With Every Beat of My Heart

Chapter Twelve: (Nico) Back

I was stabbed in the back. I was stabbed in the fucking back, literally. That fucking bitch stabbed me when my back was turned.

Who does that?

I had to get stitches at an emergency room in Athens on the night of my sister's wedding. That was an experience I would've preferred not to have. With my Greek and the doctor's broken English, I was able to understand that the pocket knife Virginia used was only centimeters away from my kidney. I could have bled to death. That fucking bitch could have given me a fatal wound.

I took in a deep breath trying to recall the night's events.

Two Hours Ago

Theo, Liam and I quietly walked Virginia out of the elevator, through the lobby, and out the glass doors of the hotel's entrance. As we ignored her screeches, we surrounded her to prevent her from running back inside. No way in hell, would I let her go to Alex and Athena.

Liam dragged Virginia by the arm onto the street. "You need to leave," he warned her.

"Liam, don't worry darling, you can still have me once I'm with Alex. He doesn't have to know about us," she replied, in a coy tone.

Liam looked back at her with disgust and released her arm. "Virginia, you need to get this through your head, I don't want you! Alex doesn't want you! Leave us alone."

She stared at him open-mouthed as she fidgeted with her purse. Then, she started to sob, dramatically.

I watched her in shock. Is it possible to sob without tears? I stared at her some more, and still didn't spot any tears. Not a single one.

She had to be psychotic. There was no way Virginia was sane.

Liam took a deep breath. "Leave, Virginia," he commanded. Then, he turned and walked back inside the hotel's lobby.

Theo followed him.

I stayed outside still staring at Virginia. I watched as her sobs abruptly stopped, in the blink of an eye.

Once her attention turned to me, I spoke. "Virginia, I am only going to warn you once... only once. Stay away from my sister. Stay away from Alex. If you come near my family, I'll fuck you up so badly you'll be unrecognizable. I'll make you wish you were dead."

Then, I turned to walk back into the hotel. As I reached for the glass doors, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Nobody talks to me like that," Virginia said, under her breath.

Suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain in my back. I reached to touch the painful spot and when I pulled my hand away, I noticed blood coating my fingers.

I turned back toward Virginia and spotted her running around the corner into the deserted streets.

Liam had tried looking for Virginia, after I managed to get to them in the lobby and explained what'd occurred. She had disappeared and so had the pocket knife.

As the nurse bandaged up my stitches, Nina rushed into the exam room, looking frantic.

"Nico," she breathed. "I've been so worried. They asked me to wait for them to finish stitching you up before I was allowed inside."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I'm doing fine."

"What happened, Nico?" she asked as she approached me and reached for my hand.

"Nothing, sweetheart. It was nothing. You don't need to worry."

She shook her head at me. "I can't believe this. It was Virginia, wasn't it? Why would she do this to you?"

I released a breath and nodded. "Please don't worry about it," I said. "Look at me, I'm fine."

She squeezed my hand as tears filled her eyes. "I see that you're fine, Nico. But things could've been much worse. What if you had a mortal wound? What if I had lost you?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to stop myself from crying with her. "My little mouse, I promise, I'd do anything in my power to prevent you from losing me. I still have so much love inside me to give to you."

She chuckled through her tears. "Oh Nico, I'm so sorry you had to go through this."

I shook my head. "No, Nina. I'm the one who's sorry."

"What? What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't want to frighten you, baby. But, more importantly, I'm so so sorry I wasn't there for you when you were being rushed to the hospital. On the drive here, all I kept thinking was how scared you must've been when your dad was driving you to the ER, and I wasn't there for you. I knew what was wrong with me, Nina. I knew I would be fine. But, you had no idea what was going on with you. You must've been so scared... sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I should've been there for you. I should've been the one taking you to the hospital."

She cleared her throat and wiped away her tears as she looked into my eyes. "Thank you, Nico. It means a lot to me that you would acknowledge it. I was terrified and I did need you. Thank you for understanding how I felt and for owning your mistakes."

She reached over and brushed my hair off my forehead. Her hand caressed my face as she cupped my cheek. "Now, let's focus on you," she whispered.

Another hour later —after I spoke to two police officers and reported the incident— Nina, Theo, Thalia, Lottie, Liam and I returned to the hotel. I wasn't keeping my hopes up that Virginia would be caught by the authorities. I was almost positive she was already on a private plane back to the States. I doubted Greece would be able to extradite her, not with her family's money and connections. They'd be able to afford the best lawyers. Even with a European arrest warrant on her, I'd most likely not get any justice.

At the moment, however, I was trying to count my blessings. I was lucky; I had only needed some stitches and care instructions. Virginia could be dealt with in the future.

Once we entered our hotel room, I quickly undressed and got into bed. I watched as Nina walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. I was on the verge of sleep when Nina finished getting ready for bed and walked back out of the bathroom. She stood between the two queen beds and stared at me.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I asked. "Why aren't you coming to bed?"

"Maybe I should sleep in the other bed, Nico. I don't want to hurt you."

I sat up in bed. "Absolutely not, Nina. I need to hold you. I'm laying on my side, baby. You won't hurt me."

She blew out a breath and nodded as she got into bed with me.

I held her close and breathed her in. I finally had my girl in my bed, and in my arms.

Three days later, after an arduous flight, we finally landed in LA. I was seconds away from beating up a man, who looked like he took one too many steroids. He spent the entire flight from Zurich giving us ugly looks and loudly complaining about little kids on planes. Somebody needed to teach the asshole a lesson.

"Nico, please, let it go. Karma will get him," she whispered to me.

"I'll be his karma, Nina," I grunted.

"Nico," she scolded.

I blew out a breath and nodded. "Very well, as you wish."

And then, I directed my family toward the airport shuttle. It was time to take my family home. After all, I finally had Nina back.