Chapter 20
Forrest took the beer Damon offered him.
They’d all congregated at Damon’s when their women texted they were going to Harper’s for girl time.
Damon had always thrived as the eldest of a large family.
While Forrest would never come out and say it, Damon was like a mother hen with all of them.
He was happiest when he had all his chicks in the roost.
Rowan came in and took a seat. He was still in his scrubs. Damon immediately shoved a sandwich at him and made him eat. “First Jordana, and now you. Am I really that skinny?”
“You look exhausted and starving,” Damon told him, not pulling any punches. “You can’t help your patients if you don’t take care of yourself. And how do you think you’re going to find a wife looking that way?”
Rowan rolled his eyes so hard that Forrest was surprised he didn’t fall out of his chair. “I don’t need a wife, Damon. I’m way too busy. Go find yourself a wife.”
“When can I do that when I’m constantly looking out for you all?”
“Only you, Penelope, and I are left unmarried, Damon.” Rowan paused to bite into his sandwich. Forrest noted they had just lumped him in with the married men. Not that he minded. “I think you can focus on yourself or on Pen. She’s the one who has the hots for a freaking mafia boss.”
Damon cursed under his breath. “Nico Saccone. Please tell me he hasn’t been secretly seeing Pen while she’s in Europe.”
Stone cleared his throat. “I might have heard some rumors about Nico’s well-being.
Natalie has chatted with Cassidy, the woman from Kentucky who helped us out.
Well, she knows Nico. Apparently, he’s brooding in New York City just as much as Pen is sulking all over Europe.
He’s focusing everything on his work to the point that Cassidy is worried about him.
At least it’s the legal work he’s obsessing over.
And he’s stayed out of the mob business, leaving that to his cousin, Nikolas.
” Stone paused and Forrest had an idea of where this was going.
“You know, I don’t like the idea any more than you.
But by all accounts, Nico isn’t a bad guy.
And it’s clear he and Pen have serious feelings for each other. ”
Damon sighed and ran his hand over his face.
“I know he’s not a bad guy. He helped you and Natalie.
He saved Wilder because Pen asked him to.
The man walked right into a room full of rival mafia with loaded guns and didn’t blink.
But, can you ever truly be out of the mafia?
I think the way he brought the hammer down on the other family, and even his own cousin, shows that Nico is still considered the true head of the family.
Pen would have a constant target on her from rivals or even the government.
I can’t approve of putting her in that position. ”
Forrest frowned and thought about Jordana and what he’d do if someone told him he couldn’t see her.
“Nico must love her a lot to voluntarily step away from her to keep her safe. But,” Forrest said, getting his brother’s attention, “if anyone finds out his feelings for her, she’d still be a target.
It begs the question: is she safer with him there to protect her or somewhere that he can’t? ”
The room was quiet except for Rowan eating his sandwich as they all thought about their little sister’s predicament.
“That’s a good question,” Hunter reluctantly agreed. “Maggie is safest when she’s with me. The question also is: do we trust Nico enough to protect our sister like we trust Granger to protect Liv?”
“Where is Granger?” Rowan asked, setting down the empty plate.
“He said he and Liv had something to do and he couldn’t make it,” Damon told him.
“What about you, Forrest?” Kane asked, turning the attention to Forrest. “Will you let Jordana go back to Brazil when this is all settled?”
Forrest sighed and leaned back in the chair.
He’d been waiting for this. “I can’t not let her go.
It’s not my place to tell her what she can or can’t do.
But I do know I don’t want to be separated from her.
I honestly don’t know what to do. Her life is in Brazil.
My life is here. We just got the whole family together again.
We all might become uncles or fathers soon.
However, I can’t expect her to leave her father and uncle and move here because I don’t want to leave my family. ”
“Have you talked about it yet?” Rowan asked. “Because, if she’s going to keep cooking for me, I’m all in favor of begging her to stay.”
Forrest chuckled and Damon shook his head at Rowan. “Why can’t you do both?” Damon tossed out.
“Both?”
“Yeah,” Damon said to him. “Live part-time in Shadows Landing and part-time in Brazil. Wilder has nightclubs all over the world and he and Bex are going to make it work. You travel for your work, and so does she. If you sync up your jobs or maybe travel separately at the same time, you could make it work regardless of where your home base is. Get a condo in Brazil and keep your house here.”
Forrest saw several of his brothers nodding. It did make sense. “That could work. If we ever have kids, I want them to know and feel connected to both of our cultures and countries.”
“Aw, someone is in love and thinking about babies,” Stone cooed in a sing-song voice.
“You’re the one who has been married the longest,” Rowan pointed out. “I’m guessing babies are going to start coming up soon for all you married men.”
“Actually,” Stone said. “Olivia has been married the longest.”
Kane’s phone rang, stopping the brothers’ reaction to that bit of info.
His face instantly dropped. “It’s one of my contacts in Brazil.
” Kane answered the phone. “What’s going on?
” Kane’s eyes snapped to Forrest’s and he instantly knew it wasn’t good news.
“When?” Kane bit out. “Status?” He paused and his frown kept getting deeper.
“Arrests?” Forrest was now feeling his heart racing in anticipation of bad news.
“Okay. Thanks. Call me if you get any new information.”
“What is it?” Forrest asked the second Kane ended the call.
“Pedro Alves has been shot.”
Forrest felt the floor fall out from under him as his mind raced on how he could get Jordana to her father.
“Shot where? Roan asked.
“Lower stomach, they’re guessing intestines,” Kane answered.
“It’s bad enough the president has removed him from office and installed a temporary new agency head.
Apparently, his brother-in-law, Dr. Benicio Silva was the one who discovered him shot in his study.
The theory is that a silencer was probably used since none of the staff heard anything.
They found a window had been forced open in the study.
They think someone broke in and waited for him to enter the study before shooting him.
There was also a note left on the ground next to Pedro. It warned that Jordana would be next.”
Forrest’s emotions were a storm of fear and anger. “The hell she will. Do they know if he’s going to make it?” Forrest asked, pulling his keys from his pocket. He needed to get to Harper’s. This was not a conversation for text or over the phone.
“They don’t know, and they don’t have contacts inside the hospital.”
“Intestines can be tricky. Sepsis is a major concern,” Rowan told him as he came to his feet. They all did. His brothers weren’t going to leave him to handle this alone.
“I’ll text everyone to meet us at Harper’s,” Damon told the group. “Let’s go.”
Forrest hated this. He saw Jordana sitting at the table laughing, and he knew he was going to turn her whole world upside down. Her eyes caught his and the smile fell from her face. Natalie and Mary each took one of Jordana’s hands in support and watched him walk to them.
“What happened to my father?” Jordana asked, her voice cracking.
Forrest had to clear his throat as he bent down beside her to be eye level with her. “He’s alive. Someone shot him in the abdomen. There was a note that said you were next.”
Forrest rested a hand on her thigh and felt her whole body begin to shake. “I have to get to him. I need to call him. I need to know . . .”
“Your uncle discovered him,” Forrest told her. “Can you call him?”
“You can use my phone. It’s not traceable,” Kane said, holding out his phone to her.
Mary and Natalie let go of her hands so she could dial her uncle. “Uncle Beni,” Jordana said on a sob. Forrest placed his hand on her back to gently rub it in comfort. “What happened?” Jordana paused. “I don’t know how we found out. I’m in . . .”
Forrest squeezed her leg and shook his head. “You don’t know who is listening to these calls,” he whispered.
Tears spilled down her cheeks but she nodded. “I’m safe,” she said instead to her uncle. “Will Dad go into surgery?” The rest of the conversation turned to Portuguese. It didn’t last too long before they hung up.
“What’s the news?” Forrest asked.
“They’re prepping him for surgery. They’re going to have to remove some intestines.
Uncle Beni said the surgery can be risky, but the real risk is sepsis.
” Jordana’s whole body shuddered. “I wish I was with him. And I wish I had my research. I could treat him for sepsis. This is exactly what I was working on.”
Waverly suddenly sat up straight. “Bring him here after surgery to recover and bring the plant you need. You can use my lab to make the medicine in case your father needs it, or if you just feel like getting back to your work. My lab is your lab.”
“We snuck you into the country, we can sneak him too. Rowan, could you treat him post-surgery or could Gavin?” Forrest asked.
“You’d do that?” Jordana asked with hope.