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“That’s okay,” he backtracks fast. “I can look at it here, but I need you to step back, just a bit. You’ll have eyes on her the whole time.”

He says the last part like he’s afraid, as he fucking should be.

The nurse tells me his name is Randy, and he’s one chatty fucker, asking way too many questions as he cuts up my shirt, exposing the gash across my waist. It’s about two inches wide and not deep enough to kill me, but enough to be a fucking pain in the ass.

Randy starts stitching me up, but I don’t take my eyes off Liv the entire time. I don’t answer any of his bullshit questions, either. I know what he’s doing, trying to distract me from the needle jabbing into my skin or the fact that he’s playing seamstress, sewing me up like a ripped shirt. It hurts, but I’ve had worse. And nothing compares to the gash tearing through my chest as I watch Liv lay there so goddamn still.

Just before Randy finishes his last stitch, the gurney wheels unlock, and they start moving Liv.

“Where are you taking her?” I demand, stepping toward the tall doctor with salt-and-pepper hair who seems to be calling the shots. I barely register Randy behind me, the needle still hanging out of my side, mid-stitch. I push him away and move toward the door to block their path. They better not think they’re taking her anywhere without giving me some damn answers.

“We’ve got her bleeding under control for now, but she needs a CT scan to make sure no organs were damaged,” the doctor says. “Finish here, and I’ll notify you as soon as she’s done. But we need to move fast because she doesn’t have time to wait.”

I clench my jaw, my gut screaming at me to go with her, but I hear the urgency in his voice. I know I’d just be in the way.

I force myself to step back, watching as they wheel her out of the room.

“Don’t fucking let anything happen to her,” I call out to him, barely holding it together, my fists clenched so tight my nails bite into my palms.

“We’ll take really good care of her,” the doctor assures me, and then they’re gone.

After Randy finishes stitching me up, I make a call and get the entire third floor blocked off in the hospital. Money can buy a lot of things, and right now, I don’t give a shit what it costs. I can’t take any more fucking chances. Liv’s in surgery right now. The CT showed the fucker sliced into her small intestine. When she’s out ofsurgery, I don’t want anyone near her unless they’re a damn medical professional.

Now I’m sitting in one of the private rooms with Kota. It’s been hours, at least it feels like hours, and my nerves are shot.

I hope Liv pulls through and can forgive me.

I was already keeping her safe from Antonio, but now her own family tried to kill her. That’s another reason to marry her, to make sure no one can ever touch her again.

44

Liv

“Why are you doing this?” I beg, feeling useless that I can’t even defend myself.

Ezra smirks like he’s enjoying every second of this. “I was genuinely surprised to see you, but then I got my weekly prison call from Dad. I was excited to tell him who I ran into.” He leans in, his breath hot against my face. “He was more than happy to remind me what a slut your mom was. She thought she was better than everyone. She was a fucking nobody who had to open her big mouth and work with the cops to put my dad in jail,” he sneers, his eyes burning with pure hate. “Oh, but don’t worry… I’ll be gentler with killing you than my dad was with killing her.”

Suddenly, a sharp crack across my face. My head whips to the side, pain gushing through my skull.

“Your dad was a fucking fool to marry that bitch,” he spits. “He should have stuck with someone familiar withour lifestyle. But no, he said it was Leah or nobody, so Dad gave his blessing for Uncle Richie to marry her, not realizing she was the family’s downfall.”

Ezra’s hateful voice snarls in my head, dragging me from the dark, ripping me from that filthy cage—

I jolt awake.Uncle Tito killed Mom.

Blinding, scorching pain is all I feel like Wolverine is carving through my stomach. Fuck, it hurts. Everything hurts. I try to suck in a breath, but it feels like my insides are in the middle of a knife fight while on fire.

I blink, forcing myself to push past the pain. The world around me is blindingly white and reeks of sterile antiseptic.

Hospital… I’m in a hospital.

How the hell did I get here? The last thing I remember is Alessio and Ezra going at it before that fucker stabbed me. The pain in my stomach flares, burning and twisting like my organs are at war with each other.

Ezra’s not here. I’m safe, but for how long? I need to get out of here. My pulse pounds, and my fingers twitch against the sheets. Ezra’s going to come back for me; he’s not finished.

I force myself to take slow, deep breaths, fighting through the agony, trying to piece together where I am exactly and how long I’ve been here.

To my right, a little machine blinks with an IV hooked into the back of my hand, a small lever resting against my palm. My fingers curl around the button, and I don’t care what’s in it, I press it. Hard.