Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) (11 page)

After dinner, they all chatted for a while before Viola
begged to go take a hot bath to soothe her now screaming, muscles from her leap
from a moving vehicle. She hadn’t even taken the time to check for cuts or
scratches from the event.

Angelica showed her to her room, where she stripped out of
her clothes, examining her body in the full length mirror hanging on the back
of the door. As she stood there in her underwear she saw her legs and arms
covered in dark purple & green bruises. She twisted around and saw her back
had multiple scrapes which had scabbed over and the same massive bruising as
her legs and arms.

“Well, that wasn’t such a great idea Vi,” she said to
herself as she wrapped herself in the robe that was lying across the bed and
pulled her hair up into a knot on the top of her head. She then gathered what
she needed from the shopping bags she’d brought into the room with her and went
in search of the bathroom.

When she found it a couple of doors down from her own room,
she closed the door behind her and turned on the water to her preferred
temperature. She then poured some of her favorite scented bubble bath in, thankful
they’d picked up some during their earlier shopping trip, and disrobed.

Sinking into the bath, she groaned as the soapy water stung
the scrapes on her back, arms and legs. Once she got settled in the bath, she
closed her eyes, leaned her head back and let the hot water soothe her aching
muscles.

Not realizing she’d dozed off, she sat up straight and
looked around, disoriented, when Cora knocked on the door.

“Hey Vi, are you alright in there?” Cora called out,
sounding worried.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Viola replied, her voice thick with
exhaustion.

“You’ve been in there a while,” Cora told her, still
concerned.

“I’m sorry, I guess I dozed off. The water’s cold now so
I’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” Viola told her as she unplugged the tub
and climbed to her feet.

“Okay. Anything you need for me to bring you?” her sister
asked, hovering.

“Nah, I’m good. Go take care of Liam. I’ll be fine,” Viola
said as she toweled herself dry and slipped back into the bathrobe.

Cora was still standing at the door when Viola opened it,
which made her sigh in aggravation. All she wanted was some peace to rest and
heal.

“You look like you jumped out of a moving vehicle. Oh wait,
you did pull that stupid stunt!” Cora said, with as much sarcasm as she could.

“Shut up Cora, I’m really not in the mood,” Viola groaned, as
she pushed her twin out of the way and headed to her room.

“No! What were you thinking?” she persisted, following close
on Viola’s heels.

“I was thinking that my mate, Liam and Sage were all in
danger and neither you, or Mom would listen to me. I was thinking that Anna’s
evil and sadistic and someone needed to do something to help them or they would
all be dead. I wasn’t far off either because she was getting ready to drop Sage
when I got there,” Viola said, entering her room and blocking the doorway
before Cora could enter.

“The situation was under control and backup had already been
on its way,” Cora told her.

“Well, considering I hadn’t been included in that
information, I did what I felt I had to do. Get off my back Cora,” Viola said
and slammed the door in her sister’s face, locking it behind her and crawling
into bed without changing into pajamas. Her eyes closed and she was asleep
instantly.

Cora stood outside of Viola’s room staring at the door in shock.
Never had the two of them had barriers between them. As she recovered from the
shock, she realized the reason Viola had shut the door in her face was she was
being the nagging, over-bearing sister Viola had always complained about.
Leaning her head against the door, she took a deep breath and wished she hadn’t
attacked Viola the way she had. “I’m sorry Sis,” she whispered before turning
and heading back downstairs to rejoin the others.

Dominic met Cora at the bottom of the stairs, concern
written all over his face.

“She’ll be alright. She was exhausted and went straight to
bed from her bath,” Cora told him, feeling exhaustion from the day’s events
begin to creep up on her as well.

“Are you sure? Liam told me she jumped out of the SUV while
it was still moving. She could have some serious injuries that aren’t visible
to the eye. We should get her to medical to be checked out,” he said, worried
sick about her.

“Let her get some rest. I’m sure our mom will be checking on
her throughout the night to make sure she’s okay. Try to get some rest,” Cora
said as she laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment before moving around him
to step into Liam’s waiting arms. Dominic’s concerns were valid and kept
replaying in her mind. Viola had not looked well when she’d seen her in the
hall.

“Come on, I need to talk to my mother,” she said, stepping
back and taking his hand in hers.

They walked into the kitchen together where Angelica was
drying and putting away the dishes while Thomas sat at the island in the middle
chatting with her.

“Hey, is Viola alright?” she asked Cora as the couple
entered the room.

“She’s sore and exhausted. We kinda had a minor argument
about how stupid she was to jump from the SUV while it was still moving and she
locked herself in her room. When I got back downstairs, Dominic made a good
point that we should have her checked out by medical to make sure she doesn’t
have any more serious internal injuries. I know she’s bruised up pretty bad,”
Cora said, letting out all of her concerns to her parents.

Angelica set down the plate she’d been drying, opened a
drawer and pulled out a key before turning back around to look at Cora.

“Let’s go check on her shall we?” she said as she walked
around the island, past Thomas and headed out of the kitchen toward the stairs.

Thomas stood and fell into step beside Angelica as she
passed and Liam and Cora followed close behind them. They found Dominic sitting
on the floor outside of Viola’s room with his knees up and head lying on arms
that were laid across them. He raised his head as they all gathered around
Viola’s bedroom door and Angelica unlocked it.

“Have you knocked and tried to talk to her?” Thomas asked
him as he stood up and looked at all of their worried faces.

“Yes, there was no response at all,” Dominic told them with
a nod. He looked at Cora and she saw just how upset he really was. She nodded
her head at him, letting him know she’d taken his words to heart and that’s why
they were all there.

Opening the door, Angelica entered and moved straight over
to where Viola was crashed out on the bed, on top of the bedding.

Their mother reached out and felt Viola’s forehead, only to
pull her hand back quickly, “She’s burning up. Call Dr. Brown and have him
ready for our arrival. We need to transport her to medical right now,” Angelica
issued the orders to Thomas and he pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

Dominic rushed to Viola’s side and picked up her hand in
his. Her hand was so hot it burned his own,
but
he still would not release it.

“Isn’t transporting her ourselves dangerous? Is there some
type of ambulance we can call?” Cora asked, distressed.

“No honey. We’ll get her there safe and sound, I promise,”
Angelica responded as Thomas pushed the end button and put his phone back into
his pocket.

“Liam, I need you to bring the car around and have it
running for when we get down there. Cora, please go with him and make sure all
of the seats are cleared so we can all fit,” Thomas said, trying to keep the
peace with one daughter while getting the other one the medical attention she
desperately needed.

Cora and Liam nodded their heads and left the room together.

Dominic would not move from Viola’s side as Thomas and
Angelica turned to look at him and saw how devastated he was at her condition.

“Dominic, please carry her gently down to the SUV and get
her loaded into the back seat. I want her lying across the seat and you can
cushion her head in your lap so it’s not jarred around too much as Liam drives.
Angelica and I will be out in a moment,” Dominic nodded as he released Viola’s
hand, eased her up into his arms and cradled her close to his chest as he
exited the room.

“Wow, I am impressed my love,” Angelica said as they turned
and followed Dominic out.

“I tried. We need to hurry though. She didn’t look good,”
Thomas replied. He was as distressed about Viola’s condition as the rest of
them were.

“Will Dr. Brown be ready?” she asked to be sure.

“Yes, he was already at the medical center. He’s preparing
the staff for our arrival,” Thomas said with a nod as they descended the stairs
and exited the house.

“Good. I’m sure she will be okay once he takes care of her,”
Angelica said even though the worry in her voice betrayed the confidence she
tried to portray.

“Let’s hope so,” was all Thomas said as they got into the
vehicle and Liam pulled away from the house.

Dr. Brown met them in the parking lot when they arrived at
the warehouse where the twins had first been introduced to their true heritage
and destiny.

Sage moved forward and opened the door to help Dominic lift
Viola out of the vehicle and lay her out on the stretcher.

The doctor stepped up and began examining her as the nurses
quickly rolled the stretcher forward into the warehouse and over to an elevator
marked for medical personnel only. There was another nurse already standing
there holding the elevator doors open for the group.

Dominic stayed close to Viola’s side and refused to let go
of the hand he held clasped in his own.

Sage had already filled Dr. Brown in on the events of the
day before they’d arrived, so Liam went on to fill him in on what had occurred
since their separation from Sage, including how they’d found her unconscious in
her room.

Dr. Brown asked several questions, as he needed answers to
certain things, until they reached their version of an emergency room.

One of the nurses broke away from helping to move the
stretcher and prevented anyone from their group from going into the examination
room.

Dominic was the only one who’d escaped her notice and made
it inside.

Sage heard yelling from inside the exam room when the doctor
and nurses tried to get him to leave.

He saw Thomas give Angelica a worried look before he
released her hand, stepped around the guard nurse and into the exam room to
help remove Dominic so the medical staff could give Viola the care she needed.

Sage’s eyebrows knit close together when he heard Thomas’
loud voice boom through the doors ordering Dominic out of the room and
Dominic’s loud and rude reply. He and Liam pushed past the nurse, who threw her
hands up in exasperation, to go assist Thomas in removing Dominic from the
room. They both understood why Dominic was refusing to leave his mate’s side,
but he had to for her to be treated, and every second he fought them, was a
second she lost getting better.

As he stepped inside of the exam room with Liam, he saw
Dominic still holding tight to Viola’s hand and Thomas standing nose to nose
with him. Both had switched to low outraged voices and were arguing back and
forth as the doctor and nurses stood back against the wall watching in fear.
They’d never heard Thomas roar at anyone like that before.

Even though Dominic saw them, Sage and Liam moved behind
him, one at each of his arms to grab hold and physically remove him if
necessary.

“Come on man, you’re getting in the way. You need to come
out and wait with us while they take care of her,” Sage said, sensing the
terror thrumming through the man’s veins as if it was the blood he lived on.

“I am not leaving her alone with people she doesn’t know,”
Dominic grated out.

“You are leaving this room right now,” Thomas growled.

“Hey, calm down both of you,” Sage said, trying his best to
mediate. “Dominic, you need to listen to reason here. The longer you fight us
on this, the longer it takes them to find out what’s going on with her and help
her get better. I know you want to protect her,
but
right now you may be hurting her more than you realize.”

Dominic’s head and shoulders slumped as the truth of Sage’s
words sunk in. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Viola’s forehead as he laid
her hand gently down on the gurney. Sage put his arm around the man’s shoulders
and helped him walk out of the room so he couldn’t change his mind and go back
to her side.

Thomas met Sage’s eyes over Dominic’s bowed head and mouthed
“Thank you” to him. Liam and Thomas trailed the two men from the room.

Dr. Brown and the nurses went right back to work on Viola
with the doctor barking out orders and the nurses running around to do what
they were told.

Once the four men were out in the waiting room with the
women, Dominic sank down into one of the chairs and put his face in his hands.
Cora went over and wrapped her arms around him and spoke in a low voice to him.

Judging from Cora’s emotional signature, she was telling him
about Liam’s trip to medical after Anna had kidnapped and tortured him. It was
awful standing by and waiting while the doctor’s did their thing and made your
loved one better, so he and Cora knew first-hand how Dominic was feeling.

He seemed to respond to Cora’s gentle comfort and commiseration
and lifted his eyes to hers. They began to talk in low voices nobody else could
hear and even Liam wasn’t intruding on their intimate conversation.

The longer the doctor was in with Viola without updating
them, the higher the tension level in the waiting room rose, until Sage was
getting a migraine. He rubbed his temples trying to ease the pressure, but it
was no use. He looked up at the others, and
excused
himself to go outside to get some fresh air and decompress.

He was worried about Viola, like the rest of them, but their
emotions overwhelmed him. He turned as he heard the door open behind him and
saw Liam coming up to stand beside him, the look of sympathy in his eyes
driving him nuts.

“Are you doing okay?” Liam asked Sage, the concern in his voice
calming Sage’s irritation.

“Yeah, I’m good. The tension in there started giving me a
migraine so I had to get some air. Have you heard anything yet?” Sage asked
with hope in his voice.

“Not yet. I think they’re running tests on her to find out
what’s wrong,” Liam said, the sadness and worry Sage was feeling from him made
him feel even worse about Viola’s predicament.

“I hope they figure it out soon and they can help her,” Sage
said and looked over at Liam. “How’s Cora holding up?”

“From what I can tell, she’s deflecting her feelings and
focusing on helping Dominic through this. She’ll break down later,” Liam said
with a shrug.

The brothers stood there saying nothing for a while before
Sage looked over and said, “I guess we should head back in to see if there’s
any news.”

“Yeah. I hate dealing with medical,” Liam said, shaking his
head.

“Me too, Bro. I’m sure she’ll pull through and be outta here
soon,” Sage said and clapped Liam on the back as they turned around and headed
inside. They arrived in the waiting room just before Dr. Brown stepped in
looking bewildered.