Chapter Fourteen
GIANNI
Bloomfield, New Jersey
F or the second time in less than three weeks, I’m storming through the halls of a hospital in search of Becca, only the weight on my chest is heavier this time. It’s as if the world has gone silent, like the deadly calm before Armageddon.
Nurses in brightly colored scrubs scatter, muttering insults as I plow through them. Any other day, I’d address their disrespect on principle and for entertainment. But their opinions don’t matter. They don’t matter. Nothing matters but Becca.
I didn’t bother with the information desk. Considering my father had the chief of medicine by his insurance-defrauding balls, the only thing they’re likely to show me is the exit.
“Gianni…”
My manic pace halts, and I turn to find my sister standing behind me, hugging her chest. She looks like shit.
I’m not sure what’s darker, the streaks of mascara staining her cheeks or the circles under her blood-shot eyes.
Instead of sending my panic through the roof, it sends it plummeting to a more dangerous place. “What happened?”
“According to witnesses, a car plowed into Becca and Leo’s, causing theirs to flip. The paramedics got there just before the whole thing went up in flames.”
All the air rushes out of my lungs, leaving the stench of smoke and ash. “Is she…?” I can’t say the word. It’s lodged in my throat.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. The doctors won’t let anyone in.”
“We’ll see about that.” I turn to leave, only to have her nails dig into my bicep.
“Gianni, wait…”
I glare at her over my shoulder. “Let go of me. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Really?” she snaps, the word coated in aggression I don’t particularly care for. “Because I believe it was my father you executed, as well.”
I grab her wrist. Sister or not, she’s dangerously close to seeing a side of me neither of us wants her to. “I love you, Sera, but I suggest you back the fuck off before…” I stare at her, all the fragmented pieces clicking together. “Wait, why were you called?”
Her shoulders slump, the fire in her eyes dimming. “Why do you think?”
The answer lies in the sideways glares coming at us from every angle.
“Because she’s my wife.”
Professional integrity forced the hospital staff to care for her, but their personal integrity is bound to no such rule. They saw her name and let their hatred for my family turn Becca into a statement. A choice I’ll make sure every single one of them regrets.
“I have a friend who was working the ER when Becca came in,” she admits. “Once she recognized Becca’s name, she called me. I tried to call you multiple times, but you never answered. I didn’t know what to do, so I just dropped everything and came here.”
“I didn’t look at the number. I thought it was…” I stop myself before saying Toscano’s name. While my sister is no stranger to our family ties, there’s no need to wrap them around her neck. “…Anton.”
The look on her face tells me she’s not buying it.
“Forget it. All that matters is you’re here now.”
No, it’s not all that matters. George Reese is nothing but a black cloud of doom. I can’t believe I left him alone with… Fuck.
“Where’s her father?”
“Huh?”
“Who did you say was in the car?” I press, my sanity hanging on by a thread.
“Leo and Becca. The report stated the accident happened on some side street near Route 3.”
I knew she’d conned Leo into taking her to Hackensack, but I assumed Reese was with them. If not, then where the hell is he?
“That’s it? No one else was in the car?”
“No.” She stares at me, her gaze narrowing. The longer she’s silent, the more I regret not sending her back to Newark. “Why? What else is going on, Gianni?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, spinning around. “I have to go.”
“Wait…”
I turn to find her chewing her lip and twisting her fingers together like a pretzel. But it’s the nervous way she’s staring at the floor that trips an alarm in my head. “What?”
“Leo didn’t make it.”
Now I get her twitchy mood swing. Sera always had a soft spot for Leo, a leftover from my father’s regime she’d dated in high school.
After I took control, she begged me to spare him from my sweep of permanent terminations.
Since he’d been the only one of her ex’s I hadn’t wanted to shove through a meat grinder, I figured his loyalty was a solid bet.
His death is a loss, but not one I’ll lose sleep over. Leo did his job and died with honor. I’ll make sure he gets a proper La Cosa Nostra burial.
But my sister isn’t as hardened.
“I’m sorry. I know you cared for him.”
She lifts her chin, revealing red, watery eyes. “This wasn’t a random accident, was it?”
My chest falls on a heavy exhale. I don’t want to lie to her, but until I know what I’m dealing with and who’s involved, a murky generalization is the best she’s going to get. “You’re a Marchesi. Nothing’s ever an accident.” Once again, I turn to leave only a few feet before hearing my name.
“You’re not cursed, Gianni.”
I pause, every muscle in my body stiffening. Goddamn her for knowing how to twist the knife and hit an artery. “I’m not doing this with you, Sera.”
Only two people know the truth—the two who were there the moment fire blackened my heart. Sera stands ten toes down on the belief I didn’t curse the Marchesi name that day, but she’s wrong. They’re all wrong.
Fire has never been an obsession. It’s a deal with the Devil.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she insists. “But they’re similar, unrelated incidents, not a pattern.”
“Yeah?” I toss a glare over my shoulder so cutting it sends her stumbling backward. “Call me when you send two people you love to their graves.”
I don’t knock, and I don’t ask for anyone’s fucking permission.
I barrel through the hospital room door like a bull draped in red.
A skittish nurse with stringy brown hair staggers away from Becca’s bed, while the underwear model I assume is her doctor stares at me like he’s not three seconds away from getting thrown out a six-story window.
“And you are…?” he prompts.
“Gianni…”
The sound of her voice sharpens my anger into something I don’t recognize. Something raw and untamed that demands blood while healing the wound. I take a step forward, then another. One more brings me face to face with the woman I’d burn this hospital to the ground for, along with everyone in it.
Once again, she’s lying in a hospital bed, covered in bruises and wires. But, unlike last time, those pale blue eyes are open and on me. Her matted blonde hair is slicked back from her face, her forehead peppered with stitches … but she’s alive.
And alert.
And talking.
“Everyone out.”
The doctor arches an eyebrow. “Excuse me.”
I mimic his lift. “Did I stutter?”
“Sir, I don’t know?—”
“You’ll have to excuse my husband…” Becca says, laying her hand on his arm, which I make a mental note to rip off and beat him with. Catching my eye, she cuts the peace-keeping act and pulls it back. “He’s kind of protective.”
Right, and Mount Everest is “kind of” tall.
“Well, that’s not an entirely bad thing,” Dr. Dick-for-brains says with a smile. Keep on, motherfucker. Headfirst, skull to concrete. No one remembers a stain on the sidewalk. “You’ll need someone to care for you after release.”
Wait, what?
“You’re letting her go?”
“I’m waiting for a few tests to come back, but pending no abnormalities, I see no reason for Becca not to be released first thing in the morning.”
My eyes narrow to paper-thin slits. “You ‘see no reason?’ How about she was in a major fucking car accident?”
He cocks his chin. “Gianni, is it?”
“No, it isn’t . It’s Mr. Marchesi.”
He swallows hard, my tone finally sinking into that cream cheese head of his.
“Mr. Marchesi, while the accident was indeed major, your wife was very lucky. Apart from a concussion, a few stitches, and a dislocated shoulder we reset, she sustained no life-threatening injuries. I’m a man of science who doesn’t put stock in faith-based explanations, but considering her description of the impact, I’d say she had a guardian angel looking out for her. ”
I’m not so sure about that, but it brightens Becca’s sullen face, so I let it go.
“Thank you,” I mutter.
He smiles, his shoulders straightening. “You’re welcome.”
“Now, get out.”
His smile fades, and he looks at Becca, which pisses me off. She nods, leading him to nod to the mute nurse. “I’ll check in a little later.”
The moment the door closes behind them, the confidence I wield like a weapon gets stuck in the chamber.
I thought I’d have all the answers, but for the first time, I don’t know what to do.
Then, Becca looks up with tears in her eyes, and I move without thinking.
One minute, I’m standing at the door, and the next, my mouth is on her, and I’m wiping away her tears.
“I’m sorry,” she sobs. “I never meant?—”
I slide my thumb to her lips. “I don’t care. All that matters is you.”
“I tried to be safe. I kept Leo around. I let him drive, I…” She blinks, her eyes widening. “Oh my God, Leo. Have you heard anything about him?”
Fuck. She doesn’t know.
“Doc…”
Tears spill down her cheeks. “No, no, don’t say it. Please don’t say it.”
I wish I didn’t have to. Honesty has never sliced so deep.
“He didn’t make it.”
Her clenched fist slams into my chest. “I told you not to say it!”
I don’t react. Instead, I hold her close as she collapses against me and give her a safe space to cry. I’m not jealous her tears aren’t for me. They’re derived from a dark place that changes a person forever. Becca has experienced loss, but none she’s unknowingly orchestrated.
Until now…
“It’s my fault,” she rasps, her forehead against my shirt. “He was after me.”
Her soft admission sends up a line of warning flags.
“Who was after you?” I lift her chin and make her look at me. “Becca, do you know who hit you?”
“It was Dagger.”
I see black, red, and every other fucking shade of hell. “Are you sure?”
“I saw his face, Gianni. Red hair. Small eyes. Big teeth. You think every facet of that man isn’t seared into my memory? He pulled up beside us and smiled at me.” She shivers, the muscles under my palms tightening. “He wanted to make sure his face was the last one I ever saw.”