by Erin Osborne
Don’t get me wrong, the three of us make money. We make damn good money. I have all of mine saved away and don’t spend it if I don’t have to. Lachlan and Hunter don’t have the same sense of money when it comes to saving though. They spend it as fast as they it hits their hands. One day they’ll learn. When they do, I’ll be there to help them out with it. Not only do I have money in a savings account, I have money invested. I’ve invested in several different things and the money has doubled or more since investing it. If I lose it, I do. That’s my thought though. Not everyone is like that.
Shaking my thoughts off I don’t miss the bullet firing from the gun until it’s too late. I can’t move out of the way as everything seems to happen in slow motion. The bullet coming toward me, Sal and Tommaso yelling out my name, and me watching everything in front of me. Images of Imogen flash through my brain. Everything I want to happen in the future isn’t going to happen now. All because I fucked up and killed a man simply because he saw me leaving the warehouse.
I collapse to the ground as the bullet hits me and pain radiates throughout my entire body. My eyes flutter close and I try to pry them open, but they won’t. There’s a deep, dark nothing pulling me under as the pain begins to fade. The last thing I see as my eyes finally close all the way is Imogen’s smiling face. She’s looking up at me with love shining through for the world to see. It’s the most open I’ve ever seen her since that fateful day in her father’s office at the restaurant.
For a minute, I’m able to open my eyes. Tommaso is sitting next to me, his hands pushing down on my chest. The pain I’m sure I should be feeling doesn’t even register as only one thought is on my mind. Turning blurry eyes toward Tommaso, I utter the one word I can manage to get out.
“Imogen,” I barely say.
Tommaso nods his head, understanding what I’m telling him. My eyes drift closed once more and continue to pull me under. This time there is no opening them back up as the darkness sucks me down harder than the last time. I can’t keep myself awake even though I’m sure I should be fighting to do so.
Faintly I hear the men calling me as the darkness continues to suck me under. They aren’t the voices I want to hear though. The only person I want to hear is Imogen and she’s tucked safely away at the house. Tommaso will now be the one to take care of her. He’ll be the one to ensure she’s safe and happy. Hopefully away from her father who won’t ever get close to her again. I should’ve warned him about her father and keeping her away from him.
Chapter Fourteen
Imogen
I’VE HAD THE worst feeling all day long. My gut is churning, and I can’t sit still. I can’t eat, don’t want anything to drink, or anything else. The feeling has been getting worse as the morning turns to afternoon. Rosa has been going about her normal daily routine without a care in the world. I wish I could be the same way she is today. I can’t even get into a book it’s so bad. This has never happened to me before.
I’m not sure why I even care. Flynn hasn’t shown an interest in me more than me being under his care as collateral. Yeah, he took me out to the club, danced with me, and put me to bed that night. I’m sure he would be the same way with any woman under his care. The only difference is, I’m sure he’d already be fucking them. He’s not fucking me. I must not be his type of woman.
As I sit on the couch in the living room, I take in the room without seeing anything around me. I don’t see the TV playing quietly in the background, the fireplace that has yet to be lit to ward off the chill in the air today, or the sounds of Rosa cleaning up the house. Today isn’t bright, sunny, and warm like the last few weeks have been. It’s clouded, dark, gloomy, and I can smell the rain in the air. We’re going to get a nasty storm today, that’s what I saw on the weather channel this morning anyway.
I know that’s not why my gut is off today though. Usually, I love storms and watching them roll in, taking over the world as the anger of the weather sucks the brightness away. It’s as if these storms come in and suck the light from the world. However, when the storm rolls back out, the light comes back, and everything is fresh and new. Its almost as if the storm comes in when things get too messy and cluttered for everyone. It washes away the bad and leaves everything new in its place.
“Imogen, are you okay?” Rosa asks me, setting a plate of food down in front of me.
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right. Have you ever had that feeling that something’s wrong and you don’t know why?” I question her, finally looking up at her.
“Yes, I have. Things will be okay,” she tells me, placing her hand on my shoulder in comfort.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I tell her, looking down at the food I don’t want to eat.
“The sky is getting darker. I’m going to light a fire now in case we lose power. The guys will start the generator if that happens. I’d still like to have a fire going just in case it takes them a while. Sometimes they need to mess it for a while to get it going,” she informs me.
The words no sooner leave her mouth, and the lights begin to flicker. Loud, booming thunder permeates the air, breaking the silence and causing Rosa and I to jump in response. When we realize we just got scared by the thunder, laughter comes out of us. My own laughter sounds hollow to my ears and the smile isn’t reaching my eyes. I don’t want to smile or laugh. I’m only doing it because Rosa’s here with me. If she weren’t here laughing, I wouldn’t be either.
“He’ll be okay, Imogen,” she tells me, patting my arm before leaving the room once more.
Within minutes, she’s back carrying an armload of wood to start the fire. I watch on so I can make sure it doesn’t go out. I’m not sure what the generator will power up and the last thing I want is to get a chill in the house because the fire went out. It shouldn’t just be up to Rosa to take care of this stuff. I’m sure she’s used to it because she seems to be the main one to reside here. I don’t believe Sal, Tommaso, or anyone else lives in the house full-time.
Knowing I have to eat, I force the food down my throat. It has no taste as I choke it down. Now my thoughts are on something happening to Flynn while he’s out with Tommaso today. I don’t know what they do while they’re out working, I don’t want to know. However, this feeling didn’t start until he left the house after breakfast.
Flynn has been making sure he gets up to have breakfast with me on a daily basis. We don’t really talk about anything in particular when he can get a chance to have a meal with me. Tommaso hasn’t been coming over for lunch anymore, but Flynn stops by once a week. We still don’t talk or about anything serious. Those talks are reserved for night. He’s not gone all hours of the night with Tommaso working. Flynn tries to make it home to sit down and eat dinner with me. If not, he’s not gone all night long. We talk or watch movies until I head up for bed.
Yesterday, Flynn was telling me about a time he took this girl to the beach. It was a date for a charity function so while he was dressed in a nice pair of shorts, a polo shirt, and beach shoes, his date was in a ball gown. She didn’t realize they’d actually be on the beach for the party. The host had different clothes for her to put on, but she refused. Instead of participating in anything, she sat on the sidelines and pouted the entire night. She was so stuck up, whenever anyone got close, she pretended to be on a call just so she didn’t have to talk to anyone. That night, she ended up leaving with someone else who came to the party just as dressed up as she was. Flynn didn’t even care about losing his date. He was there for the event; something to help domestic violence survivors.
I was laughing so hard at the story. I’ve never seen Flynn come so alive as he was while telling me the story. His face was filled with emotion, laughter, and embarrassment at being left at a party for another guy. This is all part of this other side to Flynn I continue to get more and more glimpses of. A side I’m not sure anyone outside of his small circle gets to see. I want to bring this side of Flynn out more and more when we’re alone. I’m just not sure if I�
�ll get the chance to do so.
Most of my food is still sitting in front of me as lighting lights up the darkened room. We’ve lost power so the house is cloaked in darkness for now. I hear the men working outside when thunder isn’t filling the void. They’re trying to get the generator working but haven’t had any luck just yet. The only other sound is the wind whipping around as I look out the window to see trees bending one way and then the other. Some of the smaller ones are almost touching the ground as the heavy wind whips them around like they aren’t planted deep in the ground, they’re roots securing them to the place they’ve been growing.
“Imogen, I believe we’ve been upgraded from storm to a tornado watch. You may want to get down to the basement with me,” Rosa informs me, walking back in the room with a few bags hanging off her shoulders.
“Are you sure?” I question, turning my gaze back out the window. “Flynn and the guys are still out there and we haven’t heard from them.”
“They’ll be okay,” she states, leaving no room for argument.
Nodding my head, I grab the book I have sitting next to me and follow Rosa down to the basement. She’s using one of those massive flashlights. You know the ones that are larger than normal and cast a wider beam of light around the area. It lights up the steep stairs as we make our way down them to the cement basement floor. I look around the desolate area and see shelves lined with canned food and other jars from food that’s been preserved. There are several cases of water filling another set of shelves.
Moving my gaze from all that, I continue to follow Rosa deeper into the basement. She leads me to what looks like a panic room. Once we’re both inside, she shuts the door and presses some buttons on the control panel. I’m not sure what the hell she’s doing right now, I’ll ask her when it doesn’t feel as if my heart is in my throat. Panic fills me. Not only for the weather that’s taking a turn for the worse, but for Flynn and the rest of the guys.
Rosa picks up a phone and I listen as she lets someone know we’re safe in the locked room. She pauses for a minute as she listens to what is being said on the other end of the phone. I get closer as I try to hear what’s being said. I’m not sure who she’s talking to and my only thought is Flynn.
“I’ll have everything ready. I did tell the guys we were going underground so I’m sure they’ve done the same. There’s a fire roaring in the fireplace. Wasn’t time to put it out,” she says before hanging up the phone. “The guys are on their way here. one of them is hurt. I’m going to need your help since we can’t get the doctor here for him.”
“Who’s hurt?” I question her, needing to know. “I’ve never stitched someone back up before.”
“I have when the guys have come here with wounds. One of them was shot. I have to see if the bullet is still in them and then make sure the wound is closed. You’re going to have to help me because I’m sure the guys will be in the corner discussing business,” she informs me, moving around the room as she gathers up supplies.
I take this time to look around the room and determine where we’re going to be performing this operation in a room that’s not sterile or anything. There’s a bed in one corner of the room that isn’t covered by sheets. A door is at the opposite end of the room, but I don’t take the opportunity to look in it as Rosa hands me a stack of sheets to make the bed up with. I get busy while she continues to move around the room. A tray is rolled up close to where I’m making the bed. It’s filled with things you’d find in an emergency room or operating room. They are definitely ready for anything that pops up. I’m honestly a little impressed by the setup here.
By the time I have the bed made up, Rosa is opening up the door to let someone in. This is the first time since coming down here that I’ve heard the ferocity of the wind, rain pelting the house and land surrounding us, and the thunder so loud is almost shakes the house from its intensity. Yes, I’ve been through horrible weather like this, but it always hits me hard. While it seems senseless as people lose everything they’ve bought and treasured over the years, or lost their lives due to the tornado ripping everything in it’s path to shreds, there’s a reason for everything. Including horrible tragedies.
Shaking my thoughts clear, I look on as several men, Sal and Tommaso included, usher in carrying Flynn. A scream gets stuck in my throat as Flynn’s lifeless body is placed on the bed I just made up. His bare chest is covered in blood while more continues to pour out. I’m frozen on the spot as I take in his pale appearance. His chest is barely moving while they lay him down. As soon as they back away, I’m jarred into motion by Rosa barking out orders. The sweet, caring woman is gone and in her place is a general ready to save Flynn’s life.
Rosa barks out orders to me as we begin to clean his body up. Several rags later, we can see the opening of the bullet hole resting just above his heart. It’s off to the left and closer to his shoulder. For the first time I take a deep breath as hope fills me that Flynn will be okay. That he won’t die on this table. While I’m taking in his appearance, Rosa starts an IV in his arm. A pole is pulled up from the end of the bed where she hangs a bag of fluid. Taking a syringe, she injects something into the tubing. I want to know everything that’s going on, but I’m too scared to ask.
Tears blur my vision as I hand Rosa the necessary items she requests from me. After what feels like hours passing by with no change to Flynn, she finally pulls the bullet free. I hold out the pan so she can drop the bullet in the pan. The resounding thud seems to echo in the small room. My heart races as I watch Rosa begin to clean the wound again before sewing up the hole. Tommaso comes over to help roll him over so she can make sure there isn’t anything else she needs to take care of.
When she doesn’t see anything, we roll him back over carefully. I’ve never felt pain like this before in my life. It feels as if my heart is being ripped from my chest while my breath is trapped in my lungs. I only managed to get one full breath in before seeing the pale skin, redness surrounding the puckered skin as Rosa places a bandage over his wound. With the hole now covered, I thought I’d be able to breathe. I can’t.
Rosa slides a chair up next to the bed as Tommaso places his hand on my shoulder. Together they push me down in the chair next to Flynn’s bed. The damn breaks and I can’t stop the tears falling down my face. Rosa hands me a tissue as I reach out slowly and grab Flynn’s hand. This man has worked his way under my skin in the short amount of time we’ve been here. It’s been just over a month since I was taken from my dad’s restaurant with a man I despised. A man who has more than one side to himself and who likes the image he’s shown as in the media back home. One who doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. That’s not who he is at all.
I’m left alone as Rosa does her thing and the guys walk through the door I was looking at before Flynn was brought in. None of that matters though. The only thing that matters is Flynn getting better. I’ll be lost without him. Not in the sense that I’m in the states alone, but that I’d be here without him. Flynn has come to mean more to me than I ever dreamed possible in such a short amount of time.
Leaning closer to him, I place a gentle kiss on the back of his hand that I’m holding. Tears fall down on his hand and the sheet on the bed under him. I can’t control them anymore than I can control the weather outside. That realization hits me. This is the one room in the house that has power. The lights are shining down bright as I look around.
“Rosa, how does this room have power?” I question her, needing my mind off Flynn for a few minutes.
“This has a separate generator that’s always working. The men check it once a week to make sure nothing is wrong with it. That’s why we have power now and the rest of the world is hidden by darkness,” she answers me, a soft smile on her face as she hands me a bottle of water. “We’ve got blankets and everything else we’ll need down here.”
Nodding my head, I turn my attention back on Flynn. He still hasn’t moved as I lay my head down on the bed next to him. This isn’t a comfor
table position at all, but I need to be closer to him. If I could climb in the bed with him without hurting him I would. That’s just not in the cards right now.
Closing my eyes, I feel a warm blanket covering my body as the events of the day take over my body and sleep claims me. I don’t feel the twitching of Flynn’s fingers. I let sleep take me away with the hope that when I wake up he’ll be awake too.
Chapter Fifteen
Flynn
MY ENTIRE BODY hurts as the darkness recedes. It’s as if a Mack truck has hit me and run me over several times. Instead of the darkness clearing away completely so I can get out of bed to see Imogen, it remains around the edge of my vision. As I open my eyes despite the pain wracking my body.
As I let my gaze adjust to brightness infiltrating the room, I let my eyes adjust from the darkness to the bright light. When I can see, I don’t recognize where I’m at. This room isn’t anything I’ve ever seen before. The walls are cement and shelves line one area. Food and other non-perishable goods fill them. It looks as if I’m in some sort of storm shelter. More of my senses return and I feel someone’s hand holding my own. My gaze drifts lower to see a head full of long dark hair spilling over my arm and bed. Her head is lying on my arm while her own hand holds mine.
I’d give anything to brush back the hair from her face so I can catch a glimpse of her face. To see the only face I ever want to wake up to again.
The events of the day filter through my mind and I wonder if I’m in heaven now. I remember the bullet hitting me and going down instantly. Of whispering the word ‘Imogen’ to Tommaso before passing back out. Now, here she is lying with her head on a bed next to me so I can’t be in hell because Imogen would never be there. She’d be in heaven for sure. Those thoughts can only mean there’s something redeeming about me to cause us to be in the same spot now.
I hear the shuffling of footsteps coming toward me. Shifting my eyes from the angel next to me, Tommaso is coming over to us. He carefully adjusts the blanket over Imogen’s body. She doesn’t even stir as he does what I long to do; pull her hair away from her face. Shifting my gaze once more, I see her face pale and puffy. Red streaks line her face from her eyes and I know she’s been crying.