“Anyway who gives a fuck, he still picked the law over you.” Lucia doesn’t look at me. She stares straight at the steam of brown liquid pouring into the paper cup.
“Well, I picked my work over him too.”
“This isn’t your work. This is your world. It’s family.” Lucia takes the cup off the platform and grabs one of the creamers. “We need to solve this fucking crisis. This is getting to be too much. First you get shot, now Bruno. We are the most powerful family in all of Chicago, this isn’t supposed to be happening to us.”
Heat flares to my cheeks and I hang my head. I know Lucia doesn’t mean it that way, but her words are a slap in the face. My family has protected our empire for decades. Now after fifteen years, it’s slipping through my fingers.
“I know, Luci, but right now I don’t trust any of our men. This is an inside job. We need Dominic. He is the only one who can help us. He’s neutral and he has access to things we don’t.
“It doesn’t have to be an inside job. The killer could be one of our enemies. Lord knows we have a lot of them.” Lucia pours a sugar packet into the coffee then stirs vigorously. She snatches one of the plastic lids and slams it onto the cup. “I hate hospital coffee.”
“At this point the only way it can be one of our enemies is if one of our people is working with another family.”
Lucia sighs. “I don’t care about Dominic but I’m worried about what he still means to you.”
“What?”
“Come on, Cipi. We’ve been best friends for a lifetime. Even in my state of shock, there is no denying how you were looking at him.”
“What do you mean?” I whisper.
“There’s no mistaking Dominic Cartieri has only gotten more handsome as the years have passed. One flash of his brilliant smile and your panties are going to melt.” She smirks.
“Lucia Amari.” I punch her forearm lightly. “That’s not true. This is just a business arrangement.”
“What kind of business arrangement? One with benefits? You’re playing with fire, Ragazza.” Lucia takes a sip of her coffee and coughs.
“A professional agreement. He didn’t want to do it at first, so I kind of…sort of…blackmailed him…just a little bit. But he is going to help me. In return I have to help him with something he’s working on.”
“Whatever. If he burns you again, I’m killing him.” Lucia throws the cup into the garbage can.
“Fine,” I reply. “But make sure Mom, Nonna, and Gigi don’t find out.”
Lucia looks at me. “They don’t know.”
“Are you crazy? The last thing I need is them meddling in my love life. They get too emotional.”
“So then you admit you’re falling back in love with Dominic?” Lucia raises her eyebrows.
“Will you shut up. That will never happen.”
“Never say never,” Lucia taunts and walks back to the chairs. She takes out her phone. “Maybe I’ll get some real coffee delivered.”
The doors open and Dr. Emilio Reggiano enters the room. He’s wearing blue scrubs and looks exhausted. He pulls his mask down to his neck as we rush over to him.
“He made it through surgery…barely. If the angle had been different he would be dead.” Dr. Reggiano runs a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He’s in his early sixties and has been the family surgeon for our family since I can remember.
“Is there any damage?” Salvatore asks.
“We won’t know for sure. There was no brain penetration, no arterial damage. But it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of rehabilitation. We’re going to keep him here until further notice to monitor him.” He turns to me and the dark circles under his eyes become more prominent in the hospital light. “He’s in recovery right now, he’s got a lot of drugs in him, but he’s been asking for you, Cipriani. You can go see him but everyone else will have to wait until he is more stable.”
I nod.
Dr. Reggiano turns and walks back through the doors. Just as I’m about to follow him, Salvatore grabs my arm. “Farfalla, here.” He reaches into his pocket and shoves something into my hand. “When I found Bruno this was clutched in his hand. I’m sorry, it slipped my mind with everything going on.”
Looking down, my breath catches as I see a golden rosewood rook staring back at me. “This was in his hand?”
“Yes. I don’t know what it means, maybe you can ask him?” Salvatore places a hand on my shoulder.
