Chapter 28: Zara
It had been three days since the shootout at the compound. The guys had mopped up the bodies with help from my uncle. I hadn’t cared. All I cared about was Demon. He was lying unmoving in the bed beside me. He’d been unconscious since he’d been shot.
We rushed him to the hospital and into surgery. They wouldn’t let me help since he was my fiancé. Afterward, they placed him on the critical condition list. We were just waiting to see if he regained consciousness or not. I prayed constantly that he would.
Bull was with me today. Everyone was taking turns sitting with Demon and me. They tried to get me to go home, but I refused. I wasn’t leaving him while he was here. If the worst happened and he died, I had to be here. It would be the end of me if he did. He was my everything.
“Honey, why don’t you—”
I cut him off, “Don’t try it, Bull. I’m not leaving.” He sighed.
“She’s stubborn, don’t argue. She won’t listen,” a raspy voice from the bed said. I jerked around to find Demon staring at me. I ran over to him and gently kissed him. He kissed me back. When we finally broke apart, I moved so Bull could give him an awkward half-hug.
“You scared the hell out of us, son. Don’t do that shit again. I thought we’d have to drag her out of here. She refused to leave your side for a second. She’s got the staff here running every time she looks at them.”
I hip bumped Bull. “I’m not that bad. Besides, they need to know their shit if they’re going to be taking care of my man. Let me check him out.”
“Aren’t you supposed to call a nurse if he wakes up?” I clucked my tongue at him. He held up his hands and stepped back. I pulled out my stethoscope and got down to assessing Demon.
“What happened? I remember a guy coming through the gate and shooting me, then I heard screaming and shots. Everything went dark after that,” he asked Bull. I kept working. I didn’t know what to say or how he’d react to what had happened.
“We hadn’t noticed that guy until he shot you. Turns out he was Dr. Cash, the intern Nathan had told us about. The one who was related to the Nunez family. I think he was pissed we’d taken them out.”
“What happened to him? Is he back at the Cellar?”
Bull glanced over at me and then back to Demon. “No, he’s not in the Cellar. Nathan still is, but Dr. Cash is dead.”
“Good, one of you got him. Thanks for avenging me,” Demon joked.
Bull sighed. “We didn’t.” Demon gave him a questioning look. “We didn’t get the chance. Your old lady beat us to the punch. When he shot you, she was right there. We had no idea she’d come out with her gun on her. She’s the one who shot him, Demon. A single clean shot right through his black heart,” Bull said dryly. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up at Demon’s face.
His eyes were wide, and he looked shocked. I hurried to reassure him. “Honey, I didn’t think. I know I should have let the guys question him, to be sure you got everyone, but I didn’t think of that until later. All I saw was him shooting you and you falling to the ground. Before I even knew it, my gun was in my hand, and I fired.”
He held out his hand. I took it and he tugged me down on the side of the bed. His thumb caressed my cheek. “Baby, do you think I’m upset with you? Hell, no. You saved me. He would have shot me again and who knows who else. We can find out if we missed anyone else without him. I just hate that you’ve had to kill two people in a matter of a few months. Are you doing alright?” he asked with concern on his face.
I watched Bull slip out of the room. I laid my head down on Demon’s chest. “I don’t know if I am or not, Luca. I mean, I’ve been so worried about you that I haven’t really had time to think about Cash. You’ve been here three, almost four days, listed in critical condition, honey. We didn’t know if you’d wake up.” I sobbed the last part.
He tugged more and I laid down beside him. He wrapped his one arm around me and kissed me as he whispered, “Everything is going to be okay.”
By the time I finished my meltdown, a nurse came sashaying into the room. When she saw he was awake, she gave me a hard look and then hurried out. She’d be going to get the doctor. I sat up and wiped my eyes. “She’ll be back in a minute with the cavalry. I was supposed to tell them right away if you woke up,” I explained.
“Fuck them. You gave me the best medicine in the world. And I don’t answer to any doctor other than my personal physician, you,” he growled as I laughed. There was a quick knock at the door and in came a couple of doctors, that same nurse, and an orderly.
“Dr. Newton, you were supposed to call us as soon as he woke up,” Dr. DeWitt chastised me. I opened my mouth to tell him to kiss my ass. I never got a chance.
“You watch your mouth, asshole. That’s my fiancée you’re talking to. She’s the only doctor I need. She checked me out as soon as I woke up. And if I’m not mistaken, she’s a physician at this hospital and has the right to check on patients. In fact, I want her down on my files as the one to take over my care. If your bitchy nurse doesn’t change her shitty look, she can forget taking care of me too.” All of them stood there with comical looks of astonishment on their faces.
“Honey, settle down. I’m sure Dr. DeWitt didn’t mean to imply he was being critical of me. I mean, surely, he didn’t miss your very big and scary brothers in the hall and waiting room the past few days. Only an idiot would think they could boss a man like you around,” I said sweetly as I batted my lashes at DeWitt. He’d turned a nice shade of green. I got immense pleasure out of it. Why? Because he was an arrogant prick around the hospital. He might be a brilliant surgeon, but he was a total asshole.
He loudly cleared his voice. “Of course not, Dr. Newton. You’re more than capable of assessing your fiancé. I just need to check him out to be sure my stitches and stuff are holding. Mr. Moretti, you are free to choose whoever you want to care for you as your physician, though we usually don’t recommend family members to take care of their own family or friends.”
“Zara is more than professional enough to separate the two. Do your check then get lost,” Demon growled. They hurried through basically the same check I did and then scurried out the door.
I laughed. “I think he almost shit himself. Seriously, honey, you do need to rest. I can take over if you want. You need a few days of rest, fluids and IV antibiotics. Then if you’re on the mend enough, I can take you home and we can continue them there if you need them longer.”
“I want to go home now. You can take care of me.”
“I could, but please, just give it two days. I want to make absolutely sure there are no complications. You just woke up, Luca!” I pleaded with him. I knew he’d leave if he wanted to despite what I said. He sighed.