Alex quickly grabbed the laptop then retrieved his knife. He turned to help Nikos.
Nikos was about to rush to his wife when he heard Hector speak, “Kill me now, brother.”
“No. That would be a mercy. You deserve to rot in jail.”
“Then, I will kill you,” he laughed.
Hector grabbed the gun nearest to him and aimed. But Alex fired first. Hector took his last breath and Nikos watched the light fade from his eyes.
He tried to feel remorse or sadness but there was none. He even felt as if a burden was lifted off his shoulders.
Finally they were all free.
The one who tortured him finally paid.
The threat to his and Cassia’s life was eliminated.
Every inch of him ached but he forced himself to stand up and limp to the other side of the room. Alex’s team burst in and they finished off the rest of Hector’s men. They took the one whom Alex rendered unconscious. When he woke up, he would be their source of information.
One of them also took the laptop and reversed the transaction so that the money would go back to Nikos’ and Antonio’s accounts.
Minutes after Alex’s team arrived, the police and the paramedics came.
Nikos’ heart stopped when he saw his wife. She was pale and her eyes were closed. Her face was a mask of pain and her body was coated in her blood. Elise, who tried to help her, was also covered in blood. She cried as she held Cassia’s hand.
Dazed, Nikos followed them to the ambulance.
“Sir, we need to see to your wounds as well,” the paramedics told him and pointed at his bleeding hands.
“No. Her first.”
He climbed inside the ambulance with her for the second time in his life. He winced at the thought but it was all over now. She would never be in danger again.
He took her hand and held tight even as the medics tried to do everything they could. They stemmed the bleeding, placed an intravenous line and hooked her to monitors. They also placed her on oxygen to help her breathe. Nikos saw her vital signs on the monitors. Her pulse was too weak and he knew she’d lost a lot of blood.
“Don’t give up, agapimeni. Fight for me. Fight for our child,” he whispered.
Then, Nikos Demakis bent his proud head over his wife’s hand and wept.
CHAPTER 22 - HOPE
January 26, 2013
Athens General Hospital
Athens, Greece
“Mr. Demakis?” The doctor finally came out of the operating room and spoke to Nikos.
He stood up followed by Antonio and Alex. They all awaited the news with bated breath.
“She’s resting now. Her vital signs are stable and we’ve retrieved the two bullets. Her right lung has collapsed but a few days of treatment, it will be as good as new. The other bullet went to her abdomen and punctured an intestine but it has also been repaired. So that means no solid food for a while. She’ll be here for a long time but I foresee no reason as to why she cannot make a full recovery.”
All three of them sighed with relief.
“And our baby?” Nikos whispered.
“Mrs. Demakis had a little bleeding. If the bullet went another inch down, it would have pierced your wife's womb instead. Good thing she was brought here quickly. Your baby’s fine, Mr. Demakis. ”
“Thank God!” Nikos cried out.
Alex and Antonio patted him on the back. His knees threatened to buckle so he sat. He moved quickly and his chest hurt agonizingly. He had several broken ribs but they’d already been seen to and bandaged tightly.
“When can I see her?”
“She’s in the recovery room now. After this, she will be brought to the intensive care unit. If we do not have any complications, you may see her there. But I think she won’t be awake for another two to three days.”
“Thank you for everything, doctor,” Nikos said as he shook the surgeon’s hand.
“My pleasure, Mr. Demakis.”
“The police and my team just need a statement from you, Nikos. Can you manage that before you go and see your wife? I just need that and then the part of my case about Hector Petrides is closed,” Alex asked.
Nikos nodded.
“What’s next, Alex?” Antonio asked.
Alex shrugged.
“Hector is just one of the many bosses of the cartel. There are still more. That’s the only information I got from the only one from Hector’s men that we got alive. After he said that piece, he killed himself.” Alex shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I was just assigned to Hector Petrides so I’ll say case is closed. If they want me to investigate further and nail the big boss of the cartel, then that’s another matter. Another assignment for me.”
A few hours later, Nikos entered the Intensive Care Unit wearing a sterile gown, gloves, mask and a cap. It didn’t matter to him that he could only stay for a few minutes instead of sitting by her side through everything.
He’d take as much time as he could get.
He closed his eyes and fought a wave of pain the first time he saw her. She looked so fragile lying there. She was connected to so many tubes and machines that he feared to touch her. Her beautiful skin was now pale and covered in bruises.
He felt his eyes fill with tears once more and he fought them back. He would not be weak now. Cassia needed him and he needed to be strong for both of them. His tears would do nothing to help.
He took her hand and squeezed.
“Koúkla, I’m here...”
She looked so fragile yet still looked beautiful.
“Hang in there, okay? Be strong for me. I’ll be here. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay here and guard you and our baby.”
He kissed her cold fingers and brushed away the tendrils of hair from her face. Then, he stared at her while he prayed to whoever might be listening to give her a full recovery.
February 1, 2013
Athens General Hospital
Athens, Greece
It took five days before Cassia finally woke up.
Those five days were hell for her husband. Two days ago, she was already out of the intensive care unit and was brought to the largest suite in the hospital. Through it all, Nikos never left her side. He had Alex and Antonio bring his things and he asked James, his faithful assistant, to remain in the hospital as well.
When he needed to work, he worked beside her. He didn’t want to go because he didn’t want her to wake up without him in the room.
It paid off. When she opened her eyes, he was beside her holding her hand and reading a book. When her hazel eyes gazed into his, his heart missed a beat. When she finally smiled after looking around in confusion, he wanted to scream his joy to the heavens.
“How are you feeling, koúkla? Do I need to call the doctor?”
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck and that truck is still on my chest,” she whispered hoarsely.
She turned to him and her eyes were wide with panic. Her hands immediately covered her abdomen.
“Nikos, our baby?”
“Relax,agapimeni. He or she is fine but the doctor ordered you on bed rest for about a month after this.”
“Right now, bed rest sounds divine. And it’s a good thing I don’t need to be out of bed for my work,” she whispered.
“I’ll be right here. I’ll watch over both of you,” he said as he settled his hand over her abdomen.
“Hear that baby? Your papa will stay right here with us.” Cassia grinned. “Wait. But what about your work, Nikos?”
He turned around and waved to the direction of the table behind him. His laptop was there along with several papers. “I brought my work here,” he said with a shrug.
“How long has it been?”
“You’ve been asleep for a week.”
“A week?!”
“Shh...don’t stress yourself. You need rest.”
“I’m fine, Nikos. I promise I won’t overexert myself.”
“I nearly died of a heart attack the moment I saw you there on the floor. I will never allow that to happen again, agapimeni.”
His words made her smile. But then she remembered something else and it wiped all the happiness away.
“Is Hector—“
“He’s gone. It’s over.”
She closed her eyes in a wave of pain. She’d been with Hector for a long time and he was one of her greatest friends. But she never knew his past or how troubled he was. If only he told her, she was sure she could’ve helped him.
She couldn’t help feeling guilty. It was her fault that everything happened. She drove him well over his limit.
“Cassia, I know what you are thinking about. It’s not your fault. It’s his. He chose his path and what he wanted to believe in. He was rich, he was famous and he had you but he threw all that away for his revenge.”
Nikos cradled Cassia close, careful of the tubes still connected to her.
“I just can’t help wishing that I was able to help him, Nikos.”
“I wish that too. I never knew I had a brother.”
Then he just held her until she finished crying all her tears.
“What’s going to happen now, Nikos?”
“We’re going to start anew. We are going to forget everything that’s happened and get on with our lives. Soon, there’s going to be an addition to our family, Cassia. I want everything to be all set before the baby comes. We’re going to start with us. I’m going to fix us.”
She lifted her hand and traced his jaw.
“How are you going to fix something that isn’t broken?”