“I don’t know. My mind is spinning. Is it over? Was it just these guys?”
“We don’t know yet. But trust me, everyone is on it. We will have answers soon. That said, the part that involves us is over. We’re gonna be holed up recovering. With a guard, just in case.”
“With lots of sweet treats,” she said. “Especially ice pops. My throat hurts.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was only going to get worse as the inflammation from being strangled really got going.
But I could take care of her
And Liam.
And poor, sick, blithely unaware Charlotte.
It was a small price to pay to have them all home with me. Hurt, sick, but safe.
“Fuck, babe,” I said, pressing my head to the top of hers. “When Liam said they took you… I thought I lost you.”
“I was planning to go with them,” she reminded me. “To get them away from Liam. But then he brought out the chloroform. The last thing I saw was his head being whacked into—”
“Hard head like his,” I cut her off before she spiraled. Like she hadn’t done everything she could to save the kid. “It would take a lot more than that to put him down.”
“I heard I need to cast your leg after all,” Salvatore said, coming in and making us pull away from each other. “Venezio is taking the kid to x-ray,” he explained as he gathered the supplies. “I’m going to loan you the electric wheelchair we have to get around the apartment for a while. I have a knack for knowing who will and won’t be good with crutches. I have no faith in you, my dear.”
Alara let out a little laugh.
I left her to go check on Liam when he came back from his scan.
“They’re fine,” Venezio said. “Salvatore is gonna want to look at the results, but they’re fine. Elastic bandages, ice, and rest.”
With that, he made his way out of the room, leaving me to nudge Liam until he moved over enough for me to sit next to him.
“What’re you doing? Checking on Char?”
“I’m sure Char is sleeping. And Ezzy’s a pro with sick kids. No, I’m placing an order. Think we’re gonna need a lot of supplies to get us through the next few weeks.”
With that, he helped me fill up a cart and place the order while we waited for Salvatore to finish Alara’s cast.
As Venezio said, the ribs were fine, but Salvatore decided to go with the dissolving stitches after all. So I stood by him for moral support as he got a local and a few quick, neat stitches.
Finally, scripts and supplies in hand, we made our way back outside, all of us hissing and wincing at the morning sun like vampires before shuffling into the town car again.
Venezio shoved the electric wheelchair into the trunk, knocked on the roof, and we were off.
I almost wanted to cry in relief when we got back to the apartment.
Brio was just coming back with Tuna, who made a beeline for Liam.
“What do you need?” he asked me after relinquishing the leash to my nephew.
“Can you get the wheelchair in the back? I’m just gonna carry her up for now.”
As soon as she was in my arms, she melted into me, burying her face in my neck the whole ride back up to the apartment.
“I cleaned up the mess,” Ezzy said when we moved inside. “I didn’t want Charlotte asking questions when she got up and wasn’t so fuzzy anymore.”
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“Just checked on her. Temp is holding below a hundred. She’s not burning up anymore. She’s knocked out hard. How’s Liam?” she asked as the teen in question walked past to go into his own room.
