He squeezed her hand tighter. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice. I should have cared enough to see it.”
Elle looked back at him. “It’s not your fault. I was a good liar, and I should have told you the truth.”
“No, Elle, it’s on me.”
Elle smiled at her father. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Elle-bell.” He cleared his throat. “You have someone out there who has been waiting to see you.”
“Chloe. Is she all right?” Elle hoped Chloe had made it out okay.
“She’s fine. She’s at school right now. Nero’s here. He hasn’t left since you got here.”
Elle’s eyes drifted down to the bed. “Oh. Tell him I’m fine, and he can go home.”
“You don’t want to see him?” he asked curiously.
Elle shook her head.
“He’s been out there a long time, Elle.”
“I didn’t think you liked him very much.” She watched her father think a moment before he spoke.
“I didn’t, and I still don’t, but when the hospital asked me if you had insurance, and I told them no, they asked me to fill out some paperwork to figure out a payment method. After I filled it out and took it up to the desk, they told me never mind, that it was already taken care of. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, I don’t know what kind of care they would be giving you right now if it wasn’t for him, and now I know he wants you taken care of.” Her father cleared his throat again. “Now, do you still not want to see him?”
Elle shook her head again, afraid if she talked she would end up crying.
“Okay, I’ll go tell the nurses you woke up.” He gave her hand another squeeze before he rolled off.
Elle slammed her eye shut when her father left the room. Her switch was now broken and she could feel again. It still hurts.
Elle didn’t want him to see her like this, broken. I don’t want him to be with me just because I’m broken.
Elle thought about the paper Nero had written, still not knowing how to feel about it. He still lied to me. His father’s a killer. They’re all killers. And Nero’s in the fucking mafia.
Elle took a deep breath. No, stay away from him.
The doctor came in to examine her, telling her she had a scalp laceration and another concussion, meaning she had gotten a few more stitches to add to her collection. She had taken a kick to the eye, but it would heal; she just got a pretty, black eye to match her stitches. Lastly, she had some stomach bruising, but again, the doctor said it would all heal. She was extremely lucky not to have broken anything or have a serious injury. They told her they would keep her in the ICU for the night to monitor her since she had been unconscious for a little over twenty-four hours, and then she would be moved to a regular room until she was discharged.
Thank God.
Chapter Forty-Five
The Boogieman
Elle was sleeping when she felt the bed sink in beside her. She slowly opened her one good eye and saw the silhouette of a man she had never met before. When her eye adjusted to the now-dim hospital lights, she focused on his face. Him!
Elle opened her mouth to scream, but his hand covered it.
“Shh, I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was deep and non-emotional.
Elle took a breath and even though her hair stood up, terrified at looking at his blue-green eyes, she nodded.
He slowly uncovered her mouth. “I’m Nero’s brother, Lucca. It’s good to meet you, finally.”
Elle swallowed the lump in her throat. “How did you get in here?” It was the middle of the night, and only authorized friends and family could even come back to see her during visiting hours.
“Really? That hurts my feelings.”
What feelings? Elle knew it was a dumb question; the guy clearly went wherever he pleased. She doubted it was even a challenge for him.
She sat up in bed, not liking the feeling of him looking so far down at her. “What do you want?”
Lucca shrugged. “To talk.”
Elle felt like he was sitting too close to her body on the small bed. It was hard to be almost at eye-level with him; however, she didn’t want to show him how scared she actually was of him. Besides, there was something she had needed to talk to him about, as well.
“You don’t strike me as the talking type.”
It was somehow possible for his eyes to turn even more deadly. “I am when it concerns my brother. Did you know he’s been sitting out there the entire time?”
Elle blinked her eyes a couple of times. “He’s still out there? I told my father to tell him I was fine and to go.”
Lucca put his arm on the other side of her hip and leaned toward her, making Elle lean back from his cold face. “So, you knew he’s been sitting out there, waiting for your fucking permission?”
Elle was scared shitless; she had to admit it, being inches from his face. She swallowed again and nodded her head.
“Did you know he spent a whole damn month tracking down every person who laid a finger on you? The day before your birthday, he was finally able to take a baseball bat to Sebastian, and then I bet he finally allowed himself to fuck you. He wanted to deserve you. Did you ever think about how you got here? He found you fucking lying on the bathroom floor, and by looking at you right now, I don’t even want to know the last image of you he had in his head.” Lucca leaned in an inch closer. “So, I think the least you could fucking do is let him see you.”