Tesoro: Mayhem Makers

Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

DANTE

Struggling to keep my eyes open, I listen as Kate explains what each cord and line connected to Angelo is. Her kind voice, like a blanket of calm as she encourages me to talk to him. Then, just as I was about to lose the battle with sleep, a tall man rolls what looks like an oversized chair into the room.

“Dante, this is Porter, he will be your nurse for the next twelve hours.”

I wanted to ask her why she had to leave, then it dawned on me how long she’d been here.

“Will you be back?” I question, grateful for the deepness of my voice hiding the desperation inside my heart. Movement behind Porter catches my attention, Frankie’s unmistakable frame sliding into the shadows of the room. He had news, I could smell it, and it wasn’t good.

“I’m not technically leaving as the hospital is on alert due to the storm.” Kate wrinkles her nose, pushing that tendril of hair behind her ear. “So yes, I’ll be back.”

The smile she shares as she leaves the room shatters something deep inside, a wall I’d constructed so long ago.

Porter rambles off something along the lines of calling if I need him, my attention remaining on Kate as she gathers her things, joining the mousy girl she called Marie who waits in the elevator.

“I hear she was right about the third bullet.”

Dropping my gaze to the floor, I stand from the chair, crossing the room to Angelo’s bed.

“Lucky for Angelo, Chuy is cheap and the bullet broke in half instead of taking out his heart.”

When the surgeon came to me to get a medical history on Angelo, I shared with him what I’d overheard in the ER. He assured me several x-rays would be taken and he would search the area once he got in there. After surgery, he came to me with a smile and two halves of a spent bullet in a plastic cup.

“We do have an issue, Boss.”

“What have I said about calling me that?”

“Like it or not, with Angelo dancing with the angels right now, you are the leader of this Family.”

Hooking my hands on my hips, I toss my head back and release a pent up breath. Frankie was disgustingly right. The rules were clear when it came to leadership; the person who wears the crown, or ring as it was, has to be conscious and capable. My brother was neither at the moment.

“You need to step up before Boston finds out.”

Dropping my head, I gaze over my shoulder at Frankie. “You do what I asked?”

Frankie pulls the backpack strap from his shoulder, tossing the canvas in my direction.

“Gold bow and everything.” He dropped his body into the chair Porter brought in. Deep down I know better than to question Frankie.

Unzipping the bag, I reach in and pull out the first box my fingers touch. Keeping my focus on the box, “You mentioned an issue.”

Frankie uncrosses his arms, leaning his forearms against his thighs. “Chuy wants revenge for getting shot.”

“That’s rich, given he drew first blood.”

Crossing the room, I tuck the first box in the corner, flipping the switch on the back and spinning it to face Angelo’s bed.

“Still, it’s the cartel and they lack boundaries.”

Grabbing a second box, I turn my attention to Frankie. “Except one.”

When Joseph took Angelo and I in, he began his tutelage, turning the two of us into him. He said every man has three things: a price, a weakness, and a boundary. Find those and you have power over him.

Leaning back in his seat, a knowing smile splits his lips. “Tell me your plan.”