I exhaled, the ache in my chest deepening. “I want a miracle.”
His fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Never count a Carrera out. When we want something, we fight for it.”
He walked away before I could say anything else, but it was just as well. My attention was already redirected. Letting out another breath, I walked across the room to make my worst enemy my strongest ally.
Cristiano glanced up, his gaze suspicious as I sat next to him. “I’m sorry about your father.”
He didn’t answer.
“Look, believe it or not, I know what it’s like to find out you’re the son of a psychopath.” That earned me a raised eyebrow, and I shook my head. “Long story for another day.”
“Yeah, well, I’m glad he’s dead,” he said, his jaw ticking with repressed rage. “The world’s better off.”
I believed him. It took balls to come here knowing whose blood flowed through his veins. I had to respect that. “I know that feeling too. Listen, I want to thank you for what you did.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“Christ, can you knock that chip off your shoulder? I’m trying to extend an olive branch here.”
He started to say something, then flattened his lips, silence sitting between us like a rock. Finally, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Is there any news?”
My pride yelled at me to drive my fist in his face and walk away, but Val’s words kept echoing in my head.
“You want to hate him for it, but he just risked his life to save hers knowing her heart belongs to another man.”
So instead, I did the opposite. I swallowed my pride, proving I earned Adriana’s kiss. “Not yet, but you should come sit with the family. Val will be the first person they tell.”
He sat up, his eyebrows bunched in confusion. “With the Carreras? I’m a Muñoz.”
I chuckled and clasped him on the shoulder. “I don’t think you’ll burst into flames. But if you do, we’re in a hospital. Besides, you could stand some scarring, pretty boy.”
“¿La familia de Adriana Carrera?”
Six heads popped up followed by twelve feet hitting the floor. My heart dropped as a man dressed in scrubs stood in front of us, his dark skin weathered and wrinkled.
Val looked over at me, giving me a quick nod. “En inglés, por favor.” In English, please.
The doctor glanced between us. “Very well. Are you Valentin Carrera?”
Val nodded. “Yes, how is my sister? Is she…” His voice trailed off, and Eden wrapped her arms around him.
“Mr. Carrera, the laceration your sister suffered was serious, but it could’ve been a lot worse. The blade missed her liver by millimeters. She lost a lot of blood, and there was some internal bleeding, but we were able to repair the damage and stop it.”
My eyes bounced between them, the words twisting around in my head.
She’s all right.
Val released the breath he’d been holding. “So, she’s going to be okay?”
“Mr. Carrera, the information you gave stated your sister received a kidney transplant when she was fourteen.”
Val and I glanced at each other in silent acknowledgment of “Marisol’s” medical history I exposed a year ago.
“Yes, she was born with type 1 diabetes.”
The doctor flipped through the chart in his hands and rubbed his eyes. “Eleven years is a long time for a donor kidney to last even with proper care, however from examination and bloodwork I can tell you hers is failing at an incredibly rapid pace.”
Cristiano cleared his throat, and we all turned around. “When I was in that warehouse, Ignacio told me when he took her the first time, he tortured her and gained her cooperation by withholding her anti-rejection meds.”
“Do you know how long she was without them?” the doctor asked.
“Two days, maybe three?”
Everyone’s eyes turned back toward the doctor. “One to two days would cause serious problems, but three days would’ve caused irreversible damage to an already deteriorating organ. The donor kidney is failing, and with the stab wound, Adriana’s body is going into shock.”
“What are you saying?” I whispered, words sounding like they came from someone else.
“We have her stabilized for now, but without an immediate transplant, there’s nothing we can do.”
Val exploded, shaking off Eden’s arm and crowding against the doctor. “Then give her one, goddammit!”
To his credit, the doctor didn’t back down. He stared up at the man who everyone knew owned the hospital and everyone in it. “Mr. Carrera, we can’t just hand one over. There are waiting lists with thousands of people on them. I understand your unique situation, but I refuse to play God with people’s lives.”
“I’ll donate.”
Leighton whipped around, her jaw dropping. “Brody!”
Mateo laid a heavy hand on her shoulder, and she immediately pursed her lips in silence, but I didn’t care. I’d give her both kidneys. I’d give her my heart. Hell, she already had it.
The doctor shook his head. “As admirable as that is, it’s not that simple. There needs to be testing done. Blood matching is required to ensure the kidney won’t be rejected. Ideally, she would need a parent for her best chances.”
I refused to back down. “Her parents are dead.”
A distant look crossed Val’s face. “What about a sibling?”
You could’ve heard a pin drop. No one said anything until a fiery redhead attacked him like a linebacker. “Val, no! I know you want to help her, but it’s major surgery. We just got Santi back, and I can’t…” Tears spilled down her face. “…I can’t risk losing you too.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Adriana is my sister. She just risked her life to save our son. I owe her more than a kidney, Cereza. I owe her my life. We both do.”
The doctor offered a sympathetic smile. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. There are blood tests that need to be done, as well as X-rays and abdominal CT scan. Not to mention the follow-up tests that must be analyzed a minimum of three days later. This isn’t an immediate procedure, Mr. Carrera.”
Val cracked a brittle smile. “Perhaps that’s true for most of your patients. However, I’m sure you’d prefer the details of your trip to Monterrey remain private just as much as I’d prefer to stop discussing extraneous tests that aren’t any of my concern.”
The doctor’s face blanched. I had no idea what happened in Monterrey, but apparently, it was enough to bypass hospital protocol.
“Of course, Mr. Carrera, but even siblings only have a twenty five percent chance of being a perfect match, and only a fifty percent chance of being a half match.”
Val kissed Eden again, prying away from the death grip she had on his arm. “Go check on Santi. I have some odds to beat.”
Six hours later, I paced again, this time for an entirely different reason, but no less impatiently. I also had company as Cristiano, Leighton, and Mateo followed in line behind me. We were a train of anxiety, unsure if we’d arrive at our destination or derail and crash.