Chapter 13
Antonio
The sun is already coming up by the time we make it back to the city. It’s been a frustrating drive to get here. We were delayed by diversions for roadwork just outside of Westport and then there was a pile-up on the freeway that meant we were stuck for several hours.
I spoke to Matteo once to let him know I was on my way and to get an update on Gio’s condition. He had nothing to tell me except that Gio is in surgery and everyone is doing what they can to support our mother. Knowing they have their hands full with that and that Matteo will call if anything changes, I haven’t made contact since.
The long drive to the hospital has given me plenty of time to think and I haven’t come up with a convincing reason why anyone would target Gio, other than to strike at me. My youngest brother isn’t heavily involved in the family business and he generally keeps his head down when trouble is brewing. It’s unlikely this is the result of a grudge against him personally. It’s an attack on the family, but who’s behind it?
Though it briefly crossed my mind it might have something to do with Rico’s disappearance, I dismissed that thought. His family doesn’t know he’s dead yet so there’s no reason for them to lash out.
The likeliest culprit is Carlo Bianchi. He’s been making increasingly bold moves against us for a while now, pushing into our territory, trying to sell his drugs in our clubs. The timing of Gio’s shooting makes me suspicious. It can’t be coincidence that this attack happened at the party celebrating Leo’s marriage to Vinnie Bianchi. It makes me wonder if Carlo sent his daughter to destroy us from within. If it turns out Leo’s new bride is responsible for this, I’ll gut the little bitch personally.
When Rich finally pulls up at the hospital, I wait for David to get out and open my door. Though I’m a wreck on the inside, it’s got to look like business as usual. That’s why I changed into a black suit and shirt before leaving the house in Westport. I can’t have anyone thinking I’m not one hundred percent focused.
With David trailing behind me, I make my way to the Stanhope Wing where the wealthiest patients are treated. The donations my family has made over the years should ensure Gio is getting the best possible care. Though I’ve ploughed millions into buying new equipment for the place, I’ve only been here a couple of times, in my father’s final days.
Thinking about how frail the strongest man I’ve ever known looked as he lay there makes me shudder. Cancer is a cruel disease. The thought of how it ravaged his body makes me shudder. I have to bury the sadness that creeps up on me. Several of our men are stationed outside the waiting room and I can’t show any weakness in front of them.
As I enter the waiting room, my eyes immediately land on my mother, who’s sitting between Alessandro and my sister. My brother’s wife, Emilia, and Matteo flank them. It’s odd to see them in this setting still dressed in their finery from the party last night.
Leo stands at the other side of the room, wearing a look of guilt that tells me he believes he’s somehow responsible for this shit show.
Tamping down my anger at the thought his wife is connected to what happened, I go to my mother. I drop to a crouch in front of her and take her hand.
“I’m so sorry, Mamma. I should have been here sooner.” I kiss her hand. “Please, forgive me.”
“Of course, Antonio.” Her voice is croaky as if she’s cried herself hoarse. “But where have you been?”
I hate to lie to her, but I’m not ready to reveal Isabella is back in my life. She’ll worry about the implications of that and right now her focus has to be on Gio.
“I was away on business, Mamma.”
“Well, you’re here now.” My mother’s a good woman. She won’t make me feel bad about not being here with Gio was hurt, not that I’ll ever forgive myself for that.
“Gio will be fine,” I assure her. “You raised strong men. He’ll pull through.”
“I know.”
Kissing her hand once more, I get up and storm toward Leo. He can’t meet my eye and there’s no sign of his wife, which heightens my suspicion she’s to blame for this situation.
“What the fuck happened?” I demand as I reach him.
“Gio got shot.”
Is he for real? “Yeah, I know that. What I need you to tell me is how it happened.”
Leo sucks in a breath. “He was ambushed outside the ladies’ room, shot three times. He was fetching Vinnie’s purse.”
My jaw clenches so tightly I’m afraid I’ll break my teeth. “So this is your wife’s doing?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seems like a hell of a coincidence that she was talking to her father one minute and Gio’s fighting for his life the next.” Matteo walks over to join us.
“What the fuck?” I shake my head in disbelief. “Carlo was there?”
“He just showed up,” Leo replies. “Vinnie spoke to him.”
I exchange a look with Matteo who seems as surprised as I am that Leo would allow his wife anywhere near her father. “You didn’t shut that down?”
“I wasn’t with her. Gio was.”
The strain in Leo’s voice tells me he’s close to breaking. The last thing I need right now is for him to collapse under the weight of his own guilt. No matter what’s happened, we’re brothers, and that’s more important than anything his wife might have done. Curving a hand around his neck, I pull him closer and rest my forehead against his.
“You are not to blame. I let the marriage happen.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it. I wanted her too badly.”
I’m not going to argue with Leo over what might have been. I don’t know if he would have defied me if I said he couldn’t have her.
“If she got Gio shot, we have to deal with her,” Matteo says as I release my grip on Leo. “Do you want me to handle the interrogation?”
“I can do it,” Leo says before I can tell him I think it should be Matteo who deals with Vinnie. Though he’d never admit it, I’m pretty sure Leo’s already caught feelings for his wife. He won’t want to hurt her, if it comes to that. “She’s my wife. I can handle it.”
He’s adamant about that so I have to trust that he will take care of it. He needs to know I have faith in him. Leo takes a step toward the door but freezes as our family physician, Doctor Marino, comes into the room. He has privileges at this hospital and I’m relieved to know he’s here. The doctor might look like a weasel but he’s one of the few people outside of my immediate family that I have confidence in.
“Gio’s out of surgery and they’re bringing him to the ICU. When he’s settled, they’ll let you visit, but one at a time.”
“He came through it okay?” I ask.
Marino nods. “They repaired some damage to the aorta and they’re worried about his head injury.”
“I thought you said it was just a graze,” Leo interrupts with a snarl.
“It was, but he hit his head off something as he went down. They’ll keep an eye on him in the ICU. When he wakes, they’ll know more.”
“So he’s going to be okay?” Alessandro asks from across the room.
“He’s a strong kid, and he’s held his own this far, but he’s in rough shape.”
The way Marino spreads his hands open in a gesture of uncertainty isn’t exactly reassuring but I guess he doesn’t want to make any promises he can’t keep. It rarely ends well when people do that to us.
Dismissing the doctor with a curt nod, I turn my attention back to Leo. I lower my voice so my mother and sister don’t hear.
“Go deal with your wife.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze, partly to offer him support but also to emphasize how serious I am about this. “Do what’s necessary, yes?”
“Yeah.”
The air of defeat surrounding my brother concerns me but I have to give him the chance to speak to Vinnie before stepping in and getting Matteo to deal with it.
“Family comes first,” I remind him.
He nods, but I can tell how conflicted he is. For his sake, I hope the Bianchi girl isn’t the one who set Gio up.
“Do you think he’ll get the truth out of her?” I ask Matteo as the door shuts behind our brother.
Matteo shrugs. “He’ll try.”
I’m about to respond when Alessandro’s wife, Emilia, approaches. She’s a beautiful girl, only a couple of years older than my sister.
“Emilia.” I greet her with a kiss on each cheek. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I wasn’t sure about my brother’s wife at first. Their marriage came about as the result of a deal made by her grandfather and my father, which I chose to honor. When Alessandro brought her home, she seemed too na?ve to make it in our world but she’s adapting well and my brother is happier than I’ve ever seen him.
“I’m good, Antonio.” She glances at the floor, still shy around me. “I just wanted to see if I could fetch you a coffee.”
After the night I’ve had, I could use a caffeine hit. “That would be amazing, sweetheart. Thank you.”
Alessandro gets up from his seat and rolls his neck from side to side. “I’ll come with you this time. It’s not safe out there.”
I raise an eyebrow. There’s a vending machine in the lobby outside. A dozen of our men are stationed there. Does he think any of them would hurt her?
“The coffee here is undrinkable,” Emilia explains. “Matteo and I found a cute place down the street that’s a lot better.”
“Why don’t you send one of the men out?”
Emilia shrugs helplessly. “I need something to do.”
I understand her desire to keep busy. Waiting around hospitals isn’t my idea of fun either. As she and Alessandro leave, I can’t help smiling. “She’s a good girl.”
“Yeah. She single-handedly chased the cops out of here when they came by to ask questions,” Matteo said.
I hadn’t even considered that yet. An official investigation into Gio’s shooting will be a real pain in the ass to deal with but I guess it can’t be avoided. The attack happened in a public place and even if it hadn’t, bringing Gio to the hospital would have triggered police action.
“She told them to speak to her lawyers if they want to see footage from the hotel security cameras.”
“I assume we’ve got someone on that.”
“Yeah, Leo’s guys, but they can’t identify the shooter. All they’ve got is tall, dressed in black, probably male.”
“So it could be anyone,” I say wearily.
“Yeah, but we’ll get them.” Matteo runs his fingers through his hair. He looks around the room as if only just realizing someone is missing. “Where’s Isabella?”
“Still in Connecticut. I don’t need her here.”
Matteo huffs out a breath. “Perhaps you don’t but did you consider for one minute that she might want to be here?”
“It’s better if she’s not here.”
“Why?”
“She’s a distraction.”
Matteo’s lips twists as he considers that. “Maybe Mamma needs a distraction right now. Maybe she’d like to know you’re working things out with your wife.”
“I don’t want to get her hopes up.” My mother is a romantic. If she thinks I’ve misjudged Isabella and am now looking to bring her back into my life, she’ll see it as some sort of fairytale. I wouldn’t mind, but she creates scenarios in her mind and is then disappointed when the reality doesn’t live up to them. “I don’t know if I can trust Isabella yet. She’s hiding something from me.”
“Like what?”
“She says Gallo was blackmailing her.”
“And you think there’s more to it?”
I nod but don’t get a chance to elaborate because my sister chooses now to storm over.
“Are you two talking about Isabella?” she demands.
I can’t believe the balls on this girl sometimes. “Our discussion is none of your business.”
Olivia folds her arms across her chest, bringing my attention to the fact her dress is far too low-cut. Taking my cellphone out of my pocket, I shrug out of my jacket and hand it to her. “Put that on.”
Her pursed lips suggest she’s about to defy me but she clearly thinks better of it. She slips the jacket on over her shoulders. It’s far too big for her slender frame, but at least she’s covered.
“There. Happy now?”
I’d be happier if she wore more modest clothing, but I won’t get in a fight with her about her wardrobe when my mother is sitting fifteen feet away.
“Go back and sit with Mamma.”
“No.” Olivia turns to Matteo. “You sit with her for a minute. I want to talk to our lord and master.”
Matteo looks at me for confirmation that I’m okay with that. I’m not but Olivia is clearly in a bratty mood and I won’t get any peace until I let her have her say.
“Where’s Leo gone?” she demands the moment Matteo walks away.
“He had things to deal with.”
“Vinnie, you mean?”
My right eye twitches in irritation. “That’s family business.”
“Oh, you mean Family with a capital F, the almighty fucking mafia.”
I grab her arm and tug her closer to me. “Keep your voice down, Olivia.”
She pulls free of my grip and rubs her arm dramatically, like I really hurt her. She fixes me with an accusing glare. “You can’t let Leo hurt her. Vinnie’s a good person.”
“Oh, really. You know this from spending what, a couple of hours with her over dinner?”
“I met her more than once and I don’t claim to know everything about her but I know it’s just like you to blame her for this, you misogynist pig.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t hate women, Olivia.”
“No?” She holds up her hand and counts on her fingers. “Isabella, Vinnie, me. There’s three you can’t stand for a start.”
“I don’t hate you, Olivia, but you are trying my last fucking nerve.”
A sensible person would take my tone as a warning to back away, but Olivia doesn’t budge. I don’t know whether I should admire her tenacity or be pissed at her lack of respect for my position as head of the family.
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“Push me and find out.”
For a while now, I’ve been mulling over the thought of sending her to Italy to stay with our cousins in Tuscany. Damiano has recently assumed control of the mafia in the region. He could watch over Olivia until I find her a suitable husband.
My sister wisely chooses not to say another word. She turns and flounces off, back to our mother’s side. As I dig my cellphone out of my pocket to check for messages, a gray-haired nurse in pale blue scrubs comes into the room.
“Mr. Volante can have a visitor now.”
“You’re the head of the family,” my mother says. “You should go first.”
I shake my head. If I’m the head of the family, my mother is its heart. As much as I want to see Gio for myself, I can’t go ahead of the woman who raised us.
“You go first, Mamma.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course. Go make sure they’re taking proper care of him.”
She doesn’t need to be told twice. My mother practically sprints from the room, the skirt of her evening gown billowing around her ankles.
“That was nice of you,” Olivia says.
Taking her comment at face value, I nod. She’s obviously trying to smooth things over and I can’t allow bad feelings to fester between us. Although Gio has come through surgery, the ominous churning at the pit of my stomach tells me there’s still trouble ahead. It’s important that the family stands united.
Suddenly I wish I’d brought Isabella with me. It turns out, whatever I told myself, I need her by my side.