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Chapter 16
“She’s malnourished and a little anemic,” the doctor told Neo.
Melody’s eyes popped open upon hearing their voices. She’d fallen asleep after the doctor examined her a few minutes ago and was lying in one of the rooms prepared for her return. Neo observed her ashen skin, sunken eyes and chapped lips. She’d showered and changed with the assistance of a nurse before the examination and was wearing PJs.
“Take me to see your father,” she requested, trying to rise from the bed.
“Mom, you need some rest. You can see him in the morning.”
“Take me to see your father now, Neo!” she repeated. “I need to see my Addy.”
“Mom…”
She swung her legs from the bed and stood unsteadily to her feet. “Fine, you don’t want to take me. I can go by myself.”
Seeing that she was determined to be with her husband, Neo assisted her across the hall to Adriano’s room. When Melody entered, she broke away from Neo and ran up the bed, faltering a couple of times, but catching her balance.
“Addy, wake up!’ she cried. “Come back to me.”
With his heart twisting in his chest, he watched his mother lift his father’s hand and kissed it before kissing his lips. The beep from the monitor skipped as she touched her lips to his again.
Neo turned to the doctor. “What’s happening.”
“He seems to be responding to your mother.”
He wasn’t surprised. They’d always been a duo that no one could keep apart. “Arrange a bed to be placed next to my father’s and treat my mom from here.”
“Very well Signore DeLuca,” the doctor replied before walking away to carry out the orders.
Now that his mother was home one would have thought that Neo would relax. That wasn’t to be. He was hard pressed to believe that Eunice had nothing to do with Giannino’s death, but he had to explore all the possibilities, just in case. It’s been a while since he heard from the detective in charge of the case and now that his mother was home, he could focus his full attention on solving it.
Had he not believed that those responsible for his parents’ abduction were the ones who murdered his brother, he would have paid more attention to their demise. He would have kept close contact with the detective in charge. The police were known for their snail’s pace at catching criminals. DeLucas were known to move swiftly and exact justice even more urgently. It was time to do this the Nazario way. Now that he was coming into his own, he was getting the gist of what it meant to be a formidable leader. Command the respect of his team while striking fear in the enemy.
The next on the agenda was calling a meeting with his investigative team before contacting the detective. One would have thought it was the other way around. However, the way Neo viewed it was that the detective would only hinder him from meting out the proper justice these murderers deserved.
He left the room where his mother curled up sleeping beside his father on the cot and went down to the armory. The sword needed to be cleaned and put away until it was needed again. The moment he entered the room it flooded with light. He removed his jacket and loosed his tie, setting the sword down on the table there before rolling up his sleeves. Someone had followed him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Neeky entering the space and closing the door.
“Missed me?” he teased.
They’d settled into a nice pattern of teasing, resisting, lusting, yearning … but what Neo liked most was the unspoken respect he saw in her eyes now. It was different from before when she saw him as just a kid on an ego trip. She wasn’t wrong then. He’d grown over the past weeks and was now embracing his role in the family.
“How about a little sparring before bed?” she asked. “Ease the tension.”
“I’m not tensed,” remarked. “I’m quite relaxed actually. But I see you’re horny as fuck!”
“I’m not horny,” she denied. “You dick!” He started moving in her direction and she backed away. “Are we going to do this again? You backing me up and threatening to do things to me?”
“Nope,” he replied. “I’m not threatening to do things to you. I’m taking what’s already mine.”
She stopped moving and scrunched her face in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“That little display of affection earlier only means one thing, Antonique. I got you exactly where I want you.”
“I told you before, your ego is going to be your downfall.”
He snickered. “I have no problem falling, so long as it my cock that falls into your pussy.”
“You talk big, don’t you?” she quipped. “Well, I told you before, I haven’t met a man who can handle this booty yet. Why don’t we see what you got then?”
