Page 83 of Jackpot Joker

The air is sterile and silent around me as I sit in the waiting room, feeling thousands of miles from the trauma bay where Dario attempts to cling to his life. A paper coffee cup is pressed into my hand before Gio takes a seat beside me with a sigh.

“Dario says coffee is your favorite. Thought it might help you get through this.”

I offer him the best smile I can muster. “Thanks,” I say, taking a sip of the mundane drink. “How’s Tank?”

Gio leans his head back against the wall and blows out a long breath. “Not good. It’s really not good. Luca’s a mess.”

My heart breaks knowing the strongest man I’ve ever met is so distraught over losing his friend. “Does he know about Dario?”

Gio nods. “Yeah, I’ll keep him posted, but he’s where he needs to be right now.”

My face falls. I didn’t realize Luca and Tank were that close. “Were you able to get any information?”

He snorts and takes a sip of his own coffee. I almost laugh when he looks down at the cup as though it has a personal vendetta against him. “No. Even I have my limits. Right now, we have to trust that the doctors are doing everything they can for him. For both of them.”

I nod and take another sip of my coffee. As we sit there in silence, a woman in blue scrubs, like the man from earlier, pushes through the doors and walks my way, a small smile on her face. That’s a good sign, right?

“Mr. Caruso?” she questions Gio, who nods. “I’m Doctor Laurie, a trauma surgeon working on your brother’s case. Could we speak privately?”

I look at Gio, desperation in my eyes.

“You can speak to me in front of Miss Baker.”

A grimace crosses the doctor’s face. “Actually, we can only speak to the family.”

“She is family,” Gio barks. “So speak.”

A small sigh spills from her lips, but she concedes and nods before continuing, “Very well. The results of Mr. Caruso’s CT came back, and it’s encouraging.”

My breath quickens. Encouraging doesn’t mean we’re in the clear.

“The bullet entered through the back of his neck and lodged in the base of his skull,” she explains. “It narrowly missed his spinal cord and the major vessels supplying blood to his brain. He was incredibly fortunate.”

I laugh. “Fortunate? It’s fortunate to have a bullet lodged in the base of your skull? It’s fortunate to be fighting for your life while the people who love you are on the other side of the wall, dying inside as every minute without you passes?”

Gio grips my shoulder in an attempt to calm me.

“Will he survive?” he asks.

The surgeon nods. “He’s lost a significant amount of blood, and there is swelling around the injury. The biggest concern now is relieving pressure on the spinal cord, but we believe Mr. Caruso can push past this.”

“So what happens now?” Gio asks, and I’m thankful he’s here with me through this.

“He’s being prepped for surgery now.”

“What type of surgery?” I ask, my voice panicked.

“We’ll go in and explore the wound, controlling the bleeding and removing the bullet if we’re able to do so. Any damaged muscle or soft tissue will be repaired, and we will make sure the vertebral artery and spinal canal are free from injury. I’ll have a neurosurgeon joining me in the procedure due to the closeness between the bullet and the cervical spine.”

“How long will he be in surgery?” Gio asks.

She sighs. “Best case scenario would be a few hours, though; it could take us double that if we run into issues.”

“Do you think there will be issues?” I ask, my voice heightened.

She gives me a small smile. “The CT gave us a lot of information, but we won’t know everything until we get in and take a look. While we can hope this will be an easy procedure, realistically, there are things that could happen.”

I lean back in the chair, thankful I’m seated because this information would have me collapsing to the ground.