Savage Crown II

42. Forty-Two

Callum

When I woke up, I felt someone resting on my chest softly breathing. I looked down to see Natalia was fast asleep in my arms, had I died and gone to heaven? The room we were in wasn't familiar and was surrounded with a bunch of different medical machines.

I reached down to give Natalia a kiss on her forehead as she slept. Her hair smelled like lavender and fresh soap one scent I never knew how much I'd miss. She jolted up and stared at me, "Cal" she whispered as her eyes began to tear, "yes mo ghrá" I whispered to her. She kissed me hard and yearning as she needed it to believe it was real. She finally pulled herself away as more tears continued to fall, "Welcome back to us" she said as she laid back down on my chest. "What happened? How long was I out for?" I asked.

"You've been out for two weeks" she explained, "Your injuries put you in a comatose state."

"And Owen?" I asked remembering he was on the brink of death that night. "He made it" Natalia smiled " I had one of our larger guest rooms converted into your private medical suite" she added.

"Where's Zoey?"

"At school" Natalia smiled. "She'll be over the moon when she sees that you've woken up."

We laid together for a while longer as we savored being back in each other's arms. As she rose up from the bed, I pulled her back down to me and pinned her below me and thoroughly kissed her, "god how I missed you" I whispered before taking her.

She screamed my name that entire morning and afternoon. Neither one of us having had our fill of each other. Until Eli called saying he'd stop by with a report in the later afternoon. I got in the shower and shaved off the thick bearded that had been growing in. The bandages on my burns had been removed but the scars remained, showing remnants of the art that was inked into my skin.

While Natalia was downstairs preparing an after-school snack for when Zoey would get home. I went to my office where Eli was already waiting for me.

As I opened the doors, I saw Owen sitting down as well. He stood up using his cane, "rise and shine sleeping beauty" he laughed. "You good now?" He asked.

"Yeah, Doctors came by earlier to check on me. I'm healed." I smiled. "Can you fill me on what happened?" I asked looking over at Eli who took a deep breath. "I need you to promise not to kick my ass first" he said.

"Why would I do that?" I asked. "Well, it was all Natalia that got us here" he said.

"I want the full story" I ordered as I sat down. Eli began telling me about my wife's doing. Everything from the way she figured out I wasn't dead to her leading the Irish and Leon men on rescue mission for me and her brothers, to how Adrián and my father had her sedated for three days to not do something irrational, down to her creative ways in taking out Declan by standing on the car's roof and shooting up the car from the outside in. I also couldn't forget Angel's help in all of this or Felix's. When I asked my father why Felix decided to help us, he said that Felix owed my father a favor that went back as far as my grandfather Cillian. A debt was owed and now it had been paid.

"And she handled Declan with a smile on her face" Eli said as his body shivered, "I'd really hate to be someone on her hit list"

I rose from my seat and went to stand in front of Eli as he looked up at me with fear, " She's very persistent!" He paniced, "I made her wear a vest the entire time" he added

I let out a hearty laugh at his fear, and gave him a heavy pat on the back, "thank you for watching and protecting her . You too Owen"

"You're not mad?" Eli asked as I went to sit back down. "Not at all" I smiled, " I know first hand how dangerous my wife can be, and in these circumstances I knew what she'd be capable of"