His Mafia Prince
Chapter 220: He Has To Wake Up

Chapter 220: He Has To Wake Up

(TYLER)

When I reach Sasha’s room, the guards are grinning at each other, faces still weary. But there is something in their eyes that I haven’t seen for a long time. Hope.

I burst right through them and fling the door open.

Standing over my husband is someone with an imposing figure and blonde hair. Marco. Lucia’s brother. He looks up when I throw myself towards him then turns awkwardly so that he can take me in. He only just has time before I’m on top of him.

"Marco," I sob into his neck.

I hadn’t thought that I’d be this vulnerable. If anything, I should be strong for my alpha. I should do better than be a pathetic ball of emotions but I can’t seem to help it. No matter how hard I try, I somehow find a reason to crumble. I don’t want this. Sasha definitely wouldn’t want this, but I can’t help myself, so I let go.

He gathers me up and holds me close. "Tyler, it’s been a while. I missed you."

I need a moment with my face buried in him to pull myself together, and Marco, bless him, lets me have it. He hugs me until I pull back from him. He then smiles down at my wet face. "How are you doing?" he asks softly.

I thought that I was doing okay, but his question makes my lips to start quivering again, and I can only shake my head. He glances over at me to the top of the doorway, and I feel his muscles bunch. Readying. "Who’s this?"

I turn, relieved to have the distraction then I wave Leo into the room. For some reason, he is on high alert and then I realize that he has never met Marco. Leo had joined the family after Mr. Martino’s funeral. "Leo," I say, sniffing and motioning him to come closer. "This is Marco. Mrs. Adonis brother."

"Oh, shit." Leo’s eyes go wide. He drops his hand from where it has been hovering near his gun. "No kidding?"

"This is Leo Vitale." I tell Marco. He’s―"

Marco frowns. "Yeah, I heard you. Have you been treating Tyler right?"

"Yes, sir." He nods respectfully. To the best of my ability."

"Alright then." Marco drops the gruff act and steps forward to offer his hand to shake.

My knees buckle and Marco hauls me upright. "Hey, watch out there. I don’t want Sasha getting mad at me when he wakes up and finds you lying right next to him. Come on, come on. Sit. ’He half supports me to my usual chair next to Sasha’s bed, looking over at me critically.

"So, no one has been taking care of you?"

In truth, technically nobody has been taking care of me. Not because they don’t want to, but because I don’t let them. I can’t bear the thought of leaving Sasha even for a second. I’m scared that something awry might happen while I’m away. All it took for him to end up in this bed was just a few seconds of focusing on the wrong things, and I can’t dare put him on the pedestal again.

There is a soft knock on the door and then it begins to swing open. "Of course. I’m being taken care of." I say, feeling a little better when Wesley comes into the room, blinking at me in a concerned manner. "Wesley, for one."

"Here. I brought you these." Wesley says, handing Marco and I a coffee each. "The café said you had been waiting on an order. I handed out the rest." He says quickly as I open my mouth to speak again.

I let out a little sigh of pleasure. "Thanks, Wes." I have had so much coffee in the last few days that I doubt if I can stomach it anymore, but at least, it gives my hands something warm to gather around. Marco gulps half of his in one go, making a face while at it.

"Pretty much used to the Italian style now." He mutters. "But fuck me. I need the caffeine. That flight knocked me around some."

"I’ll get you another one." Wesley offers as he glides out the room. I know that he is allowing us to have some time alone with each other and Sasha, and if I have any gratitude left in me, I will surely feel it now.

All that I feel these days are the uncontrollable emotions. Anger, fear. Hatred sometimes. But also love, and the overwhelming devotion to the alpha lying in that hospital bed. I put down my coffee and cross to him. Stroking a hand across his brow, running the backs of my finger down his jaw just to remind him that I’m here with him. I’ll have to trim his facial hair again tomorrow. Keep it tidy the way I know he likes. The nurse, Darla, helped me to do it yesterday because I know he’d hate how much it has grown.

"I can’t believe he’s lying there so―" Marco rumbles, then trails off, then he comes to stand next to me. "This isn’t him."

He spoke my mind, that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking in the last few days. From the day I first met him, Sasha has always been a fiery beacon, and not just to me. His ambition, his desire, his drive, those qualities made him hard to miss even in a crowded room.

Since he took over as head of the Triple Triad Syndicate, he built a reputation that speaks for him. A fierce leader. A wise one. One who saw to it that everything worked for the betterment of the syndicate. And that didn’t stop him from being a good father to his children. He is always present for them. He gave me a home when I didn’t think I’d have one, and even a sense of belonging. I owe everything to my alpha.

Lying in this bed, that fire has now dimmed so much that I can barely see it.

"What did the doctors say?" Marco asks.

"That, in so many words, my husband got so lucky. That he took several bullets and only one is the real problem." I try to keep calm and my voice steady through the next sentence, because there is no point in making Marco as worried as I am. "Plus, he had a head injury, which they think is the reason why he hasn’t woken up yet."

There are a whole lot of complex terms that the medical doctors told me, and I’m thankful that Darla has been interpreting those for me. "But he will wake up. He will."

"He is strong, Tyler. He has always been. Sasha has survived worse than this. And he has more to live for now than ever before." Marco’s eyes flick to the ring on my finger. "He didn’t finally decide to settle down just to leave you like this."

A choked laugh escapes my throat. Though it sounds more like a sob. "He promised me that he will be here to help me take care of our kids. That he will be the best husband. Said he will protect our family―" my voice drops to a whisper. "He has to wake up, Marco. He has to."

"He will." Marco’s certainty sparks something in me. "Sasha is strong. It takes more than just a bullet to put him down.

Marco’s jaw clicks and he works it, staring at his nephew. "How the hell did this happen?"

That is the same question that I’ve been asking myself over the last couple days. What every other Adonis or Triple Triad member has wanted to ask me too. Maybe they are sensitive about my emotional state. Or maybe, like Miles and Jericho, they just feel too guilty to talk about it.

Marco turns to me, more insistently this time. "Huh? Why the hell wasn’t there more security with you two? And how did the Irish get ahead of you? Or was there another family involved? Did somebody sell you out? Why―"

"Marco," I sigh, then put a hand around his arm and pull him away from Sasha’s bedside. I don’t know a lot about Marco, but anyone who values Sasha, family or not, is bound to get as jittery as I am. From the look on Marco’s face, I can tell that he isn’t about to let this go easy. He has questions. And he wants answers. He deserves them. Hell, we all do. But the last thing I want to do is to fuss near Sasha. "Please, don’t. Not right now. I don’t want Sasha to get stressed while he is lying there."

"No." Marco says, and the aggressive jut of his chin suddenly feels familiar. "I want to know, and I want to know now, Tyler. Because it sounds to me like some heads need kicking, if this family doesn’t have its shit together to take care of my nephew."

I rub a weary hand over my face and nod. "Okay, come with me."