Levi awoke suddenly, cold, shivering and lying on his bare back, in a deathly dark room.
It took him several seconds to realize he wasn't dead.
Sniffing he crinkled his nose at the smell of strong antiseptic and the heaviness of his arms and torso. He was bandaged around the chest and he suspected it was because of a few broken ribs.
His head was killing him and he really wanted to throw up. But he was also linked to an IV drip and his leg was up in a plaster.
"Fuck." he cursed slumping back down on the bed.
As if those were magic words, a nurse turned up instantly.
"Gracias a dios you're awake. I'll get the doctor." she said before disappearing again.
A tall thin man in a white coat and stethoscopes around his neck came in and switched on the lights. Levi blinked at the sudden brightness and tried to use his un-bandaged arm to block some of it.
"Ah, hello there Mr. Walters. Good to see you up already." he said merrily plunging a cold stethoscope over the only visible skin on my torso.
"Hmm," he said as he listened and hummed as he checked my pulse and temperature.
"You're doing well." he declared. "How do you feel?"
"Like someone made me take ten tequila shots last night." groaned Levi. "My head feels like it's going to burst."
"That's a legitimate analogy." he said between grins. "The anesthetic we gave you kind of has that effect. It'll get better in a few hours."
"Isn't anesthetic supposed to be for the pain?" Levi groaned.
"It is. But we already used too much on you a couple of days ago." he said now flashing torchlight into Levi's eyes and making him show his tongue.
"Couple of days?" repeated Levi, his head clearing a bit. "How long was I out?"
"A little over fifty two hours." answered the doctor. "You came in pretty bad shape. But your girlfriend told me to tell you the people who did this to you are now in prison."
"My girlfriend?" asked Levi. Vicky was still here this late at night?
"Yes, she's been here every hour. She and your uncle fell asleep in the waiting room though." he said. "They'll be in to see you in a few hours."
"Here, take some of this and go back to sleep." said the doctor popping a colourful tablet into Levi's mouth and helping him swallow with some water. It tasted sweet and bitter at the same time, but eased down his throat, nonetheless.
"Thanks." Levi said.
When the doctor turned off the lights and left, Levi slowly allowed himself to be relieved.
It was finally over.
***
"I am going to kill him with my bare hands." said Paula bloodthirstily as she shoved clothes into a bag. "A sick man and his insufferable mother! I hate that bitch!"
"I'm not that crazy about her myself, honey." said Axky as he helped her close the overstuffed bag. "Don't worry Ted will do legally all the stuff you want done. I think child abuse warrants for many long years in prison."
"Hmm." she huffed discontentedly. "They hurt Levi. I can't take that. I see the boy everyday, to be told that someone beat him up so bad he had a concussion is horrible. His mother must be terrified."
"She was. She's already on a plane and on her way. Ted sent her a text telling her he's out of danger though. But you can't stop a mother from worrying." said Axky now lugging the bag down the stairs and out the door.
Paula nodded, taking her purse, keys and their tickets. "Let's go." she said. "Vicky needs us."
Axky nodded as they locked the house and got into the waiting cab and headed to the airport.
***
The young cab driver thought tourism was going slack in his country. This was the second foreigner who came to Spain and all they wanted to see was a hospital.
"Are you ill?" he asked. She was kind of pale, but perhaps she came from a colder country.
"Oh no. My son is there." she explained as she sat primly at the backseat.
"Son? Entiendo." he said revving up the engine and stepping on it.
***
Vicky snuggled up in the blanket and slept like a baby.
Levi was okay. Gavin was under arrest and Ted had a case as strong as cement.
"No. I'm not suing for that mansion." Ted was saying on the phone when she awoke. "No absolutely not interested in the beach condo where he's had had erotic romps for years. If you give it to me I will burn it. Damn it, NO we don't want his personal jacuzzi! We don't want the race course either, I know he built it over an endangered forest. Yes, yes, the government can take the land back for free. Same goes for the malls and real estate he was planning to build near it."
Vicky sat up quickly and straightened her crinkled shirt. She thought perhaps, Levi may want some of the things Ted was saying no to.
"Those are failing investments. Don't bullshit me Lopez, I was not born yesterday. This is my 908th case of my career and the 907th one I am going to win. I want Walt Games and I want cash." he said. "I want them in jail."
There was a pause as Vicky realized Ted probably knew what he was doing. Lopez was probably the unfortunate albeit well paid lawyer tasked with representing Walters. Everyone knew it was easier to negotiate a case with Ted Wilson than to have him end your career in court.
She glanced around the waiting room. It was getting emptier as visiting hours had just begun.
"Hold on, I have a list of stuff you can sell to give me what I want." said Ted taking out an enormous roll of paper and unfurling it. It uncurled all the way to the counter, various items and estimated values written all over it. "Let's start with the 57 luxury cars he has."
Phew. This was going to take a while. Vicky decided to go and see how Levi as Ted clearly had his hands full.
She knocked on the door gently, ready to turn away if he was still resting.
"Come in." said a husky voice and her stomach did an impromptu back flip.
She pushed the door open and walked inside, her eyes latching onto his like moonlight over still water.
"Levi," she said as he sat up and reached out for her with his free hand. She settled on the bed beside him and gingerly hugged him, raining kisses all over his skin,cupping his face and telling him over and over again how much she loved him.
"Oh Levi, " she sobbed drenching his neck with tears she couldn't control. "when we reached you...there was so much blood and the the... bitch was kicking you! I punched her to the ground and high kicked the old gardener in the chest. They're both injured, but Ted told me I can't hurt them too much or we would weaken our case. Sorry I hurt your grandma though."
Levi laughed at the insincerity of her apology. "Thanks for punching her for me Vicky. I kind of wanted to do it myself, but you know, ethics of not hitting an old lady and stuff like that got in the way."
"Well I got no ethics." said Vicky wiping her tears roughly with the back of her hands, before Levi could get all romantic and kiss them away. "I told her exactly what I thought of her and I told her she owed you an apology."
Levi's throat closed up for a moment there as he was overwhelmed by just how much beloved Vicky and the sheer force with which she loved him back. Yes, they were young and inexperienced. But love was timeless and age was never in the equation.
"Vicky," he said hoarsely, taking her hand in his. "I love you."
She stopped fuming, a tenderness gripping her features. She leaned forward and kissed him back, their bodies aching for each other.
And there they sat, immersed in each others arms, content, peaceful and madly in love.
A/N : Thank you for reading! :)
I have some news for you. We have neared the end of this magnificent story and the next chapter will be the last one for this novel.
I love you guys so much. Thank you for sticking with this story and giving your love to all these characters.
lots of love and light,
Andy