Page 86 of Her Intense Protector

“Huh?” Ezio didn’t understand. “Sam’s ex?”

“That’s the one,” Leo said. “It’s a long story.”

A man walked up to them. Leo had his gun at the ready. The man held up his hands.

“I’m Jerry Fortune. I’ve dealt cards for these guys for two months. When I found out what was going on, I tried to get out, but they threatened my family. I just wanted to thank you for putting a stop to it.”

“Do you know what happened to Samantha?”

“When I got here, she was out of it, sitting on that chair. She was covered in blood, but she was upright. Man, the other guys in the crowd said they were going to cut off her hand,” he choked out. “There were a bunch of us planning on rushing the table before that could happen, even though there were a lot of guns against us.” His voice trailed off.

Ezio didn’t know if he believed him, and if he did, he didn’t know how many men would have actually joined him. But maybe he should take a page out of Samantha’s book and trust the man.

“Thank you,” he said.

“She’s something else,” Jerry said to Ezio.

In the distance, they could hear sirens. Jerry melted back into the crowd. Ezio picked Samantha up. He wanted her outside so she could get immediate care.

“Ezio?” she whispered as he started walking.

“What, Baby?”

“I love you so much.”

His step faltered.

“Love your timing, Samantha.”

He heard a soft giggle. “Say it back.”

In the darkness of the warehouse, he stopped walking and got down on one knee, holding her close. “Love is such a paltry word for what I feel. When you were taken, my life stopped. I was nothing. Do you get that?” He breathed the next words into her neck. He felt the tears coming. “You’re the light to my darkness. You’re the stars in my sky. You’re my next breath. No way will the words, ‘I love you’ ever be enough. You’re the missing piece of my soul, Baby. My heart can’t beat without yours.”

“Ezio, I can’t get close to saying such pretty words, but you’re my world too.” She coughed. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for always being here to love me and protect me.”

“Always,” he whispered softly against her cheek. “Always, Samantha.”

* * *

Leo drove Ezio’s truck for him as they followed the ambulance to the Richmond hospital. They had to do emergency surgery to remove the bullet in her arm. Kane and Asher were the first to arrive in the waiting room. Eden was next, followed shortly by A.J. By the second hour, half of Night Storm was in the waiting room.

The second hour! Why was it taking so fucking long?

The third time Ezio got up to ask the question of a passing nurse, Cullen yanked him back down to his seat and Carys went to do magic doctor stuff.

It took her forever to come back and when she did, she came straight to Ezio who immediately stood up.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Samantha is fine. The surgery is almost done. They are finishing repairing one more ligament, then they will be closing the wound.”

“What took so long?” Ezio demanded to know.

“If I had to guess, it was that they were being thorough and making sure that they repaired as much muscle and as many ligaments as they could so she wouldn’t lose any range of motion. It didn’t hit the bone, so no hardware.”

Ezio closed his eyes. He could breathe. He hugged Carys.

“Get your hands off my woman. You’ll have your own back soon enough,” Cullen teased.