Tony POV

Pain was the first thing I felt. Sharp, burning pain that radiated from my chest through every nerve in my body. Then came the beeping, steady, rhythmic, the sound of a heart monitor that told me I was still alive. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

"Tony?" A familiar voice cut through the fog. Pepper. "Tony, can you hear me?"

I managed a groan.

"Thank God." Her voice cracked with relief. "Don't try to move. You're in the hospital. You had surgery."

Surgery. The word triggered memories flooding back, the warehouse, the trap, the gunshot. I'd felt the...