Chapter 29
Santino
That annoying beeping won’t shut the fuck up.
I slowly peel my eyes open, blinking until my vision clears.
I’m in the hospital?
Then it all comes rushing back to me.
The run. The ambush. Getting shot. My brothers being there. Wishing I could see Mia one more time.
Mia.
The monitor starts beeping faster. Is she okay? I look around the room, but she’s not here.
The door opens and in walks Albie and Emilio.
“Hey, brother. You look like shit,”
Albie says, stating the obvious.
“Thanks. I feel like shit, too.”
“I’m glad you didn’t die,”
he adds, and Emilio punches him in the arm.
“Shut the fuck up for once, Al.”
“It’s okay.”
I laugh, then cough. “Ahh, fuck, that hurts. How long was I out for?”
“It’s been almost two days.”
“Mia?”
“She hasn’t left your side since you came out of surgery. We only just convinced her to go to the hotel room we got her to shower and change. Vinny’s fiancé, Lexi, brought her clothes and is keeping her company. Mia insisted she’d be right back, though.”
“She was here?”
“Yeah,”
Al says, his brows furrowed. “Did you think she wouldn’t be?”
“I didn’t know what to think.”
“She’s a good one, brother. She was shattered to see you like this.”
I clear the lump in my throat and look away. I don’t like hearing that my girl has been hurting. I need to see her. I need to talk to her.
“So, tell me what happened. I remember you being there. Why were you there?”
“I didn’t like that Javi was making you go on the run, and you didn’t want me going with you, so we followed you.”
“You followed me the entire way to Philly to make sure nothing went wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Then something went wrong.”
“Yeah.”
Emilio takes the chair that’s already next to the bed while Albie drags the other one over to sit beside him. “We couldn’t get to you until the door was opened. I’m sorry, San.” He rubs his hand over his cheek.
“I’m glad you were there,”
I tell him. “Thank you for saving me.” I look between my younger brothers and take in their tired appearances. “Have you guys slept at all?”
“No. We’ve been out cleaning everything up and tracking down the truck.”
“Tell me everything.”
“After we got you in the car, I saw how much blood you were losing and knew you needed a hospital ASAP, and didn’t have time to find an alternative kind of medical treatment. We got you here and then called Leo to let him know what happened. He got in his helicopter with Nico and Dante and flew down here. Vinny and Alec drove over from Atlantic City, and once they were all here, we went into action. Leo had his cousin track the phone of the Melcciona guy you had in the back of the truck and found it in a warehouse nearby that they moved the truck to.”
“Wait, what about Darren and Caleb?”
Emilio shakes his head. “Sorry, San, they were found dead. So was the guy in the back of the truck. We killed everyone in the warehouse where we tracked the phone, took the truck back, and then Dante blew that shit up.”
“He loves blowing shit up,”
Albie says with a laugh. “He blew up the other warehouse too, to get rid of that mess as well.”
“The truck was driven back up to the Newark warehouse to be kept safe, and all the other lifeless packages were brought to the Port of Newark. Leo’s men handled it.”
Ah, good. I know the Carfanos have disposal sites all over, but the Port of Newark was probably easiest.
I nod my approval and try to adjust my sitting position, but wince and freeze. “Fuck,”
I say through clenched teeth.
“You okay? Do you need me to get a nurse?”
“No, I’m fine,”
I grit out. “I just need to not move. Keep going. Did you find out who ambushed me?”
“We did,” Al says.
“Javi was contacted by the Aleksanyan guy trying to bring Leo down. He has eyes everywhere and knew you and Leo went to meet him. The only thing Javi told the guy was that you married into the Carfano family and were now merging businesses, so of course the Albanian took that as a threat to his plans he had for Leo. Javi didn’t know that the information he conveyed was going to be used to try and kill you and steal his shipment. He’s pissed.”
“He’s pissed?” I seethe.
“He didn’t realize who he was talking to. Leo has it taken care of. You’re family to him now apparently, and he doesn’t take well to attacks on his family.”
“No, I don’t,”
Leo says, walking into the room. “It’s good to see you’re alive and awake, Santino.”
“Thanks. What are we doing about Javi and…I don’t even know his name?”
“It’s Burim. Javi gave me the phone number he used to call him and Stefano found out it was a burner and untraceable, but he used the serial number to find the batch it was bought with and where. The dumbass used his dead cousin’s credit card. He’s been living here under Hovan’s identity since he arrived from Albania. It was easy to track him from there.”
“You found him?”
“Yes, we found him. He was hiding out in some little cabin in the woods in North Jersey. I sent five men to take care of him and the two men he had with him, and they cleared the house of everything they had on us and what he was able to gather on you this week.”
“You work fast.”
“I do.”
I clear my throat and wince when I move the wrong way. I hold my hand out to Leo. “Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t help in the takedown.”
“I’m sorry you were almost killed because of a vendetta against me. And I’m sorry about your man, too.”
I nod my head solemnly. “Javi has agreed to dissolve your contract without any ill will and the Melccionas have still agreed to move forward despite losing two men tonight.”
“Thank fuck.”
In a rare moment of his stone features cracking, Leo smiles at my response.
“Business will be better than ever now, Santino. So long as you take care of Mia.”
“Of course. Her happiness is my priority.”
“Good to hear,”
he says approvingly. “Take it easy with recovery. You don’t have to worry about the cops, either. I’ve already got it all taken care of so there won’t be an investigation or anyone coming to ask you questions.”
The door flies open and in comes my beautiful wife. “Santino?”
she calls out, pushing past Leo. Her frantic eyes meet mine, and when she sees I’m awake and looking back at her, her face breaks out in a huge grin and she hurries over to me, throwing her arms over me.
“Ooof,”
I huff, and she gasps.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry! I’m just so happy to see you awake.”
She cups my cheeks as tears gather in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, farfalla. I’m okay.”
“And I’m okay now that you’re awake.”
She leans down and gives me a sweet, gentle kiss. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“It’s okay. I was told it was the first time you left the room. You didn’t have to stay here the whole time.”
“Oh, shut up. Of course I did.”
“We’ll, uhh, give you two some space,”
Emilio says, and Mia gives him and Albie a hug.
“Thank you for getting him here in time. I’m so grateful. I owe you big time.”
“You don’t owe us anything.”
“But I wouldn’t turn down whatever you think is fair,”
Albie cuts in, making her laugh.
“Get the fuck out of here so I can be alone with my wife,”
I growl at my brothers.
“Fine, fine. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I’ll leave you two as well. Mia,”
Leo says, giving her a little bow as a goodbye.
“Thank you, Leo. I don’t know what happened after all of this”–she waves a hand at my bandages–“but I know you did everything to make it right.”
Mia throws her arms around her cousin and he doesn’t even hesitate to wrap his around her.
“You know you’re like another little sister to me, Mia. I’m sorry about everything that’s happened this past month, but it’s clear to me that things are going well.”
“Very well,”
she says shyly, her cheeks turning pink as she tucks her hair behind her ears.
Fuck, she’s cute.
“I’m glad. And Santino, when the doctor gives you the okay for transport, I can have you moved to our hotel, The Aces, in Atlantic City. We have a great doctor and full medical set-up on one of the floors there for you to recover in. Or, we also have the same set-up in my building in Manhattan. I figure you’re a little like me and don’t want to spend your days in a hospital when we have a much more comfortable option for you.”
“Atlantic City sounds like a fun time. I could sneak out and do a little gambling.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll do exactly what the doctor tells you to do.”
“Yes, my wife,”
I agree, and her eyes soften, along with her whole body as she collapses into the chair beside me.
Leo slips out quietly and Mia takes my hand. “I missed you,”
she tells me, and the confession is all I need to tell her mine.
“I love you, farfalla.”
Mia’s eyes immediately fill with tears. “Santino,”
she whispers. Clutching my hand, she brings it up to cup her cheek and holds it there. “I’m so crazy for falling in love with you, but you’re crazy too, so I guess it makes sense.”
“I told you, baby, you were made for me. It’s fate.”
“I think so.”
Mia leans forward and gives me the sweetest kiss. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“When I was walking down the aisle, and I saw you standing there, so handsome and looking at me like you were already in love with me…”
She smiles and kisses my lips again. “I had this overwhelming feeling wash over me.”
“And what feeling was that?”
I ask her, rubbing my thumb back and forth across her cheek.
Mia gives me a smile that has the monitor I’m hooked up to beeping faster. “That I wanted to marry you. I had no regrets when I said ‘I do’, and I’ve had no regrets since.”
“Come here,”
I urge, and she kisses me again. It’s not enough, though, so I deepen the kiss and pull her closer.
“I don’t want to hurt you,”
she says, trying to pull away.
“I’ll be fine. I just need you.”
“You have me.”
“Then kiss me like I almost died, farfalla. I need to know I’m alive.”
And kiss me she does.
My wife kisses me like she did that first time – desperate, needy, sloppy, and unhinged. It’s fucking perfect, just like her.