
