Chapter 16 Rafael
The sound of the front door opening brought a smile to my face. I'd held onto my phone for the last two hours hoping he'd call or text something. I really needed to get him to communicate with me more.
I was seconds away from sending him ass pics and maybe me in some lingerie to get a response out of him.
"Finally, you're home I—" My thoughts ceased to exist as I stared at a bleeding, battered Cesare.
"What the fuck?" I was over to him in seconds, grabbing his face.
Blood steadily dripped from his forehead, his eyes were glossed over, and he groaned as he closed them.
Without thought, I hit the light switch, plunging us in darkness, and he sighed.
"It—shit." He squeezed the bridge of his nose, letting out a pained noise. "Food."
"You're hungry?" Fuck, how could he think about food right now?
Cesare grunted. "Towels." He licked his lips, and his head was hung to low as he stepped further into the house. "Put a few in the towel warmer to get it nice and hot."
"What are you talking about? Sit down. What happened?" I attempted to pull him toward the couch, but he shoved me back.
He cracked his neck but it didn't look as if it gave him any reprieve. Thank fuck the kitchen light was on, it gave the living room a dim glow that I could make out everything. From the soaking wet clothes to the disheveled look I'd never seen on Cesare ever.
"Cesare, you need to tell me what happened to you." Panic was trying to claw up my insides. He was hurt. If this was Benito, so help him, I would make whatever Cesare was doing to him feel like a cakewalk. They were doing their family bullshit, but this was too fucking far.
"Food and a box. Shit." He was unsteady on his feet, and I was right there for him to lean against.
I groaned and grabbed a fistful of Cesare's clothes and snatched him closer. He was only three inches taller than me. Our eyes met, and for a second, there was some clarity in those dark orbs. "Sit the fuck down."
His brows scrunched up as he stared at me. Even dazed and hurt, he exuded power. If it was anyone else, I would have apologized and backed down. Shit, if I was smart, I'd obey his crazy talk and be the good whore he paid me to be. Too bad for him, I was none of those things.
"Now, Cesare." I shoved him down on the couch and climbed on top of him before he could get back up. I was careful to hold all my weight so as not to further injure him.
As if a reflex, one of his hands went around my neck, holding me in place. I didn't mind, in fact, it was grounding me. I checked the wound on his head and hissed as more blood oozed out.
"Merda. Quem fez isso com você? Eu nunca quis matar ninguém antes, mas agora eu poderia matar qualquer um."
Cesare groaned, his eyes fluttering.
Smack.
My hand whipped across his face, causing his eyes to open once more. He focused on me for a beat.
"You're dead,” he hissed.
"Yeah, yeah, you can fuck me to death when you're not bleeding all over the fucking place.
And can talk like you're not a senile eighty-year-old man.
" I went to strip him to see the extent of his injuries.
I was so out of my depth. I had the same medical knowledge as a kid.
I could put a Band-Aid on someone if need be, but this?
Fuck, I was so lost. There was no one else here, no one guarding the penthouse, but me.
Something moved under Cesare's clothes, and I froze in place. It happened again, and I pushed it to the side. A little dirty ball of wet fur rolled out. It hissed at me, backing up toward the safety of Cesare's clothes.
"One pet wasn't enough, you had to bring another home?"
Cesare squeezed my throat before his hand dropped. "It needs food and warm towels."
"I'm a little bit more worried about you at the moment. You're bleeding and probably more hurt then you're letting on."
"Food. Feed it."
The man was so fucking demanding even while bleeding and maybe concussed. I groaned and got up. I grabbed the raging ball of fur by its scruff. It hissed in anger, but the moment I sat it back down on Cesare, it shut up.
Great, something else to compete with. It wasn't enough that I was up against the entire female population, but he added in a damn furball. I snatched my phone off the single chair I'd dropped it on and headed toward the bathroom. I shoved a few towels in the warmer as anger pushed panic down.
Cesare wasn't okay, but he wasn't dying at least. I wouldn't let that happen. I scrolled down to Grand Myah's name.
"Rafael, it's been a while. How are you?"
She was one of the sweetest, take-no-shit ladies I'd ever met. She was a no nonsense kind of woman, but she was always welcoming. It didn't matter your background when you came to Silver Dreams. She made sure you had a fresh start.
"Hey, you know that doctor who comes around sometimes? Think I can get her number?"
Grand Myah didn't hesitate. "Melony. Her on-call fees are double then her normal check-ins."
I could afford it, and even if I couldn't, I'd find a way. Money wasn't something I grew up with, but I was willing to toss it at whoever if it meant Cesare would be okay.
"That's not a problem."
Silence greeted me, and my stomach knotted. Being so far from Cesare for so long made me twitchy. I checked the towels and grabbed the bottom one while leaving the others. I headed back to the living room. He was still there where I left him.
"Hey, your eyes better be open."
Cesare groaned, but his head lulled to the side and our eyes locked for a second.
Fuck. I wasn't used to seeing him like this.
"Send her. I'll pay anything."
"Okay, be careful, child," Grand Myah said.
I nodded, but we both knew the moment I stepped into this world, there was nothing careful about it. I brought the warm towel over to the two of them. The kitten was perched on Cesare's chest, purring. The moment I got to close, it hissed.
"I will drown you in a bucket of piss. Try me."
It fucking spat at me.
Motherfucker.
I pointed a finger at the annoying thing. "Look here, he's mine."
The damn cat swiped at my finger as if to tell me I was wrong. I was here first.
"Both of you, stop—fuck." He groaned, pressing his fingers to his head.
I hurriedly wrapped the warm towel around the cat and grabbed Cesare's hand. "Don't touch it."
His knuckles were just as bad as his head.
His flesh was split, and blood trickled at a lot slower pace than his head.
Was I supposed to apply pressure there? That's what they did on the shows, right?
I ran to the kitchen, grabbed one of the clean dish towels, and was back in front of Cesare in seconds.
I balled it up and pressed it against his head.
The string of Italian was so fast, I couldn't catch a single word.
I was pretty certain it was nothing but curse words.
"That better have been a ‘Wow, Rafael, your ass is so fat I can't wait to pound you into the mattress again.’" My joke felt flat, but I was grasping onto anything. Maybe if I pissed him off enough he'd jump up and slam me on the floor and show me he was perfectly okay.
"Whore."
I smiled at the word. He sure as fuck enjoyed fucking this whore if the other night was anything to go off of. I'd never, and I do mean never, been so thoroughly outpaced. Cesare fucked me like he wanted to break me. And I was there for every second of it.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Nothing."
I wanted to strangle him even as he tried to sit up more.
His shoulders rolled and he met my gaze head-on.
There it was the Cesare I knew so well. He was going to be okay.
He had to be. I still wanted a doctor. I knew nothing, and there might be more wrong than the gushing wound on his head. I pushed him back down.
"Don't move, I have a doctor coming." I smoothed back his salt-and-pepper hair. It was sticky and wet with blood. The rain had messed most of it up.
His breathing evened out a little as he relaxed against the couch. My stomach was filled with rocks as a queasy feeling came over me.
"Don't close your eyes or I'm going to slap you again."
Cesare cracked open a single eye. "You… will… pay"—he groaned—"for that."
"Fuck, Daddy, I hope so. I look forward to whichever hole you'll want to punish when you're okay."
"I’m… fine."
No, he wasn't. He tried to sit up again, and I pushed him back down.
"Do that again, and I will make the cut on your head feel like a scrape." I grabbed his hand and placed it on the rag. I needed to find some answers. The grumpy asshole I was in love with wasn't going to give me any of them. "Hold this."
He grabbed my arm before I could step away, and his gaze bore into me. It was like staring a crocodile in the face. Death was imminent and there was no escape.
"No one comes in."
"Cesare."
"No one."
I bit my lip. "Okay, except the doctor." I cupped his face. He sighed and pressed his face into my hand for a single second. I wouldn't have believed it happened if I hadn't been there. "I have no clue what to do, and I—N?o posso perder você agora que finalmente consegui ter você."
"Wh-what?"
"Only the doctor, and I'll ensure secrecy."
He groaned as his head fell back. He pressed his lips firmly together as he breathed heavily through his nose. I knew that look.
"Shit." I looked around and ran over to the kitchen to grab a trash bag. I had it over to Cesare as he leaned over the armrest and emptied the contents of his stomach.
"I know you don't want anyone to see you like this. I won't let anyone in, but I have to have a doctor here."
The cat slid down to his lap as he finally finished puking. He rested his head back on the couch.
"Trust me. I’ve got you."
Cesare didn't say anything, but I didn't think he would. I tossed the bag of bile and grabbed a new bag and sat it next to him. His breath stuttered as he sat there, looking almost fragile.