Bryce looked back to Tilucci and nodded. “Deal.”
Who To Protect?
Bryce
This wasn’t a choice at all. If I had to pick between Arianna and Jane, I would make a decision, and live with the aftereffects for the rest of my life. In front of me were the only two people in the world that I didn’t want to live without.
On one side, was my own flesh and blood that I never really got to know. Legally, she wasn’t even my child, but she still had my heart. In just the first few months of her life, she managed to become my prime reason for living.
On the other side, was the woman who could look past my dark history and accept me for who I was. We had known each other for just a handful of days, but I hadn’t formed such a close connection with anyone since Emily. I liked to think that if Emily were around, she would approve of Jane and give me her blessing. Emily only ever wanted me to be happy and I knew that if anyone could, Jane would be able to.
What Tilucci knew when he posed this ethical conundrum was that I would choose my daughter over anyone in the world. I only ever got involved with Jane because I wanted to protect Arianna and avenge her mother’s death. There was nothing stronger than a bond between parent and child. At least with a parent who desperately wanted to take care of their child, anyway.
And to make matters worse, I’d have to kill her with my bare hands, right in front of my child. There was no way for me to make things quick and painless. She was trained in combat—she would have to fight her natural response to fight back. That, or she’d fight me back and cause me to lose Arianna.
No, there was no choice for me. I tried to get into Tilucci’s mind, to think about how he would respond to particular outcomes. I could throw the fight like he wanted me to the first time I met him. I could let Jane fight back and kill me. I knew that she was probably capable of it. Maybe then, Tilucci would give Arianna up to Jane and let them both go.
That seemed a little unlikely, though. If I weren’t around, he would have no reason to honor his promise about Arianna. Plus, Tilucci needed Jane dead. If she lived, there was no way she was going to scrap her story.
The only other logical option was to fake her death. This would be hard because she would have no idea what was going on. I could hit her over the head hard enough to daze her, but not to kill her. Or, I could strangle her and she could flail around like a professional wrestler until she went still. Then, maybe she’d be able to shoot Tilucci once I had Arianna safe in my arms.
That would be such a stretch, though. To make that work, she would have to be able to read my mind. Also, Tilucci would have to be satisfied enough with the result to let Arianna go.
Plus, part of me suspected that Tilucci wasn’t going to let us leave peacefully. I’d seen him pull this kind of stunt before—he’d act like he was graciously sparing someone’s life, just to shoot them in the back of the head as they turned to walk away. I had caused him a lot of trouble and he didn’t like to leave loose ends. There was no reason why I should believe that he’d just let me walk.
I turned to Jane and met her eye. She was trying not to cry and it made me feel terrible.
“Jane,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
She swallowed hard and nodded.
I stood up and walked over to her, gently placing my hands on her throat. I could feel her pulse racing.
I lightly shoved her on her back, making a show by tensing my muscles, while I applied light pressure to her neck. She lay still, trying not to struggle, but pass peacefully.
“That’s not going to cut it, Bryce,” Tilucci warned. “I don’t have all day. Just finish the job.”
I squeezed a little harder, her face turning red. I leaned down toward her face, acting as though I was trying to get leverage.
“Fight back,” I whispered in her ear, giving her a nudge with my knee.
She got the hint and started kicking her legs and sputtering. Her face turned a deeper shade of red and her eyes watered. I applied more careful pressure, watching closely to make sure she would survive this. I hated hurting her, but it was for our own good. This needed to look realistic.
Finally, her face starting to turn purple, she ever so subtly tapped out. I released my grip, watching her expert acting.
Instead of gasping for air, she lay still. I bent down over her, my cheek inches away from her mouth, checking for any signs of life. I felt the tiniest release of warm air and knew that she was okay, even though she looked like death.
I screamed in anguish. I was hardly acting—this mournful sound came from deep inside of me. I had injured the woman that I cared deeply about, just to satisfy a bully that would never leave me alone. With part rage, part careful planning, I forcefully flipped Jane over. Her limp body rolled a couple times before landing face down next to her handbag.
“Thank you for taking care of that for me,” Tilucci said, untying Arianna and pushing her over to me. She had started to stir but still seemed out of it. I needed to get her to a hospital as soon as possible. I caught her in my arms and pulled her close. I would never let her go again if I could help it. I kissed her on her tiny head and nestled my face in her mop of curly hair. I had waited for this moment for years.
When I looked up, Tilucci had his gun pointed straight toward my head. With Arianna held close, I slowly shuffled around him, but he kept his aim steady.
“You know better than anyone that I wasn’t going to let you out of here alive,” he said. “Like it or not, you sealed your fate the first time you crossed me. I’ve been onto you since day one.”
“I just killed the woman I loved,” I roared back. “Isn’t that enough?”
“Afraid not. Goodbye, Bryce Baron. It was nice knowing you.”
He aimed his gun and put his finger on the trigger. I turned to shield Arianna from him and closed my eyes. Here goes nothing.
I heard a shot and evaluated my body. He didn’t hit me.
I opened my eyes to see Tilucci still standing. He coughed up a tiny amount of blood before turning around to see what hit him. He was hurt, but still wasn’t going down. He tried to steady his arm to shoot at Jane, but she raised her weapon first. She pulled the trigger, but no shot rang out. Her gun jammed.
I saw the look of sheer panic on her face and I dropped Arianna. I sprinted over to Jane and dove in front of her, just as Tilucci fired his gun.
The recoil must have knocked his already injured body off balance because he fell straight onto his back. He gasped and choked on blood for a moment, before going still.
I made my way over to Arianna to make sure she was okay. I shook her limp body and her heavy eyelids parted ever so slightly.
“Wake up, Arianna,” I murmured, kissing her on the forehead. “You’re going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.” I was thankful that she was sedated enough to have no idea what just happened. Hopefully, she’d wake up without any recollection that anything was wrong.
I heard a hoarse cough from behind me and spun around. Jane was leaning up against the ring, looking exhausted. She clutched her bleeding side and I noticed purple bruises forming on her neck.
“Jane,” I gasped, running over to her. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said in a hushed voice. “Did he hit you?”
Whenever I heard about people who didn’t find out that they got shot until after the fact, I always thought it was absurd. I mean, how could you not feel a tiny metal fragment ripping through your body?
Then it happened to me. I was so caught up in the moment, adrenaline pumping through my veins, that I didn’t stop to feel my own wounds. I was too concerned with Arianna and Jane to even worry about myself. But now, knowing that they’d both be okay, I felt it. I felt everything.
I pulled my jacket back to reveal my blood-soaked chest. The sight of it, plus the agonizing pain made my head spin. I took a few small steps as my vision narrowed into a tiny pinprick in a sea of black. Then I dropped to my knees.
I heard J
ane talking calling for an ambulance and begging me to stay with her before I let myself drift off to the dark, silent void.
Recovery
Jane
As I watched Bryce sleep in his hospital bed, I felt like my heart was about to explode. I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. He had sacrificed himself to save my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. I felt like I had gone to battle with him and I was so relieved that we both made it out alive.
I was also feeling extremely nervous because it had been nearly a full day since we were brought to the hospital and he was still in his medically induced coma. The doctors explained that because he had so many traumatic injuries, his body needed a little extra rest.
He had a gunshot wound to the chest and had to go into surgery to have the bullet taken out. Luckily, it struck a rib and missed his heart and lungs. He lost a lot of blood but managed to pull through surgery.
He also had to have his nose reset. Unfortunately, he would have to live with a slightly bumpy nose for the rest of his life if he decided not to get it reconstructed. I almost liked it better this way. Once the swelling went down, it would be a cute imperfection.
He also had a litany of other, less serious injuries. A few deep bruises, cracked bones, lacerations, and a concussion rounded out the list of things he’d be in the hospital recovering from. I felt like I got away easy, although I’d been shot too.
The doctor checking me out wanted to admit me overnight for observation, but I refused. I wasn’t going to lie in a bed while Bryce was fighting for his life. I had the doctor stitch up my bullet wound, and check my throat for any lasting damage. I was glad that in my first cage fight, I battled an experienced opponent who knew when to stop choking me out. To Bryce, it was just another one of Tilucci’s fights to throw.
Finally, in a completely uncharacteristic move for me, when the doctor suggested that I see a therapist to deal with my psychological trauma, I agreed. The things I had experienced in my life were too horrible to shove down deep inside of me. If I wanted to be with Bryce and help him through his recovery, I needed to be healthy, too.
Once I was off the hook, I found Bryce’s room and pulled a chair up to his bed. I held onto his hand, running my thumb over his bruised, scraped knuckles. He looked rough, covered in cuts and bruises and full of tubes. His face was swollen beyond recognition in some spots, but it didn’t make any difference to me. He was still the sexy, damaged boy I met at his fight. Maybe we’d have a chance at being a little less damaged, together.
Lilian came into the room, holding Arianna on her hip. Arianna’s arm was in a bright blue cast. At some point in the kidnapping, one of Tilucci’s men was too rough on her and broke it. Luckily, once her arm was set and the IV fluids flushed the sedatives out of her body, she was expected to be fine. Most importantly, she didn’t remember a thing.
“Hi, Arianna,” I said, “How are you feeling?”
“Good,” she said. “Do I know you?”
“No, I’m a friend of his,” I said, gesturing over to Bryce. “I’m a reporter at ANC.”
“They were the ones who helped you,” Lilian added. Lilian was a skinny, petite woman with shoulder-length blonde hair. She looked like she was my age, but more put together than me. She also appeared like she had not slept in a long time.
“Oh,” she said. “Who’s that?” she asked, pointing to the bed.
Lilian looked toward me, biting her lip. This whole situation had blindsided her and she obviously hadn’t had the chance to explain her adopted daughter’s origin to her. As far as she knew, Bryce was going to keep his secret until she was older.
I, however, had a feeling that Bryce was ready to clue her in.
“May I?” I asked.
“Sure,” Lilian said, taken aback.
“Do you know how Lilian and Chance are your aunt and uncle?” I asked carefully.
She nodded. I sighed with relief. I didn’t want to be the first to break that story.
“That man is your real dad. He was in trouble with a bad man, so he let your aunt and uncle take care of you to keep you safe. I know you don’t remember, but the bad man hurt your arm.”
“Is he coming back?” she asked.
“No,” I said with a smile. “No one can ever hurt you guys again.”
“Okay,” she said, looking relieved. “So, is my dad going to be okay?”
I looked toward Bryce. “I think so. He was badly injured so it might take a little longer for him to get better. Grown-ups don’t heal as quickly as kids do.”
She nodded. I could tell she was a bright girl. And tough as nails, too. She was Bryce’s kid through and through. I could see why he was so desperate to have her back in his life. He would be an incredible father.
“Are you his girlfriend?” Arianna asked, looking bashful.
I laughed and looked at Lilian. She seemed to have the same question. I wasn’t sure how to answer. As the sister of his late wife, I wondered if the topic was off-limits to me. I didn’t want to disrespect her sister’s memory.
“No, I’m not his girlfriend,” I said. “But, I do care about him very much. I love him.”
Lilian smiled genuinely and if I had just a smidgen of approval from her, maybe Bryce would feel the same way. After all, I did hear him tell Tilucci that he loved me. Whether that was just said in the heat of the moment or not, I wouldn’t be able to find out until he woke up.
Lilian sat down in the chair next to me and held Arianna in her lap. “Your friend Andrea told me everything and I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. “Don’t thank me. Really.”
“How is Andrea doing?”
“I just talked to her a bit ago. A few broken bones, but other than that, she’s fine. She’s at home resting.”
“I’m glad. She seemed pretty beaten up. I know she was doing that work pro bono, but I’m going to send a check to her business. It sounds like she put in a lot of work. Things could have gone so much worse.”
I nodded. “That would be nice. I’m going to have to thank her too.”
“I feel awkward saying this,” Lilian said, wringing her hands and looking at the tile floor. “Bryce is still family to me and I want him to be happy. I think you’d be great for him.”
“Oh, I don’t know if he wants me,” I said, blushing.
“I don’t see why not. He deserves someone who can be good to him. It’s been too long.”
“We’ll see,” I smiled.
When I finished speaking, I felt Bryce squeezing my hand. I jumped up from my chair, forgetting all about the stitches in my side, and leaned closer to him.
His eyelids started to open before slamming back shut. He tried again, this time, he could keep them halfway open.
“Hey,” he said sleepily. I started to get choked up. “What did I miss?”
I choked out a laugh. “You’ve been out all day. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. You’re probably going to have to stay here for another couple of days, but the doctors are already predicting a quick recovery.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m so happy to see you.”
My eyes teared up. “Me too.”
I stood there with him, holding on tight to his hand. I never wanted to let go.
“I almost forgot,” I said. “You have visitors.”
I moved toward the head of the bed so Arianna and Lilian could shuffle forward.
“Arianna,” he smiled. “Are you feeling better?”
She nodded. “Are you really my dad?”
“Yes,” he said before tears started to fall freely from his eyes. I had never seen such a big smile on his face.
I moved the railing on the bed so Arianna could sit next to him. She gave him a careful hug and he beamed with pride. I could see Lilian dabbing away happy tears behind us. Arianna finally had the chance to meet her father and I was so glad I was there to witness the pure joy in the room.
“A
re you okay?” Arianna asked him, studying the tubes and wires surrounding his body.
“I’m great,” he said. “Everything is perfect.”
Epilogue-Our Future
Jane
So much happened since our final battle with Tilucci. Luckily for me, I had Bryce by my side through all of it. I couldn’t have survived the weeks following without his support.
I stayed by Bryce’s side for three days, leaving only to work on my story and to speak with the network. They were excited to air my story and gave me a lot of extra help and support. By the time Bryce was discharged from the hospital, it was time to go on air.
Immediately after I reported on Tilucci and his legacy of crime, nearly every news network and paper in the world picked up the story. Interpol began investigating based on my story and it led to over two hundred leads on missing person cases worldwide. In my city, twenty arrests were made, and a lot of Tilucci’s men were going on trial for a myriad of crimes.
I quickly became very unpopular with much of the justice department, because multiple investigations were being made to find the crooked cops and justices who turned a blind eye to the crimes while padding their pockets. It didn’t bother me one bit—I didn’t need to be liked, but I sure as hell demanded respect.
The police were finally investigating all the crimes connected with Tilucci, so my investigative work was over. I usually hated free time, but this time around, I welcomed it. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had another big story in the works, but for now, I had to take a step back from work.
Once again, the network was absolutely floored with my work. They were getting so much air time and advertising sold like hotcakes. The network executives asked me if I wanted to be an anchor on the nightly news, with possibly getting my own show in the future. I told them I’d think about it.
Her Protection: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 2) Page 18