Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
TONY
I took a breath to steady myself and hit Sal’s number. He picked up on the first ring. “Tony, how’s Uncle Santino?”
“Still in surgery,” I replied. “It’s been more than four hours.”
“I’m sorry, Tony. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
My stomach twisted. This was it. “There is something. It’s not directly related to Pops though.”
After a short silence, he said, “Explain.”
I laid out the whole personnel extraction problem to him, ending with, “Only if Gio agrees. I don’t want him to think he has to do this.”
“If Gio does agree, who will be my computer expert while he’s gone?” Sal asked.
I glanced over at my brother, who was pacing the floor a few feet in front of me. “Michael said he would take Gio’s place while he’s gone.”
He hummed thoughtfully. “It’s a lot to think about. I’ll talk to Gio and get back to you within an hour.”
I blew out a breath. It wasn’t a no. “Okay. Thank you for considering it. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Michael came over as soon as I ended the call. “What did he say?”
“He said he’d ask Gio and get back to me. If Gio does say yes, Sal will expect you to take his place. Be prepared for that.”
My brother ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it. “Yeah, I know. I’ll do it. I just don’t want to be so far from Ma or Pops.”
“You’ll also have to be available to jump in and help Gio during the mission if he needs it,” I warned.
“I know,” he said curtly, tugging hard on the hair at the base of his neck. “Do you think Marco would let me set up a workstation at his place? Or maybe I could use Liam’s old cottage behind the hotel.”
Ah damn. Michael was spiraling. He didn’t do it often, but stuff like family emergencies could throw him off completely. I rose and stood in front of him, stopping his frenetic pacing. I caught Marco’s eye and gestured for him to join us.
“Why don’t we ask Marco and see what he says?”
Marco came to stand beside me. “Ask me what?”
I repeated what Michael had said before. Marco pursed his lips. “You’re certainly welcome to stay at our place. As far as the cottage goes, Sean hasn’t rented it out yet, so it’s available. It would offer you more privacy. It’s really up to you, Michael.”
Michael nodded. “I think the cottage would be better. I don’t want to listen to you and Liam having sex.”
Behind me, I heard Greg snort an aborted laugh. I chuckled. “I’m with you on that.”
A flurry of motion drew my attention to the doorway as Gianna came flying through, heading straight for my mother. “Mama!” The volume in the room rose as all my siblings came to comfort our youngest sister. My mother enfolded her in a hug only a mother could give.
I saw Rory standing awkwardly in the doorway, so I skirted around the crowd of relatives to talk to him. “Thank you for doing this at the last minute.”
Rory smiled. “No problem, boss. I know how important your family is to you.” He glanced over at Gianna. “Your sister is very nice and super smart. It was fun talking to her.”
I narrowed my eyes. Had he hit on my baby sister? “Yeah. She’s great.”
He shifted awkwardly. “What did you want me to do with her luggage? I didn’t think they’d appreciate me dragging it into the hospital.”
“Good thinking. Let me ask one of my siblings if you can take it to their car.” After I managed to interrupt the chaos, my sister Maria volunteered her car and sent her husband with Rory to move Gianna’s bags.
With a weary sigh, I sat next to Greg. He kissed the side of my head. “Crazy night.”
“No kidding.”
“How are you holding up?”
I put my arm around his shoulders. “Better than I would have if you weren’t here. You’ve been rock solid this whole night.” Emotion clogged my throat. “I’m so grateful I have you beside me.”
Greg put his head on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
We fell into a quiet conversation that eventually petered out to a light doze until someone shook my shoulder and woke me. I blinked up to find Marco standing over me. “The doctor’s here. Pops is out of surgery.”
Greg and I both rose, and I went over to where the doctor was speaking to my mother.
“The surgery was long, but it went well. He’s got blood pumping freely to his heart again.
” The room filled with murmurs of relief, but the doctor raised his hand.
“That being said, he needs to make some lifestyle changes if he wants to remain healthy. He’ll need to eat healthier and get more exercise.
These are all things we can discuss while he’s recovering from the surgery.
He’ll have to stay in the hospital for about a week.
You’ll have instructions for when he goes home that he’ll need to follow to make a full recovery. ”
I stopped listening after a while because the rest was about when he would be moved out of recovery and into the Cardiac ICU.
The feeling of relief made my knees weak.
Pops would be okay—if he listened to his doctor.
It looked like the family was going to have to stage an intervention with him though.
He didn’t like being told what to do. I wasn’t past laying a guilt trip on him, and neither were most of my siblings, especially Maria.
All she’d have to do was ask him if he wanted his grandchildren to grow up without him. Boom. Instant guilt trip.
Greg pulled me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you and your family. Are you going to go up to see him tonight?”
I shook my head. “He’ll probably sleep through the night. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He pursed his lips. “Where are we staying tonight?”
I blinked. “That’s a damn good question. I’m in total agreement with Michael. I don’t want to listen to Marco and Liam fucking.”
“I heard that,” Marco said.
“Maybe you shouldn’t eavesdrop,” I retorted.
Greg shook his head. “You two crack me up.”
“I can probably get us a room at the Asbury Hotel. It’s April, so the tourists haven’t taken over yet.”
I pulled out my phone to check the availability and remembered I should send a text to Sal about my dad.
Pops is out of surgery. He’s going to make a full recovery, if he does what he’s told.
That’s good news. I hope he listens. I think your mother has her work cut out for her.
No kidding.
I didn’t ask him about Gio. I wasn’t going to push. It had been longer than an hour, but the ball was in his court.
I went back to looking for a room at the Asbury when Marco shoved my shoulder. “Why the hell are you going to the Asbury? Sean will put you up at Moonlight Inn.”
I blinked at him. Shit. How the hell had I forgotten that Jeremy’s husband owned a hotel? Especially since we were just talking about putting Michael in the cottage behind it. My brain was definitely not working well tonight. I went into my contacts, pulled up Jeremy’s number, and hit call.
He answered right away. “Hey, Tony. How’s your dad?”
I felt a twinge of guilt because I hadn’t thought to call him before, but I assumed Liam had at least told Sean. “He’s out of surgery and should make a full recovery if he takes care of himself.”
“That’s the hardest part,” he said.
“I’m sure you know better than most,” I replied. “Listen,” I continued, “I was wondering if there are any rooms available at Moonlight. Greg and I are going to be staying over the weekend.”
There was a long pause before he said carefully, “You and Greg? As in my Greg? Are you two dating?”
“Well, he’s my Greg now, and yes, we’re dating.”
“That’s wonderful!”
It sounded like he muted the phone. The next voice I heard was Sean’s. “Hey, Tony. I’m glad your father’s doing better. I also hear you and Greg are finally dating.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes. The important question is, do you have a room for us at your fine establishment?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “Get over there whenever you’re done at the hospital. There’ll be a key waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Sean. I appreciate it.”
I’d barely hung up from that call when a call came in from Sal. “Hey Sal.”
“Anthony.”
I let out a soft sigh. “Salvatore. What can I do for you?”
“Gio has agreed to go with your team to Colombia, but I have a few conditions.”
I took a breath. “What are your conditions?”
“You see,” he began. “Gio happens to be the younger brother of Alessandro, my bodyguard. He is insisting on going with his brother to keep him safe.”
I gestured to Marco. “Hang on, Salvatore, I’m going to go into a room with more privacy.”
“What’s going on?” Marco whispered.
I held up my finger for him to wait, then muted my phone. “He has conditions.”
Marco’s nostrils flared. “Motherfucker.”
I found an empty waiting room and closed the door. I unmuted my phone and said, “Marco’s here. I’m putting you on speaker.”
“As I was saying, Anthony, Alessandro won’t let his brother go on this mission without him.”
My brother mouthed the words “What the fuck?”
“We need him,” I murmured.
Marco cleared his throat. “Salvatore, this is Marco. Does Alessandro have any combat experience?”
“Yes, he does,” Sal replied. “He was in the Italian special forces before he emigrated here.”
“What are the other conditions?” I asked.
“Only that your brother Michael takes Gio’s place while he’s gone. Plus, I have one other task I’d like him to do for me. It’s nothing that will get him in trouble.”
Marco clenched his jaw and nodded once. “All right, Salvatore,” I said. “We accept your conditions.”
“Excellent. I assume you’ll contact me with the details?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. And Michael will reach out to Gio to prepare him for what has to be done.”
“Very good. I’ll be waiting for your call. Give my best to Aunt Lucia.” And then he was gone.
I closed my eyes. “Christ, I hate business-Salvatore.”
“Is there any other side to him?” Marco asked derisively.
“Yes, there is,” I snapped. “He loaned me his car and driver tonight without me asking. He didn’t have to do that.”
Marco put up his hands in surrender. “All right. I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated with this whole situation. I really hope the mission doesn’t go tits up because we’re pulling this team together at the last minute.”
“All of the people going, except Gio, are experienced in combat situations. They’ll figure it out. Besides, Gabe, Andrea, and Pete will be there. They won’t let it go to shit.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re right.” He pulled out his cell and headed out of the room. “I have to make some calls.”
I stood in the silence, hoping like hell that my faith in my cousin was justified.