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While I admire––even respect––the woman for having the balls to speak to a known murderer in such a way, her ballsiness is starting to piss me off.
I go to tell her as much when my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see Boian’s name flash across the screen.
Once he returned from whatever off-the-grid location he planted Camil, I instructed him to watch over Rome for as long as Iwas gone.
Hitting the answer button, I stand and walk to a secluded corner. “Sì?”
“Idris is dying.” He gets right to the point, and while the average human would feel even the slightest bit of sadness for the man that raised them, I feel… nothing.
The man was no father to me, and I still believe he’s the reason behind my mother’s abduction and ultimate murder. He wasn’t talking, and I’d taken more than my pound of flesh from him in the form of fingers, skin, and bone. I was done with the waste of a human being.
Still, my curiosity was piqued. “Whathappened?”
“Sepsis has set in. I guess the doctor wasn’t as thorough with his treatment.”
“Dispose of the body after he dies,” Iinstruct.
“No formal burial?” Boian asks, already knowing the answer.
“No. And make sure to send the doctor a healthy bonus for his trouble,” I finish, then disconnectthe call.
“Everything good?” Alto asks from my side.
“My father is dying,” I answer dismissively, and Alto nods and returns tohis seat.
“SignoreCalvano,” the doctor approachesour group.
“Sì.”
“SignorinaWhite is stable. We were able to fix the thoracoacromial artery without further blood loss.” The breath I didn’t know I was holding gushes from my lungs, and I’m light-headed with relief.
“When can we see her?” Adelaide asks through happy tears.
“She’s heavily sedated, but you can see her now. Only two…” The doctor’s words die on his tongue when he catches my look of warning. No one, not even the doctor, will restrict anyone in my trusted circle. And when he swallows audibly and looks like he might piss his pants, I know he’s gotten the hint. “Room 125.”
Smiling, I slap him on the back harder than is needed, say, “Thank you, Doctor,” and head for the doors leading to the patient rooms.
“I guess being a criminal has its perks,” Miriam mutters, not too quietlybehind me.
“Let it go, Miriam,” Adelaide grouses, and I can’t help but smirk at the differences between the three sisters. Miriam is a foul-mouthed fighter, Adelaide is the quiet peacemaker with a spine of steel, and Greta is a mix of both, only with a dark side that keeps me craving more ofmia perla.
“It may not be in Greta’s best interest to have so many people crowded around when she wakes,” Xander cautions quietly as we make our way to Greta’s room. “There’s no telling what that asshole did to her. She didn’t even seem to recognize you.”
“I’m not leaving her to wake up alone in a strange place, Cain,” I grit, and when he grabs my bicep to stop me, I turn and fist his collar in my hands before slamming him against the wall. “You won’t keep me from her,” I breathe inhis face.
His hands grip my wrist, and his eyes spark with violence. “I’m not trying to keep you from her, Calvano. I’m thinking of her mental well-being. Think about it from her point of view. If she wakes up to half a dozen people she may not even recognize, how the fuck do you think she’s going to react?” His hands tighten on my wrists, but I refuse to show even an ounce of discomfort.
Finally accepting the truth in his words, I release him and run a shaky hand through my hair. No matter how much I hate the idea of not being there when Greta wakes up, I need to do what is best for her. “I’m not leaving this hospital until she opens her eyes, so what do yousuggest?”
“We all go in now, but when she wakes, it needs to be just her sisters,” he returns, and I immediately hate the idea. Miriam is pissed, and Adelaide can’t lie if her life depended on it.
And I tell him as much. “I won’t have them,” I point to the sisters, “filling her head with shit to turn her against me.”
“Emiliano.” Adelaide places a hand on my shoulder, and I turn my wrathful gaze to her. She doesn’t so much as flinch and continues, “Please let us do this, and I give you my word that we won’t speak a single word against you. Right, Miriam?” She turns a warning look on her sister, who crosses her arms over her chest and murmurs a reluctantagreement.
Looking between the two sisters, I remind myself this is what’s best for Greta, and with a growl, I do something I never did before Greta came into my life…I give in.
14
