Page 36 of Made in Love and Blood

“I will do whatever I damn well like considering the donation I make to this fucking hospital on a yearly basis,” a voice responded harshly. “Take note, or I’ll take your fuckin’ job.”

The second voice had Frankie’s father grabbing her arm. “Get down,” he uttered.

“What?” she asked.

“Ma’am, you’re going to want to let him go,” another man said, closer to the room now.

She knew that man.

Rob.

He worked for her dad. Alongside Larkin.

“Time to hide, Sunshine,” Salvatore hissed.

This time, he shoved her. She dropped to her knees beside his hospital bed.

“Look, he’s sleeping anyway,” snarled the first man.

Frankie did her best to slide as much of her lower half under the hospital bed as she could and keep the rest against the floor.

“This will take five minutes.”

The nurse said something in the hallway that Frankie couldn’t make out.

Rob spoke up once more, as close as the man had been earlier. “I’ll be at the door, Mr. Russo.”

Mr. Russo.

Her father’s boss? Nico’s father? Why would he be there?

“Wouldn’t expect anything less,” muttered Giorgio.

Frankie shivered against the cold tile, the beeping from machines fading into background noise as her heart began beating faster. The very presence of Giorgio Russo changed the shape of the room, making it smaller.

A rustling sound filled the space. Something got tossed to the floor. The noise only stopped when a jingle, like keys, echoed.

“These goddamn rings,” Giorgio growled.

“What are you doing?” Rob spoke up.

“Trying to hide his sins,” answered Frankie’s father, still sounding as if he needed a glass of water. The room silenced at his words, meaning everyone heard him loud and clear. “That’s what it is, right, Giorgio?”

A throat cleared roughly.

“Close the door, Rob,” Salvatore murmured.

“Boss man...”

“Close the door.”

A click followed.

“Hurry up,” Salvatore said the moment he could. “Take the tracker.”

“How do you know I’m looking for a tracker?”

“First, you should know the same things I do. I gave Nico back all his vehicles today, including the Mustang he’d paid storage for since being gone. The keychain you’re holding, it blinks New York with the solar charge on the side, was the only one attached to the Mustang’s keys. I was there when you gave him the car, and when his brother gave him the keys with the keychain. His gift for Nico. That’s what Marco said. Nico’s eighteenth. You remember.”