“Mr. Vidal? This is Dr. Robosky,” I stiffen. Oh dear Lord. This is it, the call to let me know that either my son's or my wife have passed away. My gut drops, and I can feel the pressure in my temples. “Your wife has woken and is asking for you.”
My heart is pounding so fast but in the best way. Marnie is awake, and she's asking for me. “I'll be right there.”
“Was that the hospital? What did they say?”
“She's awake,” I tell Brooke, who then bursts out crying. I feel like doing a little of that myself right now.
“I want to come with you.”
I take her by the shoulders. “Stay here with your husband. Take care of Lydia for me. As soon as the morning comes, then you can see Marnie. I have a lot to tell her, a lot for her to get her head around tonight.”
“Draven is right, baby.” Brooke nods without argument.
My wife is awake! She's going to be okay. I just know she is. Lydia will recover from this, and I only hope my son's do too.
* * *
Marnie smiles at me. She finally has some color in cheeks. I haven't stopped staring at her since I walked in the room, I just need to tell my brain that she's really awake, that I haven't lost her. I stroke her hair back from her forehead, and bring her hand to my lips and kiss it hard.
“I'm okay, Draven.”
“Just taking my brain time to realize that fact. God, I thought I'd lost you, Marnie.”
“Take more than a psycho ex-mother-in-law to get rid of me.”
“You remember what happened?” She nods. “I thought you'd forget.”
“I didn't know what happened at first. When I woke up, it took a while, but it all came back to me. I don't know exactly what she did, but I know she did something to me.”
I tell her what happened and how she ended up here. I tell her what happened with Lydia because I can't keep it from her; there's no way I would. She listens with a fire in her eyes that I've never seen before.
“That bitch tried to kill our children!” So much venom. I'm not sure if it's a mother's natural reaction or something else, but her eyes are hard and set in stone as she stares at me. “Kill her.”
My eyes widen. Marnie has never said anything like this to me before. She's always made it clear to me that she hates what I do.
“Find her and kill her, Draven. No one will live should they try to hurt our children. I want her dead and now.”
There's so much anger inside of her that my cock is hardening hearing her like this. Yeah, it's inappropriate, but it's a fucking turn on to hear my wife so strong, so angry, so powerful.
“She's gone, Marnie. She's gone. I made sure of it.”
She sets me with a hard stare before telling me, “Good. It's time...”
“He's dead, too,” I tell her, knowing exactly what she was going to say. “Paul is dead too. His mother, his father, brother's, every last member of his family is gone. I took care of it myself. They made it personal coming after my family. I won't let anyone get away with that, Marnie.”
I'm expecting her to give me a piece of her mind, but I'm wrong, she doesn't, she cups my cheek and tells me, “I love you so much.” Then she takes a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth as if she's expelling the evil from her mind. Then she looks at me again. “What names did you give our boys?”
And just like that, talk of Paul Simpson and his family is forgotten. We have much more important things to talk about. “Luka. I called the eldest Luka just as we planned. I didn't give the little one a name. I didn't feel right in doing so without you.”
“Dray.”
“Yes,” I smile. It's not often Marnie calls me Dray, but it makes me smile when she does.
“No,” She laughs. “The baby. I want to name him Dray.”
“Dray.” I roll the name around in my head. Dray. It suits him.
“After his Daddy. Because just like his Daddy, I wasn't expecting him to come into my life and make me feel so complete.” I smile at that. She made my life complete too.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Marnie
Oh, Draven,” Tears of relief fall from my eyes as I look at my newborn son's from my seat in the wheelchair the doctor forced me into before he'd allow me down here to see my boys. “They're so beautiful.”
They really are, they're just as beautiful as Lydia and Amber. I can tell right now, even though they're still scrunched up due to being so small, that they're going to look just like Draven. Handsome little devils.
Draven crouches beside my wheelchair, drawing my eyes from my sons, but not the hand that's inside their incubator, gently holding their entwined hands. Nothing could prize me away from them right now. I've been awake five days and today is the first day I've been allowed to come down here and see them. Can you imagine how hard that was for me?
“I'm sorry it's taken so long for you to see them, Marnie. I know how much it's been hurting you.”
“It has, but I'm here now.” I cup his face. It hasn't just hurt me; its hurt him too, I can see it so clearly in his eyes. “You've been amazing, Draven. You've rid us of those who tried to hurt us. You've been there for our children, for me all these weeks, but who's been there for you, my love?” Who has been there for him?
He takes my hand in his and kisses my palm. “My life's work it to keep you and our children safe. I don't need anybody but you. As long as I have you, I'll be just fine.”
I once heard that men like Draven, the evil killers, the men who take power and hold tight, could never love a woman. Not really. Men like Draven are psychopaths. I fully believe my husband is a psychopath of some sort. He wouldn't do what he does if he wasn't because there's no way he'd be able to sleep at night. Draven has no trouble killing someone and then resting well.
They say psychopaths aren't capable of love. It isn't true. All they need is to meet that one person who gets them completely. The person who loves them unconditionally, and love will fill them to the brim. Some may not fully understand the feeling, but they will feel it. Draven loves me. He’s so in love with me that he would do anything for me. He fell in love with my daughter’s, and he loves them as his own. He gave me two little boys, whom I know will mean everything to him. Boys Draven won't allow the Famiglia to take away from me. You see, Draven had a wonderful mother who showed him just how much a little boy needs his mother. It won't make him a weak man; it will inevitably make him stronger.
Every man has his own views on what makes his son strong, what will make him a powerful man in the years to come. These little boys will be powerful men thanks to their father, and all the lessons he'll teach them. They'll be powerful men because of me, and the lessons I will teach them. I will show them how to treat a woman the right way, how to be respectful, and how love is not weakness. Draven will teach them how to be physically strong, how to take
care of the people who are important to them, and he'll teach them real respect. He'll also show them the true meaning of power and being powerful.
One day, my boys will take their father's place as the head of the family. I know they're going to do bad, and sometimes terrible things, I'm not an idiot, and I know they're even going to become killers. How could they not when they're Vidal's? I don't want that for my sons, but I know I don't have a choice in the matter. My husband will train them to be killers, to demand respect, and everyone will know their names.
As I look at my husband, I know that fate took a hand in bringing us together at Brooke's wedding. I could easily have walked away that night. Draven could easily have seen some other woman and took a fancy to her, but he didn't, it was me he couldn't tear his eyes away from. It was him; I couldn't stop my body from responding to.
It doesn't matter how he reacted to the news I was pregnant. It doesn't matter how he came around and demanded I marry him. It doesn't matter that he practically bullied me into moving in with him, nor that he was cocky about how I would want him, and how I would fall in love with him. All that matters is that I did fall in love with him. I fell so hard for the dangerous Mafia Don. All that matters is that he fell just as hard for me. My husband would do anything to protect me, to protect our children. He even went as far as eradicating my ex-husband and his whole family to keep us safe.
What more could a woman ask for in life than a man who loves her that much?
“I love you, Draven Vidal. You have no idea what you mean to me.” I stroke his cheek with the palm of my hand as he stares at me. “If I could put it into words, I would.”