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The nurse escorts us back to his room, and Raniero grabs my hand. “Wife, huh?” He asks with a small grin. “Did I miss the wedding?”
“Something like that,” I smile back at him. “Don’t tell anyone, though.” We’ll explain it later. Right now, we get to see Cesare, and that’s all that matters.
4
CESARE
“Just be honest with me. Did I get run over by a herd of wild elephants?”
The nurse smiles as she writes down my vitals. “Close enough,” she says with a wink.
She’s a pretty little thing. Petite, like Kessa, but a dark foil to the love of my life. “If I’m out of the woods, you think you could grab my wife? I’d like to see her.” I barely remember Kessa calling herself my wife when the EMTs got me on the stretcher and started carrying me to the emergency vehicle, but Idoremember it.
Her pen scratches against the paper a few more times before she looks up and nods. “Of course, I can. But visiting hours are almost over. You’ll have to make this quick.”
“I just want to tell her I’m okay,” I promise the nurse.And find out why she was so willing to lie to medical professionals.
The nurse leaves, and for a few minutes, all I hear is the sound of machines beeping and people walking by outside. It’s almost a cozy feeling to be left without a phone to answer or a television to watch. The sun has been long set now that the winter days are here, but the moon sits prominently in the sky. I can’t remember the last time I stared intentionally at the moon. It’s almost surreal to see the bright, white ball hang in the sky, illuminating everything beneath it.
The door to my room opens and stirs me from my peaceful reverie. Kessa rushes in, and I have only a second to notice the blood on her shirt before she’s draped over me and smothering my face with kisses. “I told you not to be a hero,” she scolds.
My oldest brother, Raniero, stands in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. He wears a smug little smile on his face as he watches my good hand come around to hold Kessa. “Good to see you’re still alive, little bro.”
“Barely,” I groan. “It feels like I was trampled by a circus.”
At that admission, Francesca pulls away from me and holds her hands in the air. There is horror in her gaze as she stares at me. “Oh, my god. Did I hurt you?”
There was some pressure when she was on top of me, but the drugs the doctors gave me were working overtime to withhold the pain. Besides, I’d rather have her on top of me, showering me with kisses, than not. “No, I’m perfectly fine, Kes. Is-is that my blood?” I change the topic before she can keep freaking out.
Kessa looks down at her shirt. What was once a neatly pressed white shirt is now rumpled and stained. “Oh, god,” she groans, “yeah, it is. I’m going to have to throw this shirt out.”
“We can get it dry-cleaned,” Raniero offers. He walks up to my bedside and places a hand on my shin. “I wouldn’t want you to lose a shirt because this bum can’t resist a fight.”
“Hey,” I glare at him, “the guy was threatening Kessa. What else was I supposed to do?”
Raniero rolls his eyes. “I don’t know, but attacking the gunman doesn’t sound like the first response.”
Truth be told, I don’t remember attacking the guy with the gun. He said that he wanted a kiss from Francesca and insinuated he might want more. The next thing I knew, I was beating the shit out of him. Then I was shot, Kessa called herself my wife, and I woke up in this bed. “Are the other guys in the waiting room?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Raniero chides. “Of course they are. Calliope has the kids. She offered to watch them when Francesca called me. Mateo swung by with Marceila before he showed up.”
“You got a good woman there,” I grin. “I wouldn’t offer to watch the Valenti children even if you paid me.”
Raniero snorts. “Shut up. Yes, you would. I bet you’ll be the first one in the room when Nicolette goes into labor.”
Kessa clears her throat when the room silences for a few seconds and slowly starts to back up. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go get your brothers. You guys should be together at a time like this.”
“No, honey,” Raniero stops her. He reaches out, grabs her wrist, and pulls her back to the bedside. “I’llinform my brothers that Cesare’s bullet-riddled ass is fine. You guys chat. You are hiswife, after all.”
Her cheeks flush red, and for a moment, Kessa turns away from me. I do my best to explain for her. “The EMTs said she could come on the van if she was my wife.”
He nods his head wisely. “Yes, of course. I think I’ll inform everyone you’re safe with your wifey.”
“Shut up.” If I could move my left arm, I’d grab a pillow and throw it at him.
As Raniero leaves the room, he shuts the door behind him, leaving Francesca and me alone. She looks like she’s aged ten years in the last few hours, and I know this is my fault. “Listen, Kessa—”
Tears well up in her eyes and it stops me from continuing. “I was so afraid for you,” she whispers. “I thought you were going to die. You were covered in blood, and you were pale, so very pale.”
