Chapter 4 - The Fever Breaks
Dominic ripped the IV needle out of his arm with a savage jerk,
sending a drop of bright red blood flying onto the white sheet.
"Stay back,
" he commanded,
swinging his heavy legs over the side of the bed.
"Are you insane?" I cried,
grabbing his uninjured arm to push him back down.
"Your wound will tear open again!"
"My house is being breached,
Nora,
" he snarled,
glaring down at me with absolute fury.
"I don't lie in bed while rats try to chew through my walls.
"
Despite his bravado,
the sudden movement drained the remaining color from his face.
A groan escaped his lips as fresh crimson began to seep rapidly through his pristine white bandages.
"See?" I said fiercely,
planting myself directly in front of him so he couldn't stand.
"You can barely support your own weight,
let alone fight off an armed intruder.
"
"If you take two more steps,
you'll hemorrhage on your own carpet and Vince won't even need to pull a trigger.
"
He stared down at me,
breathing heavily,
the raw power in his eyes clashing with his physical weakness.
For a tense moment,
neither of us moved.
Then,
the heavy oak door burst open,
and Leo rushed inside with a Heckler & Koch submachine gun in hand.
"Boss,
it's just a scouting party,
" Leo reported breathlessly,
stopping short when he saw Dominic half out of bed.
"Our guards at the north gate repelled them before they scaled the wall,
but they left a message.
"
Leo stepped forward and placed a heavy silver casing on the mahogany nightstand.
Engraved upon the polished metal was a viper with its fangs bared—Vince's personal crest.
Dominic stared at the casing,
his expression turning into a mask of pure,
glacial wrath.
"Clean me up,
Nora,
" he ordered quietly,
his voice deadly calm.
"Put a fresh shirt on me,
and hand me my holster from the wardrobe.
"
I looked from Dominic to Leo,
realizing that arguing was completely useless now.
Working in the ER taught me how to triage trauma,
but this room was an active war zone.
May you like
I grabbed fresh gauze and disinfectant,
going to work with clinical precision while the mafia boss prepared for war.
