Page 42 of Devil of Vegas

“No, it’s not.” Luc stands in my way to prevent me from making a scene. “Vincent, youneedto sit down and let them work. If you want them to save Isla’s life, you need to let these doctors and nurses focus on doing their job. She’s lucky to have survived the shot even thus far, so things are in her favor that we could get her here. They aimed that first shot at you, and you’re lucky to be alive.”

“Marco saved me,” I say in a stark moment of appreciation. “He sacrificed his life for me. I don’t know why he would have done that—he was young and had his whole life in front of him.” I look up at Luciano with anger in my eyes over having lost such a good man.

“He did it because he was loyal and decent,” Luc says. “And when this is all over, we will honor him.”

The loss and the still looming threat of more loss at the command of what can only be Angelo Barone and his sick quest for vengeance, is unbearable. Sitting down, I bury my face in my hands, sinking into the blue vinyl hospital chair. I thought I was done with all of this, with feeling and hurting andgrievingthe loss of people that I care about. I thought that losing my parents and then my sister was the most that I could take, and that I would never let myself be so vulnerable again. But here I am, palms sweating and throat dry as I grieve the death of one of my men and panic over the potential loss of the woman I’m madly and deeply in love with. I let myself care about Marco, and even more so about Isla. And despite how much it causes mepain, and how much I want to push it all away again, I can’t. Because it would be a disservice to what a good man and what a brave sacrifice Marco made to protect me and Isla. And it would beimpossiblefor me to lessen the way that I feel about Isla now.

It's a turning point, one that I will never recover from this time. I’m refocused now, not only on fortifying my work in the mafia and ensuring my eventual vengeance against Angelo Barone and anyone else who would seek to undermine or damage what is important to me. But I’m also aware of anequallyimportant priority—protecting those Ilove. I will no longer deny myself feelings, and I no longer see them as weaknesses. Instead, I’m going to let my love for Isla fueleverythingthat I do and protect her atallcosts.

As soon as the waiting room door opens, I jump to my feet. This time, there’s a doctor standing in the doorway. I try to steady myself as he walks toward me. I can’t promise not to completely and utterly lose control if he delivers any bad news about Isla’scondition. For the first time in my life, I open my mouth, yet no words come out.

“How is she, doctor?” Luc asks in my place.

“Alive,” the doctor says with grave seriousness. “You got her here just in time. A few more seconds and she wouldn’t have made it.”

“But now shewillmake it?” I ask, needing to hear confirmation that I won’t lose her.

“Yes. She survived—barely, but she’ll pull through,” he nods. “It’s going to take her several days in the hospital to recover, and we’ll need to continue to monitor a few things. But she’s out of surgery, and her vitals are all good. We’ll be moving her to a room in a few hours.”

“That’s wonderful news, doctor,” Luc nods. “Thank you.”

The doctor glances over at me and stares at the blood covering my shirt. “You can go home and get cleaned up. I’ll have the nurse call you when Ms. Hart has been settled into her hospital room.”

“No, I’m not leaving,” I say firmly. “As soon as she’s in a room, I want to see her.”

“Suit yourself.” He nods as he turns to leave. “You can wait here, then. I’ll send the nurse to get you when it’s time.”

I’ve never been a praying man. Hell, I don’t even believe in a merciful God, so taking on the title ofThe Devilwas never difficult for me to embrace. But right about now, I feel like dropping to my knees and thanking whatever divine deity has just spared Isla’s life—and sparedmine.

“I’ll go back to the penthouse and pick up a change of clothes and some food for you,” Luc offers. “And I’ll make sure that Alonzo and the others are behaving and not doing anything too foolish in the aftermath of this attack at the casino.”

“I appreciate that,” I nod. “And there’s something else that I want you to do, too—interrogate the sniper. Find out as much information from him as you can and then kill him.”

“And when he talks,” Luc says, following my train of thought to conclusion. “When I find out who it was that shot Isla and who arranged this whole thing, you want me to kill them, too?”

“No.I want to do that part myself. Whoever did this, and I think we both have a good hunch who that is—they will deal withmywrath, and I will be the one to watch the life leave from their eyes.”

“You got it, boss.”

After Luc leaves, I sit in silence and wait. But this time, I can relax a little and be patient until the nurse arrives. I use the time to think about my next moves. Angelo will expect me to fly off the handle and react. He willwantme to be unhinged now, and he’ll likely be prepared for it. Normally, I wouldn’t care, and I would launch an all-out war against the Barones. But I’m going to do things differently now. I am going to focus on what I want the most in my life, which is a life with Isla. I’m in this for the long haul, and I will take my time planning an excruciatingly accurate revenge on Angelo Barone—one that will make him wish he had never crossed me. But first, I am going to take care of something right now that can’t wait.

“Mr. Moretti?” a nurse calls my name. “Ms. Hart is in a recovery room now. Would you like me to take you to her?”

“Yes!” I say as I follow her down the hall.

As soon as I get to the room, I see Isla lying helplessly on the hospital bed. She looks so weak and vulnerable, with tubes and monitors stuck all over her. But she’sawake.

“Vincent?” she croaks softly as she gingerly turns her face toward me.

“I’m here, Isla,” I say as I rush to her bedside. “I’m here. And I’m never leaving you or going to let anything like this ever happen again. I swear it.”

She smiles and lifts a shaky hand to hold mine. Her grip is so weak that I can barely feel it.

“Isla,” I say as I lean over and place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“I love you more than anything in this world—more than life itself,” I say as I stand there in my bloodied shirt surrounded by the sounds of beeping medical equipment. “And I don’t think that I can live without you. I once thought that love was a weakness, and now I know it’s theonlything worth having in this life. I want you to be my wife. I want you to beminein every way possible. And in return—I will be yours. Will you marry me?”

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