Page 5 of The Sicilian Heir
I wasn't a doctor, so I didn't know if he was good or not. What I did know was that he was confident. That reassured me. Of course, I was going to get as much information on him as possible as soon as I could.
Doctor Samson reached over Eunji and checked her vitals. He ran his hand over her sternum. I had to hold back a possessive snarl. I knew he was only doing his job, but I couldn't help the need to break his fingers for daring to touch what was mine.
"She's doing great. She needs to rest in the hospital. I'd say a week, maybe even two. It's hard to tell. When she wakes up, I'll be able to give you a firmer timeframe. Poor girl," he clucked, shaking his head sadly. "What kind of lunatic shoots up a wedding and goes on a stabbing spree?" Doctor Samson patted my shoulder, the second time I'd been comforted today, and headed out to grab some more tests for Eunji.
I had to tell the hospital something. So, I told them the wedding had been a massacre of a crazed lunatic. I don't think they all believed me. Especially anyone living on the south side of Philadelphia. They all knew exactly what my family was. They also knew to fear me, so they wouldn't dare breath a word of the truth.
I grabbed Eunji's limp, cold hand, more for me than for her ,and lightly squeezed. I sat by her side for hours, praying and whispering vows in her ear. I just wanted her to wake up, just for a little while, for me. I needed to see those Bambi doe eyes and have her sass me.
"Sir?" Nurse Beth Anne was back, and I hadn't even sensed her. "Visiting hours are almost over."
I barely even registered her words. "I'm staying," I grunted.
The nurse grabbed her belly—I'm sure her child was going to be here any day now—and tried to stand firm.
"You can come back at 9 AM—" she started, but I held my hand up to stop her spiel.
"I'm staying," I forced the words out. No one was going to make me leave my little lotus.
She held up her hand and nodded her agreement. "I can get you a cot to sleep on. It'll be more comfortable than the chair."
I nodded toward her but didn't take my eyes off Eunji. I grabbed her hand again and before I could squeeze, I felt her finger twitch. I jumped up and started talking more animatedly to her. "Eunji. little lotus. Can you open your eyes for me?" Another finger twitched, but she was still lying deathly still. "Come on, little girl, give me your eyes," I demanded.
This time her hand twitched. I was getting through to her. I wanted to do a victory dance, but I couldn't until those gorgeous lashes lifted. "That's it, baby. Let me see you," I cooed.
Now that I knew she was going to wake soon, I was feeling more elated. Her middle finger twitched. She didn't like this at all. I grinned like a maniac and kept going. "That's my good girl. Open those precious eyes, little one. Daddy wants to see his baby girl. You're my little lotus, aren't you?" I suppressed a sharp laugh when Eunji's entire hand twitched in mine.
Whether subconsciously or not, she was going to kick my ass if she could hear me. I couldn't be more excited about the prospect. Eunji inhaled a lot deeper than she was previously. I held my breath. It was like watching a zombie rise from the dead. The twitching in her body increased, her breathing increased, her heart rate increased, and quite frankly, so did mine. It was like watching a seizure in slow motion. I could hear groans coming from her and knew she was in pain.
I should have called the nurse, but I was too selfish. I wanted her to look at me first. I wanted her eyes on me. As I held my breath, waiting, she finally did. Her eyelids rose and she glared right at me.
Chapter 4
Eunji
Pain. Soul searing, heart aching pain. It felt like a thousand tingling needles in my chest. What fresh hell was I in now? I tried to move my body. It felt like something was sitting on my chest. I felt my fingers move slowly, gradually. Someone was holding my left hand and murmuring to me.
As more of my system came back to me, a deep, husky voice that made my skin itch reached me. I wanted to open my eyes. I felt my eyeballs moving back and forth, but the lids wouldn't raise.
Everything ached. I moved more and the pain was severe. I tried to think back. How did I move my body before? Out of sheer will and fortitude, I moved my whole hand. I tried to pull away from the smooth talker. He was irritating me, and I wanted to swat his words away from my ears. Slowly, his murmurings reached a crescendo of noise, causing my head to throb. I finally snapped and my eyelids popped open as I glared at him. "Will you shut up?" I rasped.
My throat was on fire, like I had been left in the desert for days with no water. I looked around the room, realizing I was in the hospital. Vito was seated to my left with a shit-eating smirk on his face. I wanted to slap it off.
"There's my little lotus," he cooed again in that sickening voice.
If I had more energy, I'd stab him in the throat. Then we could both match. My dry throat to his bloody. I turned my head and spied a glass with water sitting next to it. Vito sprang up to grab it without me having to ask. He brought the glass to my lips and I took a deep gulp. I glared at him again for the nickname but didn't stop drinking the water. It was the elixir of the gods as far as I was concerned, and Vito was the gate keeper.
"Slow down," he chided. "You don't want to get sick."
I lifted my middle finger slightly and he laughed. I looked at Vito again and noticed his mussed look. His hair, which was normally a sleek version of bedhead, looked like he had run his fingers through it repeatedly. His shirt was unbuttoned and untucked, his jacket thrown haphazardly over a chair, and his dress pants were wrinkled instead of nicely pressed like they were at the wedding. He had rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, showing a peekaboo of the tattoos I knew ran up his arms and onto his chest. He had some symbols on his neck as well. The epitome of bad boy meets businessman in a dark alley.
My stomach churned and my mouth watered. Vito grabbed the trashcan seconds before I retched the water I had chugged from the cup. Vito didn't say I told you so, he just rubbed my back and made sure my hair wasn't in my face. There wasn't any food in my stomach. I had been waiting to eat at the wedding after my speech.
"I'm sorry," I groaned out.
I knew then I wasn't feeling like myself. I apologized to Vito, something that would never happen on a normal basis. I peeked up at him and he looked as surprised as I felt. Vito grunted and took the trashcan into the bathroom to rinse it out.
A nurse stepped into the room. "Oh, you're awake. You should've told us," she admonished Vito.
