25. A Friendly Warning
CHAPTER 25
A FRIENDLY WARNING
R affaele
I’m going to rip that fucking professor’s eyes out if he doesn’t control his wandering gaze. Since the moment Isabella arrived at the hospital this morning, he hasn’t stopped staring at her. There are a dozen students in the program, but his flirty gaze remains locked on my client.
I press my arms tighter against my chest in a failing effort to restrain the mounting rage. Instead of focusing on him as he lectures the medical interns, my gaze pivots to Isabella. Her long, wavy hair is pulled into a ponytail, she’s wearing minimal makeup and her favorite pink scrubs, and fuck, I get why the man can’t take his eyes off her.
There shouldn’t be anything sexy about scrubs and especially not paired with those brightly colored Hokas she’s reverted to wearing for work. The standard uniform for medical professionals is usually oversized, with an unflattering coarse material, but on her? She looks tempting as all hell. The way those slinky pants cling to her ass, highlighting the perfect curves… If I were dying and she were my doctor, there’d be no better way to go.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I remind myself for the hundredth time to stop ogling my principal then snap the band around my wrist. I shouldn’t have eyes on her, I should be scanning the perimeter for threats. Professor Massimo finally finishes his speech, and all the interns begin to shuffle around, dividing up into smaller groups of twos and threes.
Isabella rushes over, a beaming smile on her face. “I got the Pediatric ER! Just what I wanted.”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you.” I force my mouth to slide into a smile. Of course the professor made sure she got her choice. The bastardo is doing whatever he can to win her over. After watching him flirt with her for over an hour at the café yesterday, his intentions were obvious, even if they weren’t to Isabella. She’s spent her life so damned protected she doesn’t even realize when a man is clearly trying to seduce her.
“Then why don’t you look happy?” She glares up at me, glossy lips puckered.
“I told you, I prefer to know these things in advance. Working in the ER means dozens of new patients walking in and out on a regular basis. It doesn’t make for the best security scenario.”
“Relax, Raf. No one is going to try to attack me while they’re bleeding out. Especially not a kid.”
I release a frustrated grunt as she spins away and follows two other interns down the sterile white hall. The halogen lights beam overhead, catching highlights in her dark hair as she moves. My traitorous gaze zooms in on her ass in those tight scrubs as she saunters a few feet ahead, swaying her hips at some invisible tune. One of the other interns, a guy from NYU, says something to her, but I’m too far away to catch it. Closing the distance between us, I move into step beside her.
The blonde guy glances up at me over Isabella’s head and quirks a brow. I’ve already done a background check on all the students from the program prior to our arrival. I’ve also memorized faces and names.
“Don’t mind him, Jeff, that’s just my bodyguard,” she explains. “He’ll be following me everywhere.”
“ Everywhere ,” I grit out with a menacing smile.
Jeffrey Sanderson is from Tennessee. He graduated from Vanderbilt with high honors and was accepted to NYU Medical School only a few months ago. He comes from a good family, and so far, seems like a decent kid. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let this guy have free rein around Isabella.
The blonde offers me a half smile in return before they continue their conversation about molecular biology, and I zone out to focus on one of Luca’s men standing at the end of the hall. Valentino doesn’t mess around with his daughter’s safety. He deployed at least a dozen of his own men on this little trip in addition to acquiring local help. They’re working on a rotating schedule so that Isabella will have around the clock surveillance both at work and at home. Though I’ll be the only guard staying inside the apartment, there will be a team stationed outside.
Isabella thinks it’s overkill, but I appreciate the man’s thoroughness. If I’d had a child, I would have done the same. Invisible strands of pain lace around my heart as the past attempts to surge to the surface, but I squeeze my eyes closed and tamp down on the rush of emotions. Losing someone you love has a way of changing your perspective.
I follow Isabella down another hall, the scent of disinfectant thick in the air. I’ve never been a fan of hospitals, the only times I’d ever been in one was to say my final goodbyes. That would not be the case this time around. I vowed to return Isabella to New York in one piece, safe and sound.
As we approach the entrance to the ER, a female doctor marches toward Isabella and the other two interns and begins yet another lecture. I take a step back, assuming my spot along the white wall. The main entrance to the emergency room is just behind the woman’s back and another door is to her left, marked Pediatrics. The automatic doors glide open, jerking my attention over the doctor’s shoulder as a dark-haired man strolls in.
My stomach bottoms out, hitting the soles of my shoes.
What the fuck is he doing here?
Bright green eyes flicker to mine before he ticks his head to the right, to a small alcove where the restrooms are. I slowly shake my head, but my stubborn brother sets his jaw in a tight line and motions to the same spot again.
With a huff of irritation, I press the com in my ear, and it crackles to life. “Aldo, I need coverage for Oleander for five minutes while I use the restroom.” If I wasn’t so pissed I would have chuckled at the new code name I’d come up with for Isabella inspired by the beautiful and deadly blooms that grow throughout the city.
“Sure thing, capo .” The reply comes back almost instantaneously. Aldo has been with the Kings nearly as long as Tony. Both men are well into their fifties, but surprisingly fit considering their age.
Aldo emerges from the shadows an instant later and takes my place along the wall a yard from where Isabella stands, attention captured by the female doctor who is to be her mentor for the next three months. I don’t bother to interrupt to inform her of my temporary absence. Instead, I circle around them and skulk toward the recess in the wall where the restrooms are tucked away.
I shove through the door of the men’s room and lock it behind me. When I spin around, my gun is already clenched in my fist as I meet those familiar jade eyes. Despite it having been ten years since I’ve seen them in person, in some ways, it feels like only yesterday.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Giuseppe?” More importantly, how did he know where to find me? How to find her?
He holds his hands up, a spark of amusement in his light eyes as they lance over my gun. “Relax, fratellino , I come in peace.”
I holster the weapon and take a minute to really look at my older brother. Those eyes, that quirky smile, they remind me so much of Mama my chest tightens. I don’t often allow myself to think of her. She was taken from us much too young. Fucking cancer. Then I remember Giuseppe abandoned me, taking Papà’s side when everything went to hell and grind out, “So why did you come?”
“A friendly warning that your return to Roma hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
“ Cazzo ,” I hiss. “How did you hear?”
“Antonio has an inside man at the Guardia di Finanza . You know how important their role is in border control, particularly in preventing and combating financial crime and smuggling activities.” He smirks. “ Papà must have had your name flagged years ago.” He steps forward, the grin twisting into something darker. “He’s not the only one with insiders in the government, Raffa. You have to be careful…”
My thoughts flicker to the past, then I nod quickly, anxious to return to Isabella. “Thanks for the heads up.” I start for the door, but a question nags at me. Spinning around before I reach the exit, I blurt, “What did Papà say about my return?”
Giuseppe swallows, his Adam’s apple jogging down his throat. “We haven’t told him yet.”
I stand there for a long moment, the silence thickening between us. “It’s probably better that way,” I finally murmur.
“I’m going to monitor the situation, Raffa. If it becomes an issue, I’ll have to tell him.”
“Do whatever the fuck you want, Beppe.” It feels strange, using the nickname we came up with as kids, but if he insists on using mine then so will I. For some reason, it feels like it levels the playing field. “You made your decision long ago.”
He makes a move toward me, but I unlock the door and grip the handle, wrenching it open before he can get the words out, if he had any.
My father’s betrayal was one thing, but both of my brothers? It fucked me up for a long time. Hell, maybe I’m still screwed up because of it.
I slam the door behind me and march out into the hallway, the steel bands around my chest relenting the moment I catch a glimpse of Isabella safe and sound, standing right where I left her.