27. Francesca
FRANCESCA
I sat in the waiting room, which was mostly empty because it was getting late into the evening.
Elio and Andre stayed with me, and I knew they were there so I wouldn’t be alone since they didn’t have any affection for my brother after he’d betrayed us.
Because the procedure was happening at that very moment, I had no medical personnel to question.
I just had to sit there and wait to be notified.
When someone appeared from the hallway, my eyes automatically shifted to see who it was.
Wolfe walked inside in a clean shirt, his eyes immediately finding mine before he headed over.
I swallowed because the sight of him made me emotional. I’d just seen him a couple hours ago, but sitting there in the waiting room made my reality starker. I didn’t rise to greet him, having no strength to do anything.
He regarded Elio and Andre first and spoke to them quietly. “Thanks for staying with her. I can take it from here.” They exchanged handshakes before the men came over to give me quick hugs before they left.
Wolfe took the chair beside me, the two of us sitting in the center of the room. There was a guy in the corner who had fallen asleep lying across a couple chairs. He used his sweater as a blanket. TVs on the wall showed cooking shows and the news, all on mute.
As if we were in the car, Wolfe moved his hand to my thigh and cupped the inside of it.
I immediately hooked my arm around his and rested my other hand on his forearm.
We sat in silence for a long time. Wolfe looked at the TV most of the time but would occasionally glance at me.
I felt alive and dead at the same time.
“Have you heard anything?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
He looked at the TV again.
“Right before everything happened…”
Wolfe turned to look at me.
“Leo said that Dad’s death had changed the way he viewed family, that he appreciated me a lot more than ever before.
” I took a breath so I wouldn’t get too emotional, keeping my voice controlled as best I could.
“I thought it was a stupid thing to say at the time, but now I understand what he means.”
He continued to look at me.
“Because if he dies…it’s just me.”
“It’s not just you,” he said gently. “Not when you have me.”
“I know, but…” I sniffed. “Just a month ago, I had a dad and brother…and now that piece of me will be gone. Those relationships will be memories. My children won’t have grandparents, but now, they won’t have an uncle either.”
“You didn’t want them to have an uncle before all this happened.”
“I know, I know. But…”
He continued to stare at me.
“When Warren took me from the vineyard, Leo snuck me that knife. When Icarus came, Leo stayed with me the whole time. When I asked him to help me get you out of that grave, he didn’t hesitate.
He could have taken a bullet to the back while he dug you up, but he kept going anyway.
And then he didn’t have to come with me to headquarters, but he did anyway.
Icarus is a scary motherfucker, but Leo stayed with me.
Most people don’t have a fraction of the courage he did. ”
When my eyes started to well up, he massaged my thigh with his fingers.
“I got myself into that situation, and he took that bullet for me.”
He continued to listen.
“I—I just can’t be mad at him anymore.”
He gave a subtle nod.
“I’ll always resent him for what he did, but I’ll always love him too.”
“It’s okay to feel that way, Francesca.”
“But now, he’s probably going to die, and it’s just a fucking tragedy. All of this is a fucking tragedy.”
I’d fallen asleep with my head in his lap, his arm draped over me like a blanket for warmth. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard quiet conversation nearby.
“Baby.” Wolfe’s gentle voice coaxed me from sleep. “The doctor is here.”
I quickly sat up and looked at the woman in dark scrubs with her hair up in a surgical cap. Her badge showed her name and her specialty as a surgeon. “I’m here, I’m here,” I said automatically.
“Leonardo remains in critical condition,” she said without preamble.
“The bullet perforated one of his lungs and caused extensive damage to his chest. He required several blood transfusions to make it through the surgery. I was able to close the hole, but he’s going to need to stay in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks before he’s released. ”
“He’s—he’s going to live?”
“I think so,” she said. “But he has a long recovery. He’s going to need support until he’s back on his feet.”
I was still in shock that he got to live to see another day. “Oh…thank you.”
“They’re transferring him to a private room and will need some time to get him set up before he can have visitors. A nurse will come out and collect you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Messina,” Wolfe said.
She nodded then walked into the hallway behind the nurse’s station.
I sat there in disbelief.
His hand moved to my back, and he rubbed me gently, being supportive in a way that he’d never been taught.
He’d never been in a serious relationship before, but he was the best husband I could have asked for.
It felt like we’d been married for years rather than weeks.
“It’s not just going to be you, Francesca. ”
My eyes watered. “No. It’s not going to be just us.”
He continued to rub my back. “We’ll get him transferred to a closer hospital. That way, you can continue to see him and be close to the vineyard.”
“I don’t think I can work right now.”
“I can temporarily take over until you’re ready to come back—if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course, it is,” I said with a throat full of unshed tears. “What did Don Russo say about the Skull King?”
His hand stopped in the center of my back, and he withdrew his touch altogether. “To let it be, basically. If it becomes a problem, he’ll let me know. His wife went to her sister’s and gave him an ultimatum, so he’s going to leave Cosa Nostra.”
“And he asked you to take over again?”
He smirked. “Yeah, he did. But I told him no—again.”
“Then who will?”
“He has a couple people in mind. I like all of his choices.”
I hoped this violent story was finally over. I hoped I could take Leo home and help him recover, and we could begin a new chapter of our lives.
“He also said…he would love it if we had a reception.”
“What kind of reception?”
“A wedding reception,” he said as he looked at me. “I told him I would think about it.”
“We’re already married.”
“And that wedding was just for us—as it should have been. But there’s no reason we can’t celebrate with everyone. Maybe when Leo’s recovered, we could do something…if you’re receptive to that.”
It wasn’t important to me, not when we’d already had a day so special that I would never want to change.
Our love was about the two of us and no one else, but I could tell this was something Wolfe wanted.
He didn’t have a family like I did, and Cosa Nostra was the closest thing he’d ever had to that. “Yeah, I’m receptive to that.”
He grinned. “Alright. We’ll figure it out later.”
I sat at Leo’s bedside throughout the night. He remained asleep, still intubated and on a breathing machine because of the damage to his lung. With all the anesthesia in his bloodstream and trauma to his body, I wasn’t sure when he would wake up. Might not be until tomorrow.
Wolfe remained at my side and never showed any sign of fatigue or impatience.
“I couldn’t believe you got inside that coffin.”
It took him a second to register what I said, probably because we’d been quiet for hours. “Wasn’t a big deal.”
“You were buried alive.”
He gave a shrug.
“What the hell is this?” I asked as I shrugged back.
“I knew you would get me out of there,” he said with complete confidence.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I know you,” he said as he looked at me, his arm over the back of my chair.
“I knew you’d move hell and heaven to get me out of there.
I knew you would go to Cosa Nostra, and even if they said no, you’d dig me out with your bare hands.
I know exactly who I’m married to.” A smirk moved over his lips along with that same look of pride he’d shown when he first got out of the coffin. “You’re my ride or die.”
My hand moved to his thigh, and I leaned in to kiss him on the mouth. It was supposed to be a simple, affectionate embrace, but like always, every single touch always lit a spark. Heat rushed to my face and the rest of my body, so I pulled away, and it ended before it could turn into anything more.
His smirk was wide like he knew exactly what had just happened. “We can go on that honeymoon now.”
“Yeah, I guess we can,” I said. “We can leave after the reception.”
“Sounds like a plan. Just got to pick where we’re going to go. It doesn’t matter to me, because I’m only interested in one thing.”
“Then we may as well stay home.”
“But I want to do you over the edge of a balcony and look out at the sea.”
“That’s very specific.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m quite the romantic.”
“What about Positano? There will definitely be a sea view there.”
He grinned. “Sounds like you’re into my idea.”
“Come on. You’re so hot, I’ll fuck you anywhere.”
He grabbed my thigh and gave it a pat. “Attagirl.”
We fell into silence again, his hand on my thigh, and then I noticed the light start to increase in the room as the sun rose higher in the sky.
That meant we’d been up for over a day, but I didn’t feel tired at all.
Maybe it was because of that nap I’d taken in the waiting room.
Or maybe it was because I wouldn’t be able to relax until Leo woke up.
Leo started to stir. First, it was his hand, and then he repositioned his body. It looked like he tried to roll over, but because of the breathing tube, he couldn’t turn more than a few inches. His heart rate spiked, and the monitor started to beep.
Wolfe was just about to go retrieve a nurse when the medical team entered the room. A doctor was with them, and they removed the tube from his throat so he could breathe on his own. Leo was overwhelmed at first, probably because he didn’t remember anything except being shot.
They got him comfortable and lifted the bed slightly, did a quick assessment of him and checked his oxygen levels. He was clearly in pain with every breath he took, and his hand automatically went to his chest like he could feel the damage right away.
“Morphine’s coming, Leonardo,” the doctor said as he gripped his shoulder.
Once everything was done, they left the room.
Leo turned his head slightly toward us, and he looked at me. He didn’t blink, just stared, taking in the sight of me at his bedside.
Wolfe silently left his chair and walked out of the room to give us privacy.
The chair I was sitting in was against the wall and a good distance away from the bed. I pulled it to his bedside so he wouldn’t have to strain himself to talk loud enough for me to hear.
I’d been waiting for this moment all night, and now that it was here, I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to grab his hand, but something stopped me from doing it. I just felt this overwhelming awkwardness between us. Did I thank him for what he did? Did I not acknowledge it at all?
He continued to stare at me, not as if he was waiting for me to speak, but as if he was surprised I was there at all. “I—I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The guilt rushed over me like a tidal wave. I felt bad for everything I’d said to him. I felt bad for the way I’d treated him, the way I’d broken his nose with the gun. “You’re my brother,” I said quietly. “I’ll always be here.”
He continued to stare at me with slight disbelief before his gaze softened in emotion. Tears welled in his eyes until they shone with the reflection of the fluorescent lights overhead. He started to move his hand, but his fingers only moved a couple inches before they came to a stop.
I lowered the railing that was between us and placed my hand on his.
He inhaled a deep breath at my touch, winced in pain, and then let it out before he winced again. “I’m sorry.”
I didn’t want to hold on to it any longer. If my father had seen what my brother did for me, I believe he wouldn’t want me to hold on to it either. He would want us to have each other. “I know.”
The moisture in his eyes turned to tears and dripped down his cheeks. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
“I know.” I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either if I’d done the same. “And I guess that’s punishment enough.”
Another round of tears streaked down his cheeks before he brought himself to calm again. It probably hurt to cry with the damage to his chest and the burn of the tube that had just been removed from his throat. “What happened?”
“You were shot in the chest,” I said. “You have a collapsed lung that was repaired. You’ll be in the hospital for a while. It’s going to be a long recovery.”
“Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll live?”
“You’ll live.”
“The last thing I remember is being hit in the chest, and then it was dark. Just assumed I was dead.”
“I’m surprised you made it too.”
“Maybe Dad had something to do with that,” he whispered. “Maybe he wanted me to come back, so I can continue to look after you.”
“Or maybe he sent you back because he was going to kill you if you stayed.”
It was a harsh joke, but it made Leo smirk slightly. “Yeah, that makes more sense.”