Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

Romeo

I land the helicopter in the field beside the school before jumping out and running to the door closet to El's room, my heart in my throat.

My family and hers run in behind me as I slam through the door, the sounds of pleading hitting our ears.

"Please don't hurt me, please," a voice I know well begs repeatedly, and I sneer.

If he hurt my wife, I'm going to fucking kill him.

I round the corner and enter my wife's classroom, only to pause at the scene. Horror fills me at the carnage.

My wife lies unconscious on her side, a soaked tissue pressed against her head, Liliya lying near her in a pool of her own blood, her eyes open, dead, while Aldo beats the shit out of Damian, the fucker who wanted my wife.

"Oh, fuck me," Mikhail gasps, seeing his daughters, but I ignore him and run over to El, kneeling beside her.

I cup her cheek, removing the tissue, wincing at the gash on her head. With a lump in my throat, I quickly reach up and grab several more tissues, placing them back over the wound.

I murmur, " Farfalla , wake up for me, baby, open your violet eyes, let me see them…."

She doesn't move, her chest barely rising, and my breathing picks up with worry as I place my hand on her belly, gently lifting her shirt.

I notice the bruise on her side instantly, and I swallow hard, cupping her bump.

I wait for a few seconds, ignoring the shouting behind me, Mikhail and Maxim raging, before I feel a slight movement beneath my hand, making me sigh.

Even though the baby was conceived through manipulation, I know losing it will kill her.

Keeping hold of her bump and cheek, I look over toward the shouting. Mikhail is being held back by Leonardo, while Maxim is being held back by Antonio, both knowing if this fucker hurt my wife, then the kill is mine.

I snap, "Aldo!" and he stops hitting the fucker instantly. My eyes go over Damian's form as he groans in pain, his face bloody, and I can't even be mad at my capo because he loves El like a sister, and this happened on his watch.

This is something he's going to beat himself up over for months to come.

"Explain!" I command.

He breathes heavily, running his bloodied hands over his head, and rasps, "I got the panic call just as I was walking through the doors to try and convince her to leave early." My heart thunders at his words. "I ran, and I heard Liliya screaming and shouting but couldn't make out what she was saying." He scrunches his eyes tightly, gasping, "I got here too fucking late, the fucker had just swung the bat at Elena's head. I shoved him outta the way to catch her, but she'd already hit the ground on her fucking stomach." He grips his hair, crouching, shouting, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Pain etches his features, and I stand, walking over to Damian. Leaning down, I grip his shirt, grab the knife out of Aldo's boot, and rasp, "See you in hell motherfucker…."

His bloodied eyes widen, and he panics, "Please do?—"

I slice his throat. He brings his hands up to stop the bleeding but it’s no use. He chokes on his blood while I wipe the knife clean on the fucker’s pants, then I force the knife into his fist.

"Antonio, call our guy and report this. Ensure the story is the fucker killed Liliya and attacked El. He killed himself, realizing he had no way out," I command and go back to my wife, not willing to lift her and risk further injury.

I cup her cheek, my other hand going back to our baby, and I whisper, "Please stay with me, baby. Hang in there…."

I can feel my eyes tear up, but I sniff, ignoring everyone around me. My eyes are on El, watching her gentle breaths grow shallow.

It takes us an hour before we're at Memorial Hospital. Paramedics called in a chopper and airlifted her here. The trauma doctors took her into triage straight away, the nurse leading me to the waiting room while asking me questions about my wife and her condition.

"I should have fucking killed him!" Mikhail snaps for the fifth time, his wife silently crying beside him.

He showed up forty minutes ago, Leonardo flying our helicopter back home before driving back, and Anastasia was already in the city.

"Honey, please," Anastasia whispers.

"No!" he snaps back, "that fucker killed my daughter, he hurt Elena, the kill was fucking mine."

I fist my hands and stand with force, glaring at the man. "And she's my fucking wife, pregnant with my baby!"

He flinches, and I growl, turning and slamming my fist into the wall, not caring about the pain shooting through my arm at the contact.

"Romeo," Anastasia rasps, but I ignore her as my father grips my shoulder, and my mamma cries.

"She'll be okay, son. They both will…" he tries to soothe me, but I shrug him off and go back to my place near the wall.

He wants to give me hope, but he forgets he brought me up not to believe in it, wanting me to be the worst of the worst.

He made me the monster I am, while El made me the man who is consumed by her.

I can't lose her….

Another twenty minutes later, Antonio rushes into the room with Leonardo, who looks ready for murder.

Mikhail stands. "Did you watch the footage? How did he kill Liliya?" I growl again fucking angry that's his first thought, and he glares at me. "She may have been a bitch, but she was still my daughter, Romeo, and you wouldn't allow me kill to her attacker!"

I shoot to my feet, but Leonardo steps in front of me and snaps, "Funny, considering Liliya was the fucking attacker with Damian helping her!"

I freeze in shock while Anastasia starts shaking her head and denies, "No, please no, I did not bring her up with that much hatred, not toward her sister, please…."

For the first time ever, I watch as Leonardo looks at her with pity and rasps, "I'm sorry, but I've watched it from start to finish. Liliya walks in with a metal baseball bat, and Damian watches by the door, smirking."

He lifts his laptop and presses play, and I move to watch the scene. Horror takes over as Liliya rushes to attack my wife, who only just gets out of the way, pressing her necklace….

"That's my girl," Mamma cries, and we watch El duck just in time. The bat skims her head, and her bump makes it difficult for her to move.

"Oh God," Anastasia cries as El grabs the bat, struggling but managing to push Liliya back, who stumbles, falling on her ass. We watch as Liliya screams, and then rushes to attack my wife.

Horror and shock fill the room as El smashes the bat over Liliya's head, who then falls, banging her temple on the desk, killing her instantly.

El freezes, her face paling as she drops the bat, fucking forgetting about the other person wanting to harm her.

"She's not going to live with this, fratello …" Antonio whispers, and I nod, because my wife has a kind soul, and she's just killed her sister in self-defense. Her sister, a woman I should have fucking ended months ago….

I growl as Damian rushes behind El and grabs the bat. She doesn't have time to react as he bashes her head, just as Aldo rushes in screaming.

We watch as he shoves Damian to the ground, his head bouncing off the floor, knocking him out, and he skids to El, his hand going to her bloodied head instantly.

I watch with pain as tears fall down his cheeks. He grabs tissues off my wife's desk, pressing them against the wound, trying to wake her before, suddenly, anger morphs his expression, and he jumps on the fucker, beating Damian.

Leonardo shuts his laptop and asks Mikhail, "So, tell me, Mikhail, how do you feel about your daughter now?"

Mikhail allows us to see his pain, and I turn away, not able to look at him.

I can't imagine being in his shoes right now. His daughter, from a drunken one-night stand, tried to kill his youngest, all because he allowed her to believe I'd accept her as my bride, not seeing her for the whore she was.

"Romeo?" my mother questions with concern, but I ignore her and start to pace.

It's been two hours since finding El, and we haven't heard anything.

Fuck, I think I'm going to be sick.

Just as the thought hits, the doctor comes in, sorrow in his eyes, and my brothers both grip my shoulders in support.

The man, in his late fifties and gray hair, stops before me and rasps, "Mr. Russo…the blow to your wife's head caused a lot of swelling. There's pressure on her brain from a brain bleed. We had to do an emergency procedure to drain the blood by drilling a hole in her skull." I flinch. He looks at me with sadness. "Due to the severity of the injury, your wife is in a coma." Mamma and Anastasia gasp. "There's a chance she could wake and all will be well, but…." He pauses for a moment, and I fist my hands, waiting to hear his words. "There's a chance she may wake with no memory, or suffer from short-term memory loss." He clears his throat. "There's a chance she may not wake at all."

My legs shake, absolute pain shooting through me as Anastasia screams with agony, and Mamma steps forward crying, "The baby, what about the baby?"

I look at the doctor, and he smiles. "He is doing okay so far. All signs look normal. She's thirty-two weeks, so if there are any signs of distress, then we'll do an emergency C-section. But for now, he can stay where he's warm and safe."

He. We're having a boy….

The doctor looks at me. "Mrs. Russo is currently in intensive care. The next forty-eight hours are critical, so only one person in at a time." He tilts his head. "Let me take you to your wife."

Anastasia steps forward and cries, "But I'm her mother." Mikhail pulls her back, knowing she's out of line.

She fucking abused her daughter, for fuck's sake.

I ignore both of them, and follow the doctor out of the waiting room and through the “Do Not Enter” doors.

He guides me down the hall before pointing to her door, and he rasps, "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

I nod, and he turns and leaves me to it.

Slowly, I move my feet only to grip the door frame at the sight of my wife. Her face is bruised, there’s a tube down her throat, and there’s a strap around her belly, our baby's heartbeat echoing in the room from the monitor.

Quietly shutting the door, I walk over to her, and gently grab her hand. My eyes spot her wedding rings and necklace on a table near the bed.

With a lump in my throat, I slowly put her rings back on, then loop the chain of the necklace around her wrist twice before clasping it.

Once they're in place, I finally let myself fall apart.

I lean down, placing my face in her neck, and I sob my fucking heart out, my tears coating her skin.

"Please don't leave me, El," I sob, "I need you. Please, I can't live without you…."

I grip her hand, praying for her to wake, knowing if she dies, then I'll die right along with her.