Page 51 of The Diávolos: Part One
“You know he’ll be fine, right? He’s bounced back from worse.” I can’t imagine anything worse than being in a gunfight and getting shot. What has Evan been up to?
“I hope so,” I reply.
I’m not ready to lose him.
* * *
After removingthe bullet lodged in Evan’s shoulder, they moved him up to the bedroom in his office and hooked him up to IVs for hydration and morphine for the pain.
He’s been passed out for a few hours, but the doctor said he should recover fairly quickly. I’m exhausted, but I don’t want to leave Evan’s side.
There were only fragments of the bullet left in his shoulder since it flew out the other side when he was shot, and it miraculously didn’t damage anything important, or puncture an artery. Xander’s recovery will take much longer, since he took the brunt of the attack, but he’s stable and should be back to himself with most of his mobility in a few months. When the doctor told us, a flood of relief washed through me, and Dion’s face lit up. I couldn’t imagine having to tell Evan that his friend succumbed to his injuries trying to save him.
The doctor will stay on the premises until Evan wakes up, and Dion will be here too. But I still can’t make myself go home.
I get off the couch in his office and go to the bedroom door. Even though Evan is attached to monitors, I still check up on him occasionally to make sure he’s still breathing. Despite the state he’s in, he looks so peaceful lying on his back, fast asleep.
Something tells me to enter the room, so I walk in on tiptoes, careful not to make a sound, and I gently lie on the bed next to him.
The feeling of the plush mattress under me and the steady beeping of Evan’s vitals on the machine lull me to sleep. I hear faint noises in the background, but my body is exhausted and I’m not able to wake up.
* * *
My eyes snapopen and I realize I’d fallen asleep in Evan’s bed while watching over him. I blink my eyes a few times to clear up my sight and they’re met with someone’s stare. Evan is still in bed next to me, but he’s awake and looking right at me.
“Hi, angel,” he says softly.
I slowly sit up and pat my hair down to get rid of any stray strands that might’ve gotten frizzy during my nap and straighten out my shirt. Evan doesn’t take his eyes off me for a second and my body starts to heat, color rising to my cheeks.
He does a once-over of what I’m wearing, and I remember I have his clothes on. Dion told me to look in Evan’s closet, so I grabbed a pair of joggers and a t-shirt. I haven’t showered yet, but I needed to get out of that torn and soiled dress.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve asked first, but my dress was filthy.” He smirks and lowers his gaze but doesn’t respond. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I came in to check on you and—”
“You stayed,” he states, cutting me off mid-sentence.
“Of course, I did. I couldn’t leave you like this. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m sorry you had to witness that. The club is usually a safe place. I would’ve never brought you here if I knew there would be a threat.” The words come out strained, and I know he’s in pain, in more ways than one.
“I’ve seen worse, Evan. I was just… When I saw you laying on the floor, soaked in blood, I thought you were going to die,” I say faintly.
Evan smiles. “No, sweetheart. I’m not leaving you, yet. We’re just getting started.”
* * *
An hour later,Evan finally convinces me to leave his side, claiming it wouldn’t do him any good if I don’t get some proper sleep and food. He orders Dion to take me home, causing a whole other ordeal, because he didn’t want to leave Evan’s side either. But the boss always gets what he wants. Evan pleads his case: he doesn’t trust anyone else other than his brother and second-in-command to get me home safely.
“Please, trust me,angeloúdi mou. I’ll be okay,” he says.
I do trust him, and it feels like an odd concept right now. So much has happened in so little time, I’m sure it’ll be a lot to handle once I make sense of it all. But there's one thing I confidently felt the second I met Evan. Security. I even recognized the same feeling when he was stalking me. I felt safe, and that’s not an emotion that usually comes easily for me. My brain believes that most people are out to betray me, but my heart wants to believe that Evan wouldn’t deceive me again. Now that he’s come clean about who he truly is, we can start on a clean slate. It’s been a short time, but I’m ready to put myself on the line.
I really hope it doesn’t backfire on me.
“Always wear a smile because you never know who is watching.” –Gracie Gold
It’s been twenty-one days since I last saw Evan.
And it’s been twenty-one days of texting back and forth, all day and night.
