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Justice was beside me, her fingers tangled in mine, her pulse thrumming against my skin. It was the only anchor that kept me tethered to reality in the face of looming uncertainty. We sat there, lost in our thoughts and dead silence.
It was good to have her here, but Zane…he was mine.
He’d become my partner.
My everything.
I couldn’t…he couldn’t…
Bash joined us in a few minutes, looking worse than ever. "Are you okay?" Justice asked. "Is it Sebastian?"
"No," Bash said. "He's fine. Hassan is fine, we just spoke a little while ago. He's got the baby, they're laying low for a bit."
"Well, at least there's some good news tonight," I muttered, squeezing Justice's hand.
She squeezed back, her grip surprisingly strong despite how shaken she was. "He's going to pull through," she murmured, more to herself than to us. "Zane's tough as nails, he'll pull through."
"Damn right he will," Bash joined in. Despite the reassurances we were giving each other, I could see the same fear mirrored in his eyes. "But…there’s more bad news. I’m sorry.”
Justice looked up at him. “Lay it on me.”
“The venue…it’s gone,” Bash said.
Justice looked at him, blinking rapidly. "Gone?" Justice echoed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“There was an explosion–probably the same stuff as the car bomb if I had to guess,” he said. “They knew where we’d be…and they planned to take out our whole op. Make it bloody.”
“And Vito?”
“No trace of him,” Bash said. “The cops are saying it was a gas leak. Our whole op…fucking gone, and the cops…”
There was nothing else to say.
We were all fucked, thanks to this stupid fucking wedding.
The already cold hospital corridor felt like it had dropped a few more degrees. The De Lucas were playing for keeps, and Zane's life hanging on the line was all the proof we needed.
Justice squeezed my hand again, her knuckles going white with the effort. "Bastards," she spat out, her voice shaking with rage. "They just had to wait until our fucking wedding day, didn't they?"
Bash nodded. "Seems like it."
Just then, a doctor in green scrubs approached us, his face drawn and tired. "Are you family?"
"We are," Justice said immediately, pushing off the wall and standing up straighter despite her tears.
The doctor took a deep breath before speaking, his words coming out in a slow and steady flow. "We've managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize him for now. But he lost a lot of blood.”
Justice sucked in a sharp breath at his words, her fingers digging painfully into my hands. "Is he...will he be okay?" Her voice was a faint whisper against the sterile silence of the hospital corridor.
"It's too early to say," the doctor replied honestly. "He's strong and that's working in his favor, but the next 24 hours will be crucial. He will need surgery."
Justice nodded, her cheeks wet with tears, her grip on my hand never wavering. "Can we see him?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"We're preparing him for surgery at the moment," the doctor explained, his expression compassionate but firm. "After that, he'll need rest. You'll likely be able to see him soon, but...we'll have to wait and see."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving us in the cold silence of the hospital corridor once again.
Wait and see. The worst words you could possibly hear in a fucking hospital.