45. Antonio
Chapter forty-five
Antonio
“Y our injuries are healing well, I’m just worried about the ribs you broke.”
I sigh and flinch as pain shoots through me. The last four weeks have been absolute hell, just lying around doing nothing, allowing my ribs and the rest of my body enough time to heal.
“Have you been doing the breathing exercises I gave you?” Dr. Rossi asks.
“They hurt like a bitch.”
“So will losing your lung if you contract pneumonia from not doing them.” Dr. Rossi meets my eyes with a stern look.
“I’m less worried about my lung and more worried about my face. Can we really not do anything else about this bump that’s now a part of my nose?” I run a finger over the new bump on my nose.
“Since it’s not impacting your breathing, I suggest waiting another two weeks before assessing it for a rhinoplasty.”
“Can’t fix my ribs or my nose. What are we paying you for again?” I snap, meeting his eyes.
“You aren’t. This is a favour to Ambrose, and I’ll be happy to step away as long as you tell him you were the one who requested it.” Dr. Rossi packs up the last of his things before raising a brow.
I let out a clipped breath. “Just send me the prescription for my stupid pain meds.”
A smirk edges onto his face. “I’ll email it over. See you next week.”
He exits, and Adriano bids him goodbye from where he was leaning against a wall, observing the check-up. “Well, aren’t you just a ball of sunshine today?”
“I’m not in the mood,” I snap back, lying down.
“I haven’t seen you this cranky since you found out about Valerie and Ambrose,” Augustus adds, moving to the bed from where he was mirroring his twin’s actions.
I shoot him a look. “Add to the mood, why don’t you? You two can leave now, the check-up is over.”
“What’s going on?” Gus lies down next to me.
I stare blankly ahead, not wanting to compartmentalise my emotions right now. Quite frankly, I’m content never thinking about it.
“Nothing.”
“And I’m Rapunzel,” Adriano quips. I fight back my laugh, not wanting him to know I found the comment funny, especially considering his buzz cut looks fresh. “Stop bottling it up; we’re here if you want to talk about it.”
“I don’t, because nothing is going on,” I reiterate.
“You two are idiots.” A voice from the doorway draws all our eyes up. “It’s so obvious our Nino is heartbroken.”
Enzo.
My entire body tenses, and Mattia appears at his side. His eyes are watching me cautiously. I feel like I have whiplash as memories of the time being held hostage by Kylian flash before my eyes.
Enzo was there.
Enzo was there and he did nothing.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” I ask, forcing myself to sit more upright. Enzo smirks and steps out of the way, revealing Ambrose.
“Family meeting time,” Augustus says under his breath as they all walk in. “It’s time we had a chat.”
“What is he doing here?” I ask again, this time meeting Ambrose’s eyes.
“You should be more grateful, cugino . I could’ve left you for dead back there,” Enzo says, but I refuse to look over at him.
“He’s right; you’re alive right now because of him,” Ambrose says.
“Can someone just fucking tell me what’s going on, because all I know is he was on their side before I died and came back to life.”
“Was I?” This time, I look over at him, but he’s watching Ambrose. So are Adriano, Gus, and Mattia.
“We needed you to believe he was on their side. We needed you in the dark for this to work.” Ambrose sighs, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
“ You set me up? ” I yell.
“Just let him explain before you jump to conclusions,” Mattia says this time, and I fall silent as I realise everyone in this room knew besides me.
“Enzo was always on our side, but we needed both you and Gabriel to believe he wasn’t. It was perfect considering our recent tension surrounding the insurance company. It was a simple plan: Enzo would infiltrate their systems, acting as a mole for more information about us and offering them secrets on you. Then he would offer up a particular detail that you were taking Theá out of the country, and the rest was history,” Adriano explains.
“But how? How did you know about the trip? I told no one.” I furrow my brows.
“You told me,” Mattia speaks up.
Motherfucker.
“We couldn’t count on you taking her on a trip, but with some extra pressure, we knew it would drive you both to the point of wanting to be hidden,” Augustus says.
“Don Marcelino and the CFP dinner.” I start piecing their horrible plan together.
Mattia nods. “Because we needed to get you out without putting Enzo at risk, we had to call in a favour with the Cosa Nostra , who were more than happy to help.”
“Then why was he cross-questioning me about the artwork?” I furrow my brows.
“We needed to make it look like you were double crossing them to get Gabriel pissed, you punching Kylian was just a bonus.” The twins start laughing as Enzo’s words settle.
My eyes widen in realisation, and they land on Mattia instantly. “The Cosa Nostra helped in exchange for what?”
Everyone’s eyes are on our cousins as they shift awkwardly and look between each other.
“It’ll be okay, we’re just going to help them out with some planning. Nothing serious, and it’s on a contract base,” Mattia explains.
“So Theá didn’t rat us out?” I ask.
“No, she didn’t,” Enzo confirms. “But her little friend Eleanor was the reason things happened as fast as they did. She was sleeping with Gabriel and feeding him info directly, something not even Kylian knows about.”
I sigh, and it feels like my chest is immediately lighter. Just knowing she didn’t have anything to do with this puts me at ease. But it doesn’t explain where she is now.
“You can’t work for the Cosa Nostra,” I say. It’s directed at Mattia, because I honestly couldn’t give a shit where Enzo ends up.
“It’s worth it to know you’re safe. Besides, it’s not forever…” Mattia says.
Tension fills the room as I look down at my hands.
“Thank you. For saving me.”
“I told you we had a plan from the start,” Ambrose says, and I nod.
Everyone slowly starts exiting the room, leaving only Mattia and me alone.
“You know I love you, right.”
Mattia’s laughter fills the room. “I know you were on the brink of death and all, but that’s no excuse to go soft on me now. I’m not dying.”
“No, I mean it, fra . You’re my brother, and I love you. I need you to know that.”
“I love you more. That’s why I did this, for you.” He pats my shoulder. “Besides, I’ll still be around since everything they need us to take care of is here in Tevici.”
“At least you won’t be working with Ambrose anymore.” I chuckle, and he joins in.
“Thank God. I thought Enzo was difficult, but your brothers are a piece of work.”
“Yeah, they are. But they’re still my brothers, and so are you. You can’t become a part of that world, Mattia.”
“I won’t. I told you it’s a contract with a predetermined time limit. It’s fine,” he reassures me. “I just need you to start smiling again so that this can all feel worth it.”
I look down at my hands, where I’ve been absentmindedly playing with the ring again. Was it all worth it? Is this life really worth it if she’s not a part of it? I can’t let him feel as if he’s sacrificed his freedom for nothing. So I smile, and I make sure it looks real. Mattia will never regret this decision, or at least I will never let him.