While the doctor worked on stitching the wound to her throat. Stefan stood beside the bed, holding Camelia's hand, trailing his gaze every so often to his fiancée's closed eyes. She passed out in his arms and never stirred once during the trip back to the mainland.
A worried and paranoid Stefan went to the hospital at once slamming through the doors, shoving aside anyone in his way, carrying her into the Emergency Room while quickly shouting instructions to the bewildered staff.
After explaining what had happened to her, Stefan had to take a steadying breath as he handed Camelia off to those best prepared to help her. His body missed the physical connection between them instantly once they ordered a gurney and laid her upon it. His arms felt empty without her reassuring weight.
The unstable beast lurking just beneath the surface of his skin nearly burst when they pushed her gurney into a white bright room, hooking her up to a bunch of beeping machines. His hands fisted to his sides as he watched them stab her with needles and poked and prodded her in order to help her.
It took all his effort not to break something in an effort to ease his frustration. He ground his jaw and kept his hands fisted, witnessing the bustle of people, the beep of machines and Camelia laying lifelessly on the bed and pale. The delicate blue veins in her neck and forehead stood out abnormally against her skin.
Nothing eased the heavy pressure in his chest now that she was in his sight and it hasn't been removed completely. Taking a deep breath, he suppresses the instinctive swell of anger and could only watch.
Blood work was quickly taken, her pulse and blood pressure was monitored for over an hour. They quickly ruled she was extremely dehydrated and immediately began a IV drip into her arm. After they deemed that she was not in any danger and the cut to her throat was none life threatening, Dr. Hamza came in and cleaned the wound and sterilized the area before beginning the procedure.
The Turkish doctor worked diligently even with Liam and Sam standing there mere feet away fully armed and pinning him with their hostile stares.
Clipping the end of the suture with a pair of surgical scissors, the doctor swiveled on his stool and placed everything on the tray beside the table. Taking a small amount of gauze, he covered the perfect stitch and applied a clear bandage, padding the sides to ensure it stuck well.
He removed his gloves and switched his gaze to Stefan's.
The elderly man's hair was greying and the prescription glasses he wore were so thick, his eyes enlarged to an abnormal size reminding Stefan of a frog. Before he could speak, a nurse silently knocks on the slightly open door and enters mutely handing the doctor a thin file and exits.
Dr. Hamza adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose, opens the file and reviews the report of Camelia's test results. After a few moments he shuts the file with a satisfied nod.
"The cut was deep and she has suffered some blood loss but does not need a transfusion." Dr. Hamza informs him with a thickly laced accent. "The bandage and gauze will need to be replaced every forty-eight hours. I recommend she refrain from any strenuous activity for the next three weeks until the skin has been given time to seal together and heal properly."
"Will you be prescribing anything for the pain?"Â Stefan asks, adjusting his posture and standing erect.
"Yes, of course. According to what has happened to her she will need them. Bruises have already formed on certain areas of her body and the minor scrapes should not give her any trouble. The discomfort will stem from the open wound and the physical strain she was under."
"Can she be discharged from the hospital?"
"Yes. I will allow her to be discharged this evening as soon as the last bag of IV has absorbed into her system."
"Is it common to be unconscious the way she is without sedatives?"
"Mr. Steel, I ordered she be sedated for the procedure. I could not risk her waking up while I work on sealing the skin of her throat." He explained, watching the understanding and relief enter Stefan's eyes.
"Good, I believed otherwise..."
"I must advise you, not of the physical ailments she has suffered after her ordeal. Pain heals eventually and bruises fade. However, mental distress is what may set her back." Dr. Hamza warns, glancing at Camelia's sleeping form before directing his attention to Stefan once again. "The human brain is highly unpredictable. I fear for her well-being. She may be greatly impacted by what she has seen and been through. I do hope she is one of the fortunate ones and will be able to put it all behind her when she is home."
"Trust me, Camelia is one of the strongest and one of the most stubborn people I know. It will not take her anytime at all to re-adjust. Her mental capacity exceeds far beyond the average female." Stefan says with determined pride in his tone. "I do have one question before we conclude here."
"Please."Â The doctor insists eagerly.
"Will the cut to her throat leave a scar?"
Dr. Hamza's lips flatten as he nods. "It will leave a faint scar and expect it to be paler than her skin tone. It's a natural reoccurrence with regenerated tissue."
Stefan nods.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"No, that will be all thank you, Doctor."
Dr. Hamza nods as he stands, placing the file under his arm. He darts his gaze quickly to the Liam and Sam as he strides out of the room.
Stefan turns to them. "I need you both to see that this sex trafficking operation ends. The Turkish government needs to be informed. Make sure to find all the people involved in this freak show and they need to be held accountable for their actions. This type of aggression will not stand and needs to be stopped."
Liam and Sam nod.
"The teams we left behind are under way seeing to it." Liam replies. "The Sultan has been put in custody and his so called army have been relinquished of their fire arms and arrested. The women were appointed social services support to assert they cooperate and testify. We are working with the local diplomats to secure nothing like this will ever happen again."
"Excellent. Please double check and triple check that everyone is questioned. Obtaining accurate, reliable information is key to find the people behind the kidnappings. There has to be covert scouters, sometimes they're called recruiters, appointed for selling victims. I understand these practices span the globe but at least we can make efforts to combat and prevent future occurrences happening in this area."
"Local officials have been cooperating so far. We'll stay behind and ensure everything is being done." Sam adds. "You concentrate on your woman. She needs you."
Stefan runs a hand over his face feeling the exhaustion sinking into his bones. He hadn't slept in 4 days since Camelia's kidnapping.
"Trust me, I will. I'm sticking to her side like super glue. We were almost too late." Stefan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Be sure to update me on the victims and whatever else comes up."
"Stefan, I've made arrangements for you to stay at the Swissotel Bosphorus, in Istanbul. It was deemed one of the safest hotels in the country. I booked the executive terrace suite under your name. It will allow you and Camelia the privacy and the time to recuperate before heading back home." Liam informs him.
"Thank you. She's going to need it." Stefan agrees. "Unfortunately, we'll have to stick around for a few days. The chief of police needs to take Camelia's statement of the details before we can get the hell out of here."
Stefan glances back at Camelia and his heart squeezes in his chest. Still, she didn't stir and continued to lie unresponsive in the hospital bed. Her chest rose and fell with the rhythm of her breath. He was grateful for the fact he got to her in time before the bastards had a chance to kill her. He could only hope she would recover.
She was everything to him. With every moment that she lay unconscious the more he felt hollow and lost. They had a future to look forward to.
"I'm going to get her out of here. You guys go and take care of things and get some rest."
"Stefan, we can stay and escort you both to the hotel."Â Liam offers.
He shakes his head. "Thank you both for everything you've done. I couldn't have done it without you. I got it from here."
After an hour, the last of the IV concluded and Stefan alerted the nurse's call button.
A pretty girl with delicate features and fine black hair walked in at his summons. She wore a simple white uniform customary for the standards of the country.
"The doctor ordered an administration of pain medication before she can go. Would you rather we fill a prescription or infuse morphine through the IV? We can do either. She may be in some discomfort..." She explains in a light accent.
"No, I'd rather she have the meds in her system before she wakes."
"Very well. I will send in the IV therapist to insert the mediation. Quickly afterward, the IV will be pulled from the vein and she will be ready to be discharged." She informs him. "Would you like to follow me to the nurse's station? You can begin signing off the paperwork."
Stefan didn't want to leave Camelia alone. Furthermore, he didn't want her out of his sight. His sensitive and protective emotions were not in control at the moment. He'd never experienced nor could he control the compulsion that drove him when it came to her.
"Could you not bring the documents to me while I'm in here waiting?"Â He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry but we cannot. This is not the way we practice here in Turkey, Sir."
"I'm not moving from this spot." He declares, pinning her with one of his hard stares.
The nurse took a deep calming breath. "Very well. I will inform the doctor on how to proceed." She eyes him with curiosity and switches her gaze to Camelia.
Stefan automatically blocked her view, folding his arms firmly across his chest. He didn't care what she thought, he didn't want anyone looking at her no matter how innocent it may seem. He was not leaving her side until she was awake.
He'd nearly lost her and he wasn't about to let her go anytime soon.
"The patient is your wife?" She inquired witnessing his hostility.
Wife.
Stefan smiled ruefully. It sounded so right, like a gentle caress to his ears.
Cameliaâhis wife.
She was most certainly his wife in spirit if not on paper.
"Yes. She is." He answers, glancing over his shoulder at his sleeping wife.
"She is very beautiful. You are very lucky." She compliments with kind eyes.
"I am." He quickly agreed.
The nurse nods and turns to leave. Stefan scoots a chair to Camelia's bedside, his large frame easing into the chair, leaning his elbows along the edge of the bed.
He clasps her small hand in his large one, needing to feel skin contact and relished in the feel of her skin, lifting it to his lips and giving the back a hard kiss.
"Come on, Princess. Open those beautiful eyes for me." He whispers in a plea, repeatedly kissing the back of her hand. "Camelia...?"
But the tips of her long dark lashes remained resting against her skin. After a few more minutes of staring at her eyelids for any signs of her waking, Stefan's exhaustion overcomes him as he lays his head against Camelia's side while holding her hand.
Some time later, Camelia awakens. Her head hurt as her eyelids seemed weighed down and sealed shut. Blinking a few times, squinting at the light she forces them open. She tried to move her neck, but it was stiff and sore. Moaning out of discomfort, she shifted her eyes and noticed she was in a bed, white sheets covering her body. A beeping sound came from her left.
The first thing that registered in her mind was she was in a hospital room. An IV was protruding from her arm, following the long clear tube towards the empty plastic sack close to her bedside. She took a deep shuddering breath and released it.
Memories of Stefan and the Sultan flooded her mind, quickening her pulse. Camelia barely recounted the events of that awful day and shuddered at the reminder of her near death experience and closed her eyes trying to suppress the fear the memory aroused.
She felt something tighten and squeeze her hand and her eyes quickly open and slid to her right.
Stefan was at her side, his arm stretched out clasping her hand in a firm grip while his head rested above his elbow as he slept. His deep rich brown hair was ruffled as though he raked his fingers through it several times.
Thank God he was safe, she thought. What only mattered was he was with her. Tears misted her eyes as she stared and searched his face and squeezed his hand.
As if jolted by a lighting bolt, Stefan shot out of his chair, knocking it back from the force of his surprise. His hardened eyes instantly latch on to Camelia.
The instability inside him coursed through him and Camelia felt it in waves pouring against her. She smiles weakly in a attempt to sooth him.
"Hi." She says hoarsely.
Although a little rumpled and worn out, he looked like a wild beast waiting to be set free from it's cage.
Stefan bent forward and stroked her face in awe as if seeing her for the first time. As if unable to resist, he angles his head and pressed a kiss to her mouth and breathed her name.
"How do you feel?" Leaning his forehead against her own.
"I feel like I've been run through a washing machine cycle at least a hundred times." She replied, cupping the side of his cheek with her free hand. "How long have I been here?"
"A few hours."Â Stefan kisses her mouth again and again. "Are you in any pain?"
"Yes, but I can handle it, don't worry."Â Trying to reassure him.
"They're coming in shortly to give you some pain medication. You've been through too much as it is.  There's no need to keeping fighting."
"All I will ever need is you Stefan."Â She whispers.
"You have me for better or worse. I'm never letting you out of my sight."
"I love you."
"I love you more, Princess."
Stefan slipped his arm around her waist, mindful of the wires and tubes and pulled her against him, perching on the side of the hospital bed. Warmth spread through Camelia. She pressed closer as she rested her hand on his chest and dropped her head to his shoulder savoring the strength warmth and love enshrouding her.
He kissed the top of her head.
"Are you thirsty, hungry?"Â Stefan asks after a few minutes.
"No, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible and put this all behind me."
"We'll be out of here shortly." He clasps the hand resting on his chest and kissed her knuckles. "Before I forget..." Stefan reaches for his pocket and takes out her engagement ring.
"You found it?" She asks in surprise, raising her left hand as he slips it back on her finger.
"Of course. I found it in the bastards pocket." He states as a matter of factly.
Camelia stiffened in his arms.
"Don't worry Diam is dead and your parents are fine, they took care of Jason."
She was about to ask how they died when the hospital door swung open. Pulling away reluctantly, Stefan stoked her face once more before turning to meet the newcomer in the room. It was the same nurse from earlier.
Camelia pulled away as the heat in her face spread down her neck as the nurse eyes her with curiosity.
She smiles kindly at Camelia.
"How are you Miss? Can I get you anything?"
"Um...no thank you."
The nurse nods and directs her attention to Stefan. "Sir? I'm sorry but in Turkey if you have no insurance you must pay the hospital bill in full at the completion of your stay. I've completed the discharge papers and they are ready for you to sign."
"Right."
Absentmindedly, Stefan pats his combat pants searching for his wallet.
He purses his lips. He had no wallet, no cash, no phone. Nothing. He left everything at the compound while preparing to attack the island. The only thing he carried was his gun strapped to his waist.
A muscle twitches in Stefan's jaw.
The lady looks at him expectantly.
"I will need to make a phone call to gain funds to pay the balance."Â Stefan announces.
"The phone at the nurses station will allow you to make an international call."Â The nurse offers.
The muscle twitches more, Camelia could hear his teeth grinding.
"Stefan go, I'll be fine. Contact who you need to and come right back. I'm not going anywhere." Camelia insists, reaching for his forearm and squeezing it. The muscle flexed under her fingers.
He was tense and coiled as he slants his sharp gaze to her face.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight."Â Addressing her, his tone harsh and angry.
"Sir, if I may...?" The nurse speaks up. "The nurse's station is about thirty feet from your wife's room and directly down the hall. You will be able to see the room easily, if that will help ease your discomfort.
Frustration boiled through him as he turned away.
"Stefan go. It'll only take a few minutes I'm sure. I'll be fine." Camelia repeats, giving him a small reassuring smile.
She liked the term the nurse usedâwife. Stefan must of said something, she thought. Her gaze ran over her husbands face, savoring every detail from his chiseled cheekbones to his firm mouth.
Stefan did not look convinced of the idea of leaving her, sensing him waging a battle within him. She understood his overbearing compulsion to keep her protected but what could happen with him a mere feet away?
"Go. Be back soon." Camelia urged.
He frowned at her, his dark eyes studying her. In the end he'd relented and didn't push it further, resignation settling over his features.
"Give me a few minutes." He says between his teeth. "If you need anything, call the nurse with this button." Showing her the remote and placing it beside her hand. "Or scream."
Camelia smiled despite him leaving, fuming with anger.
Stefan takes glances above his shoulder every few seconds. Halfway through the discharge papers a blur of motion caught his attention and he watched as a male snatches Camelia's file perched off the door and casually enters her room.
Stefan frowns, his body ridged due to the fact he couldn't see her. The doctor said someone would be in to administer pain medicine through her IV and he wanted to be present when they did. All he wanted was her back at his side where he knew she was safe.
He didn't trust anyone.
"Who is the male that just entered my wife's room?"Â He demanded from the nurse, pounding the counter with his fists.
She frowns. "Sir, be calm. I will find out. One moment please."
He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze returning to the door, his protective instincts running high. The urge to go back to Camelia's room and inspect what the nurse was doing was too great to surpass.
*******
Camelia laid her head back, winced and closed her eyes from the pounding headache she kept hidden from Stefan. The last thing she wanted was to worry him more. The needle sticking from her arm made her cringe. She absolutely detested them.
She cracked an eye open, listening to the door open. She focused on a bleary figure entering her room. It was a man, a file held under his arm, shutting the door behind him.
Dressed in a white coat, black pants and a bib covering his mouth and cheekbones, he never spares her a glance and mutely strides to her side and checks the tubes and wires.
Her skin crawled.
Camelia shook her head, her eyes drifting to his face. Although their gazes never met, she could have sworn she recognized him.... The black color of his eyes caused her to inhale sharply and her eyes widened in surprise.
Goose bumps broke out on her arms.
Her heart hammered as a crushing sense of impending doom settled over her. Ice filled her veins as she kept a involuntary cry from tearing from her throat. Swallowing heavily, Camelia tried to push down her rising dread wishing she hadn't sent Stefan away.
Trying with difficulty to scoot into a sitting position in the slightly angled bed, she cast a frantic glance around the room, searching for an escape or something she could use as a weapon in order to defend herself.
There's nothing, other than a pitcher of water and a box of tissues on a table beside the bed. The room was free of clutter and practically empty except for the chair Stefan was seated in.
The nurses emergency call button. Camelia made a grab for the small remote beside her thigh.
A startled cry escapes her as Tony gripped her arm painfully. "You're harder to get rid of than we originally thought." Uncapping the syringe full of a clear liquid with his teeth.
"Get off me!" She tugged on her arm, but he wouldn't release her. A spurt of fury gives her the rush to use her free arm and make a swipe in hopes to plant a punch to his face. Before she could make a good hit, however, Tony is on top of her, his body pressing her into the mattress.
Stefan would be back in a few minutes. He had to come because in his other hand, Tony held the needle likely containing a poisonous liquid and it was quickly coming towards her.
Camelia did the only thing she could do and screamed with all her might still struggling. "Stefan! Stefan!"
Tony let her arm go suddenly, flicked the syringe across room and swiped a pillow from behind her and brought it down to smoother her face. His strength was no match in her weakened state as he pushed her back, the pillow covering her face fully.
The sounds of the monitors beeping jumped erratically. Camelia could feel the IV pulling at her hand. The less oxygen she got into her lungs the more the beeping accelerated. Tony shifts his weight, allowing Camelia to buck and strain in her panic, enabling her to turn her head to the side.
Between struggling and gasping for air, and the pressure on the pillow increasing Camelia was losing the fight. She wasn't strong enough to defeat Tony.
The door flew open and Stefan exploded into the room, gun in hand, breathing hard, planting his feet apart as he braced himself.
No, his mind whispered.
As he took in the sight before him, Stefan literally felt his heart stop in his chest as he saw Camelia trapped beneath a man suffocating her to death.
Stefan had only a moment to react as he shoots without blinking.
The gun shot sounded between the four walls of the hospital room. The man's head shot back from the impact and blood bursts from the wound. He stiffens for a second before he fell sideways and slid off the bed in a tumbled heap and hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Blood stained the pillow.
Camelia's tense body sank into the hard lumpy mattress and her arms laid spread out lifelessly.
Stefan rushed to her side, he removed the pillow from her face roughly and she opened her eyes to see Stefan above her face.
"Camelia!"Â Stefan bellowed.
His strong arms wrapped around her, he hand tensed on her hair as her body trembled. Camelia clung to him, breathing heavily as her hands dug into his arms.
"I-it was....Tony."Â She breathed, the sounds of the gun shot still rang in her ears and hammered into her head.
"It's okay now." He whispered reassuringly, his jaw clenched as he stood protectively against her as she stiffens in his arms. "I shouldn't have left you." He savored the feel of her awake and alive as she struggled to catch her breath. "He's dead. They're all dead now."
Camelia nodded, but she couldn't stop the shudders racking up and down her body. She buries her face in Stefan's chest not before looking to the side and finding Tony's body laying lifelessly on the floor. A gun shot wound entered the back of his head and exited out his forehead.
The smell of blood filled the small room.
So close, she had come so close to dying again for the second time that day. Without realizing her limbs grow heavy, her vision dims as she slipped into unconsciousness.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Due to Wattpad restrictions, I have added another story called, "The Pleasures Of The Flesh".
All previous scenes containing mature content (sexual content) has been removed and added to this story. I do give readers a warning when the scenes are taken out. If you are 18+ you will be able to read these scenes. But first you must follow me than add the story. If it doesn't show up, remove the story (Plesures Of The Flesh) make sure you follow me first than re-add it.
Anyway...how was the chapter? I'm officially done with torturing you all. I've locked the doors and put away the key for future stories. :)
More good things still yet to come. We're almost done.
Don't forget to vote, comment and share with anyone you know who will enjoy this type of story.
Thanks for reading!
-Shaz