Chapter 25
twenty-five
. . .
Boredom was a luxury I couldn’t afford, but a bullet wound made time crawl.
I sat on the edge of the examination bed, my injured hand cradled against my chest. If it wasn’t bleeding, I would’ve left it to heal on its own, the dull ache though, signified it could become a later problem and why I left Gian to handle the logistics of getting Carlo, the hospital director, out of a meeting.
I just needed the doctor. Instead, I got a show. Voices raised in the foyer. Aggressive. Familiar. Two of my men drunk on power, cornering a nurse. I didn’t look up. Discipline was Lorenzo’s problem, not mine. I focused on the email on my phone, tuning out the world.
Until the air shifted and I lifted my head just as one of my men flew across the room, landing on his ass with a primal groan, sliding across the linoleum. Slowly, I turned my head.
She stood in the center of the foyer. Tall, her dark hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head, a doctor’s coat draped over blue jeans, pink t-shirt and white sneakers. But it was the stance that held my attention. Feet planted wide, knees bent, hands up, relaxed yet ready.
One of my men lunged forward. Instead of flinching, she stepped inside his guard, her left leg shooting out in a snap kick that connected with his throat.
He flew backward, smashing into a wall before collapsing in a grumbling heap.
The man she initially struck tried to rise.
She pivoted, securing his arm in a vice grip, using his own momentum to slam him face-first into the counter.
Her knee came up, precise, brutal, crashing into the balls of a third man who tried to flank her.
Color me fucking intrigued.
“You’re seeing this too, right?” Lorenzo’s voice had me shifting my gaze unsure when he’d arrived. He stood next to Dario, his gaze riveted on the lithe woman.
“I am,” Dario sounded as astonished.
As she released the man in her grip with a karate chop the back of his neck, Lorenzo stepped toward her. She turned on reflex, her right hand flying up. He caught it as the left one followed trapped it just as quickly, pinning both her hands behind her back.
She struggled for a heartbeat before her eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?” Her voice was steady, no tremor, no fear.
He grinned, a shark smelling blood. “The correct question, tesoro, would be, who are you?”
“Tesoro?” she scoffed, not fighting his hold.
“I’m the person who decides whether that man is treated to or not.
” She tipped her chin at me. “And these idiots think they can waltz in here and dictate that decision.” She scowled at each of my men, who were picking themselves up off the floor.
“Not if they behave like untamed monkeys escaping captivity.” She breathed hard, her angry gaze, however, never wavered from my brother’s face.
Lorenzo glanced at me, and I smirked. I saw the wheels turning behind his intelligent eyes.
He was trying to gauge my interest in the woman.
My brother knew I always went after what I was denied the most and if this woman’s defiance was anything to go by, I’d play a little game of cat and mouse until I got what I wanted.
The few people who’d said no to me, quickly changed their mind within a second or so of being in my company.
Not because of choice but because I didn’t give them one.
From where I sat, I could read the anticipation on my brother’s face. He was eager to see who’d hold out the longest between me and this woman.
Game on, brother.
“What will change your mind?” he asked her, his subtlety making me grin.
Lorenzo hadn’t earned the role of Don, he’d taken it. His patience was impeccable, and he’d bided his time. Striking only when he decided he was ready.
His question caught the woman off guard for just a moment before her glower returned. “Ask them to respect the hospital and its staff and I might reconsider.”
Lorenzo’s lips twitched, releasing his hold on her arms. “Apologize to the doctor. Now!” he ordered, looking at our men.
I snorted, yanking his head my way and waited for him to say something. Instead, he watched her and so did I.
The men apologized. Reluctant, gritted teeth, eyes on the floor.
She watched them, unimpressed until her gaze rested on me.
Chin tilted in silent defiance, she clearly didn’t fear me and that was a fucking first. Plump pink lips pursed, she crossed her arms and waited.
We stared at each other, her blunt expression challenging my indifference.
Only, I was a perceptive motherfucker.
I was just a boy when I was forced to substitute adolescence for maturity, pushed to withstand the metallic tang of blood with nothing but triviality, compelled to replace tears with stamina. So reading a room, a person, a situation, came naturally. Very little surpassed my observations.
This woman was no different. Beneath the stoic expression, I sensed her uncertainty.
A micro-tension in her jaw, a slight flare of her nostrils, she’d schooled herself well and the asshole in me wondered why.
What was she hiding so perfectly that would make people not think twice about ignoring her?
Something warned me there were layers to her I might find a lot more captivating than her fighting skills or that spirited exterior.
Daring fucker that I was, nothing beat plunging a knife through a man’s stomach, ripping it open and watching his guts spill, yet the hidden nuances to this woman, intrigued me a lot more.
I stood and as if in answer to my reflections, a flicker of doubt crossed her features.
Quick enough to hide from others and brief enough to pique my growing interest. Steps slow, I approached her.
The men shuffled back, giving me space while my brother watched.
I stopped inches from her, close enough to invade, to inhale a scent I couldn’t quite dissect yet.
Leaning in until my lips nearly brushed her ear, I heard her breath hitch, warm against my neck but she didn’t pull away.
“Eyes the color of golden honey.” I pulled back a little to meet her gaze head on. Too light to be brown and too dark to be green. “Dangerous combination.”
She held my stare unblinking, reminding me of a fox I knew. Beautiful on the outside, but a sly trickster on the inside. Yet a fox occasionally fell victim to their hunting deception.
Would she?
I let the silence stretch, heavy and loaded, letting her feel the weight of my attention, letting her wonder if I saw the cracks in her armor.
“Clearly, you’re mistaking me for someone who actually gives a fuck, doctor.” I apologized to no one. At her raised brow, I added, “just so you know. One of these days, you will suck my cock dry. Which day depends on my mood.” I winked and as I walked away, I felt her piercing gaze on my back.
Would she run? Or would she hunt?
I hoped like hell it was the latter.
Outside, I flexed my good arm, cracked the tendons tightening my neck muscles and opened the trunk of Lorenzo’s vehicle. After changing my blood-splattered shirt for a clean one, I slid into the back of his car.
He emerged a few minutes later and climbed in next to me, his concern unmistakable. “Go back in and get that arm checked.”
I turned away from the window to look at him. “What’s a little blood loss, brother? Considering I shed way more of those fuckers than they did mine, I’d say a small price to pay.”
“Not worth that doctor’s time, then?” He rubbed a hand along his afternoon stubble.
“No,” I snorted.
“Let’s go, Dario,” he instructed when I said nothing.
I knew he was challenging me. This was something he did on occasion.
I’d learned to give him this leeway, only because I knew he cared for me.
“Hang on.” I stopped Dario as the engine purred to life.
“On second thoughts, I think my dick could do with a good sucking today.” I climbed out before Lorenzo could respond, relished the thought of sinking my cock into that feisty mouth and with my good hand, fished out my phone to make a call while I headed for the side entrance we used often. “Carlo,” I greeted as he picked up.
“Remo,” Carlo Bianchi greeted me at his door with a quick handshake five minutes later, his grip firm despite his age. “Heard you caused quite a stir downstairs.” He gestured to a couch before taking a seat opposite me. You could’ve just called.”
The Rossi’s and Bianchi’s had history long before I was born and while Carlo was a few years older than Lorenzo, he treated me with the same respect he did the rest of my family.
I shrugged. “Left the logistics to my men. They fucked up.”
“Want me to take a look?”
“All good.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “But I want something else, Carlo.”
“Anything.”
“Someone piqued my interest today.”
Carlo sighed heavily. “Let me guess. The doctor that taught your men a lesson in etiquette?”
My smile answered for me.
He studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he rubbed his temples like I was giving him a migraine. “When you’ve got time, I’d like to share a story with you.”
“A story?”
“It’s a long one.” His voice dopped, protective and warning all at once. “She’s family, Remo, and I’m aware you’re a man who can’t spell the word no, so go easy on her.”
“I’ll try.”
What could I say? The man wasn’t wrong.
But as I waited for him to call her to his office, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Carlo’s warning wasn’t just about safeguarding a colleague, it was about protecting her from me.
And that only made me want her more, whether she liked it or not, wanted it or not, I didn’t care.