Page 46 of Between Control and Chaos
Slowly, I walk forward, following Mercurio, taking my time, giving Ashton and the others an opportunity to come rescue us.
But I can’t be that lucky.
There’s a gun shoved at my back, forcing me to press onward.
“Move!” the guard behind me beckons, and I pick up my pace, my arms holding Harper as we’re led down the hallway, farther into the compound.
Eighteen
Dante
I pay a visit to Moreno, pleased that he’s woken from his coma.
Paige has been by his bedside every waking hour. She needs rest. “Go home, shower.” I glance her over; she looks rougher than Moreno does.
“I—” She stalls, and I can see the hesitation, the desire not to leave his side, worry that something might happen. I’d feel that way, too, if anything happened to my Nikki.
But he’s awake.
Has been for a couple of hours. I drove my ass down to the hospital to see if there was anything new he could tell me. Anything that he might remember from that day.
But that conversation won’t happen around Paige. I don’t need her worrying about business matters.
Moreno smiles weakly, his voice thick. “Go home. Dante is right. Get some sleep. Actual sleep, love. In a bed.”
Paige shakes her head. “Absolutely not. I’ll shower and then I’ll be right back.” She glances down at her jeans and sweater. “I could use a fresh change of clothes too.”
“Take your time, love.”
Paige leans down, planting a soft kiss on Moreno’s mouth, and I turn around, not needing to witness their intimate moment.
I clear my throat when she hasn’t left yet and glance over my shoulder at the two of them.
“Right,” Paige whispers and her fingers squeeze his hand before letting go, quietly leaving the hospital room. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go, shower, sleep, get some rest,” Moreno says, glancing her over. “That’s an order.”
She laughs under her breath.
That woman never takes orders from me; I can’t imagine Paige takes them from Moreno, but she doesn’t argue.
I wait until she’s gone and feel both relief and sadness wash over me. I hate how worried she was, attentive to his needs, and had been waiting for him to wake up.
I wouldn’t want Nikki to have sleepless nights at my bedside, and yet without a doubt she’d be doing the exact same thing.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, approaching his bedside.
Moreno’s eyes crinkle. “Honestly? I hurt like hell.”
“You were shot in the head,” I remind him, wondering how much of the incident he actually remembers. The doctors warned of amnesia surrounding the event.
“That’s what they say,” Moreno says and shrugs, wincing. “I remember driving to go get Harper and then—nothing after. What happened? Paige wouldn’t tell me specifics.”
I exhale heavily. I had been here, hoping he’d be giving me information, not the other way around.
“Nico shot you and abducted Harper. Turns out, he’s been working for the DeLucas all along.”
Moreno rubs at his eyes, the monitors increasing in urgency with each breath he takes. His pulse and blood pressure are increasing simultaneously. “I never suspected…” he trails off, disgust filling his voice. “He was one of us!”
