61. Antonio
ANTONIO
I sat on the couch, frozen in place. The only sound I could hear was the relentless, fucking drumming in my ears. Ma was helping Rosa sort through the flower arrangements we’d been sent—the house looked like Rosa’s old flower shop. Every person in the state of New York had sent something. Even the goddamn mayor. I couldn’t even turn on the TV without seeing it—every reporter, from The Sun to The Times, covering the story.
I couldn’t escape the blood on my hands.
I had one shot. And I had failed. Now I was fucked.
I watched as Rosa swung the front door wide open. Joey was sandwiched between Paul and Marco as they helped him inside. “They didn’t give him a wheelchair?” Ma asked.
“I’m gonna get it from the car,” Paul said. “The asshole won’t listen.”
“I’ve got legs. I can walk. I’m not being pushed around in a fucking wheelchair. Donate it to someone who needs it,” Joey growled. “I’m fine.”
“You just spent weeks in the hospital. You’re not fine,” Ma shot back .
Joey managed a smile as he looked at me. “Hey, kid.” I just stared at him, like a ghost that had come back to life. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be good as new in no time.” Paul and Marco helped lower him onto the couch. “I’ve got it,” he growled at them.
Ma pushed them aside, towering over Joey. “Joseph Romano, you don’t got it ,” she told him, her hip cocked to the side.
“They said he’s a terrible patient.” Marco nudged Ma, smirking. She chuckled, plopping down beside Joey as she combed her fingers through his hair. “If he gives you a hard time, let me know. I’ll come by and straighten his ass out for you.”
“You’d do good to go home,” Joey smirked at him. My eyes shifted behind Joey as Ben stepped in—the NYPD cop gone rogue— Joey’s newest sidekick.
“How many fucking lives does this guy have?” he teased, making Paul and Marco laugh. Ben walked over, smiling and greeting me. But I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.
“Ben, Joey needs rest,” Ma told him.
“I’m fine,” Joey told her. “I’ve been resting up in that hospital bed so long I damn near lost my mind.”
“Joey, you just got home,” Ma snapped at him.
“Someone tried to take me out, Adriana.” That sentence made goosebumps creep up my arms.
They say when you live with someone, you can’t hide who you are. Joey couldn’t hide who he was. He spoke in a strange code, one I had learned to translate in my mind. One Ma could translate in hers, too. I’d watched her say it back to him at times, their words layered with meaning only they understood. But I had begun to decode it. “Marco and Paul are handling everything. You need to focus on healing.” Ma’s eyes bored into his.
Joey shook his head. “I can’t sit here while there’s a target on my back. I won’t let anyone in this family walk around with one, either.”
She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “You almost died, Joseph. You think I give a damn about anything else right now? You’re still here. That’s all that matters to any of us.”
Marco and Paul helped Joey off the couch, the four of them disappearing into Joey’s office. Once they were finally gone, I stood up and made my way to the door.
“Antonio,” Ma called from behind me. She was already walking toward me. I turned just as she pulled me into a hug, her hands cupping my face.
“He’s going to be okay. They’ll find out who did this to him. I don’t want you to worry about any of this.”
That was exactly why I couldn’t stop worrying.