CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: WINTER
“Winter,Winter,”myname bleeds into my subconscious and I try to open my eyes, but I have a hard time doing so.
“She twitched a little, did you see?”
I know that voice, but for some reason my brain can’t figure out who it is.
“Vito is right, she twitched.” That one is familiar as well, and much colder than the first voice.
“I saw it,” a female voice says, before I feel something soft brush against the side of my face. “It’s probably all the pain pills, they have her tired and groggy. It may take a while for her to come out fully, but it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
The voice drifts off before there’s complete silence.
When I wake up again, it’s easier to open my eyes. And I think it’s because I want out of my dream so badly. I’d seen Richard and he’d been thinner than the last time I’d seen him, strung out and completely out of his mind.
He’d been talking to Giovanni, striking up a deal to keep me for another year to pay off his new debt.
Dream me hadn’t been surprised, but she had been sure she wasn’t going to put up with another year of the Costa family.
“Winter,” the soft voice says, interrupting my thoughts. I turn my head to find Vito looking at me. He’s standing behind the familiar female doctor. She has an apprehensive smile on her face, reminding me that the last time I saw her she was giving me birth control pills without my permission.
I pinch my lips together, a sharp pain eliciting a gasp from me.
“Your lip was busted,” she says, watching me closely.
My brows pull together as I wrack my brain to figure out what she’s talking about.
Oh, the cartel.
It all comes flooding back to me, the shooting, Amarie killing those men, Vito picking me up before I dozed off in the car.
As I raise a hand to my lip, the movement feels slow. I brush my lip and the pain is back, but I don’t remember my lip being busted before I passed out. It must have been the adrenaline that kept me from feeling it. Or the fact that my head felt like it had been banged in with a hammer, so the minor injury wasn’t important at all.
I take a swallow, dropping my hand. My eyes move around the room and I realize it’s my bedroom.
I also realize that Vito and the doctor aren’t the only other people in the room.
Giovanni is standing by the window, his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face as his dark eyes watch me. His hair is perfectly in place and there isn’t a wrinkle in his suit as if he isn’t even worried about the fact that his club just got shot up.
Again.
My gaze flickers to the other side of the room and my heart stutters at the sight of Maximo and Enzo. They’re standing so close that their shoulders are nearly touching. Enzo’s face is blank, his posture tight. Maximo on the other hand, has the inkling of a smile on his face, as if everything is right in the world. His eyes light up as they meet mine and the corner of his lip twitches.
I turn my gaze.
“You have another concussion,” the doctor says, shaking her head as I look back at her. “Getting too many can cause permanent damage.” Her body turns slightly, and I think she’s looking at Giovanni as she says, “Maybe keep that in mind.”
But I tell myself I am imagining the slight. There’s no way the woman who agreed to give me birth control would be telling Giovanni he needs to take better care of me.
And he wouldn’t let her challenge him.
I look at Giovanni, but his gaze is still blank and hard.
The doctor reaches out, her fingers trailing up my arm slightly. “Your face should heal up fine, and the gash on the back of your head wasn’t big despite the amount of blood. Try to be gentle and get out of bed slowly just in case you experience any dizziness. Nausea is also to be expected. Do you have any other pain or concerns?”
“No,” I tell her, my tongue feeling thick in my mouth.
She nods. “Okay then, just take it easy and you should be okay within a week or so. I'll be back in three days to do my rounds. Make sure you take the pain pills I gave to Vito, they’ll keep your discomfort to a minimum.” She takes a step back. “Are you sure you don’t have any questions?”