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“Yeah, he, um…” She faltered, dipping her gaze to the floor before looking back up at me. “He had a piece of aluminum lodged in his gut. I don’t know any specifics, girl. You’ll have to ask his pals about those.”
“I see. Thank you, Kayla,” I spoke, offering her a glance of appreciation. I passed her by, wondering just how that piece of aluminum had ended up in my brother’s stomach.
I wasn’t going to wait for that surgery to be over. And I wasn’t going to wait for Felix’s so-called “friends” to walk up to me and disclose whatever had transpired that night.
No way.
I kept my attention on them, willing to find out every single detail of my brother’s injury. But a few paces afterwards, a certain view fed my anger.
A leather jacket. Or, rather, the back of a leather jacket.
A patch of a panther, looking back with its menacing, yellow eyes.
I had seen it before.
In a hospital.
Just not the Presbyterian.
It was on the night of Leo’s injury. I had seen it on his friend’s back.
Standing between Leo and Matteo, Cesare was oblivious to my presence, just like the other two misfits.
“You!” I said, my eyes darkening with anger as I got within five feet from them.
Cesare flipped around at my voice, the other two following suit in a second.
“Piper?” He squinted down at me. “What are you doing here? I thought you worked at the Metropolitan.”
“I do, you idiots.” My gaze settled on his. “Am I in scrubs? No. The guy you brought in? He’s my brother.”
“Whoa!” Leo exclaimed, Cesare and Matteo staring at each other, their faces loosening in disbelief. “Seriously? Felix’s your brother?”
“Shit,” Matteo muttered.
“That’s right,” I confirmed with a stiff nod. “Now, I want you to tell meexactlyhow my brother ended up fighting for his life. And don’t leave anything out.”
My little speech could have well been a bomb. It had the exact same effect as one. Those three somehow swallowed their tongues, preferring to either glance at each other or focus on the floor. As if my brother’s life hadn’t been hanging in the balance, they had decided to keep me in the dark, too. What a bunch of losers. None of them had the decency to let me know what had gone down that night. They had chosen silence over coming clean. I guessed the truth was too much for them to bear.
“Oh, my god,” I spoke through gritted teeth, struggling to wrap my head around their attitude. “So, no one’s got the guts to give me something? Anything?”
I had been hoping that my insult would yield some results. I didn’t know about Leonardo yet, but Matteo and Cesare’s egos were bigger than monster trucks. Again, though, my hopes were disproved. Matteo gnawed on his bottom lip, while Cesare and Leo selected to stroll away from my spot.
“Your brother’s a big boy, Piper,” Matteo spoke out, still avoiding making eye contact with me. “He knew what he signed up for. I know we should have asked him his last name, but still, you can’t blame us for this mess.”
“Shut up!” I shouted, turning quite a few heads. “How the hell do I know?” I lowered my voice. “The way I see it, if he hadn’t met you, he wouldn’t be in that OR. Know this, you sons of bitches. If he doesn’t make it, I’m holding youpersonally responsible. I’m sure the cops would justloveto hear what you have to say about tonight.”
I spun around at the end of my sentence, something else coming to mind.
“I’ll be at the chapel, praying for Felix. If any of you grow some balls, come talk to me.”
I strode off, wishing I could just disappear from that waiting room in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t stand being around those gutless bastards. They had put Colby’s baby brother in harm’s way, and none of them had the courage to disclose what had come so close to killing him. Tough guys my ass… A man’s strength wasn’t in his muscles. It was in his heart. For all their posturing, those three were acting like they didn’t have one.
20
LEONARDO
Tough words.
