“Which is a serious fucking problem,” Georgia snarls from near my ear. There is no doubt one of the sets of hands dragging me painfully onboard is hers. The anger in her voice makes me think she is happy to make me suffer. If her boat is gone, she truly is trapped. I open my mouth to comment, but the taste of blood runs over my tongue, making me cough. Pain flares through me, and what I first thought was torment now seems like nothing by comparison. Again, I cry out.
“Jesus,” Madison’s voice adds to the mix. “Try to be gentle, will you? It’s not her fault your boat—”
The end of her sentence fades away in the red mist of pain, and then I hear nothing until the next time I come back to consciousness. Thankfully I am flat on my back on the deck with a pillow under my head, making me grateful. Yet, when I open my eyes, I see it is not a pillow which cushions me, but Lila's lap. Her face is wet with tears, but when she sees me looking at her, a brave smile crosses her face. “Hello, darling,” she whispers as she touches my cheek. The sight of her makes the pain burning inside me subside a little. It occurs to me she is all I ever want to look at, even with smudges of red blood on her cheek, and I try to smile
Suddenly, I want to tell her I love her, because I finally realize it is true, but when I open my mouth, another coughing fit starts. The pain it causes nearly makes me blackout again, but I push it back. Right now, I need to know what is happening. “Don’t talk,” Lila tells me. “Everything will be okay.” This I know is a lie. Years on military battlefields taught me being shot in the midsection is almost impossible to recover from. So many organs could be damaged or destroyed when a bullet blasts through the abdominal cavity. There are poor odds of survival from this if not attended to immediately. All the more reason I must tell Lila how I feel.
“We had a deal,” I hear Georgia yell. “Do not call the Coast Guard in. Just sail us back to LA, and we can get her to a hospital.” I turn my head toward the woman and see she is nose-to-nose with Madison.
“A gun battle wasn’t in the deal. This is my ship. And I am calling for help,” Madison roars back.
Claire walks into my field of vision. “It’s already done,” she says a coolness in her voice like nothing I have heard from her. “I activated the distress signal.” Georgia whirls on her, raising her hand as if she will slap the woman, but when Claire does not flinch, she hesitates. When she does, Madison grabs her jacket to pull her away, a threat on her lips. Georgia shrugs her off before she can say anything and steps back.
“Fantastic,” she says, followed by something else, but my hearing fades again. Closing my eyes, I hope help arrives soon. Then, as more coughing starts, and the pain flares, I see and hear nothing else until I feel hands pulling at me again. Is the sailboat sinking?
“Relax, ma’am,” a man’s voice says from far away as renewed pain shoots through me. Moaning, I slap at the hands probing my wound. Then, someone strong takes my wrists, and my eyes fly open as I think of the men attacking us on the boat. Are they back? Yet, the gentleness in the face I see is entirely different than the cold eyes of the man who shot me. “We are going to take care of you.” Still a little panicked, I look around for Lila to find her beside my head. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles, but it is not enough to hide the fear on her face. Pulling one of my hands free from the medic, I reach for her. She grabs it and squeezes.
“They are here to help,” she says. “You need to let them.” I nod. Speaking is impossible. There is too much blood in my mouth, and I don't want to scare her. The sharp pinch of a needle draws my attention back to what is happening. As I watch, an IV is attached, and suddenly I feel drowsy. The pain pulsing in me recedes, and I think maybe I am okay enough to tell Lila what I'm feeling, but then my vision narrows. I try to stay conscious, but I can't, and when I awaken the next time, I sense time has passed.
Fluttering my eyes open, I see the landscape has changed too. The soothing color of the walls and faint antiseptic smell tells me this is a hospital room. Blinking my eyes again, I say a quick prayer that I am not dead yet. There’s no way to know my status, but there is still hope if I am here and awake. “She’s opened her eyes,” I hear Claire say, and then a hand takes mine. Already I know it is Lila. The softness of her skin, the warmth of her touch. Looking around, I see the two women flanking my bed. Both beautiful, but there is tiredness on their faces.
All I want to do is reassure them I am still alive, but my throat is so dry. “Water,” I croak.
“Of course, darling,” Lila says turning away to return with a cup of ice slivers. She feeds me one, and if I was not already entirely in love with her, the gratefulness in my heart for the coolness of the ice would make me so. After a few more, I sigh. Now maybe the words will come.
“Lila,” I start. “I need to tell you something.”
Claire pats my forearm before I continue. “I’ll wait outside,” she says moving toward the door only to have it push open to reveal Madison.
“How is she?” the billionaire asks.
“Awake,” Claire answers. “But—” Madison is across the room and to my side before Claire finishes. A grin appears on her face when she sees for herself I am alive and responsive.
“You are one tough son of a bitch,” she laughs, and there is relief in it. She looks between the other two women. “I knew it, didn’t I?”
Claire laughs with her. “Yes, you were right. Thank God.”
Madison claps her hands together. “I need to let Zena know. And the detective.”
“Detective?” I whisper. She nods, a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes, they arrested Georgia DeLane and are taking statements about what happened.”
My eyes widen at the news Georgia was arrested. “Wow,” is all I can manage.
Madison claps me on the shoulder sending a ripple of pain through me. When I wince, Lila waves Madison back. “Be gentle,” she admonishes. “Now go. She needs to rest.” Claire takes ahold of her partner’s arm and steers her toward the door.
“Let them have some time alone,” she murmurs, and then they are gone. Lila pulls my hand to her lips and kisses it. I look to her and see tears shining in her eyes, but they do not fall. Instead, a passion burns there. Even through the drowsiness from the medication coursing through my body, a tingle starts inside me. Not even a bullet and being near death can keep me from wanting her. Our eyes hold, and I open my mouth to finally tell her everything, but she puts a fingertip to my lips.
“No,” she says, and my heart falls. Even now, she doesn't want to hear it. Lowering my eyes, I try not to let her see my disappointment, but then the fingertip slides down to lift my chin. “It is my turn to talk.” Raising my gaze, the softness I see on her face gives me a renewed hope. She bites her lip as if gathering her courage but still holds my eyes. Then, with a nod, she pushes on. “When I was younger. Much younger,” she says with a little laugh but then goes on. “I was in love with an incredible woman. She was kind and had a generous heart, but also incredibly intelligent and funny.”
I nod. “The doctor.”
A wistful smile crosses her face. “Yes, the doctor. When I lost her, I vowed to never love anyone so much again. And I haven’t.” A chill settles over me. The next thing she will tell me is she won’t open her heart for me. I am not ready to hear it. Not right now.