Chapter 49
We all stayed at the hospital that night, taking it in turns to be by either Red or Bella’s side. Lorenzo was Red’s rock. I hadn’t seen it as clear before, but that friendship would stand the test of time.
I had to hand it to Luca, since Bella woke up the following morning he made it his mission to make amends with her.
He had really come through and held my woman during her darkest hour.
If I was honest though, watching Luca get through to her and be able to comfort her when I couldn’t nearly killed me.
More than anything, all I wanted was to be able to get Bella through anything.
But after my sixth coffee and countless cigarettes, I finally understood that it wasn’t about me.
Luca had needed that time with his sister to rectify the hurts of the past. It had taken Bella losing Tyler for Luca to finally understand the pain Bella had gone through and never fully recovered from.
“Arturo, can you head home with Lorenzo to make sure everything is ready for Isabella to come home?” Anastacia asked on approach.
“Sure. What do you need us to do?”
“Make sure there is water in Bella’s room. Fresh flowers. Some of her favourite snacks. Anything you can think of.” she smiled, as Lorenzo appeared beside her.
“Arturo and I will sort it, don’t worry mi amore .” Lorenzo said, kissing her cheek.
“Thanks, baby. I’ll come later with Luca and Bella. I just want to make sure she’s okay and be here if she needs me.”
“Who’s goin’ to drive you home?” I quizzed, knowing Red was unavailable, he had things to sort with the hospital.
“Arturo, will the pair of you stop worrying please” she patted my arm, a soothing voice coming to the surface.
“Well, Gino and Emmet are already at the house, they’ll help make sure everything’s ready.” Lorenzo said as he ushered me toward the exit.
“Drive safe, we’ll see you soon.” She replied as she gave a small wave before heading back into Bella’s room.
Cracking my neck, I filled the fridge with bottles of water and began to arrange the purple lilies we’d picked up on the way home. Gino and Emmet were in the basement with Lorenzo helping bring a few things upstairs.
“Arturo, can you come down here a sec?” Lorenzo called from downstairs.
I placed the scissors and lilies on the side, wiping the water onto my jeans before heading downstairs to see what the fuck needed four people to carry it up the stairs.
The second I stepped into the basement, squinting against the fluorescent lights, I clocked Emmet standing against the wall opposite me, his face impassive. Lorenzo stepped out from the corner, and part of me wanted to laugh.
You had to be shitting me.
If Lorenzo thought he looked menacing he was very, very wrong.
“What the fucks goin’ on?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets. “You lads plannin’ the world’s shittest party?”
“Sit down, Arturo.” Lorenzo ordered, kicking a chair closer to me as Gino closed the door behind me.
Did this geezer think I was fuckin’ stupid?
“Nah, no thanks. Think I’ll stand.” I replied, cocking my head to one side.
“Sit the fuck down, Arturo,” he muttered calmly, clearly wanting me to see he was the one in charge. “Now.”
Widening my eyes, I parked my arse on the chair as he demanded, and let the smirk I had been holding split my lips in amusement.
“You think this is funny?!” Lorenzo snapped, tightening a cable tie around my left wrist.
Oh, this was child's play.
“Yeah. I do. You bring me down ‘ere on the false idea that you need some help, and then you tie me up like we’re on some shitty episode of a TV series. I think this is fuckin’ hilarious,” I quipped, raising an eyebrow.
Emmet flicked my ear with a quick backhand before tightening another cable tie around the other wrist. “Either of you want to enlighten me as to what the fuck is goin’ on? ”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Ramos. You know exactly why you’re here.” Lorenzo’s voice had an undercurrent of rage that knocked against my subconscious.
“I really don’t, mate.”
“Don’t… call me that.” He spat. “I never should have invited you into my home.”
“Oh, do me a favour. You need to stop talkin’ in riddles and get to the bloody point, This is gettin’ borin’.” That comment earned me a right hook to the jaw.
“You have no fucking right to back chat me, boy. Not after what you’ve done.” I frowned as he pulled something from his back pocket and threw it into my lap. As I looked down, photos from the booth we took together at the arcade smiled up at me.
Ah, fallin’ in love with his daughter. Right… That.
“Right… Look, Lorenzo before you lose your shit?—”
“I don’t want to hear another fucking word out of your mouth. I welcomed you into my home, into my family, trusted you with what matters most… and you take advantage of my only daughter!” He screamed, backhanding my face with an almighty thud.
Shit. That one fuckin’ hurt. I’d give him that.
Naughty, naughty, looks like you’ve been caught.
You can fuck off an’ all!
He fisted my t-shirt, bringing his nose to mine, anger radiated off him in waves.
“You spineless little shit. And to think I really trusted you?” Lorenzo’s eyes blazed with rage as he punched me again and again.
I knew he was mad—beyond mad even—and I knew he needed this, but spineless?
Me? Now the fella was beginning to piss me off.
I sighed and rolled my shoulders. Fuck it, if letting Lorenzo knock seven shades of shit out of me helped him get over the fact I am and always will be with his daughter—the mother of my child—then that’s what needed to happen.
“Haven’t you got anything to say, traitor?” said Emmet, folding his arms beside me.
“Traitor? Pfft. Don’t make me laugh.” I rolled my eyes. My head smacked backwards as Lorenzo caught me in another punch. Blinking, I rolled my head back and stretched my face against the ache.
“When I hired you, you piece of shit, I gave you one rule. Do not go near my dau?—”
“I love her!” I said, spitting blood onto the floor beside his shoe.
Lorenzo’s eyes widened in shock as he staggered back.
Taking the moment to breathe, I cracked my neck and sagged down into the chair.
Scoffs and chuckles from behind me told me Emmet and Gino were enjoying this.
I knew those fuckers knew about me and Bella.
We may have been doing our best to hide our relationship but any fucker with half a brain cell could see how attracted we were to one another.
The fact they were letting this happen at all actually made me respect them more.
They were Lorenzo’s men and following his orders without argument.
Now that’s fuckin’ loyalty.
“You don’t love her! You love the idea of her…
” he roared before rearing his head back and ramming it into my nose.
Ugh , bastard! That really pinched. Shaking my head, I used my elbow to nudge the booth photos off my leg and then slide them under the chair with my boot, protecting them from the blood.
“You know nothin’, old man. I love your daughter, and she loves me. And nothin’ you can do will change that,” I let my bruised and bloodied face break into a manic grin, knowing his inability to shake me must really be pissing him off.
“Wow… You just don’t know when to quit, do you, boy?
You just keep pushing and pushing. Well, let me tell you something…
You’re scum. You’ve always been scum. It’s the reason I pulled you out of your shitty little life and used your skills to make my daughter ruthless.
” I looked at the ground bored. He wasn’t the first to call me that and wouldn’t be the last. “I heard all about England, you know… The betrayal against your first boss. How you killed him in cold blood. I knew… You’re the worst of the worst, Arturo.
And before I kill you, I’ll make sure my daughter knows exactly what kind of traitorous bastard you really are. ”
Well that was disappointing.
I sighed at this. A part of me had hoped that my past had remained in the past, but do enough digging and poking around and someone’s bound to talk. Thankfully I knew she would understand. I’d told her some of the worst parts about me and she hadn’t run. I could trust her with my darkest demons.
“Kill me, will ya?” I laughed. “Do that and you lose your daughter, mate. What do you think she’s goin’ to do when she hears her old man murdered her boyfriend, eh? Make you a cup of tea.”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” he yelled, kicking me in the shins.
Pain licked up my legs to my chest and twisted to hold off my need to retaliate.
“My daughter deserves more than you, and you know it. So do yourself a favour and call it off. Tell her it was a mistake and will never happen again. Do that and I might just let you live.”
“You know fuck all about what your daughter wants. And trust me, you old git, there is no one else better suited to her than me.” His face twitched as my words sank in.
“She’s an incredible, beautiful fuckin’ human and not one of you has let her shine.
Always got to control her and tell her what she needs.
Nobody knows that girl like I do. She’s the other half of my very dark soul, and I ain’t going nowhere.
I’ll spend the rest of my life protectin’ her even if it costs me my own.
” I relaxed back in the chair, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take much more.
After a few more punches to the face, he pulled out his blade, a sinister smile plastered on his smug fucking face.
“Go on, give me one reason I shouldn’t slit your fucking throat open… Just one good fucking reason, Arturo Ramos!” he hissed, trailing his blade over my Adam’s apple.
“Sorry, old man. I ain’t got one for you.” I scoffed, as Lorenzo fisted my hair. “Not my place to convince you not to do this.”
“You think this is a joke, don’t you?” His grip tightened with each word. “My daughter will not be tied to some fucked up, orphaned assassin who got his own mother killed. I’d rather see her dead.”
“Bloody hell. You’ve changed your tune. One minute you applaud me for the things I’ve taught her and the next I ain’t good enough? Make up your mind.”
“Boss, I think he’s had enough.” Emmet spoke up from the side.
“You, shut the fuck up. This has nothing to do with you. I say when it’s enough and it won’t be until I slit this cunt’s throat.” I felt blood trickle down my neck as he pressed the blade a little deeper.
“I love you too.” I winked, I knew it was stupid but I said I’d die for Bella, and I meant it. Even if it meant I had to die at the hands of her father.
Could he really do that to his daughter?
After everything she’d gone through?
“I’ll ask you again, tell me why I shouldn’t kill you?”
“Because I love your daughter, and I know you don’t have it in you to hurt her like that.
Not after everythin’ she’s been through.
So go on… beat me if it makes you feel better.
But I ain’t scared of you.” With a steel gaze, I leaned forward and pressed my neck against his blade.
When my eyes met his he threw his blade to the floor.
He couldn’t kill me, he knew he’d lose his only daughter if he did.
I lost track of time as he landed punch after punch. He was starting to get tired. You could see from the way he kept staggering and heaving in deep breaths. Licking my dry, busted lip, I spat more blood to the floor and sighed.
“Is that it? That all you got?” Lorenzo’s eyes flashed as his fist collided again with my ribs. “That’s it, give it to me, you fucked up tosser.” I laughed, feeling a brief sense of relief.