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We ate in silence, Alexis barely meeting my gaze. It shouldn't bother me as much as it did, but I wanted to see her steel-blue eyes. I craved it. She was so expressive, unable to hide anything as her eyes or face immediately gave her away. She was frustrated; that was plain to see. Upset that Antonio was gone without a word and that we wouldn't tell her the reason.
I found myself tapping my fingers on the table. The nerves of not hearing from Antonio wore me down. Miko narrowed his eyes at me, his gaze dropping to my hand and back to my face. I wasn't one to fidget.
The silence continued, dragging on and on until I was about to scream.
Then the door burst open, the following sound abnormal.
"Fuck…" Antonio groaned, his voice filled with anguish and followed by the crashing of items in the entryway.
Miko and I rose to our feet at the same time, running toward our alpha without a second thought.
Luca and Roberto tried to get Antonio to his feet. They were all bloodied. Crimson streaked across the marble floors, starkly contrasting their usual pristine beauty.
"What happened?" I snapped, going into bodyguard mode and kneeling before Antonio.
His eyes were wild, unfocused as he glanced around the room. He gripped my shirt, pulling me closer with a strength he shouldn't have, considering the amount of blood covering his clothes. "Where’s Alexis?" He sounded feral, like a rogue alpha lost to his instincts.
"Tony," Alexis gasped and fell to her knees beside me. She framed Antonio's face, her gaze frantic as she looked him over. "What happened? Talk to me."
He squeezed his eyes shut, his face slackening with relief."Tesoro."His large hands engulfed hers, anchoring her touch."Tesoro,"he repeated, his muscles relaxing.
"Alexis, he's going to crash any second." I bent close and whispered in her ear. "I need to get him into bed and assess his injuries."
She nodded, holding herself together remarkably well. But there was a slight tremble in her hands that betrayed her nerves.
"Miko, grab the med kit and meet me in the room." I looked at Luca and Roberto. "You two need any immediate attention?"
They shook their heads, acting in perfect sync.
"Good. Now help me because he's fucking heavy." Together, we carefully lifted Antonio and carried him to his room. Alexis moved ahead, opening the door, then grabbing the heavy comforter on top of the bed and ripping it down, leaving just the sheets.
"Tell me what happened while I get his clothes off." I pulled my knife from my back pocket and sliced away his bloodied clothes.
Miko set the med kit on the edge of the bed and opened it before moving into the bathroom and grabbing a stack of towels, a bowl of warm water, and washcloths.
"Luca and I secured Annaleise and Ross. Boss came in after we'd interrogated Ross, and started to question that cunt." Roberto glanced briefly at Alexis. "Sorry, ma'am."
Alexis snorted. "Don't ever fucking call me ma'am again. Now get on with it." She pushed him out of the way and started to help me peel the clothing off Antonio.
I worked, assessing what Antonio needed. He had a nasty gash on his ribs and a bruise on his temple. Dirt and ash colored his skin, and as I revealed more, I saw several burns along both of his forearms and the backs of his hands. Alexis grabbed the bowl and cleaned some of the dirt and blood.
Through it all, Antonio never moved. His breathing remained steady, though, the only sign of life beyond his still frame.
"Annaleise went psycho. Laughing about how we'd made a big mistake." Luca's brow furrowed. "Then the explosions started. They knocked out a lot of our security, and then three teams started to breach the upstairs."
"You were in Shoren?" I asked gruffly, wincing as I saw another nasty gash along Antonio's right thigh.
"Yeah." Luca nodded and grunted in pain as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Ross was already dead, and Boss told us to take care of Annaleise before we went through the secret tunnel. But it collapsed as we got close to the exit. Boss pushed us both, but a lot of debris fell on top of him. I think maybe his leg is broken. Fuck. We barely got out of there, but somehow we made it to the boat and then down the river to the other safe house to get a vehicle."
"Miko, look them over. Alexis and I are good here." I jerked my chin toward the twins, seeing the numerous cuts and scrapes that needed washing. Alexis was a much better helper than Miko was, anyway. She was almost unnervingly calm as she cleaned his wounds.
"What can we do about his leg?" Alexis asked quietly.
"I’ll call our doctor once we get the rest of these stitched up. We'll take him in to get X-Rays and see if he needs surgery or if a cast or brace will suffice."
Fuck, I knew Antonio was not going to like that, but there was nothing else we could do. Leg breaks were nothing to joke about. With how much he loved to run, it would be vital to ensure it healed correctly.
She nodded, the grim line returning to her mouth as she concentrated on cleaning the blood and dirt from his torso.
