“I feel stiff, but other than that, I am still here and cannot complain, bella. Just so happy to see you and Cain.” Cain closed the distance between them and I shuffled Sly’s hand over to his.
“Good to see you, brother,” Cain affirmed. He set Sly’s hand back down on the bed and came over to me to rub my shoulders. “You saved my girl, Sly. I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”
Looking up, my gaze met Cain’s, and I could see unshed tears in his eyes, emotions hitting him again.
“I would give my life for either one of you, if it meant you two continued to have each other. But I didn’t save her, mio amico. If anything, I caused her injury. Rosie, I watched your head slam into the pavement with unwavering force. I am so sorry, bella. I never wanted you to get hurt.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Cain beat me to it.
“Had you not pushed her, the bullet you took could have hit her. Yousavedher. There is no point in you trying to change the narrative, because whichever way you try to spin it, it will always end the same: you saved Rose’s life. Don’t bother arguing.”
He didn’t. Instead, Sly gave a nod and looked back at me. “I’m just grateful we are both still here.”
“It’s more than some can say,” I muttered, the heaviness settling in my chest again.
Sly’s eyes darkened, and he turned to Cain with a look of anguish. “Who?”
“Preston,” Cain said soberly.
“And the rest of the Sinners?”
I stared down at my lap and closed my eyes as I listened to them discuss the shootout and all the details Sly had missed while in surgery. Their voices became distant and muffled as I sank into my own thoughts.
“What is the plan, mio amico? Will we retaliate?”
Sly’s question snapped me back to reality, words flying from my mouth. “NO, you guys will not.”
Livid at the thought, I stood from my chair and faced Cain. “That’s reckless and dangerous. They already pulled their ‘eye for an eye’ bullshit, and if you clap back, they’ll come at you again harder.”
Cain wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me in close. My face pressed against his chest, and it was then I realized I was shaking.
“Please, Cain,” I murmured into his chest. “No one else needs to get hurt.”
“I know, baby, I know,” he crooned. “King and I are meeting tomorrow to discuss our next steps. Until then, everyone is lying low.” He kissed the top of my head, running his hand down the back of my hair softly. I felt his head tilt away from mine, and I knew he was looking at Sly.
After I calmed down, we spent the rest of the night with Sly in his room. Cain went out and grabbed us burgers, having no interest in eating hospital food, and while he was gone, Sly and I watched a mindless game show on the T.V. as we sat in comfortable silence.
Being around him—knowing he was alive and breathing—was all I needed for my heart to feel a little peace.
Around eight, a nurse came in to check on Sly and shoo us out.
“Visiting hours are long past over. You guys are welcome to come back tomorrow, but Mr. Lucchetti needs some rest, and frankly, Ms. Adler, you look like you could use some, too.”
“Then bring me a cot, because we’re not leaving,” I argued.
My body was screaming, exhaustion plaguing me with force, but I refused to leave Sly again. Not when he’d already been by himself for so long. They never kicked Cain out once they finally let him back to see me, so I knew their rules could be broken.
“Ms. Adler—”
“No,” I said with conviction. “Look, either I’m sleeping on this chair or I’m sleeping on a cot you provide, but I’m not leaving. And honestly, I’d prefer a cot. Sharing a chair with that giant man over there doesn’t seem like the most comfortable option when I’m still dealing with a concussion.”
She looked from me, to Cain, then finally to Sly, who just shrugged at her. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she left, and returned a few minutes later with a small folded cot on wheels, and linens folded over her arms.
“If I get in trouble for this, I’m sending my bosses to you,” she promised, shoving the linens into Cain’s arms.
Cain laughed as he sat the blankets down and started helping her with the cot. “Sounds fair.”
When she walked out the door, she turned to us once again with a scowl on her face. “Get some rest. You all need it,” she scolded us like a mother would her children. And we listened.
