What’s just one more mistake in the line of mistakes I had been making recently? That mistake it could cost me my life. Whether that mistake started when I took those pills from Alessio meant to help me? Or when I offered to help with tonight’s shipment, but either way, it led to the six or more stab wounds bleeding aggressively on my thigh.

Logically, I should have attempted to get to Alessio, but I was farther away from the mansion and medical centre than I had been before. Creeping through alleyways, blood-soaked pants, while limping. I was sure if I came across someone, they would call the police. But here I was, the lights of the hospital drawing me closer. I knew painfully that he might not be here, and I was risking my life, but goddamn, this gave me a reason to see that surgeon again. 

Even if I was being stupid. 

Clenching my teeth, I pushed my legs to move across the parking lot. Inside the parking garage, the doctors had their own area to park, and I knew what car I was looking for if it was here. 

Like a beacon, there it was inside the parking garage, the car that Dr Cabello drove, and if not for Kylian suggesting we hang around to see what car he drove, then I wouldn’t have known. A couple dozen more well-placed steps had me beside the car, and I lowered myself to the ground on the driver’s side. There was no way he was going to miss seeing me. 

Leaning back, the cold metal of the driver’s side door felt oddly good on my back. Against everything I knew, I closed my eyes and thought of my daughter. I would have called her if I could have, but my phone got absolutely demolished while I was fighting with a gang member, before I even received the stab wounds. Meadow knew I loved her, and if anything happened to me, Alexi and Creed were more than ready to take over as her guardian. 

The thought of leaving her had a few tears slipping down my cheeks, but I held them from free falling. I was being less and less aware of the cold of the car door on my back, and that was terrifying. A fuzzing feeling overtook me, and that was it. Darkness. 

“Hey, you need to wake the fuck up right now.” A voice said, as they tugged on something around my thigh, and pain jolted me awake. “I need to get you inside.”

“No. Can’t.” I groaned, reaching for the tightness around my thigh. 

“Fuck yeah. I should have known that you wouldn’t want to go inside here for wounds like this. Fuck.” He hissed, and I could see how tired he looked already. “Fuck it, I’m going to get you into my car, and I’ll figure it out.” He snapped, his voice rising, and I felt bad that brought this to him. 

“Sorry.” I said, and he slapped my cheek hard. 

“Save it.” He said and muttered something else, but I didn’t hear it. 

After he helped me into the car, and I muttered I would pay to have his car cleaned, I hissed when he pushed his fingers into my wounds, and it jolted me up again. 

“Stay awake.”

“I’m working on it.” I grunted. The pain now was so much worse, thanks to him. “We have a medical centre. Give me your phone.” 

After finding it on the map, I gave him back his phone. He talked the whole time he drove there, while also reminding me to keep pressure on the area. I felt the car stop, and after that, everything felt like a blur, bright lights, and loud voices. 

In and out I faded for what felt like a series of long minutes, but when I finally could open my eyes and process what was going on around me, I came face to face with Alessio, sitting in the chair beside the bed. 

“I could punch you, fuck I should punch you. Fucking brat.” He hissed. 

“Your bedside manner is shit.” I choked out. 

“Your friend? I would assume that much. He is with Alexi and Maddox. You risked so fucking much bringing him here, Nikki. But now isn’t the time to scold you. You could have died.” Alessio said and pulled a hand through his hair. 

“Eh, I doubt that.” I muttered, using humour to mask how actually scarred I was at that moment. 

“You stopped breathing, and your friend brought you back. He helped a ton more than that, and I think that will be both of your saving graces. You brought an outsider into the inner circle.” Alessio said and crossed his arms. 

Yanking out the IV, Alessio freaked out at me. “Get me some damn crutches. This is my fault, my mistake, and I need to fix it.”

“Fix what?” Alexi said as he opened the curtain.

“My friend?”

“You mean the surgeon? He’s still here. Rather, right now Creed, is taking him to your place so he can shower. He was drenched in your blood and might have been a little shaken after Maddox gave him a few options. But we’ve worked it out.” Alexi said, and there was a peaking smirk on his face. I didn’t like it. 

“My daughter?” 

“With our uncle’s. Through, I think she knows more than we want her to.” Alexi said. 

“Ah, fuck.” I hissed, trying to get out of the bed. Alexi stopped me. 

“Creed is going to bring her by after the doctor friend of yours gets washed and changed.” He said. 

A series of bangs, and the curtain being yanked apart, revealed Kylian. He sent a minor glare at Alexi, as he all but shoved him out of the way. 

“What the hell happened?” He asked, but I could see the anger brewing in his face. 

“Nothing serious, just a few small wounds----” 

“You’re going to lie to my face?” He said, and I watched his jaw flex. I looked past him, and Creed was leading the doctor to my bedside. Beside him, holding his hand, was my daughter. I could hear her asking him question after question as they got closer. Kylian looked amused, and I could understand why. 

“You brought him home, huh?” Kylian whispered. 

“It’s not like that.” I hissed and looked up, meeting eyes with the doctor himself. He looked even more exhausted than he did when I saw him earlier. I wanted to ask Kylian to take him back to his place and let him rest, but it seemed Kylian didn’t seem to have the same idea as me. He frowned and crossed his arms as he looked the doctor up and down. 

“Kylian.” I muttered, and he looked down at me. 

“Yes?”

“Take the doctor to rest. He looks like he might fall over. Better yet, please take him home.” I spoke.  

Alexi sighed, butting in. “That won’t be happening, Nikki.”

“Goddamn it. Let me up. I’m going to speak with Maddox. This is bullshit.” I snapped and pushed Kylian and Alexi away from me. 

Fucking Maddox, I should have known this would be like dangling a bottle of water in front of someone in the desert. We needed another doctor, and I brought him right here with little choice. My good foot touched the floor, and my injured leg didn’t get the chance. 

“Don’t you dare step down on that leg! I worked very hard to keep you from bleeding out, and I’m sure your cousin feels the same way.” The doctor said, and I looked at my daughter. Her little eyes holding concern for me. 

“Creed, Alexi, take my daughter home. Please.” 

Meadow kicked and screamed as Creed carried her out of the room and I hated to hear it, but I needed to get her out of here. “Have Maddox come here, please. I can’t allow this. I will take whatever punishment I need to. I will not stand for this.” 

“Nikki, Maddox does things for a reason-----”

“I don’t care, Alessio!” I screamed, anger causing me to shake. Alessio sighed and crossed his arms. 

“And what do you intend to do, Nikki? Scream at Maddox like you have me? Get real. You should have thought about that before you brought him here. You’re aware of how things work around here. Lucas, Dr Martin, Sasha and many others, don’t tell me you’re not aware of how it works.” Alessio said, his voice colder towards me than it normally was. 

“Get out. All of you. Just get the fuck out!” I snapped.

Kylian and Alessio left, but not the doctor. He crossed his arms and sat down on the end of the bed. “Your boss, Maddox. He gave me a choice, you know. I’ll say it wasn’t a pleasant choice, and at the moment, I could see how someone might later regret it. But I picked, none the less.”

“You wouldn’t have had to pick if I had just left you alone. I wouldn’t have involved you in something you otherwise had nothing else to do with.” I muttered, clenching my hands into fists. 

“You would have bled out, and I doubt you would want to leave that little girl behind.” He said, like he knew what he was talking about.

“Meadow. Her name is Meadow, and you’re right. But because of my carelessness, you’re wrapped up in this now.” I said, and he surprised me by laughing. 

“Cute. But regardless of what you think, I was jobless, so his offer came at a good time. Yeah, I’m not openly thrilled about working for the mafia, but I guess, like everyone else, I might as well join them.”

“Jobless?” I said and looked at him, confused. 

“I quit today. I was on my way out from speaking with my boss to discuss my departure, and then you fell into my lap. With what your boss offered me, I think it’s my best bet.” He said and reached out to pull down the blankets. “Let me check your wounds.”

I got little chance to refuse him. He lifted the gown and exposed me to the cold air. I moved my hand to over my cock and he snorted. 

“It’s more than a little late for that, don’t you think?”