"Damn machinery didn't give you what I can."
She leaned forward and tugged my ear with her teeth. "Care to wager on that?"
With a growl, I lifted her by the ass and carried her out of the kitchen.
****
We spent two days in bed.
And knocked off numbers, from thirteen down to four.
Andi started making tally marks with a black felt tip pen on the inside of her ribcage so she could match me. Her marks were for love; mine were for death. She thought it was hilarious; it just made me feel like a bit of a monster.
"We need to get up." Andi's naked body was sprawled against mine. "The guys keep texting you, and if we don't answer soon, they're going to send a search party."
I weaved my fingers through her tangled mess of blond hair. "Let them."
She let out a heavy sigh. "Sergio?"
"Yeah?"
The air all but got sucked out of the room. It felt like she was about to say something big, something that would alter or maybe steal the bit of happiness I'd been experiencing with her over the past few weeks.
"I'm sick."
My body tensed. "I know."
She ran her hands along my stomach; her cheek pressed against my chest. I was sure she could hear my erratic heartbeat. Shit, I really didn't want to talk about it.
"I missed another doctor's appointment."
I froze. "What? Why?"
"We were in bed, and I just… I wanted to pretend."
I kissed the top of her head. "Pretend what, Russia?"
"That it was real." She leaned up, her chin on my chest, her eyes filling with tears as they gazed into mine. "Just for a few hours I wanted to pretend that outside didn't exist. That it was just you and me. I'll never forget you… I want you to know that. You give me moments, moments where I don't remember I'm sick, moments where only we exist. They're like tiny presents sprinkled throughout my life."
"I wish it worked that way, Andi..." God above, I wished it worked that way. Where if we willed something enough to happen, it inevitably would. "…but you can't miss any more appointments, alright? I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you all because I wanted to keep you in bed a little bit longer, kiss you a little bit harder, make love to you deeper."
She leaned up and kissed my mouth softly. "Then we should probably go in sometime today."
I nodded.
She frowned.
"What is it?"
She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "I'll miss you."
"Andi, you aren't going anywhere."
At least not for now.
Because we both knew that the odds were she was going somewhere. And I was staying.
Damn. I would do anything in my power — to follow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sergio
MY NERVES WERE SHOT. THEY WERE able to fit us into the doctor the following day. It was the same hospital doing my lab work, so I inevitably asked if I could get the test done at the same time.
The plan was to have Andi go to her appointment with the girls so she could be cheered up, while I went and pretended to do something for Nixon.
Unfortunately, Nixon actually did need me for something; the listening device had picked up bits and pieces, but the words were fuzzy, which was really strange, considering I'd done a hell of a job actually making sure it worked in the first place. We argued over when I was going to stop by his house, but I ended up going to my appointment first, just in case I needed some extra hours to hide out and crash so Andi wouldn't be suspicious.
With a sigh, I walked briskly down the hall.
I hated hospitals.
I'd only gone to med school to do exactly what I'd told Andi — learn how to take life, efficiently, effectively. Did that make me a monster? Maybe, but at least I embraced that part of me — the dark side that knew without a doubt I could reign hell on my enemies and be the only one to come out on the other side.
In the beginning, it had meant I could protect myself, protect my brother, Ax.
Now? It just meant I could protect those I loved. Andi. Did I love her? My chest ached whenever I even thought her name, let alone spent time with her. I couldn't focus when she was gone, and I couldn't focus when she was right in front of me. Every time I tried to breathe, it felt like I was suffocating.
If this was love?
I wanted out.
Because it officially wrecked me.
I glanced at my watch. Right on time.
"You sure about this?" Tex said from the end of the hall, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"Yeah." I licked my dry lips. "Besides, if I go the other route, Andi will get suspicious."
He nodded. "I already talked with Nixon. We're going to double the security at your house, but I don't see you being out for longer than a few hours."
We walked into outpatient surgery together.
I needed him to have my back, just in case. We didn't want to take any chances that someone would knife me while I was under the knife, pun intended.
"Sergio Smith?" the nurse called.
"Aw, you took her fake last name," Tex whispered under his breath. "How cute."