AN: Thanks for the reviews so far, I'm jazzed. Here is chapter 10, I'm not gonna be spoilery here but it has a quite a dark mood compared to all the previous chapter's Raizo's badass side is coming back!
Maslow watched Raizo seated by Mika's bedside holding her hand quietly. He seemed totally oblivious to what the doctor was saying. Maslow had never seen Raizo's inscrutable mask shaken, the only reactions he had seen from the man mostly came when Mika was around or when the subject concerned Mika. It was amazing how a few hours could alter the physical appearance of a man, his shoulders were hunched, he seemed to have withdrawn inside himself, and his eyes were almost lifeless.
"So h—how come she doesn't have any major injuries but the accident seemed fatal and how come she's unconscious?" Maslow asked the grey haired neurologist.
"As I have said sir, she was tossed out of the car when it overturned, fortunately she landed on the grass but she has suffered a slight head concussion" the man explained showing an X-Ray form.
"How serious is it" he asked quietly dreading the answer.
"It's not severe as I initially thought, however I have reason to believe Miss Coretti might have suffered from a trauma prior to the accident. So what happens is; the brain upon receiving trauma sometimes chooses to protect itself from processing the situation, it's like selective perception which medically speaking is a natural process. That is why she is unconscious, the mind is protecting itself" the neurologist said with an air of one giving a lecture.
Maslow nodded and glanced at Raizo to see his reaction but he seemed to not be hearing them, if he did, he showed no sign of it. He was just looking at an unconscious Mika.
"She might wake up any time soon, her brain is showing activity" he gestured at the MRI machine which was monitoring Mika's brain activity then he went on
"As far as my contribution is needed she is okay but I guess my colleagues will have to continuously check for any signs of internal injury or any threat as a result of this accident"
"Thank you doctor" Ryan patted his shoulder in a grateful gesture.
"It's what I do, I'll be back in a few of hours to check on her" the doctor made grim smile and exited the room.
"Need coffee, Raizo?" Maslow asked trying to fill in the dead silence that filled the room except for the low hum of the machines. Raizo shook his head momentarily and heard Maslow exit the room. He had no idea how he had made it through those doors but all he knew he was here and he was now with her. Raizo felt something wet and warm run down his cheeks, he made a grim smile, seeing his own tears. He had been holding it all in all the way while he drove and when he met Maslow. Now, the turmoil inside him seemed to have worked itself out and was brimming on the surface barely hidden.
"Mika, I love you so much..." he whispered stroking her hair repeatedly.
He shivered not wanting to recall his darkest hour, when he had thought she was dead. Everything had come falling apart; every hinge that held him together had loosened. Raizo knew he had lived most of his life without purpose but when he thought Mika had died he felt so lost. Every moment that had led to him being the man he was becoming had felt like a joke, a cruel trick from the Fates, just an illusion, a dream weaved from formless mist. He hadn't led the straightest path in his life, but all those years he had fled Ozunu; he had been atoning for it every single day of his life. At least the fates owed him that, for trying, he was allowed at least to be happy. It had seemed so senseless that the reason for his happiness had just been snatched away so suddenly from him. He began to think of the past three months he was away from her, it was wasted time, they could have done so much together, and they could have been on another level. Now one thing was certain to him, you could never take back lost time and life was too short to be too little.
"Who did this?" he asked Maslow who had returned to the room with his coffee Styrofoam. There was black fury in Raizo's tone, a deadly vehemence that Maslow had never heard before.
"At the moment we don't know, but I have my men all over this. We have so far been able to identify the van that was reportedly chasing her using the subway camera footage at the time the acc—event occurred." Maslow briefed him. Raizo made a curt nod and replied making emphasis with each word.
"You know I'm going after them right?"
'Uh—Raizo, let's not be hasty about this, justice has to be served in the proper manner" the image of what Raizo meant played itself in Maslow's head, and an unwelcome sight it was.
"Rai…." Mika's weak whisper cut all further conversation between the men.
"Mika" Raizo felt his heart jumpstart as if a shock of electricity had been applied to it. Her eyebrows fluttered and she opened her eyes.
"Thank God, Mika!" Maslow exclaimed coming closer to the bed looking down at her.
"I saw it all Rai, everything" Mika's eyes brimmed with tears.
"Sssh nae sarang, it's okay, you're fine, I'm here" Raizo soothed her stroking her hair but she wanted to speak.
"I saw it all, my life, my first ice-cream, Jamaica, Italy, my grandfather's olive orchard. It just played out before me, I was going to die Rai" she chocked back a sob.
"Mika, just relax okay" Maslow said with concern.
"And then—and then I saw you, when I first met you, I didn't want to die that way Rai, not without telling you I love you, not without spending my life with you"
"I love you Mika, I'll always love you" Raizo felt the warm liquid run down his cheeks again.
Here we go again, with the sick bed confessions and the creepy staring each other, thought Maslow with an inward groan. Raizo's robotic air had dissolved once again, holy crap, the man was even crying.
"I'll uh—go and alert the doctor that you're awake" he said once again feeling oddly out of his depth.
"Call Marlene and tell her to come" Raizo said to him, now remembering the look of sadness and concern on his land lady's face when Raizo had told her the news.
"Raizo, whoever did this is probably going to check if Mika is still alive and try to finish her off possibly" Maslow warned after they had left the hospital ward room to let Marlene have her time with Mika. When Maslow had called Raizo to talk, the reluctance on Raizo's face hadn't gone unnoticed.
"I'm not leaving her "Raizo shrugged.
"I know that, that's not my point. I'm saying we have to agree with the doctors to have her discharged and possibly fake her death"
"And then?" Raizo inclined his head. Maslow rolled his eyes; Raizo's lack of reaction annoyed him sometimes.
"I'm arranging for her to be taken to one of our safe houses, and that includes Marlene and the little boy. They could possibly be targets once their connection to Mika and you is known."
"I trust you have many of your men to be with them, because I'm not taking any chances and I want them safe while I find those responsible for this" his eyes flashed at the last sentence.
"Er—Raizo I know how you feel about Mika and all this, but why don't we do this the proper way" there was an anxious ring in Maslow's voice.
"Then you don't know how I feel about her at all" Raizo said coldly then walked away back to the ward room leaving Maslow to process what he had just said.