MASIMO'S POV

My head pounded with a sharp, relentless pain, the kind that gnawed at every corner of my skull. I couldn't move. My body felt as if it were weighed down by lead, and a flicker of panic crossed my mind. Was I paralyzed? The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine. I struggled to open my eyes, each attempt feeling like a battle against a force that wanted to keep me in darkness. It took what seemed like an eternity before I finally managed to pry them open.

When my eyes adjusted to the light, I found myself in a stark white room, its walls so bare that they seemed to mock me with their emptiness. The brightness was blinding, almost suffocating, as if the room was trying to wash away every trace of the darkness that had overtaken my mind. Everything was too bright, too sterile, too... cold. My irritation flared. Why the hell were there so many lights? It felt like an assault on my senses, a punishment in itself.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. Ian stepped into the room, his presence a stark contrast to the coldness around me. A rush of relief washed over me, one so intense it almost made me dizzy. I couldn’t explain it, but seeing him unscathed, right there in front of me, made the tension in my chest ease. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, feeling strangely comforted by the fact that someone was here with me, that I wasn’t alone. That I mattered enough for someone to care if I lived or died.

But before I could even finish savoring that fleeting sense of comfort, Ian was at my side in a heartbeat, his eyes blazing with a fury I didn’t see coming. And then, bam! His hand connected with my face in a slap so hard that it echoed through the room. The sting was immediate, sharp, and it left the taste of blood on my lips. I winced, more out of shock than pain. I'd faced worse—far worse—but this... this was different. This wasn’t an enemy’s strike; it was his.

“What the hell, Ian? Why the fuck did you hit me?” My voice came out rough, laced with the anger and confusion swirling inside me. But the moment I saw his face, that anger began to crumble. There was so much emotion in his eyes—anger, sadness, fear—all tangled together. I felt my voice soften, the harsh edge falling away. “Why, Ian?”

“Asshole!” Ian spat the word like venom, his eyes flashing with a mix of fury and something else, something deeper. “If you want to die, then do it in front of someone else! I’m not a mafia boss or one of your thugs—I’m a doctor! I’m not used to this... this fucking bloodshed!” His voice cracked as he yelled at me, raw emotion breaking through the anger. “I was terrified when the shooting started, and my heart nearly stopped when they hit you and you just... fell. Do you even get that? I save people, Masimo. That’s what I do. How the hell do you expect me to just stand by and watch you put yourself in the line of fire?”

Ian grabbed a chair and yanked it over, his movements jerky with suppressed rage. He sat beside me, glaring, but there was a tremor in his hands that betrayed how deeply he’d been shaken.

I sighed, rubbing the spot on my face where his hand had landed, though the physical pain was nothing compared to the turmoil swirling in my chest. “I’m sorry, Ian. I never meant for things to get so out of hand. But you know the life I lead. Everyone wants to take me down. Everyone. Today... it could’ve been anyone.”

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“So kill the ones who try to kill you! Or better yet, why don’t you bring guards with you? Why are you so reckless?” Ian’s voice was thick with frustration, his eyes locked onto mine, demanding answers I wasn’t sure I could give.

I reached out and cupped his face, my thumb stroking his cheek gently as I held his gaze. “Kitten, I wanted to take you out for dinner tonight. That’s why I didn’t bring the usual security detail. I just wanted one evening... one night where we could pretend, even just for a few hours, that we’re normal. I didn’t think... I didn’t know something like this would happen. But I should’ve known. I felt it in my gut—knew that the absence of our guards would get out fast.” I sighed, feeling the weight of my decisions pressing down on me. “But don’t worry. I found out who sent those men, and I’ll make sure they pay. No one touches me or my husband and gets away with it.”

I felt Ian’s breath hitch as my words sank in, his eyes widening, and I saw tears begin to pool, tears he was clearly fighting to hold back. It made my heart clench in a way I wasn’t used to, a strange ache that felt almost... tender.

“Please, Masimo,” he whispered, his voice trembling with raw emotion. “Don’t get hurt like this again. I was scared... so scared that you wouldn’t make it. If you die, they’ll come after me next. And without you... I don’t know what they’d do to me. If you’ve dragged me into this world, then you need to stay alive for me. Do you hear me? Stay alive.”

He smiled at me then, a small, shaky smile that lit up his face and, despite everything, made my heart skip a beat. God, he was beautiful, especially when he smiled like that. It almost made me forget the pain, made me feel like I could conquer anything. Hell, I felt like I was already halfway to recovery just by seeing that smile.

The door creaked open again, and Mika stepped in, his expression confused as he took in the scene before him. “Sir, should I leave?”

“No, Mika. Stay,” I replied, my tone firm as I shifted my attention back to the matters at hand. “I have some orders for you.”

Mika nodded, standing at attention, though I could see the worry in his eyes. “Do you know who attacked you yesterday?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice hardening as the memory surfaced. “It was the Miyaz Cartel. I recognized the tattoo on one of them.”

Mika’s eyes widened in shock. “The Miyaz Cartel? Why would they be attacking us now?”

“That’s what I need to know, Mika,” I said, my temper flaring up again. “Has something happened that I don’t know about?”

Mika hesitated, his gaze flicking between me and Ian. “It’s your father, sir.”

My blood turned to ice in my veins. Anger roared to life inside me, fierce and unyielding. Without thinking, I ripped the IV needle from my hand and tried to get out of bed, driven by the need to confront this betrayal. But before I could move an inch, a small, firm hand shoved me back down.

“Not so fast,” Ian ordered, his voice brooking no argument. “You’re not healed yet, so you can forget about running off to play the hero. Right now, your job is to rest. You won’t be able to kill anyone if you’re dead yourself, will you? So stay put, get some sleep, and let your body recover. In this room, I’m the boss, not you.”

His words shocked both me and Mika into silence. It was surreal, hearing someone talk to me like that without a hint of fear. But what surprised me even more was that I listened. I let Ian push me back down onto the bed, and when he reinserted the IV, I didn’t even flinch. I watched him move around the room, fiddling with medical equipment and checking my vitals. There was something oddly soothing about it, about knowing that he was here, taking care of me. Maybe... just maybe... things could be different between us.

Eventually, the exhaustion caught up with me, pulling me under, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a strange sense of peace as I drifted off to sleep, knowing that Ian was watching over me.