The Bodyguards Sweetheart

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

    COCO HAD NEVER truly believed in miracles until she’d somehow woken in a hospital, bandaged and alive after a twelve-hour surgery to put her guts back together. She wasn’t dead and that in itself, according to her doctor, was a damn miracle.

Being shot in the stomach was pretty much going to kill most people, unless the bullet somehow, by the grace of God, missed every vital organ and only nicked her liver on its way out. Yeah, talk about miracles.

Pain bloomed in her body as she tried shifting in bed, nearly blacking out from the intensity of the agony. Okay, so surviving a gut shot wasn’t all ice cream and rainbows. The pain would be enough to make her scream if it weren’t for that lovely morphine drip that came whenever she pushed a button. Today was the first day she’d felt up to talking to anyone and everyone wanted a little time at her bedside.

She had so many questions but she wasn’t sure if she was up to the answers. Even though she’d been losing consciousness, she’d heard what that man had said. Her father? A crook? What did that mean?

Rian walked in and a weak smile found her lips. Her heart lightened at the sight of him even though it shouldn’t. But he’d thrown himself over her body and that meant something. She just didn’t know what it meant in the big scheme of things. Would he do that for any client? Or was he prepared to die with her?

“How are you feeling?” he asked, going to sit beside her, taking her hand into his. “Your color is better. You had us going for a while.”

“I like to keep people on their toes,” she said with a weak smile.

“You definitely did that.” His gaze roved her face and her heart nearly broke at the raw emotion she saw there. That was no act. Whatever he was feeling, it was real and she was relieved. “Your dad is anxious to see you. Are you feeling up to talking to him?”

“Who was that man?” she asked, confused. “I’d never seen him before in my life. He seemed so normal when he stepped out of the car. I thought he was a friend of Warren’s or something. But then he...took out a gun and just sh-sh-shot me. No hesitation whatsoever.”

As difficult as it was for her to get the words out, it seemed equally so for Rian to relive that moment. “His name was Barto Calvino and he was the son of a man who worked with your father before you were born. He was sick, and he knew he wasn’t going to make it much longer. So when he pulled the trigger, he had nothing to lose.”

“Why would he hate my father so much?” she asked, pained. “My father is the sweetest man on the planet.”

“I think that’s something you and your dad should talk about,” he said gently. “I’m going to let you get a few minutes with him. He’s been here since you went into surgery.”

She nodded, blinking back tears. She wanted to ask Rian to stay but after everything that had happened, she didn’t know where they stood. The last words between them were Rian breaking up with her. She didn’t want him to stay with her out of pity. She wanted him to stay because he wanted to be with her, even if they didn’t know how their worlds would mesh. She wanted him to not care about that stuff, to care only about her. Rian let himself out and her father, looking older than ever before, walked in, a wealth of worry and relief etched in his expression.

He took her hand and kissed it, patting it lovingly even as his eyes watered.

“Babbo,” she said, her eyes watering, as well. “I’m okay. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m so sorry for putting you in this position. It’s all my fault.”

She shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself, please.”