Laying Rose on the floor I give her all my breath. Every breath I inhale, I feed to her.
My brain comes back around and I rub her chest to try to get her heart to start.
I’m numb to the world around me. My full focus is on Rose.
“Come on baby, breath for me. You can’t leave me now. I just got you,” I plead.
After what feels like hours, but was most likely only a minute or two, Rose gasps a deep breath in. And that’s the moment my heart started working again.
Rose is placed on a backboard and lifted onto a stretcher. I don’t complain because I know she needs them more than she needs me at the moment. But, fuck it all if I let them go without me.
“Are you family?” One EMT asks as he’s tucking a heated blanked around Rose.
“I’m her husband,” I say, daring a single soul to deny me.
“I grab Rose’s hand and ask the question I think I already know the answer to.
“Baby, where’s Princess?”
Her eyes are filled with so much sadness.
“Bear? I thought you were dead.”
“No, my sweet girl. I’m right here,” I lift her hand up and kiss her palm before placing her hand on my face, careful of her wrists.
“Where’s Princess, baby?”
“Oh, Bear,” she says as tears run down her face. “She’s dead. They killed her. I’m so very sorry.”
My heart breaks for my little princess. I’ll find out the details later. Looking back, I see that Hawk, Trigger, and Brick heard the news. Their faces are equally as devastated as I’m sure mine is.
“Meet us at the hospital,” I tell them as the ambulance door is closed. I hold tight to Rose’s hand. I have a feeling I won’t let her out of my sight for a long time to come.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rose
“Baby wake up. The Doctor wants to talk to you.”
“Hmm,” I open my eyes to a bright room and instantly close them again.
“Thanks, Doc. Try again, baby. The lights are dim.”
I open my eyes again, this time to a darker room. Then everything comes rushing back. The fire, Hernández, Princess being shot, being chained up, Bear dead, finally giving up, and then…Bear, saving me.
“She’s dead, Bear. I tried to save her. I did whatever I could to protect her. We were almost to the tree line when she was shot.” Tears are running down my face and I can’t contain the agony as it fights its way out.
“I know, baby. The detectives want to talk to you about everything that happened. But, right now we are going to focus on getting you better, okay?”
I nod my head and look at the doctor.
“How are you feeling Mrs. Allington?”
Allington? I glance over at Bear and see a possessive gleam in his eyes. So, he’s the one responsible. I try my best to hide my grin. Allington does sound like the world’s most perfect name.
“Well,” I tell the doctor, “my head feels heavy and I can’t really feel my body.”
“There’s a reason for both of those,” he says. “You have a grade four concussion. That’s why your head feels heavy. We will be keeping a close eye on you over the next few days.”
“And, why is my whole body numb?” I ask.
“That’s because you are on some pretty heavy pain meds, baby.”
“Pain medication?”
“What else haven’t you told us, doc?” Bear asks.
“Mrs. Allington, you have a patellar fracture in your right knee that will require a cast for about seven weeks. Your left knee is bruised and swollen but will be fine in a couple of weeks.”
He’s not done. I can tell there’s more.
“What else,” I manage to whisper.
“You have a Humerus Fracture in your upper right arm. That will need to be in a sling for about four or five weeks. Your left shoulder was dislocated. We’ve already fixed it, but it will be sore for a little while. Your wrists have some abrasion on them. Just need to keep the bandages and the wounds clean until it’s fully healed.”
“My knees? Will I be able to walk?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
“With assistance and after we cast your right knee. You can use a cane or crutches to help get around.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Bear says.
“I hope you get to feeling better soon, Mrs. Allington. Mr. Allington.”
The doctor makes a note on his computer before leaving the room.
“I was so worried, Rose. You took about ten years off my life.”
“I took all of the years from Princess’s life,” I say as tears, once again because I’m a freaking baby, fall down my face. “How can you ever forgive me?”
Bear’s silent for a while before he speaks again. “There’s nothing to forgive, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong. Princess dying was not, in any way, your fault.”
“I brought this whole situation into your life, Bear. Into her life. And because of that, her life is over. How can it not be my fault?”
***Bear***
I can’t take the look of guilt in her eyes anymore. I stand up from where I was sitting beside her bed, and as carefully as I can, I somehow squeeze my body into the bed beside her.
“Listen, I understand what you’re saying. I understand what you’re thinking.” I lean down and kiss away a salty tear, trying not to touch any other part of her body. She bruised all over.
“But, it’s simply not true. Hernández was already part of our future before you ran into mine. We were already working on plans to take him down. Losing Princess was a punch in all of our hearts. But, in the end, we got revenge. Maybe not the kind I want, but Hernández is behind bars with his father and every other son of a bitch we could find that was associated with him.”
I can see Rose is having a difficult time accepting what I’m saying. But we have all the time in the world for her to feel the truth.
I grab her left hand and slide on the one thing I’ve kept secret from her. Kissing her beautiful hand, I gently lay it on her stomach…and wait.
And wait…
Her tears have finally stopped and we’re laying in her bed watching tv. I can’t help the grin on my face as I gently slide my fingers through her hair.
Any minute now.
It’s taken her about an hour before she raises her hand to scratch her face. I see the grimace of pain it causes her, and I get pissed all over again. Of course, that feeling takes a back burner when I see she has finally noticed her surprise.
“What…wow, this is the most beautiful ring. It’s for me?”
My Rose is so innocent. I plan to take that innocence for myself and dirty it up.
“Yeah, baby. It’s for you. It’s your engagement ring.”
“My engagement ring? But I don’t remember being asked to get married,” she tells me with a smirk.
“That’s because you weren’t asked. Asking would imply you get the chance to say no. You will be my wife, future Mrs. Allington. I will be your husband. That’s all there is to it.” I leave no room for argument.
“Oh, very well,” she agrees with a beautiful smile.