Chapter 37
AJ Pov~
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I growled under my breath as I carefully rolled off the hospital bed I'd been confined to for the last couple of hours, my patience had officially run out, and I needed to check on the guys.
We were all still in the same recovery room, just spread out on opposite sides, each of us occupying our own bed.
"Ugh..." I groaned, instinctively clutching my freshly stitched-up side as I slowly straightened to my feet. Pain shot through my abdomen.
The nurse stationed beside Raf's bed looked ready to scold me, but I beat her to it. "I'm fine," I gritted through clenched teeth, leveling her with a warning glare.
She rolled her eyes dramatically before returning her attention to the IV bag hanging beside Raf's bed. Smart woman.
I hobbled over to Damien first, each step sending another stab of pain through my side. I forced myself to breathe through it before leaning against the edge of his bed.
"How's the leg?" I asked, nodding toward the thick black cast.
Damien followed my gaze before looking back at me. "Numb for now," he replied with a small grin. "Honestly... not too bad."
I snorted, a smirk tugging at my lips as I said, “That’s the drugs talking. Give it another hour.”
Damien rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that I chose to ignore. Pushing myself off his bed, I limped over to Marcio. Unlike Damien, he refused to stay in bed, standing quietly beside Raf and watching over him. Raf was still unconscious after surgery.
The doctors had managed to stop the internal bleeding in his skull, thank God, but his torso was wrapped in a rigid brace because of his two broken ribs.
Seeing him lying there so still...it didn't sit right with me.
Marcio had a cast wrapped around his wrist, along with bruises covering his arms and face. A handful of deep cuts had needed stitches, but other than that, he was fully mobile.
Thankfully, we all looked like we’d been run over by a damn train, dark bruises painting our bodies, cuts stitched shut, and every muscle aching, but we were alive.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Uncle Niccolo snapped from behind us. I rolled my eyes before glancing over my shoulder. "We're fine," I replied with a smirk. "Don't pop a vein."
"I definitely don't miss your attitude," Uncle Stefano muttered as he strolled into the room. A laugh escaped me. "Missed you too, my dearest uncle."
Across the room, Uncle Luca stood talking quietly with the doctor, no doubt getting another update on Raf's condition.
The three of them looked completely out of place—towering, broad-shouldered, and dressed head-to-toe in tailored Italian suits that probably cost more than most people's cars. Yet somehow, no one questioned why they were here.
The nurses avoided eye contact, the doctors spoke carefully, and even the patients seemed to move out of their way. I guess looking like you could kill someone with your bare hands had its perks.
Marcio never took his eyes off Raf. "Is he going to be okay?" he asked quietly. There was something different about his voice. Hope...fear. Maybe both.
Uncle Luca walked over, slipping his hands into his pockets. "He'll be alright, Cio," he assured him. "The doctor said the bleeding has stopped. His ribs are stabilized, and now..." He glanced toward Raf. "We wait for him to wake up."
"Good." Marcio's answer was barely above a whisper.
He kept staring at Raf as if sheer determination alone could force his cousin to open his eyes. I knew that feeling.
I looked toward Uncle Niccolo and asked, “How’s Dad?” A knot tightened in my stomach as I added, “Did he get Aldo?” Behind me, Uncle Stefano wandered over to Damien’s bed, already inspecting the cast on his leg like he was looking for something to complain about.
Uncle Nic let out a tired sigh before nodding. "Yup. He got the bastard." The tension in my shoulders eased ever so slightly.
"He was in the middle of infiltrating the estate," Uncle Nic continued. "But Leo and Ales handled business. From what we heard, the two of them took down most, if not all, of Aldo's men before your father and uncles got there."
A slow grin spread across my face.
"They caught Aldo snooping around your dad's office," he added. "The idiot figured Adriano wouldn't leave his children unprotected at the hospital." A smirk tugged at Uncle Nic's lips. "What he doesn't realize is...Adriano is never alone."
I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Wait..." I frowned. "Did you just say Ales?"
He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Your twin." The corner of his mouth lifted. "She seriously kicked some fucking ass." He held up a finger. "Matteo's words, not mine."
A laugh escaped me. "I knew she always had it in her." Pride settled in my chest.
Ales had spent so much of her life believing she wasn't enough because she didn't have the same instincts the rest of us did. Looks like she finally proved herself wrong.
My smile slowly faded. "So..." I looked back at Uncle Nic.
"What's Dad going to do with Aldo?" A dangerous glint flashed across my uncle's eyes. "Kill him?"
Uncle Niccolo shook his head. "No." His voice was calm, almost amused, as he added, "He's going to do something far worse." A cold smile spread across his face. "He's going to destroy everything Aldo has."
Gianna Pov~
I tackled Ales and Leo the second they stepped back into the safe room. "We did it, Mom!!!!" Ales squealed.
The second my arms wrapped around them, I felt the fear that had been weighing down my chest slowly begin to disappear. They were here. They were alive. That was all that mattered.
Leena immediately grabbed her son, holding onto Leo tightly as if she was afraid he would disappear if she let go. I stepped back and took in the two teenagers in front of me.
They were bruised, blood covered their clothes, and their faces showed the exhaustion of what they had just gone through, but they were standing, they were alive, and right now, that was enough.
"I'm so proud of your bravery, Alessandra," I whispered, placing a hand on her cheek. "You saved the day, love."
Her entire face lit up, and she looked like she was floating on cloud twenty. I couldn't help but giggle at her reaction. Of course, most people wouldn't be this excited after what she had just done, but for Ales, this wasn't about hurting people.
This was about finally proving to herself that she belonged, that she was capable, and that she wasn't the weak link everyone had made her feel like. The rest of the kids quickly surrounded them, bombarding them with questions.
"What happened?"
"How many guys did you fight?"
"Was it scary?"
"Did you win?"
My smile faded slightly as my attention shifted toward the doorway. A familiar figure appeared, my husband. Adriano stood there with his phone clutched tightly in his hand, his eyes immediately scanning the room.
Not just looking. Checking. Counting. Making sure every single person he loved was safe. That was Adriano. Even when he was exhausted, even when the world was falling apart, his first instinct was always protecting us.
His eyes eventually landed on me. I realized I had been staring, heat rushing to my cheeks as he caught me, and that familiar smirk appeared on his face, the one that always made me roll my eyes but secretly loved.
I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him my best glare, of course, it did absolutely nothing. But then reality came crashing back, the boys, my sons.
My heart tightened as panic crept in. Where were they? Were they okay? Were they hurt? Were they alive, breathing? I looked at Adriano, searching his face for answers, and for the first time since he walked through that door, I saw the worry he was trying so hard to hide.
I guess Adriano saw the panic on my face because he immediately walked over to me. He took my hands gently in his, bringing each palm to his lips and placing a soft kiss against them. "They're okay."
A shaky breath left my body, and I felt like I had been holding my breath for the thousandth time today as Matteo and Giovanni walked through the doorway next, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
Yana and the other women seemed to finally notice the men standing in the room, and their expressions changed immediately. "Where are my babies?" Yana asked, rushing toward Matteo with panic written all over her face.
Matteo pulled her into his arms without hesitation, resting his chin on top of her head. "They're okay, amore," he reassured her.
Gio stepped forward, knowing everyone needed the details.
"Marcio broke his wrist and has some bruising and scratches that needed stitches," he explained. "Damien broke his leg. They realigned the bone, and he has a cast now. AJ was hit with metal shrapnel from the crash. He needed stitches and has some bandages, but he's okay."
The room fell into a heavy silence as everyone absorbed the information, until Miliana finally broke it with a barely audible whisper, “And Raf?” Instantly, everyone froze, because deep down, we were all afraid of the answer.
Adriano looked toward his sister, his expression softening. "Raf was the last one out of the vehicle before it exploded," he said carefully. "He suffered a concussion and a few broken ribs."
Miliana's face paled. "The doctors said he's stable. The bleeding has stopped..." He paused. "But he hasn't woken up yet."
My heart dropped.
Miliana broke at his words, and Adriano immediately pulled his sister into his arms, holding her while she tried to keep herself together.
Watching him comfort her reminded me that underneath the terrifying man everyone feared, he was still just a brother, a husband, a father, and a family man.
I sniffled, wiping at my eyes before Yana and Leena both looked at me. "Okay," I said, forcing myself to straighten. "Are we safe to leave this room now?"
Matteo nodded. "Leo and Ales managed to take down everyone who made it inside. The men are clearing the hallways now." His expression hardened. "Aldo was captured. He's being held downstairs."
I nodded, taking a deep breath. I needed to pull myself together.