Page 145 of Brutal Heir

She may be a remarkable medical student, but out here, in the middle of nowhere without the proper tools, there’s nothing she can do.

“We’ve got a doctor en route,” says Matteo, but it’s not until he squeezes my shoulder from the back seat that I realize he’s talking to me. “He’s Finlay Morrow’s guy, loyal and trustworthy. He’ll meet us with supplies on the way to the airport.”

“How long?” I mutter, my voice barely recognizable.

“Thirty minutes max.”

“Fuck,” I hiss. “She doesn’t have thirty minutes, Matty! She’s dying.” My throat closes around the last word, the pain so thick I can’t breathe. I scan the miles of farmlands and choke out a curse. “Isn’t there a damned hospital around here?”

Serena sits forward, gingerly reaching for my arm as if I might bite her hand off. “There is… but if Conall or any of his men survived, it’ll be the first place they look.”

“I don’t give a fuck, don’t you understand? If she dies, none of it matters.”

Because what am I without her? A hollow shell. A man too broken to be anything but a monster again.

“We’d be sitting ducks in there, Ale,” Antonio adds.

“No one has to go in but me.” I glance over my shoulder at my cousins, my family. “Drop us off and get the hell out of Belfast.”

“No.” Bella shakes her head. “We’re not leaving without you.”

“Or Rory,” Serena interjects.

“No, Antonio’s right.” I glance between my twin and the girls. “If the Quinlans or O’Sheas come for us at the hospital, we’ll be fucked. I can’t have that on my head.”

“Then we make sure they don’t catch us by surprise.” Raf pulls out his gun, cocking it. Antonio nods, his eyes darkening.

“We’ll cover all the entrances and make sure no one gets in,” Matteo growls. “If anyone has the balls to show up, we’ll make them regret it.”

Another wave of emotion tightens my throat as I glance between my cousins. We’ve gotten in a lot of shit over the years, but this… this could be the stupidest thing they’ve ever agreed to.

I don’t have a choice. It’s Rory. I’d run straight into the flames of hell to save her. “I can’t ask you guys to do this?—”

“You’re not asking,” Serena interjects, cutting me off. “We’re doing it and that’s final. Now, stop arguing and tell the driver to turn up ahead. The hospital is only a few miles that way.”

I nod, the tangle of emotions warring in my insides too chaotic to speak over.

As if Matteo understands, he shouts the new destination to the driver from the back seat.

The SUV careens to the right, and a surge of hope kindles deep behind my ribcage. I hold Rory tighter against me. “Hold on,amore, please. I can’t live without you.”

Minutes later, the driver fishtails the car into the hospital drop-off, brakes screeching loud enough to wake the dead. I’m out of the car before it stops moving with Rory cradled against my chest like she’s made of glass.

My cousins move around me in a wave.

“Help! I need a doctor!” My voice is guttural, shredded from anguish, but I don’t stop yelling. “She’s been shot.”

Doors crash open. Bright lights blind me. Cold air slaps my face. Voices shout over one another, nurses, doctors, monitors beeping like alarms in a war zone.The ER floods with motion. A nurse rushes forward, shouting something into a walkie, and a gurney rolls in from somewhere behind the sliding glass doors.

“She’s not breathing!” I shout, the air non-existent in my own lungs.

“Mister—excuse me, we need to take her?—”

“No!” My grip tightens, panic blinding. “She can’t—she’s not?—”

“Alessandro!” Isabella is suddenly at my side, her hands on my arms, eyes steady and fierce. “You have to let her go. Let them help her. Please.”

I look down at Rory. Pale. Limp. Blood painting her chest like a fucking masterpiece in horror. Please, live.Dio, please don’t let it be too late.