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“I would ask who you pissed off,” Charlie sneers, “but I'm sure we don't have the time to go through the entire list.”
My fist involuntarily becomes a ball that I want to smash against his nose.Asshole.“It might surprise you, but there aren't many people I consider my enemy. The list of people that are stupid enough to go to those lengths has become less and less over time.”
“Is there anyone in particular who you've had a falling out with recently?” Ken asks.
“Are you kidding? Somebody like him? This could be anyone,” Charlie groans, holding his head in his hands as he turns away. I watch along with Ken as his entire body shudders with rage, his clenched fist raising as he slams it into the wall hard enough to leave an indent.
“Pull yourself together,” Ken urges him. “You won't be of any help if you hurt yourself.”
“This is because of you!” Like a light switch being turned off and on, Charlie loses it. He lunges at me, throwing a punch before Ken can stop him. He's too worked up, and the swing is wild, only making contact with my shoulder before I drive him backwards into the wall he just dented.
The breath leaves his lungs all at once, but he recovers quickly and snarls in my face, spit flying. “All you'll ever be is a fucking cancer that destroys everything it touches! Why couldn't you leave her alone? She might be too young to understand, but damn it, you're not! You know better!!”
“I know that,” I agree, my voice low as I back away. Ken takes my place, and good thing, because I might have to break the bastard's neck if there isn't space between us. Bianca loves him. I have to remember that.
“If you truly cared about her, you would've pushed her away! There's no hope of her ever being safe or happy when she's with you!” Charlie shoves Ken out of his way almost violently. Apparently he's still itching to wrap his fingers around my throat and squeeze the life right out of me.
“Do you honestly think I haven't told myself those same things? That I should've walked away and denied our attraction. That she would be better off without me. Do you know how much guilt a man can heap on himself in a heartbeat? As soon as I knew she was gone, I told myself all of the things you've said and more.”
“Then how the hell are you still breathing?” his lip curls into a snarl. “How? How can you live with yourself? How are you still standing here? I would have thrown myself out of a fucking window by now if I was you. What if she dies? Can you carry that on your conscience? Huh? Knowing that you're the reason she's dead.”
Similar to a rubber band pulled to its limits, I snap. I've tried to be strong for her sake, but I can't be strong anymore. Charlie's eyes bulge when I pin him to the wall and close my hands around his throat. With gritted teeth, I snarl, “If she dies, then you might as well put a bullet in my fucking heart because I'll die, too. It might be difficult for you to believe, but I love her, too. I don't care if you're her father or not. My love for her doesn't change. I know that what I do and who I am puts her life at risk. Once I have her safely back in my arms, I'll do whatever it takes to ensure this doesn't happen again, so don't assume you know anything about my feelings for your daughter–because you don't. I'm here because she needs me, and I won't stop searching for her until she's back in my arms.”
“That's enough, both of you,” Ken scolds us as he somehow manages to pry me off his friend. “This isn't helping.”
“You're right about one thing,” I tell him while he rubs his neck, glaring at me. “I deserve it all, every lick of pain and sadness. Every broken bone, bruise, and bullet. I deserve all of the bad, but Bianca and Tatum.” My voice cracks with raw emotion, “They don't deserve it, and neither does your grandchild.”
His face becomes ghostly white, and the haunted look in his eyes reappears. I ponder for a moment if the confession shocked him too severely. I understand the feeling. I went through the same thing back at the warehouse when I first found the contents of that crate.
“I don't think I heard you…”
“No, you did. I said your grandchild. Bianca is pregnant.”
“No!!” he groans, then sags against Ken, who holds him upright. “It can't be true. Bianca is too smart to do something like that.”
“No matter what you think or how you feel,” I continue, ignoring his emotional outburst. “It's true. She's pregnant, so if you don't think this is tearing me apart, ripping my heart to shreds, I don't know how else to prove it to you. Do you need to see me bleeding out? Would that satisfy you? Make you understand how important this is?”
At the other end of the hall, the elevator doors slide open, and the sight of my daughter's pale, motionless form on the wheeled bed pulls me from the conversation. I try to distract myself from the tubes in her arms, but it isn't easy. I hate seeing her like this and, even more, knowing she is here because of me. She will be devastated when she discovers the bald patch on the back of her head where ten stitches now reside. I forget all about Charlie and our conversation and sprint across the space to greet the nurse.
“The results haven't come back yet,” the nurse tells me just as I reach them. “I know you want answers, but it will take some time.”
“What if she doesn't have time?” I demand, walking beside the bed and grabbing onto her frail hand.
“Mr. Torrio, her pupils are normal size and responsive,” the nurse assures me. “There's no reason to believe she sustained severe injury. There's a chance this is nothing more than a concussion, and that's something that will resolve itself in time. All we can do is wait for the test results and the doctor to confirm.”
She could've died today, and there would've been nothing I could do to stop it. That's how fast it could've happened. One single instant, and everything could've changed. “Hang in there, baby,” I whisper, clutching her hand. “I'm going to make them pay. Don't you worry.”
“Boss.” Romero enters the room and thrusts his phone my way, “It's Costello.”
Of all fucking times.I grab the phone and bring it to my ear. “Sebastian, I really don't have time for this right now.”
“Oh? You don't have time for our meeting this evening?”
Releasing Tatum's hand and walking out to the hall, I whisper, “Listen. Things... things are about as bad as they could be right now.” I can't afford to hold back now. He might be able to help me somehow, and even if it means showing a sliver of weakness, it's worth the cost if it brings Bianca home safely.
“What's that beeping in the background? It sounds like you're in the hospital.”
Observant kid. “We're at the hospital in town.”
