Mafia Games by Vi Carter

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CLAIRE

 

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

I part my lips, and a layer of skin tears off. Something heavy is on my finger as I try to lift my hand to my face. Something is lying under my nose, making it difficult to breathe.

“It’s okay. You're safe.” I blink, but it’s too bright, so I close my eyes again. Hand’s touch mine and push them away from my face. “You’re in the hospital.”

I swallow the dryness in my throat that has me begging for water. Richard’s hands leave mine, and fear tightens its bony fingers around my throat.

“Don’t leave me.” I don’t recognize the deep voice that.cracks on each word.

Something touches my lip. “I’m not leaving. Take a drink.”

I allow the straw fully into my mouth and drink deeply. Richard moves away again, and I try to clamp down on the panic I feel. The light in the room fades as the blinds clink together. I slowly open my eyes. My stomach tenses as Richard comes into view.

He takes up so much space, and when he sits down beside me, it doesn’t make him smaller. He’s still a force that takes my breath away.

He’s darkness.

His eyes fill up slowly with unspent anger.

Yet as he touches my hand, I’ve never felt anything so gentle. My throat tightens at his touch. Everything in me quivers.

“How are you feeling?”

The door opens, and the nurse steps in. She looks at the closed blinds, and I want to explain the light was hurting my eyes, but words fail me, as Richard releases my hand and leans back, giving the nurse some space.

“It’s great to see you awake.” Her smile is warm as she speaks and looks at the monitor.

I don't look away from Richard. I fear if I do, he’ll disappear. I have so much I want to ask him, but I know not to ask in front of the nurse.

“Your recovery is going great.” Her words don’t drag me away from Richard.

His gaze is a storm, and I want to reach over the edge of the bed and touch his hand. “Are you okay?” I ask him. My voice sounds odd.

“Let the nurse check you,” he replies.

The nurse in question is smiling down at me. “I just need to take your blood pressure.”

I nod, and she rolls up my sleeve. “How are you feeling?” She asks while she writes down my digits on her clipboard.

“Thirsty.”

“That’s to be expected. You’ve been asleep for three days.”

Three days?

Three days, that’s a long time. The nurse removes the blood pressure band, does a few more checks, and leaves as the silence is making everyone uncomfortable. The moment she leaves, I try to sit up.

“What happened?”

Richard rises and towers over me. “Claire, you need to lie back.” He guides me back gently and picks up the water. “I’ll talk. You drink.”

I allow the straw to enter my mouth as he speaks.

“Do you remember the attack in the house?”

I nod. “Davy was there and your father.” I hate saying it, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment when Liam blocked me from leaving. The memory of his coldness sends shivers racing down my spine.

Richard’s jaw clenches. “That’s right. Do you remember Leonard?”

I stop drinking as my throat closes. I nod again. “He’s dead?” I want him to be dead.

“Yes.” Richard doesn’t sound happy.

I’m confused.

Maybe he sees my confusion. I’m not exactly sure what prompts him, but he speaks.

“He’s dead. I just wish he wasn’t so I could kill him slowly.”

His words should terrify me, but they don’t. I should feel something for my brother, but all I can think about is how he dragged the knife down my arm, how he killed our parents, how most of my childhood memories are tainted by his cruelty.

My fingers touch the bandage that covers most of my arm.

“You lost so much blood.” Richard’s voice is strained. “I thought I was going to lose you.” Fear clouds his eyes.

“I’m still here.” My heart starts to dance in my chest. My brain is trying to process everything that has happened.

“Connor?” I already know he’s dead.

Richard’s eyes light up. “He’s alive.” A slow smile graces his handsome face.

Thank God.

“He’s at home making a full recovery. He misses you.” Richard’s words heat up my cheeks and my heart.

Home. He called it home.

Richard shifts closer, and when he takes my hand, I lie deeper into the pillows with a sense of contentment.

“I miss him too,” I say.

I can sense Richard’s gaze on my face, and I look at him.

He smiles. “It’s been three very long days.” He brings my hand up to his lips and presses a kiss on my fingers. His own hands are tattered and battered. I’m ready to ask what happened, but I remember him in the box, beating the wall.

“How did you end up in the box?” It’s ironic that I had once been captured in the box, and that’s where he ended up.

“They tricked me. Made it look like you were in the bed.”

The hairs rise along my body. “They dragged my arm along the walls leaving a path of blood.”

Richard’s eyes turn hard, and a coldness seeps into my veins.

“They won’t hurt you again.” His words are growled.

My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest.

Richard glances at the monitor and leans into me. He brushes the hair off my forehead. “I promise you. I will keep you safe.”

I reach up and stroke Richard’s face. Touching him is like a salve on my frazzled nerves.

“My brother is dead.” I come back full circle as I keep allowing that knowledge to sink in.

Richard’s jaw is clenched, but his face relaxes as the room door opens and a guy I have never seen before steps in with a coffee in each hand.

“You’re awake.” He smiles.

I glance at Richard. “This is my brother Jack. He stayed with you for a while.”

I try to give a smile to Jack. I don’t see the resemblance, but he’s extremely good looking, and I’m very aware of my appearance. I’m tempted to drag the blanket up higher, but I tighten my hands in my lap.

“Thank you for staying with me.”

His smile grows wider, and he hands the coffee to Richard. Some silent conversation passes between the brothers, and Richard smiles.

“How do you feel?” Jack asks. He doesn’t sit but stands at the foot of my bed. He has an air to him that would make you believe he is someone. Someone you should listen to. Richard possesses that air too.

“Like I’ve woken up from a dream,” I say honestly.

Jack nods his head and sips his coffee. “It will take time, but you’re in good hands.” Jack’s words are said with humor, and he gives Richard a quick glance.

I love the feel of Richard’s fingers as he twines them with mine. The intimate act feels strange in front of someone else, but I don’t pull away from his touch.

“You are coming home with me?” He asks.

I pretend to consider it, like I had any other option in the world. Jack’s gaze is heavy on us, and when I meet his eyes, they’ve hardened. My stomach twists for all the wrong reasons.

I refocus on the softness of Richard at this moment. “Yes.”

One word and it changes the atmosphere in the room. I push away the thought that maybe saying no isn’t an option.

“That’s good. We’ve been moving all your stuff into Richard’s,” Jack says.

“You were that certain I’d say yes?” I ask Richard.

“I was hopeful.” His deep voice and dark eyes have me quivering.

When he raises my hand to his lips, I feel the kiss searing all the way down to my soul.

I love you.

The words are there on my lips, but I don’t voice those words. The truth of what Richard means to me is deeper than love or lust. What we are is two damaged souls healing each other.

“I’d never say no to you,” I find myself saying instead.

His smile warms me all over again, and I know everything will be okay, that we won the war, that I have nothing more to fear, and that I can finally live my life.

 

***

 

Two more days I spend in the hospital before I’m discharged. Going home with Richard is exciting, but there is also that small amount of fear.

He hasn’t mentioned anything about his father, and I don’t ask. The moment he opens the door, Mario and Connor are there to greet me. Connor walks to me, his movements stiff, but he’s alive, just like me. I kneel down and take his face in my hands and rub mine against his.

“Good to see you, boy.”

Richard stands patiently, and when I’m ready to get up, he helps me.

“It is great to see you home.” Mario’s sweet words have me reaching out and gripping his hand. His eyes widen. The bandage on his head tells me he didn’t come out of this unscathed.

“Thank you.” Richard had told me that Mario called Jack, that’s how we got out of the basement. Otherwise, I am pretty sure I would have bled to death.

I release Mario, only to have Richard’s fingers intertwine with mine. “I want to show you something.”

Mario takes Connor into the kitchen, and Richard leads me down the hall. I’m ready to pull back when he stops at the basement door.

“Trust me.” He looks over his shoulder, and when he releases my hand and walks down the steps, I know he’s really giving me my freedom.

I do trust him. I follow him into the basement.

“It took a few days, but it’s all gone.”

I step up beside Richard. The space is clear, with no glass box, no dead bodies. No traces that my prison ever existed.

He doesn’t turn to me as we stand shoulder to shoulder. His fingers intertwined with mine. “I’m sorry I ever put you in the box.”

His fingers squeeze mine, and when I look up at the side of his face, I smile. He can’t see my face as he’s staring forward. The apology strains his jaw.

“I’m not, Richard.” He looks down at me. “Honestly, I’ve never felt so free.”

His lips are warm on mine, and I want so much of him, but he breaks the kiss, much to my disappointment. He keeps his face close to mine, our breaths mingling together.

“I’m not sorry I took you.” He grins.

My stomach squirms and I touch his handsome face. To think how much my life would change in one moment, one single terrifying moment, and it turned into such a defining moment.

It has been a long time since I felt like any place was home, but in Richard’s arms, I know I am finally home.