Chapter 42

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Fred

Pain.

So. Much. Pain.

I didn't want to open my eyes because I could see the brightness from behind my lids, and I couldn't talk. Something was in my throat, and it wasn't anything I wanted down there.

Trying to swallow was a mistake, but it got me some attention.

"Dr. Brennan, don't move, and please don't touch the tube." No one called me doctor…except in…my hospital…I was in my hospital.

The lights dimmed, as if the angels in the room had realized it was too much, so I was able to open my eyes.

The woman beamed at me. "We'll get this out of you in a moment, I promise."

After that it was doctors, more nurses, and a lot of words I couldn't focus on. I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes there was nothing in my throat, and all the medical personnel had cleared out.

Something was holding my hand in place. Vincenzo sat beside me, head back, eyes closed, his hand covering mine.

As gentle as I could, I turned so I could slip my fingers between his, and I squeezed. I would have laughed if it didn't hurt because Vincenzo bolted up, eyes like a wild beast scanning the room.

"Hey." My voice was rough and my throat sore but he heard me.

"Baby," he whispered and not caring that I smelled like hospital or that I hadn't brushed my teeth, he pressed his lips to mine as if a kiss would make everything better…and well, it kind of did.

"Baby?"

"Do you hate it?" He was now kissing each of my fingers.

"No."

"Don't talk. Your doctor said it was best you rest your throat. You have some damage there."

I nodded. "What…"

"I literally just said no talking, but you're going to ask what happened, so I'll tell you."

I smiled and waited.

"First off, Aiden's dead."

I figured he was. Last I'd seen him, he'd been choking the life out of me. Obviously, with me here and not dead, he'd failed and that meant Vincenzo had found me.

"Thomas is in critical condition. He was shot in the head."

Grimacing, I squeezed his hand. Thomas was a good man.

"Rowan's dead, but Finn and Oscar are okay. Apparently, according to Finn, your Manchester sector sided with Aiden on a takeover, plus a few enforcers…By the way, they're all dead too."

I rolled my eyes. "Busy."

"Yes, I have been and if you talk again, I'm putting tape on your mouth."

I chuckled silently, reached, and made a drinking motion.

"Water coming up." I watched as Vincenzo put some ice in the cup, along with a straw, and filled it. How were the simplest things the most sexy on a man?

I sipped and the cool water felt nice but swallowing was anything but. I motioned for Vincenzo to go on with the story.

"Right. So, your detective friend came by. He had some evidence that was not at all placed where he'd find it, and wanted to let you know there was a bolo for Aiden's arrest." He shrugged. "Hope they find him."

I shook my head and waggled a finger at him.

"I'm not sorry I killed him, but I'm glad you didn't have to."

I was too, but at the same time I wished I had. He'd killed my uncle and cousin. Taken them from me. He'd been a confidant and I'd really thought he cared about me. Turned out he was no better than my father, or any person in my life who used me.

"Flower delivery." Eden walked in with a big bouquet. "It's from Snow and Christopher Manos."

"Oh, there's a card." Zion walked in followed by two orderlies wheeling in more flowers than there was space.

Vincenzo read each card to me. Simon and Rush, Atlas and Toby, Black, Quill, and their boys, Poe and Phin…the names went on and on and maybe I wasn't so alone.

As I looked into Vincenzo's eyes, his expression warm—and dare I say his eyes were screaming he loved me?—I realized that while my happily ever after was beginning in a hospital bed, it was in fact beginning.

ONE MONTH LATER

I placed flowers on both Aine's and Uncle Sean's graves and stood up. Vincenzo wrapped his arm around me and drew me close.

"I wish they got to meet you."

He kissed the top of my head. "If they had, I'd tell them how magnificent you were."

"Is that all?"

He chuckled. "I'd tell them that I'd take care of you and that you'd never be alone. And that the only way I'd ever leave your side would be in death."

"Wow." I grinned up at him. "That's some serious talk."

"I'm a serious guy."

I regarded the headstones. Simple and perfect, just how they were to me. I was still head of the family but Aiden's betrayal had caused quite a few rifts, and I couldn't abandon them until they were all mended.

No one argued with me about dedicating more time to being a doctor, and Finn and Oscar made sure to have my back…They owed me everything.

"You should see the world," Vincenzo said.

"What?"

"You said Aine wanted to travel, see things she only dreamed of. You should do it. Go to every destination on her list."

I loved that idea. "I don't get a lot of time off from the hospital right now."

He hummed. "But you get vacation time, and you don't need to do it all at once. But, Fred." He gripped my shoulders and I gave him my attention.

"What?"

"You are alive. So go and live. Make every moment count, and I'll be right by your side for all of it."

"Here? In Westford?"

He was silent for a beat. "If that's where you are, so am I."

I looked down briefly. "I can't ask that of you."

"You're not. It's where you need to be right now, and you're who I choose to be with and so, here we are."

"You're going to move Lex Talionis to Westford?"

His smile widened as if he were the Cheshire cat.

"Oh, my God!" I gasped. "You already did, didn't you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

He gripped my hand and we walked to the car. "You're crazy."

"Crazy about you." He kissed my cheek.

"And cheesy."

"I love cheese."

I laughed and he opened the car door.

"What am I going to do with you, Vincenzo Belini?"

He leaned in, mere inches from my face. "Keep me?"

I nodded. "Yeah."