Doc (The Amato Family #1)

1. Doc

S titching up someone’s throat because the idiot allowed his lover to almost tear it out during sex wasn’t on my bingo card, but here we are.

“No voicing,” I tell Hollis, giving the hacker my best ‘listen to me or I will leave you without the good drugs’ glare. “I know all you fuckers know ASL, so this shouldn’t be a problem for you. I’m going to do some research and find you a specialist that deals with vocal cord damage. If we’re lucky, you’ll just need to rest your voice and let them heal on their own.” I turn to look at Tennant, ignoring the fact that I’m about to give the Second in Command to one of the most notorious mafia Families an order. “Try having sex without almost killing your partner for once.”

The fucker just smiles, his icy blue eyes full of mischief. I roll my eyes. Whatever, I warned him, my job is done.

“I want to see you in a few days when you’re done with…whatever the hell this all is. Behave or I’ll tell Cristian. I’ll have Kail drop off some painkillers later so you can be more comfortable.”

Removing my gloves, I toss them into the biohazard bag I brought with me and then pack up all my supplies. This isn’t the first time I’ve been called out because of some type of injury occurring during sex, nor will it be the last. It is the first time I walked in and thought Tennant actually went through with killing his lover, though. Kinky fuckers.

I like some pain and roughness with my sex as much as the next person, but the shit I’ve seen in the last few years because these assholes can’t keep their dicks or their knives, and now apparently their teeth , out of each other is ridiculous.

“Call me if you need anything,” I say before leaving the two of them to continue their games.

My bodyguard, James, is outside the building where Tennant and Hollis built their current fuck room. He’s deep in conversation with Tennant’s guard, Joel, who also happens to be James’s brother.

“You ready?”

James pushes away from the wall. “I’ll see you later. Tell Jayden to answer my calls if you see him.”

Joel laughs. “I’m not getting in the middle of you two.”

“Scaredy cat!”

“Got to go back to work!” Joel turns to me. “Thanks, Doc.”

“No problem, just make sure it doesn’t go from looking like a crime scene in there to an actual one.”

He cackles. “You really think that’ll work with Ten?”

“I have to at least try.”

We both know Tennant listens to no one except the Boss, but part of my job is making sure that they all stay somewhat in one piece.

Joel goes back inside the building, probably to check on his charges, while James and I make our way to the car.

Sliding into the backseat, I sigh and lean my head against the seat. “One day he’s going to kill one of them.”

James laughs as he pulls out of the small lot. “Probably, but that’s not our concern.”

“I’m just saying, you’d think Cristian would be more worried about his son, considering how neurotic he is about the boy’s safety.”

“I’m sure the Boss knows that’s a possibility, but can you imagine the fallout if he told Roman he couldn't be with the men he loves?”

I grimace, because… yeah. Cristian wouldn’t live long after such a thing. Roman Amato is many things: young, too pretty for his own good, and deadly. He’s also an arrogant, impulsive pain in the ass who doesn’t let anyone except his lovers tell him what to do. In essence, the perfect person to take over when the time comes.

“Not that it’s any of our business,” James says.

“You ruin all my fun.”

“Yep. You should have stayed with Joel if you wanted to gossip.”

I groan. “I would have but I have things to do today.”

He laughs. “I'm well aware, my dear. I keep your schedule, remember?”

At the clinic, I deal with a few walk-in patients to give my staff a break, but spend the rest of the day in the office. We not only take care of the guards employed by the Amatos, but everyone who’s ever gotten paid by the Family is welcomed to our services, as are their families. There are some things you can’t let other doctors take care of, because things can get messy in the form of too many questions and visits from the police.

The clinic was one of the first things I implemented when Cristian hired me as the Head Doctor of the Amato Family. It took years to achieve what we have, but it was worth it. That I get full reign over everything medical for the entire organization is part of the reason I’m still here, twenty years after Cristian saved me.

I’ve paid my debt to him tenfold, but the trust and loyalty he and the rest of the Family offer can’t be bought. Something I was well aware of, even before coming into this life.

By the time it’s late enough for James to drag me out of the office, I’ve completed most of my paperwork, and have started the preliminary search for a specialist for Hollis’s ruptured vocal cords.

“Main house or your own?” James asks as he shoves me into the backseat of the car.

“Mine,” I groan as I lay across the seat. “Day off tomorrow, remember?”

“Thank fuck that it is,” he grouses. “That means I get to sleep in.”

I laugh and close my eyes. “You could have taken today off. Cristian said Gabriele would have relieved you.”

“Good thing I didn’t,” he remarks. “You’re extra snarky whenever you see Tennant.”

I snort. “Yes, well, he brings out the best in me.”

James laughs. “You mean the brat in you.”

“Same thing.”

He sighs from the depths of his soul and it makes me grin at how utterly exasperated I can make him.

“Troublemaker,” he grumbles, just loud enough for me to hear.

I don’t respond because we both know it’s true.

When we get to the house, James doesn’t even attempt to make me move, except to slide out of the car. When I’m on my feet, he scoops me up like I weigh nothing and carries me inside.

Laying my head on his shoulder, I sigh. “This is why you’re my favorite. Gabriele would have left me in the car. As much as you deserve the time off, I'm glad you stayed with me.”

He kisses the side of my head. “I know, my dear.”

Closing my eyes as we go up the stairs, I let out another sigh and relax in his arms, getting a head start on some much-needed sleep while safe with one of the only people I can be vulnerable with.