Nikos only nodded because his throat suddenly felt too tight to form any words.
The medics arrived and they carefully lifted Cassia onto a stretcher. They rolled her towards the waiting ambulance and when one of the wheels hit a rock, the stretcher was jolted so badly.
“Careful!” Nikos roared.
Everyone flinched, including Alex. The medics nodded apologetically to him and this time, they wheeled Cassia faster but more gently. Nikos climbed onto the ambulance and he glared at everyone inside as though threatening them to just try and tell him that he couldn’t be there.
Alex also climbed in and the ambulance made its way to the hospital.
Nikos held Cassia’s hand while the ambulance hurtled through the streets of New York. All the while, he was thinking that her safety was now his main concern. They would go somewhere safe. He’d hire hundreds of men if need be just so he could protect her.
He cursed under his breath, shocked at the intensity of his own thoughts. Alex was right. Since when did he care so much? Since when did he feel this way about the woman who destroyed his life?
Nikos comforted himself by thinking that she was still his wife. No matter what, they were bound before God and before man. Naturally, he had to care at least a bit. Naturally, he had to feel at least some emotions for her.
Also, if she died, what would happen to their contract? Would he forfeit all rights to the company he worked so hard for? Death was not part of their contract and he did not know how this would affect his life.
Yes, surely that was the reason why he felt this way.
He just had to protect her. It was one of his responsibilities as her husband. Now he’d never let her out of his sight.
She would come with him. He did not care if she did it willingly or if he would have to chain her to his side.
CHAPTER 15 - TAKEN
November 18, 2013
Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell
New York City
“Do it gently!” Nikos shouted.
Everyone in the emergency room of the hospital already lost count of how many times Nikos Demakis delivered this outburst. By now, they shouldn’t have flinched at his tone for they should have been used to it. But it was just so loud and came unexpectedly that all the doctors and his attendants still winced.
Cassia sighed and rubbed her temples.
“Please have him sedated. Or sedate me instead. Anything.Please,” Cassia begged.
Her head pulsed with a headache from pain and then also from Nikos’ bellows. Also, his mere presence brought her pain. But she did not discount the fact that she would not have been here if only she heeded his and Hector’s warning earlier.
What the hell was going on?
First Hector told her to take a vacation and then Nikos told her that she was in danger. Cassia shook her head and rolled her eyes. She was too tired and distraught with pain to think clearly right now. She would just have to think about it some other time.
The young doctor smiled at Cassia and Nikos felt his temper flare up more.
He was about to shout but the doctor stepped back from his wife and said, “You’re all done.”
“That’s it? She won’t have to be confined?”
“No, Mr. Demakis. It’s just a flesh wound. The bullet went through her shoulder and did not hit any major blood vessels or any bones. She just needed to get a few stitches and to rest that arm. I’ll be giving her some medications for the pain. But aside from that, she can go home,” the doctor announced.
“Can she travel?”
“Provided that it is not a rough journey and that she takes her medications on time and gets plenty of rest, I see no reason as to why she cannot travel.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“Wait, Nikos. Travel?”
“Ne,” he confirmed. “We will be going to my island in Greece where you will be safe.”
Her eyes widened with rage. “Are you serious? Hell no!”
“We will talk about it later.”
The doctor hurriedly moved away from Nikos and back to his own desk.
“Scared the crap out of that young doctor with all your glaring and shouting,” Alex announced from behind him.
Nikos only glared at him.
“By the way, the additional security I hired for you just arrived.”
“Thank you, Alex. Again, I find myself indebted to you.”
“It’s nothing. Though I really want a Lamborghini for Christmas,” Alex teased with a wide grin. “I trust you have everything handled here? I have to go and search for those men and for any evidence they might have left behind.”
“Yes. I have kept you from your assignment long enough. Thank you for all your help today. Call me when you need anything.”
“And you call me when you find out anything from her,” Alex whispered and with a soft smile he walked out of the emergency room.
“Alex!” Cassia called out. He stopped on his tracks and turned around to look at her.
“Thank you for what you did today. Thank you for saving me.”
He threw her a mock salute and then turned around once and walked out of the hospital.
After a few more seconds, Nikos went to Cassia who was still sitting in bed. He nodded to the bodyguards outside the room and they moved in closer.
“I’d just settle the bills and we’d get going,” Nikos told his wife.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have my purse. I’d just pay you back when I get home.”
His entire body stiffened at her words.
She was his wife! Of course he’d pay for her hospital bills! He was damned rich he wouldn’t go poor from paying damned hospital bills. There was no way he’d let her pay him back.
“No. I’ll pay for it,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Fine, Nikos. Whatever you want,” Cassia lazily drawled with a roll of her eyes.
Quite frankly, she’d had enough of this day.
First there was Hector’s very short and uninformative call. He just told her that he was hiding from something and that she must hide too. But she decided to follow him so she made reservations for her vacation.
Aside from that, she also got shot and was caught in the middle of a gunfight. Then she was brought to the hospital and had to endure Nikos.
At this point, she’d do and say whatever he wanted just so she could go home and rest in her apartment.
Nikos came back a few minutes later, his mouth set in a grim line.
“Can you walk?” he asked her.
“I got shot in the arm, Nikos, not in the legs. I can manage,” she replied. “But thank you for everything you have done for me today. And your friend, too.”
A muscle throbbed in Nikos’ jaw and his hands clenched tightly into fists. By the gods, this woman drove him to insanity!
He counted to ten and forced his breathing to become even so that he could calm down. Cassia had just been through a rough ordeal and she should not be stressed further.
“Let’s go then,” he said as he offered her his hand.
He sighed with relief when she took it. Her touch was like a brand. It sent heat down his arm and electricity down his spine. Unbidden memories of their wedding night rose to his mind. He felt himself responding to her closeness and he cursed himself a fool for the hundredth time.
He must not think about these things right now.
The bodyguards Alex hired for him quickly flanked both of them. When they left the hospital they were immediately on alert. Even when they were inside Nikos’ SUV, they didn’t relax their guard.
The moment Cassia’s back touched the plush leather interior it looked as though tiredness overwhelmed her entire body. She squirmed until she found a comfortable position and closed her eyes.
Nikos looked at her and he stifled the urge to gather her in his arms and hold her close. Then he reeled with shock at his own thoughts.
Now where did that come from?
He stopped himself from reaching across the space between them and placing her head on his shoulder or brushing that stray lock of hair away from her cheek.
He knew she wasn’t ready for that yet.
Neither was he.
They’d just end up having another fight and he’d rather they both reserved their energy for later. He knew she would not like it when he told her that he really intended to bring her to his private island in Greece. There was also the inevitable talk about what happened earlier and what Hector Petrides had to do with all of this.
After a few more seconds, Cassia’s breathing evened. Nikos told his driver to drive slowly. He reached under him and pulled out a small pillow and a thick blanket. He placed the pillow under her head and wrapped the blanket around her.
Then, he contented himself by sitting back and looking at her while she rested.
A few minutes later he looked down and noticed the dried blood in his shirt.
He crinkled his nose in disgust and decided that a bath would be the very first thing on his list to do once they arrive at the on his plane. For now, he just grabbed a hand towel from the back of his car and emptied the remaining contents of his bottled drinking water on it. He rubbed it on his skin until all traces of the blood vanished. He then grabbed a new shirt and changed.
After an hour of being driven through New York City traffic, Cassia opened her eyes and looked wearily at her surroundings. She seemed to be confused but when she looked at the man beside her, the haze in her eyes quickly cleared.
“Nikos? My apartment is at 157 West 57th Street. Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe,” he replied tersely.