by Posey Parks
“Yes.” I strolled over to the rollaway table and discarded the empty Jell-O containers and pushed the table aside.
My fingers glided through his silky hair. “Rest, Marco.”
He didn’t meet my gaze. I wondered what he was thinking.
Slipping under the covers, I flipped off the lamp and nestled into my pillow.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
He didn’t say a word. The loss of his memory was probably wreaking havoc on his brain. Desperate to remember us. Desperate to understand what enemy was to blame for him lying in bed.
I stole another glance at him, then turned my attention to the TV.
CHAPTER THREE
MARCO
THE DAY THROUGH HIS EYES
How the fuck did I get here? The pain was excruciating. It felt like someone was stabbing me constantly with pruning shears. I forgot about the pain briefly when my eyes poured over the woman’s dark brown frame lying next to me. Fuck, she was beautiful. I’d never seen a woman so beautiful in all my life. I wondered was she a new stripper from one of my clubs. I needed to ask Maceo.
Her eyes opened, and her face lit up.
“Baby, you’re awake.” Her lips crushed mine.
Wait a minute. I didn’t do sleep overs. Shit, my head was pounding. I gripped her arm, holding her back.
My jaw tightened. “Who the fuck are you?”
She chuckled. “Marco, funny. I’ll grab the doctor.”
The doctor? I glanced down at my abdomen. I was covered in bandages. What happened to me?
I tried to sit up quick, then winced, grabbing my abdomen.
“You were shot several times. But the doctor said you’ll be ok.” She smiled. I noticed the concern dancing on her pretty features.
“Shot?”
“Are you my nurse? Is it your job to sleep with me?” I grinned.
“Funny, Marco.”
I gripped her fat ass. “You’re a gorgeous, feisty little thing. Just how I like them.” My cock stirred.
“Mr. Esposito, good to see you’re awake,” Dr. Connor grinned as he stepped over checking my vitals.
“You’re not my regular doctor who fixes me up when I’m in a jam,” I grumbled.
I rubbed at my stubble as I eyed her and winked.
“Doc, how long before I can get down to business? If you know what I mean. She’s a hot little thing. Isn’t she?”
The doctor squeezed the ball of the blood pressure cuff, half smirking.
“Marco, you’re awake,” Kagan smiled wide as he burst into the room. Maceo was quick on his heels.
“Boss, good to see you.” Maceo blew out a breath, halting at the foot of the bed.
“Where am I?”
“At home, baby.” The woman caressed my arm.
I grabbed her hand and stared at the rock on her finger. “Shit, Maceo. I told you no more married chicks.” I glowered.
“You do remember that order?” I barked.
“Marco, that’s enough. It’s apparent you hit your head too hard. I’m your wife.”
My eyes widened. “No. I wouldn’t get married.”
Maceo scratched his head. “Boss, Emoni is your wife.”
Kagan’s brows rose. “Doc, what’s wrong with my cousin?”
“I’ll need to examine him.” He glanced at Kagan, then Emoni.
“To better understand his behavior. I’ll update you soon, Mrs. Esposito.”
Emoni nodded at Dr. Connor.
“Mrs. Esposito. I must be dreaming,” I snickered.
Stepping to the foot of the bed, she clenched Maceo’s forearm. “You stay with him.”
“No.”
Did Maceo have a thing for my so-called wife?
“It’s an order,” she snapped in a whisper.
Not turning to face me, she strutted out of the room.
I wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings, but I didn’t know who the fuck she was.
The doctor asked me a ton of questions? Like did I know what year it was, and who was the president?
He told me I’d been shot four times. I had no recollection of any beef. It was like a huge chunk of my life was missing.
“You have temporary amnesia, Mr. Esposito. You hit your head pretty hard.”
“That’s why I don’t remember marrying that sexy woman.” I scratched my head.
“Correct. I’ll keep an eye on you. Keep pressing this button. The morphine will assist with the pain.”
“Thanks, doc.”
The doctor exited the room. Maceo turned to leave.
“Not so fast, Maceo.”
He walked to my side. “Yeah, boss.”
“Everything’s foggy in my head. If I am married, what happened to the strippers? I remember I was supposed to see Vanisha.”
Maceo rubbed the back of his neck. “You allowed Emoni to take over the strip clubs. She enforced new rules. She informed them you would no longer give them money or sleep with them.” He sighed.
“Vanisha didn’t take it well. She and Emoni had beef.”
“I know you’re not telling me two women caused me to lie here in this bed?” I growled.
“No, nothing to do with a squabble between two women. Emoni ordered me to wait to talk to you after you are out of the woods. Health wise.”
“I’m the fucking boss,” I roared.
“I will always follow your orders, sir. But you put Emoni in charge. Unfortunately, you don’t remember. Boss, you would die for that woman out there.” He pointed at the door.
“I’ve never seen you give a fuck about a woman until she walked into your life.”
I gripped my head, pondering on his words.
“Emoni’s one of a kind, boss. I hope you remember who she is soon and the bond you two share, before you lose her.”
I nodded. “That will be all,” I mumbled.
He vacated the room. Lying in the hospital bed, racking my brain desperately trying to recall the moment I met her. How could I forget a face as beautiful as hers? It appears I finally found the woman I was looking for. I recalled being fed up with all the strippers. Longed for something fulfilling. Meaningful. Long term. Special. One of a kind. Maybe I had that with her. Hopefully, spending time with her would jar my memory.
A scream rocked me from my sleep. There was commotion outside my door. “What’s going on?” I yelled.
“Fuck.” I gripped my stomach. A sharp pain ripped through me. My head fell against the pillow.
After about twenty minutes, Maceo carried Emoni into the room. She was my wife, yet he was catering to her.
I read the sincerity in his tense face. He was being a loyal friend and employee.
Emoni I guess had it because she flew off the handle about my disrespecting her. Like I said before, I loved her feistiness.
I apologized for disrespecting her. She had my back through all the shit that happened recently.
She laid in bed clutching her stomach.
“Why did you yell?”
“I’m carrying our miracle child. She bit her lower lip, fighting back tears.
I couldn’t place her before today. Not only was I married, we were having a child. She struggled to carry our child because of a slimy motherfucker who beat women. Whoever the motherfucker was who laid a hand on her I wanted to personally wipe him off the face of the earth. What kind of bastard could harm a woman? A fucking coward. That’s who.
“Our child is a fighter. He or she will be ok. I will rest for now. But not for long.”
My DNA was running through our child. Damn right our child was strong. Look at me. I was shot several times, and I was still alive and kicking.
I needed to heal quick and handle the aftermath of whatever took place.
“No, you rest.”
How could I allow my wife to handle this shit?
“Babe─.”
I didn’t know who this situation was harder on me or her. She couldn’t talk to me like she’d probably done time and time again bec
ause I didn’t remember her.
Emoni said I’d have surgery tomorrow to have the bullet removed. The doctor told me he stitched me up in a previous surgery. This would be my second surgery in a few days. Maceo and Tadeas would have to step it up and handle our enemy.
The news that I made her the Donna was hilarious. Why would I do that and I didn’t know this woman that well? Fuck, I guess the same way I impregnated her and married her. Not even sure what order.
“How did we meet?”
“At my charity event in Portland, Oregon.”
Rubbing my brow, I told her I remembered boarding the plane in route to the charity. I stared across the room, trying to recollect any other details from the trip.
“I usually only associate with strippers. It’s easier. Funny thing.” I grinned.
“My best friend was hell bent on finding a good woman for me. I mean she had her mind made up.”
“I know all of this is overwhelming to say the least.”
There was a knock at the door before it swung open. Maceo laid her clothes on the bed.
“Thank you.” She ordered him to grab my dinner.
“On it.” He glanced at me.
“You need anything else, boss?”
“Not right now.” I told him after surgery I wanted to know who was responsible for me lying in this bed. My blood was boiling in my veins. I wanted to get to the bottom of this shit. My fingers dug into the center of my palm.
“We won’t leave out a thing, Marco. I’ll be right back.” Maceo darted out of the room.
Emoni disrobed before me. Shit, her perky melons made my cock rock hard. Hurt and all, I wanted her to ride my dick. I couldn’t explain it, but I wasn’t interested in sleeping with another woman, just her.
Why did I ask her what she was doing? I didn’t want her to stop. I should have told her to climb into bed with me butt fucking naked.
“I know you don’t remember, but you’ve seen me naked plenty of times.”
She slipped into a pair of tiny shorts and one of my T-shirts.
“Your body’s beautiful.”
She stared at me. My head dropped against the pillow.
“How could I not remember a woman as gorgeous as you?”
“Amnesia. Hopefully, you’ll remember me soon.” She padded across the floor to my bedside.
“What are you doing?” I sounded like a broken record.
“I just wanted to check on you.”
Those were the only words I heard fall from her pretty lips. My eyes drank in her body.
“In your mind we are nothing.” Her fingers rested on my heart.
“To me you are everything. My world, Marco.”
I slammed my eyes shut. “I want to remember you.”
My eyes slowly opened. I swiped my large index finger across her cheek.
I fucking hated not being able to remember a woman as sweet as her.
Maceo knocked before he backed into the room, carrying a tray of food.
My hand dropped, and she snatched her hand back.
Maceo placed the tray on the rolling table.
She thanked him again before he exited the room.
While I ate the broth and Jell-O, she settled on her bed and channel surfed.
“I’d love a plate of pasta carbonara.” I closed my eyes, and my mouth watered.
“The second the doctor clears you to eat a regular diet, I’ll make the pasta.”
“No offense, baby─.”
“Don’t worry your mother will show me the correct way to make it.”
My brows rustled together. “My mother and you are tight?”
“Yes. Between her and Sierra, I’ve become the perfect Donna. Of course, you added a small change to my duties.”
“Which was?”
“I would run the business with Luca if something were to happen to you.”
“But I’m right here.” I pointed at my chest. Shit, I could still call the shots from bed.
“After the surgery and you regain your memory, I’ll be happy to turn over the throne.”
“I can manage, Emoni.”
She compromised. Said we’d run the business together.
“Wow, I must really trust you and love you to put my family’s business in your hands.”
“Yes, Marco, you do.”
I asked her the date and realized I hadn’t even known her that long at all.
“What the fuck was I thinking? Marrying you in under three months.”
I clutched my hair. She knew all the important people in my life. Did I know her family too?
All the information she threw at me was a little overwhelming. My eyes followed her as she buzzed around me, cleaning up. She climbed back in bed across from me and we watched the movie in silence. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember past the plane ride to Portland.
CHAPTER FOUR
MARCO
Sweat dripped from the doctor’s brow as he monitored my vitals in route to the medical facility.
“Doc, everything all right?”
He smirked. It was the most uncomfortable half smile I’d seen in a while. I could tell he was scared.
“Doc, relax. Not sure what my people said to you, but sounds like you just need to ensure I make it through surgery alive and well. Then you can return to your life. No harm will come to you or your family as long as everything goes well.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
Yeah, he was definitely worried about the surgery he was about to perform.
“Dr. Connor, I believe in you.”
He exhaled and nodded.
Dillon’s guys drove the ambulance. Emoni wasn’t taking any chances trusting anyone other than Maceo from my crew. Where the fuck was Tadeas? Once I recovered, I needed to talk to him.
My wife wore mirrored pink aviators, strutting behind me, checking her surroundings. Maceo walked behind her. Emoni’s hand gripped the Glock on her waist holster under her black full-length mink coat. She was right, I trained her well. Emoni had everything under control.
“Hey, buddy.” Dillon stepped forward the second we stepped through a second set of doors in the back of the facility. Of course, we didn’t enter the front. We couldn’t draw attention to ourselves.
“Bro, it’s good to see you.”
He grabbed my hand. “Emoni said we didn’t need to come, but we wanted to be here for you.”
Sierra stepped in to view and leaned in kissing my cheek.
“Emoni, was right, you shouldn’t be here. Nor should she, but I trust Maceo will protect her with his life.” I glanced up at him from the gurney.
“Of course, boss.”
“We wanted to be here for your surgery.” Her beautiful gray eyes glinted.
“Guys, thanks for coming.”
“I need to prep him for surgery,” stated Dr. Connor.
“We’ll be right here,” Dillon confirmed.
I nodded.
“Emoni, come here.”
Her perfectly made-up face came into view at my side.
She smiled down at me from under the sunglasses.
“Remove the glasses.”
She sighed. “I rather not.”
“Maceo, push me out of view. I need to speak to Emoni alone.”
I glanced at the doc. “I’ll be ready in one sec.”
“Ok.” He stepped away.
Maceo parked the gurney in a long hall. The bright white walls surrounded us.
“I won’t be far, Marco.”
“Thanks.”
“Emoni, remove the glasses. It’s just you and me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. You don’t even know me.”
“I know you love me.”
The tears slid down her pretty face. I reached up and slipped the sunglasses off of her face. Her eyes were blood shot red.
My heart skipped a beat. “Did you cry all night?”
She nodded and retrieved tattered tissue from her coat pocket. She pre
ssed the tissue under her eyes. “I can’t let anyone see me like this.”
I caressed her face. “Let it out, Emoni.”
She laid her head on my shoulder. Her body quaked against me.
“We’ll find our way back to each other. Talk to me, Emoni.”
“I love you so much, Marco. I need you, baby. We need you.” Her lips melted against my neck.
“Once I’m back home, lay with me and cry until you can’t anymore. You need to let it out. I can only imagine how bad our situation is just by how tight our security is. Look at me.”
She peeked up at me.
I captured her lips. A smile crept across my lips. “I did good, Mrs. Esposito.”
She chuckled, stroking my cheek. “I’ll be right here when you get out of surgery.”
“See you soon.”
She dried her face, then slipped her sunglasses back over her eyes.
The doctor wheeled me into a sterile room. As the nurse covered my nose and mouth with the oxygen mask, I held Emoni’s tear-stained face in my mind.
“Count backwards from ten,” the anesthesiologist said.
I counted to eight, and that was the last thing I remembered.
My hand clutched Emoni’s waist as we stood at the poker table. I spoke to Mitch. He stared at Emoni like I wasn’t there. Cutting his eyes out was at the forefront of my mind. I remembered ordering Maceo to handle him the next day. She didn’t have on a wedding ring, but I could feel she was important to me.
My eyes popped open. Not sure I should mention this memory. I’d wait until more of my memories returned.
“How do you feel?” the tall pale nurse asked.
“In pain. But thankful to be alive.” I smirked.
I glanced around the cream colored medium sized room.
“Good. You are in recovery. I’ll bring your wife back.”
“Thanks.”
Machines buzzed around me. There weren’t any signs of other patients in the facility. Emoni probably had to pay a shit load of money to shut down this site.
“Marco.” Emoni ran toward me. She grabbed my big hand and pressed it to her cheek.
“Baby, are you ok?”
She wasn’t wearing the sunglasses.
“I am now.” I grinned.
Emoni blushed.
“Dillon and Sierra want to say goodbye. They need to get back to the kids.”