Filed to story: No Escape From The Mafia Kings Embrace
I never once lifted my forehead from Mara’s. Not even to acknowledge the presence of my own men. All that matters to me at the moment, is the woman lying on the bed in front of me. Her pain and suffering I want to take as my own, yet I’ve only caused her more. God knows I’m too damn selfish to let her go though. She’s mine, till I die.
“Ugh. Luca?”, Mara groaned, her face scrunching in pain and confusion. “I’m right here, amore mia”, I whispered, brushing my nose against hers. Mara hummed, her hands slid up my arms slowly. Her eyes were still closed, but she didn’t need them open to pull me into a hug.
The monitor that was hooked up to her heart, sped up in rhythm, as her fingers grasped at my shoulders, back and head. My arms encircled her, crushing her to my chest. “Fanculo, bambina. I got you”, I uttered in her ear. She held me tightly. I could feel her shoulders shake slightly, letting me know that she was silently crying into my chest. “It’s okay, piccola”, I whispered, running my fingers through her hair. I pulled back and wiped the tears from her face.
“Why are you crying, principessa?”, I asked softly. “It could’ve been you”, she croaked, complete and utter concern shined in her eyes. My heart stilled at the most innocent confession I have ever heard. She’s crying because it could’ve been me and not her that was shot.
“It was you, instead. That’s worse”, I said, my eyebrows scrunching up with the rest of my features. Mara shook her head. “I can deal with this. Besides, you can live without me. I can’t live without you”, she stuttered, as her tears took over her again. “No, I can’t, Mara. Don’t ever say that again. Do you understand me? My world stopped when I realized you had been hit by a bullet. I can’t fucking live without you”, I growled, holding her face firmly.
Mara opened her mouth to protest, but I sealed her lips with mine, effectively shutting her up. My kiss was firm and demanding. I craved her obedience in accepting my words. I need her to understand how important she is to me. She can’t just go around believing that I can’t live without her. Then she won’t fight for her life in these types of situations. Like I need her too.
When I broke the kiss, Mara looked up at me wide-eyed. “I’ll tell the doctor you are awake. And I’ll have them bring you some food”, I whispered, standing from the bed. “Luca”, she whispered, as I started walking away. I stopped and looked back at her. “Did they find out who did it?”, she asked.
I smiled half-heartedly. “Yes, they did. But, we aren’t going to worry about that right now”, I nodded, walking out of the room. Mara stared at me dumbstruck as she watched me walk away. I will worry about the prick after I know Mara is on the up and up. I know that my brother and Cal are giving that mother fucker hell, so I can worry about Mara.
I found a nurse at one of the stations and approached swiftly. “My wife is awake, please let the doctor know. Also, can you have some food brought to the room for her?”, I tried to keep my voice level, so that I didn’t sound quite demanding. The nurse looked up at me from her seat, and nodded frantically. “Thanks”, I nodded.
When I walked back into the room, Mara’s eyes were closed. I sat on the bed next to her, catching her attention. She opened her hazel eyes, showing me her light once again. She still looked drained of her energy, but I could see life back in her eyes as well. “I’m so happy to see your beautiful eyes, piccola”, I uttered, tucking her hair behind her ear. She smiled weakly at me.
The door opened, and in walked the doctor. “Mrs. Barello, glad to see you awake. How do you feel?”, he asked her. “Like I’ve been shot”, she replied sarcastically. I gave her a stern look, I opened my mouth to scold her, but the doctor’s laugh cut me off. “Yes, I would assume so”, he chuckled. “Honestly, bambina. How do you feel?”, I asked her. She frowned and tried to adjust her position on the bed.
When she winced, she gave up. “Sore”, she answered in a low voice. “That’s no problem. We can give you something for the pain. We will get you some food, then you can get some rest”, the doctor said. “No”, Mara said, sitting up and grabbing my arm. “No?”, the doctor and I asked, in unison. “No pain medicine. I don’t need it. The pain isn’t that bad”, she pushed adamantly. Her eyes told me she was lying her ass off, but she was also passionate about what she said.
The doctor looked to me for the next move. I slowly shook my head, “No pain medicine, doc”, I agreed with her. Marabella immediately slumped back onto the bed with a sigh of relief but also a whimper of regret from pain. “Easy, piccola. You’ll hurt yourself worse”, I grunted, stroking her arms.
The doctor nodded his head, and proceeded to exit the room as a nurse brought in a plate of food for Mara. I pulled the over-bed table in between her and I. I causally took the plate from the nurse and sat it on the table. Mara watched me, knowing exactly what I was about to do. I dismissed the nurse and started to feed Mara. “We have him in custody”, I told her softly. “Who’s we?”, she asked, with an arched eyebrow. “The brotherhood, piccola”, I uttered, holding a spoon full of mashed potatoes to her mouth.
Mara’s POV
I can’t believe they have already caught the guy. “What’s his name?”, I asked. Luca shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t care to ask. I wanted to know that you were going to be okay. We can find out together, after you have eaten and rested some more, especially since you don’t want any pain medicine”, Luca said, looking at me curiously. I accepted the bite of food that he held out to me, grateful for the distraction.
I avoided eye contact with Luca as I ate. “Mara”, Luca whispered. I peeked up at him to see sorrow and remorse swirling in his gray orbs. “Are you okay, piccola?”, he asked softly. I nodded gently, not wanting to put any strain on my body. Luca cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure about that?”, he questioned. “Yeah”, I muttered, accepting the next bite. Luca frowned, obviously able to tell that I was lying my ass off.
“I don’t like it when you lie to me”, he grunted. I frowned and looked away. “I have felt worse pain, Luca. I didn’t need pain medicine then and I don’t need it now”, I uttered. Luca sighed as he fed me a few more bites. “Then can you answer my questions honestly, if I promise not to try and talk you into taking medicine?”, he asked, with a head tilt. I swallowed and nodded.
