AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s that?”
“Lay low.”
Those two words shot out of my mouth without me even thinking of them.
“There’s a lot of heat on us right now,” I continued, realizing that neither of them was willing nor able to offer me his opinion. “The mob can’t wait to see us dead, plus the cops will be desperate for clues as to what really went down in Amanda’s. So, I’m not lifting a finger until we get better and this whole thing blows over.”
“Cesare, I hear you, but those fuckers must pay,” Leonardo said, the determination in his tone showing his intent. “I want us to come up with a plan to get them, the minute we feel better.”
“Again, I’m going to have to agree with our little hothead over there,” Matteo spoke out, bobbing his head. “Sorry for losing it, man. I’m just upset about what happened in Amanda’s. That’s all.”
“They’ll pay,” I promised them, my gaze darting from Matteo to Leonardo and back to Matteo. “We just have to be careful and avoid doing anything stupid.”
I left them both in the living room and went to the bathroom to clean myself up. The guy in the mirror didn’t resemble me much. A chunk of my goatee had been singed off. I had plenty of cuts all over my face, including two, deeper ones across my forehead. I knew it would take us a few days to heal. I knew we wouldn’t like it, but the alternative was much,muchworse. The truth was that once we got back out there, we’d be easy targets. Our bodies had taken a battering. We had to recover first, before getting back at anybody.
24
PIPER
Ten daysafter my last encounter with the trio and my stepbrother in the Presbyterian hospital, my life was back to normal.
None of them had been admitted with life-threatening injuries.
None of them had called or texted me.
In truth, they all acted like they never met me.
And boy, I was relieved.
Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting Felix to call me up. He hadn’t done that in months. He was going to pick up the phone and ask to see me, especially after his pathetic outburst in that hospital.
On the other hand, I felt a little disappointed. I did believe that at least one of those guys would have done so.
Not Cesare. It had been clear to me that he had gotten what he wanted and wasn’t interested in anything more.
Matteo was not going to break the “code.” If anything, I thought that kissing me would weigh down on him for a while. To him, this code was too important. Too sacred to be broken. He wasn’t going to betray his cousin by starting something with me. His relationship with Cesare was too precious for him to fool around with me.
It was Leo that I expected to hear from.
I might have not had a relationship in months, but I could recognize great chemistry when I saw it. It was true; we had connected on the night my brother was wounded. Both in and out of the hospital, the two of us got along very well. He made me laugh and helped me take my mind off Felix’s terrible behavior. In spite of that, Leo kept his distance from me. For some reason I couldn’t put my finger on, he chose to ignore me.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to contact him. I liked him, yes, but I couldn’t overlook something very simple about him: He was part of a group that invited trouble. I had seen that too many times already. I didn’t know what those three had been involved in, but it wasn’t real estate, sports or anything legal. Besides, I liked my peace of my mind. I appreciated waking up in the morning, feeling carefree.
Finishing the afternoon shift, I took the elevator to the ground floor. It was a bit after ten pm, and I couldn’t wait to go home, take a shower and watch some TV. It wasn’t thrilling, it wasn’t exciting in any way, but I had missed doing this. Being by myself, enjoying something I liked, without my mind drifting off to gunshot wounds, explosions, or anything of that sort.
Still, finding myself out in the parking lot, I realized that spending the remainder of the night in my pajamas, with a bowl of popcorn on my lap was an unlikely scenario. Nearing my ancient car, I caught a glimpse of a big, masculine man just thirty feet from my car. Walking in my direction, his usual swagger and his black leather jacket gave away his identity. It was none other than Leonardo Turner.
“Hey there,” he said, tipping his head down, hands in his pockets.
“Leo…” I murmured his name, pressing the unlock button on the key fob. “What a surprise.”
“Pleasant I hope,” he confessed, coming to a halt near me. Looking closer at his face, a mix of disappointment and curiosity came over me. His good looks had been spoiled. He had several scratches across his cheekbones, while the area over his right eye was yellowish.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.. “I thought you’d have called me by now. But now that I see you, I understand why you’ve been out of touch.”
“I wasn’t in a bar fight if that’s what you mean,” he claimed, his voice losing its relaxed tone.
“Then, what happened to you?”
