35
RUSSELL CAME BACK INTO THE ROOM after Alex had more or less composed herself. He must have been waiting outside, listening to her sobs, and she was embarrassed that their first meeting had gone like this. He waited by the door, smiling hesitantly. She gestured that he should come and sit down.
“How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” she said with a weak smile. “Is there any news about Domenic?”
“They’re still in surgery. It will probably be another couple of hours.” Her eyes began watering again, and Russell reached out a tentative hand to rub her shoulder. “Hey, no, no. Come on, don’t cry. He’ll be fine! My dad is the best surgeon in the tri-state area.”
Alex could hear the pride and conviction in his voice. He obviously trusted that his father would save Domenic, and she hoped he was right. Reaching over, she snagged more tissues from the box on the small table. She blotted her face and blew her nose loudly, making Russell smile. He lost that anxious look, which made her feel better.
“So, you’re really Domenic’s brother-in-law?” she asked, sniffling pathetically.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Bianca?”
“Oh!” he answered, looking surprised at her use of his wife’s name. “Right, Domenic would have told you about her. She’s in Mexico with my mom. Dad and I stayed back, figuring it wouldn’t be as dangerous for us.”
“Yeah, at least he told me something that was true,” she mumbled, looking away.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that he neglected to tell me that he was working undercover.”
“I’m sure there was a good reason for that.”
“He told you.”
“Well, he didn’t have much of a choice,” Russell said, grinning at her. “I kind of forced it out of him. Plus, he needed someone on this side of things to let your dad know what was going on.”
Alex snorted, and Russell gave her a speculative look. Avoiding his gaze, she lowered her eyes. While she felt safe with Russell, he had a way of looking at her that made her feel exposed. Those strange silvery eyes pierced and penetrated. It was disconcerting to say the least.
“You care for him, don’t you?”
“Well of course I do! He saved my life,” she said. “A few times.”
“But what you feel goes beyond simple gratitude.”
There was no accusation in his voice, no inkling of judgment, just simple fact. Alex nodded weakly.
“And he has feelings for you too. That’s why he took you with him!” Russell said, looking excited. He got up and paced around, mumbling to himself as she watched in confusion.
“I knew something was up when he decided to take you with him. I wasn’t sure what, and he refused to admit it, but I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me!” Russell spoke as if he had solved a great mystery leading to hidden treasure. Alex hated to be the one to let him know all he’d found was fool’s gold.
“No, I don’t think so,” she replied sadly. “He took me ’cause it was part of his job.”
“No, Alex. You’re wrong. Domenic didn’t have to take you with him at all.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He needed to keep his undercover status for a while longer so that they didn’t blow the case. But they had more than enough evidence by then.”
“Okay?”
“Don’t you see?”
“Um…no.”
“With Domenic’s connections, he didn’t need to implicate himself with your disappearance at all. He could have gotten you out, and no one would have been the wiser,” he said animatedly. “But he didn’t. Instead he risked his entire assignment to take you with him and protect you. Why do you think he’d do that?”
“He said he was just doing his job.”
“And you believe him?”
Alex opened her mouth to say yes, but her mind kept returning to their time in the cabin. The things he had said to her, the way he touched her, and the way he looked at her with that burning intensity that made her forget about everything else. She thought about him lying on the courthouse steps, bleeding and possibly dying, and how he had kissed her one last time. “Just in case,” he had whispered before his lips brushed against hers. It was the same thing he had said to her each time he had to leave her when she wasn’t certain of his return. Her mouth closed with a snap.
“Alex, I’ve known Domenic most of my life, and up until today I would have told you that there is only one person he’d ever willingly take a bullet for. And that’s his sister.”
“Not even you?” she asked, grinning.
“Nah, he’d tell me to stop being a damn pussy and take the bullet myself.” Russell started to laugh then. The sound of it was infectious, and she found herself laughing with him.
For the next couple of hours, Russell regaled her with stories about him and Domenic in their youth. While she was still worried sick, hearing about Domenic growing up helped pass the time. Alex listened in wonder as Russell told her about the boy who had turned into the man she knew and was relieved that she still recognized him in the telling of his life. It cemented the fact that perhaps the man she knew, the one from the cabin, was indeed the true Domenic.
Time passed slowly, but she knew it would have been much worse if she didn’t have Russell’s company. She could tell why Domenic had cared for him so much. They were very different but complemented each other well. While Domenic was intense, Russell was more laid-back. They both had that tough resilience and an inner strength that seemed to shine through. Strangely enough, spending this time with Russell made her ache for Domenic even more.
Alex got up and paced the small room for a while, running her fingers through her tangled hair. Russell watched her sympathetically, remaining quiet while she struggled with her inner demons. She had no idea what to expect when she saw Domenic again—if she saw him again. Russell hadn’t given her the impression that Domenic would die, but he didn’t say anything to make her feel as if he was in no danger at all.
“What’s taking so long?” she asked, turning to him.
“The nurse said this type of surgery can take about three to four hours.”
“Well it’s been almost four hours!”
“I know. I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, then there was a quiet knock on the door. Russell got up and pushed her behind him so that she would be behind the door when he opened it. He placed his hand under his shirt, and she realized he had a gun clipped to his pants. Alex was startled a little when she saw it but remembered that Russell was a cop. He pulled the door open a little and peeked around it. His shoulders dropped instantly as the tension left his body.
“Dad,” he said, opening the door fully and allowing an older gentleman into the room. Dr. Sutherland strode in and turned to face them. He had a similar look to Russell, but instead of blond, his hair was silver. He had sharp features, and he had the same gray eyes that looked at her appraisingly.
“This is Alexis Montgomery,” Russell said, introducing them. “Alex, my father, Miles Sutherland.”
“Pleased to meet you, Dr. Sutherland.”
“Call me Miles, please.”
“How is Domenic?” she asked anxiously.
“He made it through surgery just fine. He’s in recovery now.”
Alex felt her knees give way as his words sank in. He was alive. Russell grabbed hold of her arm and steered her toward a chair so she could sit down. She might have ended up on the floor otherwise.
“He’s alive? He’s okay?”
“Yes. The bullet just missed his heart, thank God, but it nicked his lung and lodged into one of his ribs. We were lucky it was a small caliber weapon or else it could have done a lot more damage.”
A shiver ran through Alex as she listened to Miles speak. Just missed his heart. If Carlo had been pointing his gun a little higher, Domenic would be dead right now. Luck had been with them today—as far as getting shot and not dying went.
“Can I see him?”
“Not yet, Alexis. He’ll stay in recovery for an hour so we can monitor him, and then we’ll move him to a private room.”
“Then can I see him?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Miles said with a kind smile. “I’d better get back. I’ll let you know when they move Domenic.”
He left the room, leaving her alone with Russell again. “He’s alive,” she repeated stupidly as if he didn’t have ears to hear for himself. “He made it.”
“I told you he would. No way would my dad let Domenic die. He’s too scared of Bianca,” he said, with a broad grin. Alex laughed shakily, still waiting for everything to sink in.
Domenic was alive. The prospect made her heart soar and scared her silly all at once. All this past week, she had been so caught up in the fact he’d lied to her—she hadn’t stopped long enough to realize what this meant for them. Domenic wasn’t a criminal. He wasn’t going to go to prison. He was a law enforcement agent. Her father would be ecstatic—once he got over her break up with Shane at least.
Alex hadn’t fallen in love with a mobster after all. She had been right when she said she could see through the hard exterior to the good man underneath. Of course she hadn’t known just how right she was.
This did still complicate things in another way. Alex still had no idea what had been truth and what had been lies. Russell had given her the impression that Domenic must have feelings for her or else he wouldn’t have acted the way he had. She was still unsure, and the one person who had the answers she sought lay in a bed somewhere in this hospital.
Not quite two hours later, Alex and Russell were shown into a small guarded private room where Domenic lay unconscious. He’d suffered a lot of trauma and would be heavily sedated overnight.
It had been a battle to get in here, as one of the nurses insisted that she wasn’t allowed into the room despite Russell’s protests and hers. The woman was new on staff and was trying to follow protocol, but that didn’t stop Alex from wanting to bowl her over if she continued to get in her way. Finally Miles showed up and pulled the nurse aside.
“Is this the way we treat the fiancée of an injured law enforcement officer?” he asked in a stern reprimand.
It seemed she was a popular choice as a fiancée today, but if it was going to get Nurse Ratched off her ass and let her see Domenic, Alex was all for it. The nurse apologized to her profusely, and Miles dropped her a wink. Alex decided the Sutherland men must be sent from the heavens.
She walked to the hospital bed and sat beside Domenic, taking his limp hand in hers. Russell stood behind her, and she heard him blow out a breath. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked Domenic over. His face looked gaunt and pale with dark circles under his eyes. His chest rose up and down with the help of a respirator, and she could see the heavy bandages wrapped around his upper chest and shoulder under the hospital gown he wore.
“Oh, Domenic,” she sighed, reaching out a hand and brushing back the heavy dark mass of his hair. For the first time ever, he looked vulnerable to her. Even when she had watched him sleeping, there was always a vitality that vibrated underneath his skin, making her aware of the subterranean power held barely in check. Although Miles had told her that he would survive, the death sleep of his coma frightened her.
“Do you think I can have a few moments alone with him?” she whispered to Russell, before realizing she could have screamed at the top of her lungs without disturbing Domenic.
“Sure, Alex.”
Russell left the room, and Alex leaned her head toward the bed and kissed the hand she held in hers. She turned it so that she could cup it against her cheek. Closing her eyes, she pretended that they were back in the cabin and he was just sleeping. She tried to remember a time when she had been happier than her time spent with Domenic but couldn’t. Even shrouded in danger, no one had made her feel more alive than Domenic.
“I should have told you Shane was wrong,” she murmured. “I should have told you that I missed you every day we were apart. I was mad. I was mad that you lied to me about being in the mob. Now I know you must have had your reasons, but I was still mad.
“I should have told you I still love you,” she sighed. “They say people in comas can still hear. I know you’re not really in a coma, but I hope you can hear me. Maybe then you’ll get it into that thick skull of yours what you mean to me.
“You know, I keep thinking about our time together at the cabin. Like the first time you taught me to shoot, and then I dropped the gun. Remember? God, you were so mad at me.” Alex laughed to herself.
Don’t you get it, yet? You belong to me, he’d said.
Alex glanced at Domenic curiously. She had wondered what he had meant by that but brushed it aside as something said in the heat of the moment.
“But you were right, weren’t you. Even then, I was yours.”
Keeping Domenic’s hand against her face, Alex continued to talk to him. She reminded him of all the things they had done and all the feelings she felt. She wasn’t sure who she would find when he awoke, so she took advantage of the time she had and prayed it would be her Domenic who came back to her.
The days following the shooting were a blur of emotion. Alex felt like she was being torn in a hundred pieces, each one assigned a different feeling. Her life was still in complete chaos, and the one thing that kept her grounded was the man lying in that hospital bed.
She had refused to leave Domenic’s bedside that first night. The next day she was unceremoniously shooed out by Miles who’d said her blood-spattered countenance was scaring the staff and demanded she go back to the safe house to clean up. He assured her that Domenic would remain unconscious while she was gone, but they would let her know right away if there were any changes.
Dufresne came to escort her to the safe house where she said brief hellos to her father and Shane before rushing to her room, grabbing some clothes, and taking a shower. Alex had to admit it was nice to clean up. When she went back to her room, she found Shane waiting for her.
“Hi,” she said hesitantly, standing in the doorway.
“I wanted to say goodbye. I’m flying back home today, Alex.”
“So soon?” she squeaked. Although rationally she knew he wouldn’t want to stick around while she was at the hospital with the man she loved, it still hurt to have to say goodbye.
“Yeah. Our neighbors have been helping my parents run the farm, but since I’m not going with you and John, I should get back now.”
Alex walked in the room, shut the door behind her, and sat beside Shane on the bed. Both of them stared forward instead of at each other.
“You know this is the right thing to do, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know,” he said sadly. “It’s just hard, Alex. I mean, you go around thinking you know how your life is going to end up, it gets to a point you don’t know how to live any other way.”
“This isn’t easy for me either, Shane.”
“Isn’t it?” he asked, turning to look at her. For a moment she saw a hint of anger cross his normally sweet face.
“Of course not! I have no idea what life holds for me right now. I don’t know where I’ll be living, or what I’ll be doing. I don’t even know what my name will be!” Alex didn’t tell Shane that as scared as she was, this secretly thrilled her. “And I won’t even have my best friend to talk to and tell me it’ll be okay,” she said with a gentle smile.
“That’s all I am to you now, your best friend?”
“You’ve always been my best friend, Shane.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know.”
“Alex, are you sure about this? What if you change your mind?” His eyes searched hers in futility, looking for any hint of doubt, but not finding any.
“I’m sure, Shane. But if I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know.”
They both knew that Alex wouldn’t change her mind. She was nothing if not stubborn and never made decisions lightly. Even if things didn’t work out with Domenic, she refused to hold on to Shane like a lifeline to keep her afloat. That would be unfair, and she wouldn’t do it to him.
“I have to go,” she said in a soft voice and stood up. Shane stood up with her, and they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to get in touch, but if I can, you know I will. Okay?”
His eyes began to tear, and he opened his arms to her. Alex stepped into his embrace, and they held each other for a while.
“I’m going to miss you, Lexi,” he said, his chest rumbling underneath her cheek.
“I’m going to miss you too, Shane.”
Swallowing back tears, she let him go and walked out of the room. Headed to the front door, she heard her father call out to her.
“Alex? Where are you going?”
“Back to the hospital, Dad.”
“Wait one second, young lady!” he said in his most fatherly tone. Sighing, she turned back to see him striding toward her. “Do you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on?”
“I can’t right now. I have to go back to the hospital. I promise that I’ll explain everything when I get back.”
With that, she pulled open the door and rushed out to meet Dufresne, who had been waiting for her outside in the hallway.
“Alex!” her father called out after her.
“I’ll be back later, Dad!”
Alex rushed out, leaving her father standing in the hallway, bewildered and upset. There was no time to explain to him the true nature of her relationship with Domenic, not until she knew he was going to survive the surgery. Eventually she would have to tell her father everything, and it was not a conversation she was looking forward to.
That thought was pushed aside as it seemed Alex hadn’t much room in her head for anything besides Domenic.
That night there was no change in Domenic, and the second day was the same as the first. He lay there still as a statue and just as lifeless. Alex tried to hold on to hope, but it was difficult. Miles assured her that this was normal, and it was just his body’s way of healing itself. All the tests and X-rays had come back looking positive, and he was certain that Domenic would wake at any time.
Russell kept her company a lot, and they talked about various things. He was excited because Bianca was coming back home in a couple of days. Security had been increased for the Sutherland family as well, and he felt safe bringing his wife and mother back to Chicago now that the larger Liseni threat was minimized. Alex was pleased and nervous to be finally meeting Domenic’s sister. Everyone seemed somewhat scared of Bianca, and she expected her to be quite formidable.
That night she remained in Domenic’s room again, drifting in and out of sleep. Both Russell and Miles tried to get her to leave, but she refused. In the early hours of the morning, she began talking to Domenic again about inconsequential things. Alex leaned her arms on the bed and put her head down. Soon the words came slower, and she was fighting off yawns. Eventually her eyes began drifting shut, and she succumbed to the sweet call of sleep.
He floated in a sea of darkness, bodiless, uncaring of where he was. Occasionally Domenic heard what sounded like voices. One in particular sliced through the blackness, urging to him to the surface but not quite having the power to make him comply. The sweet cadence of the voice called to him, beckoned him home. Slowly he began to rise. The journey was long and arduous.
Feeling like a babe come from the womb, he opened his eyes to the brightness of day blinding him. He was suffocating. Something intrusive was in his mouth and down his throat. Seized by a moment of panic, he tried to recall what had happened to him and where he was, but his memories were hazy and incomplete.
Turning his head, Domenic saw her and calmed immediately. His angel. She was asleep with her head on her arms resting beside him on the bed. Flickers of what happened began emerging from the cotton batting that swaddled his mind. He remembered emotional pain, then running, and then physical pain that knocked him flat. After that, nothing more.
But she was safe. And that was all that mattered. Domenic wanted to reach out and caress her face, but he felt weak and helpless. He managed to move his hand enough so that one finger was able to trace the sweet curve of her cheek. She smiled just the tiniest bit, her lips pulling up on one side.
Alex.
As his memories became clearer, he recalled the cause of his emotional turmoil. She had chosen Shane over him. Sadness welled up inside of him once more, and he withdrew his hand.
Before Domenic could wonder why she was here at his bedside, her eyes began to open. It was just a series of slow, hesitant blinks, as if she were debating whether to wake at all, and then they opened fully. Their eyes met and time seemed suspended for ages. Everything and nothing was said in that solitary silent communication.
“You’re awake,” she said in a sleepy voice, and then her head snapped up. “You’re awake!”
In a flash, she was up and rushing to the door, leaving Domenic perplexed and alone. He heard her speaking with excitement outside of the room, and she hurried back in with a nurse on her heels.
“See? He’s awake!”
“Okay, Ms. Montgomery,” the woman replied in a pacifying manner before turning to him. “Mr. D’Angelo, I know you might feel a little disoriented right now. You’re in the hospital and have a breathing tube in your throat. I’ve called Dr. Sutherland, and he’ll be here soon to examine you. All right? Nod if you understand me.”
No shit, Sherlock, he thought to himself and nodded briefly. The nurse was checking his vitals when Alex came back around the bed and sat on the edge of the chair.
“Domenic? How are you feeling? Shit.” She paused. “How are you feeling. Like he can even answer you!” she mumbled, frowning. “I’m so happy you’re awake. I was so worried about you.”
His mind was still fuzzy, and he tried to concentrate on what Alex was saying to him, unsure if he was hearing her correctly. He was happy that she was here with him, but Domenic didn’t want her to stay if all she felt was guilt about him being injured. She continued speaking, filling him in on what had happened and telling him that he had been unconscious for almost two days as his body recovered from the trauma.
Two days? She’d been here that long waiting for him to wake up?
Miles walked into the room with a broad smile. Domenic frowned. Something about this was wrong. Miles wasn’t supposed to be in the country at all. Perhaps this was some strange coma-induced dream. Did people dream while in a coma? He wasn’t sure, but it would explain Alex’s presence here.
“You’re awake! Wonderful! I’m glad I was on call.”
The nurse conferred with Miles for a moment before turning to the machines that were monitoring him. He came to Domenic’s bed and raised it to a sitting position. Standing by the bed, Miles took inventory of him and began removing the tape holding the breathing tube in.
“Let’s take this out. You don’t seem to need it anymore.” Miles took hold of the tube and looked at him. “Okay, Domenic. On the count of three, I want you to cough as the tube comes out. One, two, three.”
Miles tugged gently on the tube, and Domenic began coughing as it was pulled out of his throat. Once he was done, Miles slipped an oxygen mask over Domenic’s face and reclined his bed so that he was on a slight incline. Alex was watching him with anxious eyes, and he gave her a small smile to reassure her that he was all right. Domenic wanted to speak, but his throat felt rough and swollen, and he preferred to not talk to Alex in front of an audience.
“Alex?” Miles said, taking her attention from him. “We need to get Domenic down to X-ray his chest and do some other tests. Would you like to go home and come back later?”
Alex looked at him for a moment before answering. “Okay, Miles.” She came toward Domenic, leaned in and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back later.” With one last smile and a squeeze of his hand, she turned to go.
They watched her leave. Miles turned back to him and sat on the edge of the bed. “Pretty close call you had.”
“What are you doing in Chicago?” he croaked out, and then cleared his throat.
“How nice to see you are your usual grateful self, Domenic.”
Caught between the desire to scowl or smile, he did the latter and smirked at Miles abashedly. “You were supposed to be out of the country, Miles.”
“My patients needed me, and with Russell here, I hardly saw the threat.”
“Are Diana and Bianca safe?”
“Yes, of course. They’re both fine,” he said, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm.
“So, as I told Alex, we have to schedule you for X-rays. You have a chest tube in right now to siphon off fluids accumulating in your lung. If all goes well, we should be removing it in a couple of days. Are you in pain?”
“It’s manageable.”
“We’ll top you off before moving you, just in case.” Miles smiled and got up from the bed. He walked to the door but stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Domenic? I’m proud of you, son.”
“Thank you,” he replied softly.