Page 39 of Scarlet Embrace

“We have to strike back at them,” Logan kept saying as he paced the room.

While it wasn’t certain if the LaRosa were behind it, it was safe to say they were the prime suspect. Diana LaRosa wasn’t stupid enough to put a hit out on me, but her son was. My father had stopped by the hospital while I was sleeping, and he had spoken to the doctors, who assured him that I was going to be okay.

“Let him just focus on recuperating for now,” Rufus told Logan. “None of you should be thinking about revenge now.”

The three people I trusted most were in the room, and that made me happy.

Someone is not here, though.

Most likely, she wasn’t aware that I had been shot, considering how it had happened just about half an hour after I had dropped her off. I was glad that the shooting didn’t happen while Elena was still with me.

“I’m his fiancée,” I heard her voice from the hallway.

“Is that Elena?” Rufus turned his head in the hallway’s direction.

“Yeah, she’s the one,” Logan said, looking out the window.

Joy radiated within me just by hearing she was around. I honestly thought she wasn’t going to show up. “Please let her in,” I told Logan, who was already walking out of the room. A few minutes later, a tired-looking Elena entered the room. Her eyes were red, her cheeks wet, and I realized she had been crying.

“Don’t worry, he’s alright,” Logan tried to assure her.

“You’re okay,” Elena said as she hugged me tightly.

Silence descended on the room, and I realized she was crying. “I’m fine, Elena,” I said, patting her on the back. We remained in that position for a few seconds before she broke the hug. I brought my hand to her cheek and wiped away her tears.

“I guess we should leave you both alone,” Rufus said, getting onto his feet.

“But there are still—” Logan started before Rufus shot him a look.

I sent a silent thanks to Rufus as they both left the room. Elena sat down on the bed, her eyes still on me. “I rushed over the second I heard. How did you get shot?”

“I made a mistake,” I said jokingly, but she shot me a look that made it clear she didn’t think of this as a joke. I cleared my throat and told her that the gunman had been lying in wait for me.

“Who was it? Marcus?”

“We don’t know yet, but we think it was Marcus.”

I watched as Elena cursed him out, and I couldn’t help but smile. Every layer of this woman intrigued me, and I found myself wishing that what we had was genuine. I wondered how it would feel if Elena was really my woman.

“Are you okay?”

“Let’s just say I’m glad to be alive,” I answered.

There was no denying the look of concern in her eyes. She was really concerned about me, and that made me feel happy. She placed her bag and told me she would be staying with me till morning.

“You don’t have to do that, Elena,” I told her.

“And how would that make me look? My man is in the hospital, and I can’t stay with him?”

I gave in to her. I offered her my bed, but she told me she was comfortable on the chair. I wanted to stress that she already had a busy day, and I didn’t plan to wear her out, but she was quite stubborn. Somewhere along the line, I dozed off, and when I woke up, the sheets were on me, and Elena was sleeping on the chair.

Getting out of bed was quite painful, but I wasn’t going to let her remain on the chair. However, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to carry her into bed as I would have loved to. I stooped to look at her face.

“You are beautiful, Elena,” I said in a silent whisper.

She looked angelic while sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb her. I thought I had reined in my emotions regarding her, but each time I saw her, they stirred up again. Maybe Father and Rufus were right. Maybe it was time I finally settled down. The only question that remained now was if Elena felt the same way as I did.

“Only time will tell, I guess,” I said as I kissed her on her forehead.