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“Boss.” It’s TJ. “Let’s go.” He goes around me, attempting to help me with Alessa. I snarl at him, screaming to move back. He doesn’t argue as he steps away, nodding once at me and walking towards the door to keep it open. Without so much as a struggle, I position Alessa in my arms; one snaking around the nape of her neck and the other around the back of her knees. She whines at the sudden movement.
Christ, she must be in so much pain.
“It hurts,” she sobs again as she cries out.
“I know, baby. I know.” I rise from the floor, doing my best to be gentle as I race against time.
“I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Me, too.”
Then her eyes slowly—agonizingly—shut.
Chapter thirty
Alessa
Paintearsthroughmyback. The world blurs at the edges, and staying conscious feels like swimming against a riptide. Dominic ordered me to stay awake, so here I am, following his commands even half-dead.
“Open your eyes, baby.” His voice cuts through the fog, fingers tapping my cheek with uncharacteristic gentleness.
I force them open and realize I’m slumped against him. He cradles me, one arm pressing on my wound, the other gripping the back of my head.
Trees rush past in a hazy blur, the afternoon light burning my eyes. Dominic looks down at me, jaw tight, as I wince from thepain shooting through my body. God, I’m so tired. I just need to sleep—to make it stop.
“I can’t get a hold of her,” Luca says from the passenger seat, his voice trembling.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Dominic snaps, his voice vibrating against me. With what little strength I have, I rub my thumb over his knee, trying to calm him. If he’s calm, so am I. And I need all the calm I can get.
“She’s not answering. Straight to voicemail.” Luca frowns through the rearview mirror. “She never misses a call.”
“Did you try the front desk?”
“I called her assistant. No answer.”
“Then call her house, goddamn it!”
“I did.”
“For fuck’s sake.”
Dominic shifts, and I can’t hold back a whimper. White-hot pain radiates through me. I can’t think. Can’t focus. Just breathe.
“I’m sorry, baby. We’re almost there,” he soothes, pressing his lips to my head, his grip tightening on my back. I don’t know how long we’ve been driving, but I trust him. Even as my vision doubles, as my heartbeat slows against my ear, I trust him. Because Dominic has always shown up for me.
I nuzzle against his neck, forcing a faint smile. The world tilts, my vision blurring. Dominic says something I can’t comprehend, and his hand taps my cheek as my eyes flutter shut.
“...GSW on the lower left flank, no exit wound.”
Too bright. Too loud. I can’t keep my eyes open. Is this what dying feels like?
“She’s hypotensive. Heart rate high. Unresponsive.”
Fingers pry my eyelids open, a light flickering between them. I want to push them away, but I can’t lift a finger. Instead, tears slip from the corners of my eyes.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?”
Pain. So much fucking pain.