Page 31

Rhodes---Take Me Home

There are defining moments in life—weddings, births, funerals, that first pull from a cheap beer. They become touchstones, guides on our journey back to safe waters.

I can still remember my first mission objective, the first exhale before firing that shot. I can still taste the stale air as that bullet reached its target, still have the sight of the collapsing body burned onto my retinas.

Amelia telling me that she is a Mafia queen, the ruler of an entire Outfit? It rattles me to my core. How did I miss the signs? I’ve kept her in my line of sight, stalking her out of fascination. Out of the innate desire to protect her.

I shift in the bed beside her, the strongest woman I know safe within my arms. She nuzzles her cheek against my shoulder, a content sigh falling from those chapped lips. I don’t know how she’s hid it for so long, how she’s managed to keep a foothold or keep the wolves at bay. I shudder at the thought of what my kochanie has had to do to ensure her safety, to keep herself alive. She thought of herself as an island. Not anymore, she isn’t.

Pulling the starchy and thin blanket up to her shoulder, I brush her hair back, my hands feeling too rough for her broken body. While her bruising looks better, there will be months of recovery, of healing both the physical wounds and mental ones as well. For once, she seems to be sleeping decently, her body dead weight against mine despite the lack of comfort provided by this hospital bed. I can’t wait to get her home where she can sleep in a familiar place, with Lennon nestled at her feet, and surrounded by her own blankets.

Once Amelia had crashed earlier from the overwhelm and exhaustion, Duncan had filled me in on the pieces I was missing.

“Amelia took over a little more than five years ago after her dad died. She tends to overwork herself,” Duncan says quietly so he doesn’t wake her. “I wasn’t surprised when she’d said that the attack happened on the way to the office. Her family home is her office, Rhodes. Ames knows that place by heart. It is a fortress, locked down tight. She wouldn’t have been taken by surprise.”

I don’t move my eyes from his face as Duncan flickers his gaze to Amelia, still laying in that damn bed.

“Where were you? Isn’t she supposed to have someone with her, following her footsteps?” I am furious at the man standing before me. For someone sworn to protect my woman, he failed miserably. I know he wouldn’t let his wife be alone, so why Amelia was is beyond comprehension.

Duncan’s eyes look at the ceiling, defeat radiating from his frame. “I don’t make the calls when it comes to Amelia and how she runs her men.” Placing his hands in the pockets of his wrinkled navy suit pants, Duncan continues. “By the time Amelia had made it to the hospital, her body had given out. She was taken immediately to surgery. By the time I was allowed to see her, the doctors had placed her under sedation, keeping her intubated so she could rest.”

I harden my face and the Conte Family Underboss shrinks under my gaze.

“Never again. Never again will she be alone.”

An hour passes and Amelia is starting to grow restless. I wait, knowing her heavy eyes will reach mine in a second. Sure enough, I feel her staring at me, and I look down at the most powerful woman in the city. Her lips are raw, the swelling on her face is still there, as are the bruises, and she looks flat-out exhausted. My hand goes to her jaw, a gentle caress before cupping it.

“Hey. Go back to sleep, kochanie .”

Her gaze falters, a shadow of something flickering within those storm-cloud eyes, and she lets out the softest of sighs.

“I just want to go home, Rhodes,” she whispers as if she says it too loud, the world around us will shatter. “I just want to go home.”

“Two more days, baby. This time Friday, we’ll be with Lennon, you’ll have your favorite sweats on, and I’ll have you wrapped in that blanket you love so much.” I stare down, watching the sheen cover those eyes I love, emotion sticking in her throat. I know she hates it here, that she would rather be anywhere else. It has been an endless cycle of medical professionals, of being poked and prodded, of physical therapy. Amelia has multiple contusions, several injuries to her ribs, and other injuries that make my blood boil. The therapist said that Amelia would have six weeks of physical therapy due to her injuries and that despite the extent of her injuries, there is hope Amelia’s occupational therapy would be shorter.

Her face drops as if what she is about to say is full of shame. Amelia doesn’t have her walls up at the moment, and I can see how much that scares her. “I can’t be seen as weak. I have to go home.”

I sit up, slightly rotating so that I can look at her fully. Both hands now cradling her face, forcing it up toward mine so I can ensure she hears every word I’m about to say.

“You are not weak, Amelia.” She starts to interrupt, and I place a single finger on those lips. “You are not weak. You were ambushed, baby. What should have been a safe drive was not, and that is not your fault. Do you know how strong you are? How much you’ve had to overcome these past several days?”

She tries to pull away, and that just makes me tighten my grip on her chin.

“You are Amelia Conte. You are The Fox, Queen of the Underworld. You are my kochanie , Parker’s best friend and the only person Lennon actually likes.”

The slightest of smiles tries to break across her face.

“He likes you too, you know, Ro.”

Ro. There was a brief moment when I thought I’d never hear it again falling from the goddess in front of me. She’s the only one to have ever called me that, and she’ll be the only one for the rest of my life.

“You are the best thing to have ever happened to me. I know that you don’t feel strong right now, and that is okay. I will carry you for as long as it takes for you to repair your armor. You are not alone anymore, I’ve got you.”

/////////////

I hated seeing the defeat on her face as we left the hospital. I don’t know if anyone has ever cared for her in this way, if she’s ever been so loved. Amelia will have weeks of physical therapy to ensure there isn’t lasting damage, but the fact that she is doing as well as she is? It is nothing short of a miracle.

I reach over, resting my hand on her thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. She didn’t want to be pushed out in a wheelchair, insisting that she could walk to the car. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. I had been able to convince her that I would be the one pushing the wheelchair, and that seemed to help, slightly. Parker had brought Amelia a pair of baggy black sweatpants and a well-loved sweater to go home in. Amelia asked me to step out as she changed, and I know it is because of the way her body carries her trauma. I would be a liar if I said it didn’t sting a bit. We’ve worked so hard on building trust, and it feels like we’ve taken steps backward.

We make it five minutes down the road before the woman beside me shatters. Her head dips to her hands, the sobs ricocheting off the windows. I don’t move my hand as I let her release every pent-up emotion she’s locked up in an effort to maintain the facade her life requires. I wish I could take her pain away from her. I know the only reason she allowing it to happen is because her men are not surrounding her. I want to solve her problems with a shot fired from the depths of shadow. I breathe deeply, flexing my hand currently on the steering wheel. Duncan is behind us, and I know the only reason I’m seeing Amelia like this is because I demanded she ride in my truck. For the first time since the attack, she is alone with her thoughts, and my soul is crushed by the sound of her breaking.

“We’re almost there,” I murmur. My thumb brushes the black material covering her thigh, and she gently wipes her face with the cuff of her sweatshirt. Amelia doesn’t respond, causing me to glance over at her. Exhaustion is setting in—her shoulders are slumped, not a trace of lightness is on her face.

I make the turn for her street and slow my truck down, keeping an eye on Duncan in my rearview mirror. I hit a pothole and Amelia winces. I’m sorry, kochanie. I pull into her drive, putting the truck in park, and wait. There isn’t movement on my left, just the sound of Amelia breathing. I hear her lips smack and see Duncan walk up to the front door, disappearing inside for several minutes before stepping back onto her porch. He gives a thumbs up along with a firm nod.

“Are you ready, kochanie ?” I give her thigh one last squeeze before opening the truck door and walking quickly around the front to open Amelia’s door. Her eyes track my movements and I yank the door handle, unbuckling her seatbelt before I reach in and gingerly rotating her body to face mine. Her face dips down, and I gently pull her closer, taking her hands in mine. Amelia is trembling.

Fuck, the brutality these hands have seen.

“We are going to sit for as long as you need, Amelia. When you are ready, I am going to carry you into your home. The door will be locked behind us. The only place you are allowed to be right now is your couch or your bed.”

“It’s too far.”

I kneel before her. She is now looking down at me, and the tears have returned to those grey storm-cloud eyes. I tilt my head as I consider her words. Is it too much to be locked in her house? To have to merely exist from a sedentary position? Amelia cannot meet my eyes as it dawns on me. This woman has had to carry her own damn self for far too long. The thought of being carried by someone is soul-crushing for her. I also realize that she has issues with her weight, at least when it comes to being close to me. She had been worried about sitting fully on my lap previously, and now?

Alright then.

I stand, grabbing the hair tie from my wrist and throwing my long hair into a knot at the top of my head.

“I need you to trust me, okay? I have you, kochanie .” I murmur, placing my mouth next to her ear. “I’m going to lift you from my truck, and you will wrap these legs around my body, understood?” A shiver makes goosebumps break out across the nape of her neck, and I smirk. Amelia Conte may feel like she’s broken and undeserving, but her body knows the truth.

She is silent but turns her head to mine, our noses brushing. I place a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose before placing a second on her lips.

“Nod if you understand me, Amelia.”

The small nod grazes my face, and I have never been more proud of her.

I reach around her, being careful of her injuries, before pulling her pelvis flush with mine. She stills, and I feel her breathing quicken. Her heart is pounding against her chest, and I wait. Come on, baby. You have this.

I drop my voice, whispering like a caress between fated souls.

“Be brave one more time, pretty girl.”

Her legs shake as they wrap around me, and I vow to send any man who harms her straight to hell. I lift her from the truck, spinning on my heel and walk up her sidewalk. Amelia is clutching the back of my shirt as if I am her life-line, the last tether to her sanity.

I have you.

“Couch or bed?” I ask, closing the front door with my boot.

She answers against my shoulder, but it is indiscernible. Making the choice for her, I walk toward her bedroom. I hear a chirp from under my feet; Lennon runs ahead and jumps onto the bed. I set Amelia down before pulling her blankets back, helping her under them. Once she is tucked in, I pat the space beside her knees, and Lennon joins her. Not once has Amelia’s gaze left mine. I crouch down at her bedside as I brush stray hairs from her face.

“I am going to lock the front door. I’ll come back with your pain meds, okay?”

A watery nod is what I get in response, and I straighten before heading to the kitchen, where Duncan is finishing bringing in her things. Leaning against the counter, I wait for him to say something, but not a word comes from the man. He simply places the pharmacy bag on the counter next to me before leaving. I follow, locking the deadbolt before grabbing the painkillers Amelia is due.

My footsteps fall into the quiet house, and when I push the door to her room open, my heart falls deeper for the woman now sleeping in her bed. She’s curled herself with Lennon, blankets wrapped around them. Amelia’s face is at ease for the first time since she woke up.

She needed to be home.

I move toward her, lightly shaking her shoulder.

“Amelia, I need you to take these for me, and then you can go back to sleep.”

Grey orbs sleepily blink up at me as she opens her mouth, that pink tongue slightly dropping over her bottom lip. I place the pill there, and she closes her mouth, swallowing it. I lift a water bottle to her, and she takes a drink before settling deeper into her pillow. Her tired eyes slowly blink while I place the bottle on the nightstand.

“Are you going to stay?” Amelia’s voice is soft, her eyes exhausted and haunted.

There is another question being asked here, and as badly as I want to hold her in my arms? I know that she needs to get rest, and my demons are demanding I keep watch.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch while you rest.” I run my hand down the side of her face, leaning down to kiss her softly. “Get some sleep, kochanie . I’ll check on you in a bit.”

Leaving her there, alone in bed, feels so wrong.