Page 34 of Soulmate of the Mafia King
My chest squeezed. My heart skipped a beat. So many women, so recently freed. Could I really just dispatch them? I glanced at Killian and saw the severity in his face.Not yet.
I pulled Cora out of the line of women filing on. “One of my associates will meet you there. I have to go.”
CHAPTER 28
TOMMASO
Rhythmic Arabic bounced off the walls of my brain. Everything hurt, my chest worst of all. The last thing I truly remembered was the monster dragging me down, but somewhere in my mind, I knew I’d been hearing rushed, frantic Arabic for some time.
I opened my eyes. Bright, white light poured in, and I shut them again with a groan. Someone said something with a cadence that sounded like I should be able to understand it. I peeked one eye open, barely made out the face of someone with long hair, and realized I still couldn’t make sense of anything. The monster opened its arms for me, welcoming me down, and I dipped into darkness once more.
The next thing I heard was beeping. Infrequent, but constant. Remembering the blare of light last time, I eased one eye the slightest bit open. Brilliant white, but I could just make out a few details. Angular lines on the white, like ceiling tiles.
“Thank you,” a woman said next to me. “I can keep an eye on him.”
Not a woman. Paige. My heart leapt. The beeping sped up. Oh, fuck, that hurt. But if Paige was here, in the white place, either we were both dead, or neither of us were, and I suspecteddeath wouldn’t hurt this goddamn much. That meant Killian got there in time. He’d saved her. Slowly, I opened my other eye.
“Tom?” she asked breathlessly.
I couldn’t hold back the smile that split my face, no matter how much it fucking hurt. “Paige.”
She took my hand in hers. The feel of her skin was like a miracle, something I’d never thought I’d feel again. Tears appeared in my eyes, and I was too exhausted to wipe them away, or even hide them. Still, I mustered the energy to twist my head in her direction.
The white light made her glow like an angel. She wore a rumpled, oversized T-shirt and pants. Her fiery hair had been collected into a messy bun on her head, and not a trace of makeup kissed her features. My tears spilled freely. She was so goddamn beautiful.
“How are you?” she asked.
My smile widened. “You’re here. I don’t have a problem in the world.”
She laughed wetly, and as my eyes adjusted, I spotted moisture in her gaze as well.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“A hospital in Jordan.” She smiled wryly. “You’ve been here for a couple days already.”
Days. Distantly, I wondered what I’d missed. More immediately, I wondered if I could move my hand well enough to touch her face. Thankfully, as I grew more and more conscious, the pain collected on my left side, and Paige was on my right. I twitched my fingers, and a wave of exhaustion threatened to drag me under again. It didn’t dampen my mood, though. I’d have all the time I needed to remind Paige how much I loved her.
“Carp had a friend in this country,” she continued. “Between the two of them, they found a way to get you into a proper hospital for surgery.” She swallowed. “It was close, Tom.”
My chest squeezed painfully. She’d been scared.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She shook her head furiously. “Don’t apologize. If it weren’t for me, you never would’ve been in that house.”
“If it weren’t for you, I’d be half the man I am,” I murmured.
Paige smiled.
“And anyway, I wasn’t apologizing for that.”
She frowned. “What?”
My smile widened. “It sounds like I broke my promise. You had to find your way to my side.”
Paige laughed so hard tears spilled down her cheeks. I started to laugh with her, but that triggered a coughing fit so intense I thought I might pass out from the pain alone. As I crumpled into the hacking coughs, I discovered a tube jutting out of my side, between two of my ribs and right above a trail of stitches. She sobered as I poked at the new attachment.
“The knife punctured your lung,” she said. “Apparently, that’s called a pneumothorax. They had to put the tube in to manage where the air goes.” Her lower lip quivered. “And make you keep breathing. You can’t leave safely for another few days at least.”
