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“If the offer for lunch is still on the table, get me anything from that new fusion truck. If they aren’t too busy, tell Kori I sent you.”
He nods and squeezes my hand. I brace myself for the rush that sends butterflies fluttering in my chest and stomach. I should be used to my reaction, but I’m not. Although avoiding physical contact with Tácito is the solution, I also can’t bear to lose the few times I let myself embrace his touch.
“Why must my son surround himself with incompetence?” The most dreaded voice echoes from the hallway. The man’s angry voice rises as he gets closer to my recovery room, causing an immediate fear response.
No amount of training in the Air Force or my subsequent life as an assassin has eradicated the abject terror that fills me whenever Giulio DeLuca is in my vicinity.
“Valentino has a city full of people on his payroll, yet no one can tell me where the hell he is? You! Why are you dressed in scrubs?”
I raise startled eyes to Tácito and quickly sign that Giulio has found Hilde and will probably arrive soon. Tácito leaps out of his chair and takes up a defensive position in front of me. As a line of defense, I doubt he will be effective in the face of Giulio’s wrath.
Even as kids, once Valentino moved, I was the one who stood between Tácito and the violent bullies and gangs. Although grown and with the physique to prove he is no slouch, Giulio is a different caliber of bully. He’s untouchable.
The door slams open, and Giulio storms in but pulls up short at seeing Tácito. “Who did this to my son?”
The way Tácito stands in front of me obscures Giulio’s view. He can’t see the body in the bed belongs to me, while I have an unobstructed view of Valentino’s dad. Tácito doesn’t move to sign a response, although I’m sure he’s read Giulio’s lips.
When silence greets his question, Giulio goes on the offensive. “Where’s that goddamn nurse? At least she can use the tongue in her goddamn mouth.”
Tácito imperceptibly stiffens at Giulio’s insult. I see it because moments like these have always called for us to be each other’s protection. We’re used to reading each other’s body language. If neither of us acts now, Giulio will do something violent, and everyone in the mansion will be at risk.
“Valentino isn’t here,” I volunteer the information.
“That voice!” Giulio grits.
Tácito turns to me with an accusatory glare. I shrug. When faced with an outcome that would endanger Tácito or the people who have helped me in my current state, the usual boulder holding my tongue prisoner no longer becomes a burden. And speaking up for Tácito has never been, nor will ever be, an encumbrance.
Giulio shoves Tácito out of the way. I gasp as my best friend slams against the floor. I worry for his hands. If he tried to catch himself… Tácito needs his hands to perform surgery. Other than being friends forever, being a doctor has been his only dream. If Giulio does anything to destroy that for him, I’ll—
“A pity whoever did this to you failed to follow through. How many warnings do you need to keep away from my family?” Giulio sneers at me, his disdain clear.
Valentino’s absence emboldens him, not that he needs much encouragement. Giulio raises his fist. My reflexes are too slow to defend myself. Regardless, I raise my arm to block the oncoming blow with a grimace of pain. Even if I were faster, I’m still recovering, and the aches may be dulled, but they aren’t gone. My stitches haven’t been removed.
Tácito slams into Giulio and they go tumbling to the ground. Hurried footsteps pound the floor in the corridor, but the noise doesn’t distract the two people rolling on the floor. Suddenly, Ethan and four of his men burst through the doorway.
“Help Tácito!” I demand from my bed.
A brief glance my way tells me why it took as long as it has for Ethan and his men’s arrival. Ethan is still butt hurt about my dramatic appearance from the other night. Probably because I incapacitated his men and made them look bad at their job. He can hate me all he wants, but he has to save Tácito from Giulio’s savagery.
Although…where did Tácito learn those moves? He wraps his legs around Giulio and has the older man in a headlock. What have I missed during my absences?
Ethan separates the men, making sure to have two men hold Giulio’s arms. He can’t do the same with Tácito for obvious reasons, and that doing so would earn him an early and permanent retirement from Valentino.
Tácito’s chest pumps from his exertion, but he turns to me and asks me to translate his signs for him.
“Valentino went on a trip.” I swing a startled glance to Tácito. Last night he deflected my question.
“You don’t know where he is, do you?”
“No one does,” Ethan says. “But that won’t stop us from defending his people in his absence.”
“His people? I’m his people. My blood runs in his veins.” Giulio, who looks so much like my Valentino, becomes almost purple with rage.
I hate that he shares more than blood with someone I care about. He’s tried to turn Valentino into a monster like him, but fifteen years of unfiltered exposure only hardened Valentino to his father’s demands.
“Until your name makes my list, you won’t be considered his people. Now, don’t be difficult while we escort you off the property.” Ethan nods at his men who haul Giulio’s resisting body out of the room.
“Dogs should know not to bite their master’s hand,” Giulio threatens, more calm than when he first arrived.
