Chapter Fifteen- Sadie

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"Okay." Dr. Bennett sighed, pulling my shirt back down and over the bandages he had just applied. "The ribs will take the longest to heal, and unfortunately there's not much more we can do besides wrap them and wait. I'll get you something for the pain but rest is going to be your best medicine the next few weeks."

"Weeks?" My eyes widened. I had known a few of my ribs were broken but I had no idea it would take so long to heal.

"Yes. You may feel like you can move around like normal but if we're not careful you can I hire them more. And if they splinter, they can puncture your other organs and then we'll really have a problem." He gave me a sympathetic smile. "So do us both a favor and go easy on yourself."

He stood up, collecting his things and setting a prescription pill bottle on the nightstand. "Lots of ice on those bruises, and be careful when you stand up too quickly. Your concussion can make you dizzy or even cause you to black out. You can take two pills every six hours for the pain. Have Brandon call me if anything gets worse, but you should be good as new in no time."

"Thank you, Dr. Bennett." He was a friendly older man, but all he had really done was confirm what I already knew. A few broken ribs, a concussion, two stitches to the cut above my eye. Herrera's man had certainly done a number on me, but it could have been a lot worse. I could definitely get behind the pain pills though. My ribs had made me so uncomfortable that I hadn't been able to sleep the last two nights. Tonight, at least it wouldn't be the pain keeping me up, it would be the insurmountable guilt I was feeling.

The worst part about this whole thing was that I was actually going to tell Brandon. If I had made it to Brodo that night, I was going to tell him everything and come clean. No more secrets, just like I had promised. Instead, he felt even more put off, and then had to find out from Adam.

It crushed me that he thought everything the other night had just been a part of the plan, but he was hurt, and how could I blame him? I had come here with every intention of leading Herrera straight to him, but after being back only a few days, everything shifted. We'd spent eight years apart because we were both too stubborn to admit defeat. Somewhere along the line, I had built up resentment for him for not coming after me, however wrong that may have been. He was right, we were both trying to protect our brothers the best way we knew how. Our break up had never been about us, which was probably the hardest part about it. It was simply life circumstances, and that was wildly unfair.

And then came Herrera, swooping in and acting like he was there to save the day, when all he really did was capitalize on my pain and use it to fuel his own vendetta against the Avenettis. I was a fool for falling for it, but I had been terrified when staring at the prospect of life in prison and what could happen to Adam. Nothing about the situation we were in now was fair for anyone. Brandon felt betrayed and hurt, and I felt so ashamed and stupid. I put the entire family in a terrible position and I had no idea how I would ever face them again.

As much as I hated the idea of leaving Brandon a second time, Adam and I going back to Colorado was probably best for everyone. I couldn't protect Adam from everything and it was time we both face the consequences. Maybe I could make a plea deal and avoid jail time. I'd probably lose my nursing license, but in the scheme of things, I could live with that. Now, I just had to convince Brandon that it was the right thing for all of us.

Brandon hadn't been back and I had no idea where he was. He had told me to stay here, and right now, I was worried to do anything against his wishes. My body was still sore, even more so now that Dr. Bennett had poked and prodded at it, so I decided that a nice hot bath sounded good. I stripped down and went into the bathroom, starting the water up. Dr. Bennett had showed me how to wrap my ribs myself, so I took off what he had done so I could relax.

Once the tub was full, I sank down in it, sucking in a sharp breath as the scalding water hit my skin. It stung in the few places I had cuts, but besides that, it was heavenly. There was a big picture window right above the bathtub that had a crystal clear view of the city and today, without a cloud in the sky, it was breathtakingly beautiful. In Denver, almost anywhere you were, you had an incredible view of the snowcapped mountains, even in the summer, but there was something special about this as well.

I could have stayed in the bathtub for hours, gazing out that window and shutting out all the nagging thoughts in my mind. It was so peaceful and I could briefly forget about the mess I had created. After a while, though, the water ran cold and my hands were starting to get wrinkled. I reached for a towel and dried myself off before slipping into the clothes I had brought into the bathroom with me. The bruising on my face was starting to heal, slowly but surely, and in a few days, it would be gone for good. The physical reminders would be anyway. I knew I would feel the emotional toll this had taken on me for the rest of my life.

I walked back into the bedroom, using the towel to dry my hair a little bit, contemplating if I wanted to go out on Brandon's deck. A little fresh air might do me some good, and I didn't have to worry about anyone questioning my bruises from the fiftieth floor. Right as I opened the sliding door to the deck, the bedroom door opened.

"I wouldn't recommend jumping from here if you're trying to make a run for it." His tone wasn't warm, but it wasn't accusatory either and I welcomed that change.

"I just was going to get a little fresh air." I said, sliding the door closed again and walking over toward the bed.

"Here." He handed me a glass of water. "Bennett said he left you some pain pills and I figured you'd want to take some as soon as you could so you could sleep."

"Thank you." I took it from him. "He's a nice guy."

Brandon nodded. "He's been with us for years. He's got an office in the city but we can always count on him to be discreet. He said you've got a nasty concussion and a few broken ribs."

"He showed me how to wrap them and told me to rest for a few days." I nodded, sitting down on the bed. After a few seconds, Brandon followed.

"Good. Ribs can be painful. Can I see?" He arched an eyebrow at me.

Was he actually asking for permission? That seemed odd all things considered, but I guess was a good representation of the damage I had done.

"Sure." I lifted my shirt up a little bit and watched his eyes widened at the purple and black discoloration on my side. His fingers gently grazed the bruising as his jaw clenched. Brandon was working hard to control his breathing but I could tell how angry he was that this had happened. The gears were turning in his mind and I knew there was no way I could convince him not to go after this guy. No matter how angry at me he was, he would find the guy who did this to me.

I let my shirt go, covering it up once again so I didn't perpetuate things even more, and Brandon quickly clicked back into gear. "Sadie..." He cleared his throat. "You and I need to talk."

"Okay." I wasn't going to fight him on that point. We needed to figure out where to go from here and I had a feeling he already had some kind of plan concocted. That was how he operated. He would lash out emotionally at first, but after he had a few minutes to calm down, he'd always come back rational and calm, ready to tackle the problem at hand.

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all of this." He started, rubbing his forehead. We sat close enough on the bed that I could feel the electric pull between us, but we weren't touching.

"Brandon, I know my word doesn't mean much to you right now, but please understand that I never meant to hurt you like this. I didn't know what else to do, and I could have come to you, I know that now, but in that moment, I was terrified. I was in that room with Herrera for hours and I had no idea what we were up against. I was only trying to protect Adam."

"Did you actually think you could fix this for him? He's an adult, you have to stop treating him with fucking kid gloves. He got you into this mess, it's his responsibility to protect you and get you out. Not the other way around. If he wants to get involved in that lifestyle, that's on him. You've done way more than should have ever been expected of you for the kid and this is how he shows his gratitude." Brandon glared harshly towards the ground. I could see how upset he was with Adam.

"I know that. I know I can't fix everything for him, but I just felt like if he got involved in a gang in Denver, all of this would have been for nothing. I would have walked away from New York, and from you, and it all would have been for nothing. I've already lost too much to the crime world." Tears pooled in my eyes but I did everything I could to hold them back. "Is he here?"

Brandon shook his head. "He left with Alex. If he wants a taste of this lifestyle, trust me, he's going to get it. It's not as glamorous as he thinks it is and by the time I'm done with him, I think he'll be having second thoughts.

A pit grew in my stomach, as I imagined what he could possibly be talking about. "What are you going to do to him?" My voice was panicky.

"Relax." He put his hand on my knee gently. "I'm putting him to work at one of our warehouses doing grunt work. Just like any guy who wants to join our group. He'll be on clean up and disposal and we'll see just how tough he thinks he is."

I bit my lip, sucking in a sharp breath. At least he wouldn't be in directly in the line of fire, but I knew what clean up and disposal meant. If they did a job, the grunts were the ones who came in and cleaned the body and crime scene. All of the blood and evidence. It made my stomach turn just thinking of it. It was probably exactly the opposite of what Adam was looking for.

"Thank you." I said softly, realizing that Brandon was trying to help me in my crusade to get him away from organized crime and onto the straight and narrow path.

"You can thank me by letting things play out how they're going to. You've done everything you could for him and now it's up to Adam. If he gets through the next few weeks and wants to join, I can't stop him. If I don't let him, he'll just go somewhere else."

I had considered that, too. If Adam was determined to do this, nothing would stand in his way. At least with Brandon, he would be safe, or as safe as he could be. "I will, I promise." I agreed.

"Now, I need to know how much Herrera knows. The truth, Sadie." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I swear to God, Brandon, all he knows about is Sampson Hill. I never even wore the wire. That was the only thing I ever told him." I spoke a mile a minute trying to plead my case. He was so hard to read right now, and I couldn't tell what he was feeling at all.

Brandon scratched his jaw as if he was trying to decide whether or not he could trust me. "The only upside to this is that he still thinks you're working for him."

I nodded.

"Good, I want him to continue thinking you're on his side. Tell him I asked you to move in and you're working on more information."

"Do you want me to arrange a meet up?" I asked, eager to prove to Brandon that I wanted to do everything I could to fix this.

"When the time is right for that, I'll tell you." He said. "Herrera is going to get what's coming to him, but I want to do this right. I need to know what they have on you first and how serious the charges are."

"I'm sorry I put you in this position." I whispered, setting my hand on top of his. It was reassuring to me when he squeezed it back.

"There's something else, Sadie." His voice was tight, and I already knew what he was going to say next I wasn't going to like.

"What is it?"

"Herrera has already proved that he's willing to use anything against us to take us down, and that he doesn't care what happens to you in the process, and I'm just not willing to take any more chances."

"Okay..." I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but it was making me nervous.

"Sadie, tomorrow afternoon, you and I are getting married." He said calmly, staring out the window.

My face twisted in pure confusion. He couldn't be serious. I hesitated for a few seconds, expecting him to bust into a smile in any minute. When he didn't, I got concerned.

"Do you really think now is the time for that? We still have a lot to figure out and..."

"I'm not doing this for the traditional reasons." He said flatly. "It's so Herrera can't use you to testify against me. It's called spousal immunity and it's the only way I can make sure Herrera can't get to either of us."

"Are you out of your mind?" I shot up, pacing back and forth angrily in front of him. "I'm not marrying you as some sort of business deal, Brandon."

"Think of it as a business deal, or whatever the hell you want. It's happening." He stood up, walking towards the door. "Trust me, this isn't how I envisioned us getting married either, but it is what it is."

Without another word, Brandon left, leaving me completely speechless, tears striping my cheeks.

Suddenly the door opened again and he peaked his head in. "And by the way, we're going to dinner at my parent's tomorrow night. My dad wants to talk to you."


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