Page 21 of Cavaliere

“What does that mean?” I ask as he steps closer to me.

“It means that I took enough classes to basically qualify as a doctor.” He winks. “I’m going to push lightly around your bruises. I just want to make sure nothing feels fractured.”

“Okay.” I nod. What does that even mean? Enough to qualify? Is he a med school dropout, or has he watched enough episodes of Grey’s Anatomy to the point he thinks he’s a doctor now?

“He went to school to be an EMT but didn’t actually graduate. I promise it’s fine, tesoro. He’s taken enough bullets out of all of us that he could do it in his sleep. Let him work,” Matteo says, eyes not leaving Aldo.

Aldo’s eyes shoot to Matteo at his name for me. A name I forgot to Google.

“She’s here, isn’t she?” Matteo snaps.

“Does it hurt here?” Aldo asks, turning his attention back to me, a soft smile toying on his lips as he presses down on my cheek, making me hiss. “I’ll take that as a yes. And here?” We go through this same process a few more times until he’s satisfied with my face. “I don’t think anything is broken or fractured. Just really bruised. If you want peace of mind, you can go in and have some scans done. You’re going to be feeling it for a while. I’ll give the Boss some pain pills for you to take to feel more comfortable.”

“I think I’ll be okay without going in. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me.” And I mean it, truly. I don’t want to admit this because it’s so fucking embarrassing to be basically thirty and still not able to afford insurance. A hospital visit is just something I can’t afford right now.

“Is there anywhere else you want me to look over? I can have Matteo step out if that would make you more comfortable.”

I silence Matteo’s growl by cutting him off. “He doesn’t need to leave. I have some bruising on my legs from when he was on top of me, but he didn’t get far. Can you maybe look at the back of my head? He yanked my hair pretty hard, and I’m pretty sure I felt blood.”

“Let’s take a look.” Adlo gently directs my head so it’s tilting downward. “There’s some dried blood where some hair has been ripped out at the root. A little tender?” he asks as he presses his hand lightly around the area.

“Yeah. Basically, it feels like my whole head is going to throb off my body.” I let out a light laugh.

“Yeah,” Aldo winces. “I’m sorry about that. It’s probably going to feel like that for a couple of days. Take the pills that I’m going to leave and just use this time to relax.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks, Aldo. I’ll be down in a minute,” Matteo dismisses him.

I wait for the door to close behind him before I speak again. “Can I take a shower and borrow some sweats to wear to Delaney’s?”

“You’re not going to Delaney’s. I’ll get you something to wear, but I want you to take a bath and relax,” Matteo says as he walks back towards me.

“I can’t relax. I have to work tonight. What time even is it?” I ask as I look around for some sort of alarm clock.

“It’s just after 3:00pm.”

“3:00?! I need to be at work in an hour!”

“Call off for a few days and relax,” Matteo says before turning to walk out of the room. “I’m not going to say it again, tesoro,” he calls over his shoulder, leaving me in silence.

“So fucking bossy,” I mumble to myself as I head into the bathroom to call off while I take a bath. Just like Matteo said to do.

Chapter

Sixteen

MATTEO

The only thing that’s stopping me right now from going back into that room and helping her relax in more ways than just a bath is the fact that her face is so busted up. I know even a kiss would hurt her, and that’s not how I want her to remember our first one.

“She’s pretty, Boss,” Aldo says as I join them in my massive fucking living room.

My whole family convinced me to buy this place. They claimed the head of the Italian Mob in Ravenna Heights had to look the part. My mom and aunts did have a valid point that, eventually, the family would be expanding, and if there's one thing you should know about Italians, it’s that they love to throw huge parties full of food and drinks. My mom and aunts will find an excuse to have a party for just about anything.

“I know,” I agree because what else is there to say? They all have two fucking eyes, and I’m not giving them anything more when I don’t even know what’s going on myself. “Any updates on the accident?”

“Someone cut your brakes.”