Chapter 51
fifty-one
. . .
Twenty minutes later, with Dario and I carrying Lorenzo on a makeshift stretcher, Ishika between us to keep a check on my brother, Joey leading the way upfront and the other five men around us, keeping guard, we reached the clinic without any hiccups.
Two floors off the ground, the facility served our purpose well. Those fuckers would have to climb the surrounding buildings to catch us off guard plus it gave us the advantage of seeing them approach.
Cool gray walls, white tiled floors and four rooms excluding the reception foyer, made up most of the space.
Ishika did a quick scan and guided us to a mini operating room, complete with steel table in the center, x-ray machine, other equipment and not surprising, one half of a fridge filled with plastic blood bags and the other, vials of medication.
Given the area, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the so-called mother and child clinic was a facade for the criminals in the area, something I’d probably confirm if I searched their records.
As soon as we placed Lorenzo on the table, she turned to me. “You should leave, you’ll just lose your shit and distract me if you stay.”
I might own her pussy, right now though, she had me at a disadvantage. My brother’s life in her hands, so I forgave her blunt insolence. “I’m staying.” My raised brow challenged her to fight me.
Her eyes narrowed for just a second before she turned her back on me and moved around the room. Opening and closing drawers, she searched for surgical tools while I scrubbed my hands clean of the blood.
Done, I gathered the men to survey the building. Now that Lorenzo was taken care of, I could focus on a plan to get us the fuck out of there. The front door opened to two elevators and a sealed stairwell while a large window provided an exit via a fire escape at the rear of the clinic.
“Watch both entrances, two up front, two in the back. Cover each other,” I instructed Diego, and the other three men then turned to Joey and Gian.
“You help the doctor, get her anything she needs.” They nodded, moving away.
I looked at Dario. “Call Quinn. That bastard owes me for not killing his brother. Ask him to get us out of this shithole without making it obvious. They need to come in hard and fast, it’s the only way we’re getting out of here alive. ”
“You think he’ll help?”
“Tell the fucker if he doesn’t, I won’t just come after his brother this time but the whole fucking Doyle mob including his pretty wife, his mother and his son,” I grunted, itching to kill someone.
High on some laced shit, Aidan Doyle tried to steal from my men, he got caught. I let him off with a warning because Quinn and I had an understanding. We didn’t cross each other’s territories.
Dario made the call as we walked back to the operating room.
Arms folded over my chest, I leaned one shoulder against the doorframe and watched my little fox.
Her voice stern, her instructions specific, she commanded my men like they were her soldiers.
I caught their surprised smirks sent my way as if questioning why I allowed her this reign.
“See if you can bring in a bed from one of the other rooms,” she ordered Joey and Gian.
They returned two minutes later, wheeling a bed behind them. I stood aside watching her direct them. My dick liked her forceful tone, the fucker twitched, anticipating that authoritative mouth around his head.
Her show of dominance reminded me of Korō in some way and I wondered if Ishika would ever try being less submissive.
Not surprisingly, I realized just as quickly that I didn’t like the idea, preferring the control I had over her body.
It was pure fire when it began and downright sizzling when it ended.
I wouldn’t give it up for anything, even if both women begged me to forget the other.
“It’s done.” Dario came up beside me. “Quinn’s on his way back from the airport. He asked for an hour or two to scope out the area and get his men into place.”
“Not like we have a choice,” I muttered, glancing at Ishika. “Let’s hope the good doctor can save his life.’ I didn’t want to think about the consequences if she didn’t.
“Don’t place that burden on her, Remo,” Dario said, drawing my angry gaze. He shook his head. “She didn’t ask for this.” He moved toward her before I could reply.
I ground my teeth, not liking that he was right. But fuck me for wanting her here and fuck fate for bringing a woman who saved lives into the world of a monster who took them. I didn’t ask for this either, my cock did and who was I to deny the bastard.
“Besides Dario, the rest of you can wait outside,” she said, distracting my thoughts.
Within minutes, she’d found everything she needed, placed strategically to assist with the surgery, electrodes attached to Lorenzo’s chest connecting him to a heart monitor, his arm hooked up to an IV of varying liquids and a cart of instruments next to the steel table. Even the bed was perfectly positioned.
She looked at me as Joey and Deigo walked out. “You too.” Seemed like she’d chosen Dario as her assisting nurse.
“Not happening,” I scoffed.
“Rayden,” Lorenzo’s soft call drifted across the room, breaking our stare down. “I need you, baby.” He sounded delirious and I figured she’d sedated him.
Just as I moved to approach him, Ishika grasped his hand, massaging lightly. “Shh. You’re safe and you’ll see Rayden soon. I promise,” she whispered.
Her voice so soft, so gentle, and jam-packed with so much compassion, exploded something in my chest, startling me once again. Part of me hated the feeling, while the other part, the deranged monster she’d called me, craved her caring.
“Fuck that,” I said under my breath.
As if she heard me, her eyes found mine for just a moment and I could’ve sworn she pitied me. I smirked and she looked away.
After sterilizing the tools, she pulled her hair into a messy bun, donned a doctor’s coat, and took a good few minutes to wash her hands.
Done, she patted her hands dry with a clean towel then slipped on latex gloves.
While Dario removed the remains of the shirt I’d torn off Lorenzo, she cleaned his chest with sanitized wipes then checked his pressure.
In her tight white dress, fuck me heels and curled hair bouncing below her waist, she was fascinating yet watching the doctor in her work on my brother was bewitching, keeping me tethered to her in way I found disconcerting.
I might argue in a bad way, my conscious, however, disagreed. It claimed she was good for me.
“We’ll see,” I said softly, not wanting to draw her attention again.
Her hands moving with ease, steady and meticulous, she worked diligently and quickly on the wound without a bullet.
She wiped, cleaned and stitched before moving to the other.
Like me, Dario’s awe grew when she made precise incisions near the gaping hole, exposing the surrounding tissue.
Then using forceps, she extracted the bullet, softly cursing when blood gushed from the wound, splattering the white coat.
I liked this unchecked side of her. It suggested that like me she enjoyed control, and I unbalanced her.
“You got this, Ishika.” I heard her soft self-motivation as she stitched the wound, making me smile. Once she was done cleaning the dried blood off Lorenzo’s body and bandaging him, she turned to me. “Help Dario move him to the bed,” she said, her tone laden with rigidity.
I caught Dario’s taunting smile as I pushed away from the doorframe. “Say please,” I demanded.
One brow shot up, her expression pure sarcasm. “Please.” She walked away, leaving Dario and I to move Lorenzo.
“Didn’t think I’d see the day, Remo Rossi allowed a woman to needle him this much,” Dario taunted, earning a ‘fuck you’ scowl from me.
“Can’t say I’m not enjoying the spectacle though.
” At my silent stare, his expression morphed into something that looked like empathy, alarming me. “It’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” I pulled the covers up to Lorenzo’s chest.
“You don’t let people in, Remo. But with her…” he trailed off, letting the words hang unspoken.
I let out a low laugh, my eyes lifting to meet his “It’s not about letting her in or shutting her out. She’s under my skin, under my nails, in my blood, in my head, and it’s fucking me up.”
Dario watched me. He was an observant motherfucker, and I wasn’t ready to admit anything yet.
Ishika return with a prepped transfusion kit in her hand. “He needs blood and if he’s O negative, there’s none in the fridge. Do you know his type?”
“We have the same type.” As I neared her, her gaze rolled over me, the black tank allowing her an eyeful. She bit her lip, her pupils widening, and blood rushed to my dick, engorging the fucker to full size, threating to rip a hole in my pants.
“You’re hurt.” Her eyes rested on the deep cut down my arm before she lifted them to meet mine, her cheeks turning a visible shade of pink.
Wondering if she was remembering the first time we met, I leaned closer. “Would you like to suck my cock, little fox and make it all better?”
The color to her cheeks darkened. “You’re insufferable?”
“What I am.” I leaned closer still, bringing my lips to her ear. “Is painfully hard, recalling how I fucked your mouth that first time. The perfect antidote for a gunshot wound. Same cock, different hospital.”
She gasped, shaking her head. “Your brother–”
“Will live, thanks to you.” I winked. “And you deserve a reward, don’t you?”
Behind me, Dario cleared his throat. I glanced at him over my shoulder and tipped my chin at the door. His chuckle soft, he left the room, closing the door on his way out.
When my gaze returned to Ishika, she backed away from me. “Your brother needs a transfusion,” she tried for assertiveness and failed. I heard the shallow squeak to her words.