Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
After the twenty-four hours, it became days.
The club was able to fix everything on the outside, and Venom stayed at the hospital, showering and eating there. Bolt came to visit him.
Days turned to weeks.
Christmas came and went, and he didn’t leave the hospital. He stayed by Morwenna’s side.
Gus and Willow visited. Maverick and Storm. The guys from the club. Bolt, and his three children. They all adored Morwenna.
After two months in a coma, Bolt came to visit him, and he didn’t have his kids. He and Bolt rarely saw eye to eye, but Bolt looked at him and told him something he never expected.
“The divorce has gone through,” Bolt said. “Morwenna’s free.”
“What?” Venom asked.
“She always signed the papers. She always needed my signature, and then to file them with the lawyer. I did it all. I signed them. She loved me, but I lost that love, and I know she loves you. The guys told me what she said, and how you were. Over the years, I’ve taken a lot from her. I’ve made her do things she hasn’t wanted to do, and I’ve been selfish. This is my final, unselfish act. I don’t want her to hate me. I love her, I always will, and if you ever fuck up, I will be there.”
“I won’t fuck up,” Venom said.
“She’s yours,” Bolt said. “If she will have you.”
Venom nodded. “Thanks.”
“Any change?”
“None.” He ran a hand down his face and let out a breath. This was a lot harder than he anticipated.
He felt sick to his stomach. Tears filled his eyes, because he just wanted her to wake up.
Bolt moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll wake up. Morwenna’s strong, and right now, she’s just getting stronger, and she’s going to run rings around you, and you’re going to love every second of it.”
Venom laughed. “I just want her to wake up.”
“She will.”
He didn’t know how Bolt was so convinced, but he didn’t argue with him. He just stayed in his chair.
****
Throughout the next month, the doctors kept an eye on Morwenna. They said her body was healing, that the length of a coma was not exact, and there was no way they could wake her up just yet. That time hadn’t come.
Gus arrived after two months of Venom living in the hospital. He would not leave Morwenna’s side. He had a full bouquet of roses.
“You’re still here,” Gus said.
“She needs someone here and I want to be here when she wakes up.”
“Did you hear that with the information you had gotten, the Romano were able to fight back?” Gus asked.
“I heard. Maverick dropped by earlier to bring more flowers, a change of clothes, and a razor,” Venom said.
He’d already cleanly shaved, but Maverick said he looked a mess. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Morwenna when she eventually woke up.
“You know, the bodies are gone from the ranch,” Gus said. “The mess has been cleaned up, and the guys have been cleaning out the rest of the Karamazov. You were right, they were used to being the hunters, not being hunted.”
“I figured,” Venom said.
“You can stay here, keep watching her, and when she’s awake, you’ll struggle to get everything right, or you can come with me.”
“Where?” Venom asked.
“To the ranch. The bodies are gone, but the mess is still there. Broken windows, some water damage to the floorboards. Also, I have a feeling it would help you to hunt for the Karamazov.”
“I ... left her,” he said.
“You were doing what you could to end the threat to her life. You had no way of knowing what they would do. None of us did.”
“It doesn’t make it right,” Venom said.
“And it doesn’t make it wrong. My daughter will not hold this against you. You need to get out of this hospital, have a proper shower, and some real food. Not hospital food.”
“It is real food.”
“You need more, Venom. You’re wasting away, and I will not have my daughter waking up from a coma, seeing you like this. You’ve got two choices—walk out of this hospital, or I drag you out, and you don’t have a lot of strength to fight me.”
Venom wanted to argue. But he looked at Gus. The ranch was a mess, he knew that because Bolt had tried to lure him out of the hospital.
“I can’t leave her. We know the Karamazov are still out there,” Venom said.
“That’s why I’m here,” Diesel said. “And we have a timetable. I will not leave this door. I promise you, I will protect her, and I will supervise every single doctor and nurse that comes into this room.”
Any new nurse or doctor had to present their arms, so he could see if they carried the Karamazov barcode.
He took a deep breath and nodded, but he didn’t feel relieved.