24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
HE COULD BE DEAD
Aaliyah
I paced the living room, anxiously waiting to hear any news from Antonio. It hadn’t been too long since he’d left but I was on pins and needles waiting to hear something. I hated to be kept in the dark. I should be by his side not waiting at home to see if he lived or died. I couldn’t believe he did this without me. Did he not trust me to have his back?
“I can hear your thoughts way over here, Nzuri.”
I stopped pacing, my eyes narrowing as I glared at Abel. I’d tried to kick him out of the house, but he had refused to leave. So, I’d been ignoring him while I stressed about what was happening with my husband.
“I’m not talking to you,” I said defiantly, placing my hands firmly on my hips. “You didn’t warn me he was doing this.”
“I agreed with his decision,” he said, shrugging. “I didn’t tell you because I knew how you’d react and what you would try to do.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “And that wasn’t a decision he nor you should have made for me! I’m his wife. We discuss shit before it gets done.”
“He was trying to protect you, Nzuri.” Abel let out a deep sigh, the sound echoing through the room. “Any man would have done the same thing in his position.”
My eyes narrowed as I shot him a piercing glare. “I don’t care if he wanted to protect me! I can protect my damn self!”
“We both know that you can, Aaliyah. But that man loves you. Did you think that maybe he wasn’t just protecting you? Maybe he was protecting himself too?”
Frustration etched across my face; I resumed my restless pacing. It hadn’t crossed my mind to think about our situation in that way.
“He would be utterly destroyed if something happened to you,” Abel continued. “Cut him some slack.”
I didn’t want to cut him any slack. I was absolutely seething mad about what he did. I knew deep down there may be truth in what Abel said, but it still didn’t wipe away what Antonio had done. I feel absolutely helpless sitting here doing nothing to protect him.
“It’s your fear that’s got you so pissed off,” Abel said. “Not anger. You’re not angry he’s doing it by himself. You’re scared.”
I stopped my restless pacing, fixating my gaze on him for a brief moment before unleashing a sob that had been building up inside me. I covered my face because I was terrified. Terrified that I would have to navigate this world without him if anything happened.
“Nzuri,” Abel said, pulling me into his arms and burying my face into his chest. “He’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” I mumbled, my voice barely audible. “He could be dead, and I’d never get to see him again.” I stepped away from him. “He should have let me go with him. I could protect him.”
“And he would have spent his time trying to protect you. That would have been a dangerous situation for both of you. Antonio made the right decision, even if you don’t believe it.”
Before I could respond commotion sounded at the front door.
“Stay here,” Abel said, his footsteps echoing as he hurried towards the front door.
There was no way I was going to just stand there and do nothing. Then footsteps thundered towards me.
“Tony!” I yelled as I rushed forward.
Before I could make it to him, Abel managed to catch me in his grasp. There was blood everywhere. Antonio was drenched in it, and the bedsheet they had transformed into a makeshift stretcher was saturated in blood.
“What happened?” I asked as I tried to get to him, but Abel kept a tight grip on me. keeping me away. “Tell me what the hell happened! Let me go, Abel!” I screamed, as I struggled against his hold. “Tony!”
“Get him to the medical suite,” Luca shouted, pointing to one of the hallways that led to the east wing of the house. Next, his gaze fell upon me. “Donna, let me get things squared away with the doc, then we’ll talk. He’s alive.”
“I need to see him!” I yelled, attempting to break free from Abel’s grasp.
“I’m sorry Donna, that’s not a good idea,” Luca said calmly as he left me standing there rushing behind the other men.
Abel forcefully grasped my arms and locked eyes with me. “Pull yourself together, Nzuri,” he growled. “He needs you but so does this Family. You have to calm down.”
I inhaled deeply, then exhaled while nodding. He was right. Despite my heart breaking, I had to remain strong. Not only did Antonio need me but so did the Family. If he was hurt, there wasn’t any doubt we’d lost men. I wiped the tears away just in time for Luca to give me an update.
“Donna,” he said, giving me a slight nod.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Tell me what happened.”
“Everything went as planned. We didn’t have too much push back when we breached the estate. The Don had us taking out guards inside the estate along with Mr. Sefu’s men. Once we cleared the bottom floor, we went to the top and found him lying in a safe room.”
“Who did this?”
“I assume it was Grasso’s guards when Don Rizzo breached the room because they were all dead when we found him.”
“And Grasso too?” I asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Luca replied. “No one was left alive.”
“My father?” I asked, praying he made it out alive.
“He’s alive,” Luca informed, and I let out a sigh of relief. “He said he’ll get in touch.”
“Thank you, Luca.”
It was impossible to know where Abasi was or what he was up to. As long as he was alive, I didn’t mind waiting a few days to hear from him.
“Any other casualties?” I asked.
It was time to behave like a Donna. Our men had helped Tony take out the threat. I was responsible for making arrangements for the families if anyone had died.
“We lost eight.”
With a solemn expression, I nodded. “Have their bodies returned to the States. We’ll pay for everything.”
“Okay, Donna,” Luca said. “If you don’t need anything else from me, I’ll get started.”
“That will be all.” I placed my hand on his arm to stop him when he started to walk away. “Thank you for all that you do for the Family. It won’t be forgotten.”
“Thank you, Donna,” he said before he walked off.
I faced Abel. “I need to go see the doctor then call Alessandro and Chantal.”
Abel gave a nod and proceeded to follow me to the medical suite. I was taken aback when Antonio revealed the sterile room, complete with the latest medical technology. He explained that Papa Rizzo never wanted to be caught without having a place for him or his men to go if something happened. I hate that now this place his father knew was needed was actually being used to help keep my husband alive.
I didn’t know what his injuries were, but I did know they had to be bad. There was so much blood, and he was unconscious. He didn’t even know I was there.
“Are you ready?” Abel asked, as we reached what Antonio referred to as the medical wing of the house.
I wasn’t, but I was Donna of this family, and I took my role seriously. “Yes,” I said, pushing the door open.
I walked along the corridor until we reached the area where Antonio was being held. A man in light green scrubs came up to me.
“His injuries cannot be treated here. He’s stable enough to be transported, Donna.”
“I understand. How soon will he be moved?”
“Immediately. I’ve already put in for an ambulance. It should be here any minute.”
“Are you sure?” I asked anxiously, worried that the ambulance’s arrival and transport time would be too long, risking his life.
“The hospital isn’t far. Doctor Romero will meet it.”
“He knows to be discrete?”
I didn’t want to deal with the police. Right now, I wanted to focus on Antonio.
“He does. The Rizzo Family has worked with him in the past. I’m going to go check and see how far out it is. The Don is being prepped to be moved.”
“Can I ride with him?”
A softness came over his eyes. “I wouldn’t recommend it, Donna. We need all available workers inside if something happens.”
Despite my heart sinking, I managed to nod. “I understand.”
He touched my shoulder then walked away. I faced Abel. “He’s going to pull through, Nzuri.”
“I need to get to the hospital,” I said, ignoring Abel’s statement.
Abel didn’t know whether Antonio was going to make it or not. I understood why he was brought to the estate. Antonio mentioned they typically dealt with everything internally to avoid involving the police. So, our men wouldn’t have taken him to the hospital first. But I believed bringing him here instead of going straight to the hospital might cost him his life.
“I’ll call Alessandro and Chantal on the way.”