I didn’t know what I was going to do.
Hours slipped past. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I was gently shaken awake by a handsome man in his mid-forties.
“Cassidy?” he asked.
“Yes? Is Rafa okay?”
He nodded. “Rafa is going to be okay.”
I wanted to cry. “Thank you.”
“He’s only alive because you got him here so fast. The bullet nicked his posterior tibial artery, and he lost a lot of blood. We were able to repair the damage.”
“Can I see him?”
He nodded. “He’s asking for you.”
I got up and followed the doctor into the back rooms. He led me down a hall and into a side room. Sitting up in the bed was Rafa, looking pretty haggard but alive.
“Rafa,” I said softly, walking to his side.
He grinned at me. “Don’t look so fucking upset. I’m not easy to kill.”
I buried my face in his lap and let out a sob. I felt so stupid, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was so relieved that he was alive, I could barely breathe.
“Okay,” he said, stroking my hair. “It’s okay.”
I cried for a second and then took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Stop.”
“It’s all my fault. I made you go there. I got you shot. I’m so sorry, Rafa.”
“Stop,” he said again. “You didn’t force me into anything.”
“I did. I did all this.”
He sighed. “Stop,” he said again. “I’m serious. I could have turned back at any time. You don’t force me into anything at all. I chose to go with you, and I chose to do what I did. It was my fault, not yours.”
That made me want to cry again, but I bit it back and nodded. “You’re right. It’s your fault.”
He laughed loudly and then coughed, looking pained.
“How do you feel?” I asked him.
“Tired. Like fucking shit. But alive.”
“How long are you going to be in this bed?”
“Not long, doc says. Damage wasn’t that bad. No broken bones.”
“Good,” I said. “I hate seeing you like this.”
He laughed. “Please. You’re dripping wet right now. Nothing sexier than a man in a hospital gown.”
I smiled and laughed, feeling a bit better. He did look good, despite having just nearly died.
“Okay,” someone said from the doorway. I turned and Vince was standing there. “Enough of all this shit.”
“Vince,” Rafa said.
Vince came into the room and took his hand. “Brother. You good?”
“I’m good.”
Vince looked at me. “You mind giving us a second?”
I glanced at Rafa and then nodded. “Of course. I’ll be back in my room.” I looked at Rafa. “I’ll come back soon.”
“And wear something sexy,” Rafa said.
I couldn’t help but smile as I left. The two men began to talk in lower tones as I headed out of the clinic and back toward my room.
He wasn’t dead. I felt exhausted, drained, and broken, but Rafa wasn’t dead. We still had a chance to get out of this mess. I put my hand on my stomach without thinking, and I only realized what I was doing when I was halfway back to my room.
I wasn’t sure I was pregnant. It was probably too soon to take the test, but I didn’t need it. I knew I was having his baby, knew it the second that danger started. I’d had this overwhelming urge to save myself, not for my own life, but for the life growing inside me.
In the end, we’d gotten out of there, both of us. And we’d gotten out of there with our tape. I felt the weight of my bag against my shoulder and took a deep, steadying breath.
It was time to go find out what we had nearly died for.
26
Rafa
Three days in a fucking hospital bed.
Three fucking days. I hated sitting still for an hour, let alone for three fucking days. I wasn’t the kind of man to go and actually listen to a doctor’s orders, and I would have been out of that bed in a day if it weren’t for her.
Cassidy never left my side the whole fucking time, except for when I begged her to go eat a meal or to take a shower. Otherwise, she was sitting with me, talking with me, laughing with me, or just watching television in silence with me.
Three days. That was a long time when you were stuck in a bed with only one person to keep you company. We learned a lot about each other in those three days.
I told her things I never thought I’d tell someone. I talked about my childhood. I talked about my wants and my fears, my deepest fucking desires. And she told me the same. She talked about her ambitions, her need to try to save the city. It only made me admire her all that much more.