Ben had been amazed she’d even made it to Lexington, let alone through the first hour of surgery, swearing that if it hadn’t been for Ethan’s quick thinking, she would have been gone before Life Flight made it to the house.
They’d lost her on the table twice, but each time, she’d come back, struggling to remain, too damned stubborn to give up, and he thanked God for that.
Still holding her hand he laid his forehead against it and let the tears that wouldn’t stay contained free.
He wouldn’t be able to go on without her, and he knew it.
If he had to, he’d try, for Bliss’s sake, but he wouldn’t be able to bear it for long. Life without her wouldn’t be worth living.
“Shh . . .” The soft sound had a smile touching his lips, despite the emotion pouring through him.
Lifting his head, he wasn’t ashamed for her to see the tears. There was no part of him she didn’t know about, nothing inside him that she wasn’t aware of.
Her eyes were barely open. She was more asleep than awake.
“I’m okay,” she slurred. “I promise, wild man. I’m okay. . . .”
Then her lashes drifted closed again, her breathing deepened, and he knew she’d slipped into the healing sleep she needed.
She’d kick his ass later for ordering the doctor to increase the pain medication. But he couldn’t bear the pain in her eyes, the knowledge that he hadn’t protected her. That he’d let some bastard sneak up and knife him, causing him to be too late to keep her from taking that bullet.
The stitches at his side were barely felt. The knife had missed anything vital, but he’d bled like a stuck pig and been so damned weak he’d stumbled to the house rather than running as he’d fought to do.
Touching her cheek gently he let the tears fall, unashamed and filled with every hope and prayer he could come up with to send to the heavens.
“And I love you, my heart,” he murmured. “More than words could ever say, I love you.”
EPILOGUE
It was nearly a week later before Chaya came out of ICU. She was still weak but progressing nicely, the doctors promised them. They expected a full recovery, though the scar her mother would carry just beneath her heart, where the bullet had pierced her body, would forever be a reminder of how close she’d come to dying, and they were still uncertain why.
Leaving her mother’s hospital room with Duke and Natches, Angel was making a mental note to ask Tracker about that when her foster brother, along with Dawg and Rowdy, stepped from the waiting room to meet them.
“Problems?” Natches asked, moving alongside her as Duke’s hand tightened at her hip.
It was enough to make her want to roll her eyes. She had a feeling it was a problem she’d be dealing with as long as there was a Mackay around, though. They were far too protective at times.
“Not sure,” Dawg drawled, his expression brooding. “We have company, though.”
He turned back to the private waiting room and they followed him in, stopping when the small family awaiting them turned to face them.
“Grecia, look how pretty she has become,” Solange Davinov exclaimed as Angel’s eyes widened at the sight of the delicate Frenchwoman Grecia had married and left his home country for. “I told you she would be a beauty, did I not?”
Solange was the beauty. At five foot
six, fine boned, and dressed in dark blue silk slacks and a gray silk blouse paired with gray heels, she looked cool and sophisticated. Her shoulder-length strawberry blond hair was twisted into a graceful chignon, her wide gray eyes set in delicate, graceful features.
Beside her, tall and regal, Grecia Davinov watched them with a heavy expression, his dark brown gaze direct. He stood head and shoulders above his wife, his thick dark blond hair still cut to an almost-military length, displaying his still-handsome features. With them were Solange’s daughter from her first marriage and the young man Bliss was so enamored of, Nickolai Brannigan Davinov.
“She is even more lovely now than ever,” Grecia agreed, his expression approving as it went over her. “I am only sorry that we must see her again in such circumstances.” He turned to Natches. “Mr. Mackay, I wish there was some way to show the depth of my regret for your wife’s injuries. Had I even suspected this would happen, I would have never sent Bran to stay with my good friend Lucas. I would have found another way to ensure his safety, I assure you.”
“It would be nice to know exactly why it happened.” Natches’s tone wasn’t exactly friendly.
Grecia sighed heavily.
“Is Mrs. Mackay recovering?” Bran asked, his looks promising to mature to closely resemble those of his father, though his height was nearly there already.
His eyes were a deep hazel brown, gleaming with hints of green as he stared at Natches despite the hard look Natches shot him.