Chapter 23
twenty-three
I wake with a gasp, pain radiating from my left side.
A machine beeps steadily in the background, my vision slowly becoming clear.
Dr. Gallo shuffles around the room, drawing up something clear from a vial before injecting it into my IV.
It burns like fire flooding through my veins, and I fight the urge to jerk my arm away from him.
“Calm yourself, Mr. Arsenio. Just antibiotics. It would be a travesty for such a great man to be taken down by something as trivial as infection now, wouldn’t it?” He raises a brow, and Enzo shifts uncomfortably in the doorway.
He doesn’t have to say a word. I know most of the men hate Dr. Gallo.
He’s a vain, self-righteous man. He believes himself to be so far above this family that he could look down and still barely see us.
Only ever coming down long enough to get paid.
Unfortunately, we do require his expertise from time to time. Like tonight, apparently.
“Enzo,” my voice is strained as I try to sit up in bed. My abdomen flexes and every muscle screams in pain. I’m getting so fucking tired of being target practice.
“Sir.” He stands at my bedside, shouldering the doctor out of the way.
“Where are they?” I ask, and something like pity flashes across his face.
“They should be landing in South Carolina any moment now. She was…less than pleased to be going.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking away uncomfortably.
“She will get over it.” I tense, scooting back in the bed. I feel like he has more to say, but won’t speak in front of mixed company.
“Thank you for your work tonight, Dr. Gallo. Your payment will be sent shortly. You’re dismissed.” I excuse the older man from the room and he looks shocked.
“B-but Mr. Arsenio, there are things to be tended to. Your wounds, they are quite serious, and I should-” I hold up a hand cutting him off.
“I assure you. This is not the first time I’ve been shot, nor will it be the last. I have highly trained staff who are more than capable of taking care of these things, just as I am capable of caring for myself.
You may leave the antibiotics and go.” I dismiss him again, and a small smirk twists the corner of Enzo’s mouth.
“Very well. I will be looking for my payment.” He huffs, shoulder-checking Enzo as he flounces out the door dramatically.
“Speak. I know you have more to say.” I tell Enzo.
“We’ve got to find a better fucking doctor than that asshole. His face is the kind you just want to punch. Repeatedly.” Enzo shrugs, and I choke out some semblance of a laugh.
“That’s not what I meant, but I agree with you. We’ll find someone eventually. I know you have something to say about Vanessa, so say it.” I lean my head back, staring at the ceiling.
“It’s not my place, sir. Your decisions are not made to be questioned.
” Enzo states, straightening his spine. He is a loyal soldier, a quality that is becoming harder and harder to find without incentive.
Most don’t know he and I share a bond much closer than any other soldier in my army, that we share blood, and he prefers it that way.
“I’m not asking for your response as your Don, Enzo.
I’m asking for your opinion as my brother, as her friend.
” He seems caught off guard by my referring to him as her friend, but I know that’s what she would consider him.
She sees most people as friends, even though she puts on this tough exterior.
“Sir, I believe M.s Diaz is truly special. And I don’t want you to think that means I see her in any way but as the kind of woman who could actually best you.
Someone who could match this world we live in, and not let it devour her.
I understand your need to send her away, to get her as far from danger as you felt necessary.
But if I can offer you my advice, don’t keep her there for too long.
She’s smarter and more capable than I think any of us give her credit for.
She might surprise you. After all, I’ve never had anyone threaten to shoot me if I dared to separate them from you before.
” He scoffs, and my brows raise in surprise.
I had begun to convince myself that it had all been a dream.
Something hazy in my mind plays out the scene of Vanessa holding my gun inches away from Enzo’s chest, his hands held up in surrender, the rest of the men backing out of the room.
It felt like something out of a movie, something wild and feral where a beast defends its kill.
Only she was defending me, begging in the most savage way not to be taken from me. And I sent her as far away as I could.
I don’t dwell in regrets, it’s not in my nature.
I make decisions and deal with the consequences.
My only solace comes in knowing there is no one on Earth I trust more to keep her safe than Matteo.
The thought crossed my mind when I told him to follow her that I was sending my second in command out of this country while I was completely unable to lead my men, to protect them if something else should go wrong.
The entire purpose of Matteo’s role in Fortuna is to lead when I cannot, and I told him to go.
But her safety is more important to me than anything else has ever been.
When I think of someone hurting her, of anything even coming close, it’s a devastation I cannot stomach.
“I know the great fortune I found in her, Enzo. I am only trying to protect her the best way I know how. By keeping her as far away from me as possible. This world is dark and dangerous. It seems too hard for someone as phenominal as she is.” I feel my strength slowly fading.
I need rest, my body begging for relief.
Enzo laughs lightly, and I raise a brow at him.
“Sir, forgive me. But have you met the woman? Dark and dangerous seem to define her in almost every way.” He replies, and I can’t help but smile.
I know he’s right. First, I will heal my body, then I will dismantle and rebuild this organization.
I will make it the family I’ve always intended it to be.
The kind I can trust to protect Vanessa for the rest of our lives.
Because the further she gets from my reach, the more my heart constricts, squeezing like a vice.
I feel more and more like I might die if I can’t touch her soon, if I can’t feel her next to me.
“You may be on to something there, Enzo. Luckily for us all, I don’t plan to let her get away. I just need…time.”