Surprise Twins for the Mafia Heir

15. Rosa

CHAPTER 15

Rosa

I can’t remember the last time I was in the hospital. I used to hate them. The smell of sterilization and the squeaky sound of nurse shoes angered me. I had to frequent them for my mom’s overdoses. She’d claim she was fine and then they’d have to fight to get her into rehab. She never stayed. We always found a way to break her out. This hospital is different. It's dark with no windows or white sheets. I don’t smell plastic, cheap hospital food. There’s no nurses poking at my side or sticking a catheter inside me. It’s just Nick.

Nick is not who I expected to see when I woke up. I assumed I’d died. But, according to the tourniquet on my thigh, the gunshot missed my head.

“What’s the catch?” I ask. Nick hands me a bottle of water with a straw in it. I refuse. I don’t trust him, even at this point. But my shaky limbs tell me otherwise so I take a long sip. The water is lukewarm but feels like heaven to my dry lips. I slurp the entire bottle down and collapse back onto the pillow.

“You lost a lot of blood,” Nick tells me. “I had to drag you out of there before the ambulance found you.”

“Afraid they’d help me live?” I ask dryly.

Nick glares at me. “Once you realize I’m not the enemy and I’m actually helping you, then you’ll see how lucky you are I found you. If the ambulance took you, the Montoyas would’ve snuck in and finished the job.”

A chill goes down my spine. “Why do they want me dead so badly?”

“Just comes with the territory,” he says. I glance at the high-tech medical equipment in the dingy basement.

“Did you steal all this crap, too?” I press. Nick shakes his head and points to the door of what looks like a closet. It suddenly bursts open as an older man with snow-white hair and a goatee walks out.

“So, Miss Mommy is awake,” the man chirps.

Fear trickles in my heart but Nick doesn’t seem fazed. “Why didn’t you tell anyone, Rosa?”

The older man checks the IV and sits in the chair across from me. “Why would she tell anyone, Nick? She would’ve been killed sooner if they knew.”

Tears prick my eyes. “How did you know?”

He shrugs. “I’m a doctor. I ran a few tests and somehow, you’ve carried these babies without anyone knowing.”

“Babies?” I croak.

The old man holds his hand out. “Probably a good time to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Carmy. I just visited with your dear Vinny and he was a mess about you.”

“Sure, he was,” I mutter. “The last time I saw him, he was about to kill me.” Dr. Carmy winces, placing his hands together.

“Well, he is a Montoya,” he replies. “I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll try to do the best—”

“Why are you helping me? How do I know you two aren't banding together to hurt me?” I snap. “I’ve already been shot. You could easily give them my location and have me killed.”

Dr. Carmy sits back in the chair. “I’ve done unspeakable things for the Montoya family, Rosa. They’ve given me a very charmed life these last thirty years. But I have my personal reasons to rebel against them.”

Nick clears his throat. “They killed one of his best friends. They bribe innocent people around town, and if they refuse to work with them, they kill one of their family members. They need to be taken down and the only way to do that is to get on the inside,” Nick cuts in. “It’s what I had to do.”

Nick leans forward and exhales. “Vinny doesn’t know and he won’t be happy.”

“And you think he’d be okay with you lying about your intentions?” I hiss. “Isn’t the whole kidnapping a way to prove to his dad he’s worthy?”

Dr. Carmy chuckles. “Vinny has been fighting for a way out of his family name for years; it just took a very unique situation to make it happen.” He eyes my stomach and raises an eyebrow.

“What are you trying to say?” I ask.

“You stay low, heal, and then figure a way out of this,” Dr. Carmy answers. “It’s not going to be pretty but if Vinny is who I think he is, he’ll be on his way soon.”

Nick nervously paces back and forth. “He’ll know to come to this area, too. This is where we would’ve been last.”

Nothing about their master plan puts me at ease. It makes me hate being caught in the middle. I feel guilty about wishing I’d died though. I don’t have just one baby, I have two. Two innocent lives that could’ve been lost.

“Rosa, you’re safe here with me,” Nick promises. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear.” I squeeze my eyes shut until I don’t hear them anymore. I just want to sleep and forget about everything.

It takes me a while to heal from my injury. I wake up to Dr. Carmy cleaning my wound or changing the IV bag. He’s quiet and quick. Other times it’s Nick waking me up to eat apple sauce or drink water. It all tastes disgusting. In the following days, he starts having me try prenatal vitamins. I know I’m pregnant, but I forgot all the precautions women should take during pregnancy. I’m pretty sure getting shot is at the bottom of that list, too.

“How could you feel safe taking care of me?” I ask Nick after he finishes giving me lunch. “They’re gonna kill you.”

Nick shrugs. “It’s not the first time they have tried.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

Nick takes in a heavy breath. He stares straight across the room. “They killed my foster family. The Brenans. They kept me for a few years and I guess the dad got involved. They were good people and only did it to pay for their daughter’s medical bills. They paid the Montoyas back but they still got killed. I never forgave them.”

He quickly wipes his eyes. “Vinny had no idea. I was hiding in the wardrobe when it happened. His dad found me and shipped me off to a boarding school in Germany. They didn’t know the Brenans were not my biological family but it didn’t matter. When I came back wanting to help, he was more than happy to open his arms to me.”

Nick’s grief is heavy. It sticks to me. I reach out my arm to grab his hand. He doesn’t jerk away. “You said foster family? What happened to your birth parents?”

Nick glances at me and bursts out laughing. “I’d love to tell you, Rosa, really, but it’s really not the time.”

I don’t press. I keep my hand on his, I start to trust him. We’ve both been through hell and back. The comfort of being understood in that way is soothing.

“I’m sorry,” I offer and Nick pats my hand.

“I’m not. We don’t choose our lives. Or parents. I’m just glad I found you in enough time. I would have been a wreck if I hadn’t.”

Nick stands up and readjusts my blanket. “Get some rest. I’ll be back for dinner and to change the bandages.” He pauses and turns to look back at me.

“I know you say you’re mad at Vinny, but if there’s even a small part of you that is still waiting for him…don’t. Try to forget about him.” It's not the advice Nick has given in the past. It's certainly not the advice a small part of me wants to hear. But, Vinny broke my heart. He breaks it the more when his face crosses my mind.

“Thank you,” I say with a forced smile. Vinny gave me a fire in my heart that I didn’t think could ever exist. Maybe his only purpose was to create that and the life inside of me.

Nick flicks off the light and disappears down the hallway. My thoughts are heavy and nauseating. All I can think about is Nick being a little kid witnessing his foster family’s death. I think about the burden Vinny carries because of the family he was born into. I think of my own kids who didn’t ask to be created in such a mess. My heart is aching. Sleep isn’t easy. I watch the ceiling as the cars beep outside and I hear the occasional boombox blare through the walls. Eventually my body gets exhausted enough to relax into a fitful sleep.