The sterile operating room was a dead giveaway.
“How’s he doing?” Allen asked, brushing past Derek and Mason and making his way to where Troy was assisting Jim.
“The bullet made a clean path and avoided all the major organs— thank fuck. But he’s lost a lot of blood. I got a guy bringing over a few bags from the hospital and as long as we get the transfusion started soon, he should wake back up.”
I numbly walked over to John’s side and reached for his limp hand, clutching it tightly between my own. Troy backed up to give me space and I looked up to see Allen staring down sadly at his best friend.
“Is there anything we can do? When is your guy getting here? What should I—”
“Allen, relax,” Jim said, patting his bloody hand on Allen’s bare shoulder, the sight making me cringe. “He’ll be here soon. In the meantime, I’ve patched up the holes to temporarily stop the bleeding. But I need the blood before I start the internal work.”
“How long?” Allen asked, his voice thick with emotion.
“It’ll take me a few hours, but I’ll get it done. We’re just waiting on Scotty.”
Allen shook his head and I could tell he wanted to scrub his hand over his eyes, but he was well aware of the stickiness of blood on them. My hands were the same way, but my body had become so numb that I was able to easily ignore it.
“Mason, I need you with me to meet Dante tonight.”
“Sure thing, boss,” he said hesitantly, looking from Allen to me a few times before he finally asked. “Can I have a minute?”
I looked down at John then back at Mason before agreeing with a curt nod. I let go of John’s hand, easing it back to the table before I followed him out of the room and left Allen to speak privately with Jim.
Once the door was closed, Mason turned to me with sad eyes and said, “I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“It’s okay. I understood what you were doing.”
“You don’t have to pretend like it was fine. You had a panic attack and nearly fainted, Amber. I know I wasn’t putting enough pressure on your windpipe to knock you out.”
A distant part of me had realized that while it was happening— that it was my own mind causing my body’s reaction and not something he had done. But even so, I hadn’t been able to keep my fear under control.
“Well, yeah. Can you blame me? I was fucking terrified. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t understand.”
“I just want you to know that I didn’t mean anything I said. And that I’m sorry for freaking you out.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. If it wasn’t for what you did— you’d probably be dead and I’d be on my way to becoming someone’s sex slave,” I said with a forced laugh, but I couldn’t help my body from shuddering at the thought. I wrapped my arms around my waist for comfort and swallowed hard when I felt John’s blood on my shirt. “I just hope he’ll be okay.”
“He’ll be fine. Scotty’s on the way— he’ll be here any minute. You want to go back in?”
I nodded, more to myself than to him, and allowed him to guide me back into the room by the small of my back. I immediately moved to John’s side and took his hand back in mine, knowing that once Scotty arrived with the blood, I’d be thrown out of the room for surgery.
Not that I really wanted to see them cutting John open anyways.
But I wanted to be close to him for as long as possible. To reassure myself that he was still alive. I placed my fingers on his wrist and focused solely on the weak rhythm of his heartbeat, drowning out the voices in the room.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear the door open as Scotty arrived and I only let go of John’s hand when I felt Allen gently pulling me back into his arms.
“He’s here, Amber. The blood is here. We need to give them room to work.”
The four of us exited the room, leaving Jim, Troy, and Scotty alone with John to operate.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Allen
A little over ten hours later, Jim had come out of the operating room and told us all we could do now was wait. John’s body had accepted the transfusion and his pulse was growing more and more steady— the chances of his waking getting higher with each passing moment.
All we needed to do was be patient.
Unfortunately, I still has business to attend to. Once Jim cleared Amber to wait by John’s side, Mason and I headed out to get cleaned up and gather up the money for the deal. At just past nine o’clock, we started making our way towards the club.
The bouncer didn’t hesitate before he lifted the rope for us, which only led me to believe that my presence was expected. Once we stepped inside, the air shifted in the club— the tension growing with every step we took towards the stairs.
“I got a bad feeling,” Mason muttered low enough for my ears only.
“They won’t try anything here,” I replied surely, glancing around the club enough to catch a few nods of approval coming my direction.
Monaco wasn’t only populated by the Sanchez family and it was clear that at least a few of the other factions had my back if shit got rough.
“I hope you’re right.”
Mason and I made our way upstairs and my eyes immediately locked on Dante, sitting in one of the private booths with the curtain open. When I allowed myself to look away from his irritated gaze, I realized that there was one other person in the booth with him.
Alonzo Sanchez. The head of the Sanchez family himself.
Well. That’s not a good sign.
I approached them warily, Mason’s presence at my back the only thing keeping me at all relaxed. They didn’t speak until after we slid into the booth and pulled the curtain closed.
Alonzo pulled off his sunglasses and placed them gently on the table. Even in his old age, his eyes still held the ruthlessness of a mob boss.
“So you’re the man who has caused my family so much trouble today.”
“Allen Fredrick,” I said curtly, giving him a nod but pointedly not offering my hand.
“Oh, I’ve heard of you.”
“Good.”
There was a brief moment where I regretted saying it— his eyes narrowing on me and his lips curving almost to the point of a scowl before his face relaxed back into a neutral expression.
“All this trouble for a woman, Allen?” Alonzo asked, his voice amused. “I find it hard to believe you would willingly step into a war for something so trite.”
“She’s not just a woman. She’s my woman.”
Dante scoffed and opened his mouth to argue, only to be cut off by his father’s disapproving look.
“Fair enough. Do you have the money to pay off the boy’s debt?”
I nodded and gestured to Mason, who lifted the case onto the table and opened it.
“It’s double what he owed— my original offer. I never wanted it to come to what happened this morning, but your son wasn’t smart enough to take me up on such a generous offer.”
Alonzo hummed and motioned for Mason to close the case before he slid it over to his side and placed it beside him on the seat. He took his sunglasses in hand and toyed with the arms for a long moment before nodding.
“I agree with your assessment, Mr. Fredrick. This is exactly why Dante was heading my least profitable business venture. You aren’t equip to make rational decisions, son.”
The anger radiating from Dante was enough to make my spine stiffen, even though I was certain he wasn’t stupid enough to make a move here. Especially not in the presence of his father.
But Dante knew his place and after a long moment, he grit his teeth together and lowered his head.
“Well, allow me to correct what my idiot son has caused. I will gratefully accept your payment and would like for us to continue our truce.”
Mason spoke then, surprising me with his question. “What happened to the boy?”
It was clear he meant Chris, and the evil grin that stretched across Alonzo’s face was enough of an a
nswer.
“He has been dealt with and now, with his balance repaid, we can move beyond such ugly topics. We will not go after your girl again, Mr. Fredrick. Of that much— I can assure you.”
Something in his phrasing caught my attention, the words out of my mouth before I could stop them. “What can’t you assure me?”
Judging by the way his eyes darkened, I had played into exactly what he wanted me to.
“I can not assure you that we won’t take swift action against your little team if I ever discover that you have invited yourself to fuck with my business again. That little stunt you pulled this morning has cost me millions. Consider this your one warning.”
“You’re not in a position to make threats, Alonzo,” I growled. “Need I remind you that where you may have us on the numbers, we have you beat in skill. We won’t go down as easily as you seem to think.”
“Maybe not, but I think you’re smart enough to know that your team would suffer heavy casualties even if you managed to win. Are you willing to gamble with your men’s lives? With your girl’s life?”
I wasn’t willing to do that and the bastard knew it. I backed down, relaxing back against the seat and averting my eyes from his knowing expression.
“Good. Now I want your word that you will cease interfering with my business. If I hear that any of your boys have laid a single foot on my territory, I will consider it an act of aggression. Are we clear?”
Kill him. Do it. Just reach over the table and strangle his neck until he stops breathing. Mason can take Dante. Just do it. End this now.
“We’re clear,” I forced out, ignoring my internal battle.
“Wonderful. Go now.”
Understanding that we were being dismissed and not wanting to stick around to rock the boat, I slid over and waited for Mason to stand up. I didn’t look back to see their expressions as they watched us walk away, my back staying ramrod straight all the way down the stairs and out of the club.
I didn’t allow myself to relax again until I was seated in the passenger seat of Mason’s car.
“It’s not over, you know,” he said as he turned over the engine. “There’s no way he’ll let us off that easily.”
“I know. But we wiped out at least forty of his men this morning. He’ll take his time rebuilding his numbers before he either finds or invents a reason to come at us again.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“We expand our own team.”
Mason grinned and nodded. “I’ll get started on recruiting.”
“Thank you,” I said earnestly, turning to him. “For everything you’ve done for me.”
“Anytime, boss.”
The rest of the ride back to Jim’s place was silent, but content with the knowledge that for at least a little while—we could rest.
Because for the time being, it was all over.
* * *
John
Holy hell, I thought as I started to slip back into consciousness, a groan echoing in my ears when I tried to sit up and failed due to the pain shooting through my body.
“John? Oh my god, John!”
I winced a little at the loud sound so close to my ear, but still smiled when I felt Amber’s warm hand tightly grip my own. I forced my eyes open to look at her, waiting for a long moment for my vision to un-blur.
“Jim? Jim! He’s awake!”
I heard the sound of the man in question grunt and sharply inhale and I turned my head to the other side just in time to see him stirring awake on the chair he was awkwardly sleeping on. My vision was clear enough to make out who they both were, but not enough to see the minute details of their faces or expressions.
“What happened?” I asked, voice cracking from disuse.
“You were shot,” Amber’s soft voice came from my left. “You pushed Allen out of the way and took the bullet in the back.”
The memory of lying on Allen’s chest and bleeding out came rushing back and I let out a sigh of relief that I had obviously lived through it.
“Where’s Allen?”
“He and Mason went to wrap up the Sanchez deal, they’ll be back soon,” Jim explained as he started looking over my vitals on the monitors.
I nodded as much as I could, then allowed Amber to tilt my head up at the neck and pour small swallows of water into my mouth. It was a struggle to move even that small amount, the pain seemingly everywhere at once.
When I began to lightly cough, Amber pulled the glass away and I cleared my throat, testing it before speaking again.
“Is everyone else alright?”
“Yeah, everyone’s fine. Troy and Derek are in the living room sleeping.”
I turned my head to face Jim, watching as he checked the machines I was hooked up to before he finally came over to my side.
“Looks like you’re going to be fine, buddy. Your body just needs some rest. You want some drugs? I got the good shit.”
A hoarse chuckle rose from my throat, but I shook my head. “Can you give me a few minutes first?”
Sensing what I was asking for, he nodded. “I’ll be outside. Come get me when he’s ready to go back to la-la land.”
Amber laughed lightly at the joke and waited until he was gone before she looked at me with tear filled eyes.
“I was so worried.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, smirking a little as I intertwined our fingers together.
“Of course!” she exclaimed with a scoff, then her face softened as she asked, “Do you remember what you said to me before you passed out?”
The memories of those last few moments had come back in jagged bit and pieces, but I did recall exactly what I said in that moment. I didn’t want to admit it even now— but I had been damn sure at that moment that I was going to die and I didn’t want to go without Amber knowing how strongly I felt about her.
“I remember.”
“Did you mean it?”
I gave her an exaggerated scoff and mimicked her tone. “Of course!”
Her playful slap on my hand made me smile and she rolled her eyes before leaning down to kiss me. The press of her lips against mine was soft and I longed to deepen the kiss, but when I tried to reach my right arm up to weave into her hair, my entire body jerked with pain and protested the movement. She pulled away when she felt my mouth twist up in a grimace.
“Stay still, John. You’ll pull the stitches.”
“Couldn’t help myself.”
Amber smiled and said, “I understand. And I love you, too.”
My heart clenched tightly in my chest, the need to grab her and hold her to me almost stronger than the memory of my body’s pain-filled protest. Before I could even consider doing it though, she stood up straight and turned to face the door as the knob twisted.
“John,” Allen breathed out when he saw me. “Thank fuck. You had us worried sick.”
I couldn’t raise my hand, but I still raised up my fingers and wiggled them as I grinned. “Alive and kicking, man. Well, maybe not kicking, but close enough.”
Allen chuckled and shut the door, coming over to stand beside Amber.
“You look like hell.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “That’s the thanks I get for taking a fucking bullet for you? Damn. Won’t be doing that again.”
The look that appeared on Allen’s face was one I’d seen before, but never quite as strong as it was now. It was nothing short of pure gratitude, marred only by his eyebrows as they drew together in a frown.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“Allen— don’t. I’m not sorry. If I hadn’t—”
“I know.”
We both knew there was no way he would have survived the shot if I hadn’t pushed him out of the way. Mario was a lot of things, but a bad shot wasn’t one of them.
And that bullet was aimed right for Allen’s heart.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And don’t beat yourself up over this, Allen. I wouldn’t have had it happen any other
way.”
Amber chimed in with an incredulous laugh. “How about in a way where no one got shot?”
“Okay, maybe that would’ve been better. But still—no regrets here.”
Amber let go of my hand and Allen took hold, gripping it tightly.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I would never choose to trade your life for mine.”
“I know you wouldn’t. Which is what made my decision so easy.”
Amber abruptly burst into tears and we both smiled and rolled our eyes at her overdramatic reaction. As exhaustion started pulling at me again, I decided to give in.
“Send Jim in, yeah? I’m ready for those drugs he promised.”
“Will do. Come on, baby. Let him get some sleep.”
As they started to move out of the room, I thought of the perfect way that Allen could thank me for what I had done for him.
“Hold up. You want to even the score between us?”
“You know I do,” Allen replied with a confused frown.
I grinned wickedly. “Good. No sex until I’m able to as well. We’ll continue exactly where we left off. All three of us.”
Amber’s sobs died off and she started laughing hysterically as Allen stared at me in horror.
“That could take weeks!”
“You’ll live.”
Amber moved back over to press one more gentle kiss to my lips and whispered, “I promise we won’t do a thing until you’re able.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But—But—”
“Stop whining, Allen,” Amber chided him. “It’s only fair.”
Allen threw his hands into the air and stormed out of the room, muttering angrily under his breath about how unfair it was. I heard him shout at Jim to put me under and I smiled as my eyes slid shut, already drifting off to sleep before he even made it into the room to pump the pain meds into my veins.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Allen
Two weeks later...
Dominion (Alpha Domain #1) Page 19
