“Do it. But I need some Ukrainians to be kept alive for questioning, and I want Yakiv Medlov alive,” I demand, because he will feel my wrath.
Immediately, Wade instructs Henry to inform everyone of the change of plans.
“Luca, go ahead and call for an ambulance. And Marc needs to be on standby at the hospital. Make sure he’s ready for us when we arrive.”
“I’m already calling him.” He presses his phone to his ear.
Not five seconds later, the ground moves and we hear another explosion, underscoring the necessity of working fast to complete our mission.
Cam feels freezing cold, which worries me immensely, and while I’m searching the room for something clean or dry to cover her with, we’re interrupted by a soldier returning from the second floor.
“Adriano, there are countless women upstairs who’ve been bound and beaten.”
“His slaves. So this is a slave house. Do they speak English?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t hear any of them speaking English. And they didn’t see me.”
“Probably kidnapped girls. After we leave, we call the police to give them their location. Then they can start building their case against Medlov, because I will ruin his empire.”
But my priority right now is Cam’s life. Though vengeance will be sought and I will get my retaliation against Medlov – in the near future.
“We have the place secured, and the ambulance can get through the front gate,” Henry informs me through the earpiece. “They’ll be there within seven minutes.”
While we wait, I sit beside Cam’s still body and watch over her with a hollow feeling in my gut.
Fortunately, the ambulance arrives within five minutes, and I don’t lose sight of her for a second as she’s strapped onto a stretcher and rolled outside.
Once in the ambulance, the killer in me makes way for the man who might be losing the woman he loves. I shed my Capo crimine armor, and all that’s left is a broken man who fears for his girlfriend’s life.
The one thing I dreaded, the one thing I tried so hard to prevent has happened; she’s hurt. And just like I knew it would, it completely breaks me. I can’t remember the last time I cried in the thirty-one years that I’ve been alive, but tears streak down my cheeks, scalding my skin in their scorching wake while I stroke her hand and press my lips against her knuckles.
CHAPTER 33
Adriano
For twenty horrendous minutes, I have to watch paramedics hook Cam to a breathing machine while checking her vitals and calling the hospital with instructions.
At Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the Loop, Cam’s immediately taken to a private room in the intensive care unit where Marc and James are awaiting us.
“Sir, please let go of her hand so that we can examine her.” Doctors and nurses push me aside.
I’m forced to release Cam’s hand and stare at the blood stains that are left on my palms, and then I keep my eyes on Cam until they disappear with her through the doors.
“What are they doing with her?” I ask in a terse tone.
“They’re going to do a CT scan, Adriano,” Marc answers in a sympathetic voice right before he follows the doctors. “We have to check her for internal and/or head injuries, and then we’re going to take her into surgery. I’ll return as soon as I know more.”
Desperation claws at me, and I take a seat. I’m unraveling little by little now that my mind is comprehending the severity of her state. I lean my elbows on my knees and drop my head in my hands. Voices drift around me, but none are coherent, until I hear Luca calling my name. I turn my head toward him as he sits beside me and Fallon hunches down in front of me.
“Amico, are you okay?”
I shake my head, and Fallon rests her hand on my knees. “What did the doctor say?”
“They took her to get a CT scan, and then she’s going into surgery. All I can do is wait for Marc to let us know what’s going on.”
Fallon’s eyes fill with moisture, but she blinks back her tears. “She’ll be okay.”
I purse my lips when I feel my own eyes watering and whisper unsteadily, “I can feel her slipping away, Fallon. I-she didn’t look good.”
“No,” she says firmly, trying to uplift me. “We have to keep the faith. When she wakes, she’ll need you.”
“She’s right,” Luca agrees with her. “You have to stay positive until we know more. This waiting around is going to drive you crazy, and it’s probably going to take a while for them to give you an update. Why don’t you go home to shower and change?”
“I’m not leaving this hospital for a second,” I retort adamantly. My entire body refuses to be any farther away from Cam at this moment.
Fallon and Luca share a meaningful look, then Fallon offers, “Give me your keys. I’ll get you a change of clothes.”
“Wade is coming over so that you can decide what you want to do with Medlov and his team. Or I can decide if you don’t want to,” Luca explains as I hand my keys over to Fallon.
I manage to push down my unreserved agony when Wade enters with Carmine, and we relocate to the empty waiting room for privacy.
Raking my hair back, I stop at the window. My fatigued and pain-stricken face is unrecognizable in the reflection of the glass. “Do you have Medlov?”
“No,” Wade answers. “He’d already left the estate.”
“I said that I want him,” I yell with bitterness in my tone. “If he gets away with this, I will fucking blow up the entire Ukrainian Village!”
“Adriano, we’ll catch him,” Wade reassures. “Medlov won’t get away with this. Airports are being checked and the roads are blocked. He can’t even leave Chicago. There’s a manhunt going on outside.”
“Good, and remember that I want him alive. He’s mine to torture,” I insist. “What happened at the estate after I left?”
“A dozen Ukrainians that were still alive have been imprisoned,” Wade clarifies. “We found Cam’s clothes in one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Henry was finally able to hack into the entire estate’s security system and is wiping every piece of security tape that has Cam, you, or any of us on its footage. Chicago P.D. will be notified and will identify the girls Medlov kidnapped and kept enslaved on his estate.”
“Is Chicago P.D. already on the way to the estate?” I inquire.
“No, I’m waiting for Henry to confirm that he’s deleted every digital trace of us first.” Wade checks his phone screen when it lights up with a message.
“Then also dump Santino’s body on Medlov’s estate for the police to find; they can contact the FBI, and Medlov will be blamed for Santino’s death. Shut that organization down!”
“I’ll get Capo John on it,” Wade confirms and steps closer to me. “You okay? Need anything else?”
“No, thank you for handling all of this.”
“Hey, it’s my job.” Then his voice grows serious. “She’ll pull through. She’s a fighter.”
“That’s what I’m clinging to, Wade,” I admit before he exits, leaving James, Luca, and me lost in our thoughts.
***
After three hours, Marc appears in the doorway, and I jump to my feet.
“She’s still in surgery.” Marc swipes his surgical hat off his head.
“Marc,” James implores, “don’t sugarcoat it. Tell us honestly what her condition is.”
Marc’s face saddens, and sweat forms on my forehead as I’m confronted with his less than encouraging expression.
“It’s not good, James. She has a head injury that caused severe brain damage and internal bleeding.”
“What are you saying?” Concern laces my words.
He finally meets my eyes. “That they’re working as hard as they can to keep her alive, but she has extensive injuries.”
“Was she in pain?” I ask, praying that she wasn’t.
“I don’t think she ever regained consciousness, so I can’t tell you for sure. Sorry, Adriano. I’ll be back as soon as possi
ble.”
Practically swaying on my legs from sheer exhaustion and discomfort, both from the physical ache in my shoulder and the emotional anguish regarding Cam, I clutch my hair. This is the moment that I lose it. A guttural groan reaches my ears, and I realize that it’s my own as the room starts to spin.
She might be dying. She might be dying.
That dreaded sentence bounces around in my mind, and something clicks. A red haze overtakes my sight, and I shove the items that are strewn on the table next to me off with a swipe of my arm.
Then Luca closes the door as I ransack the room, throwing furniture around until I’m wrecked.
And so the fucking waiting game continues, yet again. Only this time, every minute of the unknown is gradually smothering me.
CHAPTER 34
Adriano
Dawn breaks while the entire family waits with me for news about Cam’s condition. James, Alessa, Rosalia, Fallon, Luca, and Carmine stay by my side as more awful hours pass at an agonizingly slow pace. I pray that my time with her hasn’t come to an end before we’ve gotten a chance to truly start.
As I sit here watching the door, last night’s events flash across my mind. However, when a brunette doctor enters the room, I leap to my feet so quickly that I get lightheaded.
“Miss Guillermo’s family?” the doctor asks, looking to me standing in the middle.
“Yes,” I manage to croak out, because her weary demeanor bothers me.
“I’m Doctor Kirsten. Are you her husband?”
I clench my jaw, annoyed that I’m not next of kin. “No.”
But thank god for Marc, who charges through the door and dismisses his colleague, who seems reluctant yet complies and leaves.
“Cam suffered a head trauma that damaged her cerebral cortex and caused severe internal bleeding. We had to rush her into surgery to stop the bleeding, but—” Marc’s gaze shifts to me.
“No! She can’t be dead!”
“She’s in critical condition. She slipped into a coma.”
“What?” A hole spreads inside my heart.
“I’m sorry, but Cam’s injuries are too severe for her body to handle, so she slipped into a coma. Her prognosis isn’t good.”
“Meaning what exactly?” Annoyed, I rake stray strands of hair from my face.
“We’re monitoring her every second, but any decline in her condition would mean more complications,” Marc carries on.
“How so?” James asks, so Marc’s attention moves to him for a second.
But Marc addresses me again, “Adriano, Cam is four weeks pregnant.”
All heads turn to me as he drops the bomb. Luca’s palm rests on my shoulder while Fallon grips my hand. And my best friends have to practically hold me up on shaky legs when I hear the best news of my life under the worst circumstances.
“Is...the baby okay?” A plethora of emotions clash inside, causing me more lightheadedness.
“As of right now, yes.”
“And will...the baby be okay?” My throat burns.
“It depends on Cam’s recovery. If her endocrine system continues to function well enough to keep her metabolism stable and produce the hormones the baby needs, the fetus may be able to develop to the point of independent viability. But if her metabolism and hormones get out of balance, she may not be able to sustain the pregnancy. We’re monitoring her closely to ensure her injuries heal.”
“Can I see her?” All I need is to be with Cam. I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t see her.
Marc glances away, making me think I’m going to be forced to cause destruction, but then he holds open the door, inviting all of us in.
I crane my neck to everyone else before I stride through the door and tell them, “Give me five minutes alone with her.”
They nod, and I enter a sharply lit hallway that smells of copious amounts of disinfectant.
“Wash your hands first,” Marc says.
I scrub them quickly in a sink in the men’s room before he leads me through a nearby door where Cam, who’s looking so fragile, lies neatly tucked in the bed under white linen sheets in this appallingly cold, pallid room. Her head is bandaged, and they’ve intubated her, the beeping of the heart monitor the only thing I hear. Within five long steps, I’m beside her bed and touch the side of her bruised cheek with my fingertips. Motionless, she lies there with eyes closed, wounded and far away from me.
“Cam...”
My tears fall freely as quickly as raindrops slide down a windowpane, and I drop to my knees, taking her bandaged hand in both of mine.
“Why couldn’t you just wait for me? I would’ve come for you, sweetheart. Look at you now.”
My forehead drops to her knuckles as I let out the excruciating howl I’ve been keeping bottled up deep inside me. Then I swipe the sheet down her body. They dressed her in a thin, white gown, and I rest my palm gently on her stomach, afraid to hurt her. I stare at her flat belly. I stare at where our baby’s growing inside her.
Rubbing my eyes, I take an encouraging breath while speaking close to her stomach. “Hi, baby. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Please stay healthy. Take care of your mommy for me, okay? So she can take care of you. I-I can’t wait to meet you.”
I kiss her stomach and press my eyes shut, seeking to banish the fear of losing her and my baby all at once from my awareness. I merely need to feel my girl and my baby for a lasting moment.
Then I scoot up toward Cam’s head and rest my cheek next to her face on the pillow. One palm stays on her belly.
“Sweetheart,” I whisper into her ear, but my voice is weary. “We’re having a baby. We made a baby. I know you’re fighting in there, Cam. Don’t leave me alone.” My gaze never once wavers from her face. “Ti amo. I’m waiting for you to come back.”
The stretch of silence is shredding me to pieces as I stay there, desperate to be close to Cam. I want to climb into that bed with her and hold her in my arms until she heals and wakes.
Footsteps shuffle into the room, but I remain in that exact position with my knees on the floor.
Something grates across the beige floor, and then I hear Luca say, “Adriano, here, you can sit in this chair.”
Without lifting my hand from Cam’s stomach, I rise and take the seat.
Fallon and Luca stand beside me and James opposite us. I’ve never seen James this distraught as he looks at Cam wearing the same bleak expression that I experienced minutes earlier.
“My daughter.” Gently, he strokes her shoulder.
Doctor Kirsten and Marc join us, and she explains, “We should set up a visiting schedule.”
“I’m not leaving,” I announce without taking my eyes off Cam. “I need a guard at the door, one in the hallway, and one posted at each entrance of the hospital.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Luca decides.
“Sir, we have visiting hours—” Dr. Kirsten starts to object.
“Marc, please explain to the doctor that I’m staying. I’d like another bed brought in here because I am not leaving her side for a second!” Aggravation washes over me.
Luca places his hand on my shoulder in a conciliatory effort.
“It’s okay, Kirsten,” Marc interferes. “The rules are different for this family. We’ll do it, Adriano.”
As they leave, a thought that’s been plaguing me since I found Cam in that cottage races to the surface and I muse out loud, “What was Cam doing inside that house? After she escaped the mansion, why did she run way into the forest, where there’s only woods, instead of toward the front gate, toward freedom?”
James looks at me. “I’ve been wondering that too.”
“Something’s not adding up,” I state. “Cam’s fearless, but she’s not reckless. And she knew I’d come for her. Why did she put herself in such a vulnerable position?”
“Maybe she discovered something? Maybe Medlov told her his master plan?” Luca adds.
“It’s something like that. I just can’t put my
finger on it.” I’m weary of always analyzing, fighting, protecting, and anticipating. Right now, I just need some privacy with Cam. “I’d like to be alone with her. Luca, can you handle my responsibilities at the club and let Wade instruct the captains? I want to know the second Medlov is caught.”
“Of course,” Luca replies as Fallon huddles closer to Cam’s bed.
“Can I come back tomorrow, Adriano?” she asks.
“Yes. I’ll give you, Luca, James, Alessa, and Rosalia clearance.”
“We’ll come back first thing in the morning.” Luca takes Fallon’s hand in his. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” I reply.
Unobtrusively, they step out, and James regards me with a despondent expression. “I’ll come back tomorrow too. Try to get some sleep.”
“I’ll try,” I say and resume my previous position as nurses set up an extra bed beside Cam and slip out after checking her vitals.
They placed my bed a foot away from Cam’s, which it too far for my liking, so I move it against hers before I kick off my boots and get under the sheets. It bothers me to no end that I can’t be closer to her, but I can’t risk hurting her or disconnecting a wire. Still, I can’t refrain from feeling Cam, so I rest my hand on her stomach.
“Cam, wake up so we can celebrate together. We’re having a baby, sweetheart.”
And I listen intently to every single beep of the heart monitor because hearing her heartbeat offers mine the strength to keep beating too.
CHAPTER 35
Adriano
The following morning, I’m still with Cam in the hospital while they administer different medicines to help heal her wounds and control her pain. Sadness has consumed me every second, and the fear of losing her has grown exponentially.
I’ve showered in the adjacent bathroom and am sitting beside her and talking to her. “Cam, the doctor says you haven’t stabilized yet—”
All of a sudden, the monitor flatlines, and I frenziedly push the call button, but a doctor is already rushing inside with his nurses.
For Cam (Chicago Syndicate Book 4) Page 21
