Reina de la Muerte

what's next?

Now, that is what I call a bitter ending.

We have finally made it to the end of this book after much drama, heartache, betrayal, and sex. I'm not going to lie, I had several alternate endings to this book but they all resulted to this one, so I chose what I believe fit best.

ALL OF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS VINCENZO WHO WAS GOING TO BETRAY THEM?
I had bamboozled you, but damn. My baby Vince was there through all of Vanessa's heartaches.

How'd you feel about my plot twist about Silvio/Valentino's betrayal?

And how about Gabriel? What are your emotions like right now?

I'd love to know these things. Just because I like seeing the love you feel for our beloved characters.

But I am writing this not to say goodbye to Vanessa and Gabriel, but to throw my middle finger in the air to Lucía because...

BOOK TWO IS A NOW WORK IN PROGRESS!

Think I'm lying? Asking yourselves if this is another one of my dirty tricks? Well, let this answer your questions.

* * *

A loud beep broke my state of unconsciousness. At first, it would only return after a few minutes—or a few hours, I couldn't tell—but soon became more consistent, becoming a steady beat. Only when its rhythm played out that I realized what it was.

A heart monitor.

My eyes peeled open. I was instantly blinded by a bright, white light. Groaning did no good because my throat was drier than hot sand, and my mouth was too parched to make my own saliva. I gave myself a few more moments for the throbbing of my eyes to fade before trying again. I blinked wildly to help adjust to the whiteness of these ceiling lights until I realized it wasn't a ceiling light at all; curtains were open, a blazing sun glaring through the windows.

"Thank fucking God."

I almost didn't recognize the voice from its hoarseness, not until my neck rolled and I was face-to-face with my right-hand man, Vincenzo Pearce. Large bags slept under his eyes, contrasting greatly against the paleness of his face. In his left hand was an IV pole, a plain sandwich in his right. As soon as our eyes met, relief—and what I could have only imagined to be joy and sorrow—emanated from him.

I was alive and...in a hospital bed?

When I tried to sit up, pain forced its hands on my shoulders and forced my back into my bed. I wanted to scream with pain but only resulted in a small grunt. I may have been vulnerable, but I wouldn't allow Vincenzo to witness more of it than he already had.

"Don't move too much," he said. No shit, dumb-ass, is what I wanted to say, but even that felt like it'd use too much energy. "There's water on your left."

I glanced at the glass of water on the small table to my left and slowly reached for it, biting back any pained groans at the strain of it on my body. It took minutes longer compared to the few seconds of such a simple task that I was used to, but I succeeded, lifting my head to take desperate slips. I sighed as the cool liquid hydrated my insides and set it down.

"Where am I?" I rasped, followed by a coughing fit. I already hated this. I wanted to be unconscious again, then maybe it would save me from this humiliation.

"We're at the bunker in Italy," Vincenzo answered. "They asked me to bring you underground but I thought the safe house above would be better until you regained consciousness."