Chapter 26
Adriano
Gripping Laurie’s hand, I have her fingers pressed to my forehead while I keep whispering to her to wake up.
Dr. Milazzo gave her more blood, and after checking the work Big Ricky did, he said she’s out of the woods.
But she’s not waking up, and until I see those incredible blue eyes of hers, it feels as if the Grim Reaper is hovering over us.
As long as I hold onto her, he won’t be able to take her from me.
I fully believe it as I sit hours beside her bed, refusing to move a fucking muscle.
Suddenly her fingers stir, and my head snaps up so fast, pain shoots down my nape and across my shoulders.
“Fuck,” I growl, rolling my neck to ease the discomfort while my eyes sharpen on my butterfly’s pale face.
“What?” Mom asks, tossing the blanket to the floor and darting to her feet.
“She moved.”
“You sure?” Dad asks from where he’s still sitting in the other armchair.
Big Ricky comes into the private room, looking like he fought a war and lost. “Tiny is sleeping. He’ll be fine.”
“Oh good,” Mom sighs with relief.
Big Ricky checks all the monitors and looks pleased with what he sees.
It gives me some comfort.
Coming to me, he digs something out of his pocket. Seeing the bullet he removed from Laurie, I take it before locking eyes with him. “Thank you for saving her.”
He pats my back. “Anything for you, son. I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to crash in Tiny’s room. Call if you need anything.”
“Go rest.”
I tuck the bullet my wife took for me into my pocket, then return to staring at her face while pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
Every moment since I laid eyes on her plays through my mind.
Her fingers stir again, and this time her lashes flutter.
“Laurie,” I say, my tone filled with urgency as I shoot up and lean over her. “Wake up for me, mia piccola farfalla. Let me see your eyes.”
Finally, her lashes lift, revealing her baby blues to me.
I haven’t cried since I was a kid, but as we lock eyes, the urge overwhelms me, and a fucking relieved tear escapes as I press a tender kiss to her mouth.
“Thank you.” I frame her head with my hands and press my forehead to hers, my voice hoarse from the hell I just walked through. “Thank you for not leaving me.”
“Hi,” she whispers weakly. “Shh… I’m here.”
They’re the most beautiful fucking words I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
“Christ, I love you so much,” my voice cracks, and I suck in a shuddering breath.
“Love you more.”
I can’t argue with her right now because she almost died to prove it to me, so I give it to her this once.
But I’ll spend my life showing her that I love her the most.
Still gripping Laurie’s hand, I move to sit again, needing a moment to breathe through the overwhelming relief that she woke up.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Mom says, pressing a kiss to Laurie’s hair. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was run over by a bus,” my wife mutters.
“You just focus on getting better. Okay?” Mom’s voice is filled with so much love for Laurie it warms my heart.
Dad steps closer as well, patting Laurie’s knee. “Yes, we’re all going to take care of you, so just rest and get stronger.”
“Thank you, Angelo.”
He shakes his head. “Dad. You earned that right the second you took a bullet for my son.” Mom moves to make space so Dad can kiss Laurie’s forehead. “You’re my daughter now.”
Laurie’s chin begins to quiver, and her eyes shine with unshed tears. “Anyone would’ve done what I did.”
“You’re the only one who took the bullet,” I mutter. “Don’t downplay what you did, Laurie.” I get up and stare her down. “And don’t ever do anything like that again.”
“That’s a promise I can’t make.” She pulls her hand from mine and lifts it to place her palm to my jaw. “I will run in front of a million bullets for you because life is just not worth living without you.”
Christ. My heart.
With Mom, Dad, Tiny, and Paulie watching over Laurie, I leave to deal with Marco.
Remo said he’d swing by the hospital and leave a team of men there, which eased my constant worry a little.
Big Ricky was exhausted because he patched up Marco so the fucker wouldn’t die before we got to question him.
When Little Ricky stops the SUV at Georgi’s warehouse, I shove the door open and get out. I don’t look at anyone as I head to the lower level where the cells are.
It’s seldom I torture someone, and when that happens, Georgi always lets me use his set-up.
When I walk into the room, my friend’s standing in front of the one-way window, a dark expression on his face as he stares at Marco, who’s sitting on a chair in the cell.
Georgi glances at me, then moves, grabbing me into a hug. “Are you okay? How’s Laurie?”
Pulling back, I shake my head, and when worry tightens his features even more, I quickly say, “She’s out of the woods. Doc says she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Thank fuck.” He lets out a sigh of relief.
I gesture to the window. “Has he said anything?”
“No.” Georgi pats my shoulder. “I don’t know how long he’s going to last. You better get this show on the road.”
Unbuttoning my shirt, I shrug it off before tossing it on a chair. I want to go straight back to the hospital and don’t want to get any blood on the white fabric.
I open one of the drawers where Georgi keeps all his toys and grab brass knuckles, slipping them onto my right hand.
My eyes catch on my wedding ring and the engraved initials. Mom and Dad’s rings have their initials on the inside of the band, but I wanted ours visible for the whole world to see.
I flex my fingers as I walk to the door, and yanking it open, I step into the open room. I hear rats scurrying in the vents, desperate to get to the blood they’ve scented.
Except for Marco sitting slumped on the chair with his arms tied behind his back, the room is otherwise empty. There’s a drain where all the blood usually gets washed down after Georgi’s done killing someone.
Bending at the waist, I grab Marco’s hair and pull his head back so he’ll look at me. When the eye that’s able to open locks with mine, he lets out a slurred chuckle. “I was wondering when you would come.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think? I was promised a seat at the table.”
My tone is deceptively calm as I ask, “Who’s all at the table?”
He must think I’ll end him with a quick bullet to the head because he answers, “Paolo Bellandi, Orlando Mancini, Carmine Bianchi, and Renato Rinaldi.”
“That’s it? Only the four?”
“Yeah. The other families only pledged their allegiance.”
Letting go of his hair, I pat his cheek. “Okay.”
Still keeping eye contact with me, he says, “Make it quick. For old times' sake.”
This man ate at my table.
We shared laughs.
“How long has it been?” I straighten up. “Eight years?”
“Yeah.”
“You shot at me.” I flex my fingers again, and lifting my eyebrows, my expression turns grim. “You shot Laurie. Nicked an artery. She almost died.”
He lowers his head, knowing there’s no fucking way I’ll give him a bullet.
“You betrayed me,” I say, my voice empty.
He nods right as I bring my arm up, and using all my fucking strength, I slam my fist into the knee of the leg he wasn’t shot in.
His body instantly strains, and his ass lifts off the seat, his roar of pain filling the room.
I don’t stop, hammering his leg with the brass knuckles until the kneecap pops to the side.
Marco weeps, spit dribbling from his busted lips.
But it’s not enough. He shot my butterfly.
Grabbing him by the throat, I shove him backward, and when the chair hits the floor, I keep slamming my fist into him until his face is nothing but shattered bone, blood, and gray matter.
I inhale the distinct scent of death, and satisfied that I’ve given the Grim Reaper a soul to feed on, I climb to my feet.
Leaving the cell, I head straight for the restroom and wash Marco off my hands. I grab a cloth and wet it before wiping the drops of blood from my face, neck, and chest.
“You good?” Georgi asks.
“Hmm…”
“Okay. Should I update Christiano and the others?”
I nod, and after drying my hands, I turn to look at my friend. “Thank you.”
“Always. Nina asked if she can visit Laurie at the hospital.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
Georgi follows me to the chair, and while I put on my shirt, he asks, “Want to see the ring I got her?”
“Yes.” I force myself to focus on him because his happiness is important to me.
I watch as he pulls a velvet pouch from his pocket and shakes a flawless twenty-carat princess-cut diamond sat high in a platinum ring into his palm.
The corner of my mouth lifts. “Nina is going to love it, Georgi.”
“I hope so. It took me months to find the right ring.” He slips it back into the pouch, then meets my eyes.
I can clearly see how much he loves her, and now that I have Laurie, I understand the bond they share.
“I’m happy for you.”
He pulls me into another hug, patting my back. “I’m happy for you too.”
Letting go of each other, I glance at Marco’s body before I leave so I can get back to my wife.
The drive to the hospital feels too long, and by the time I walk back into the private room and my eyes land on Laurie, the itch beneath my skin is close to driving me insane.
As it subsides, I lean over her and press a kiss to her mouth, hating that she smells like antiseptic fluid.
Her eyes open, and seeing me brings a smile to her face. “You’re back. Where were you?”
“Just took care of some business,” I say, sparing her the details. Only then do I look at my parents. “Thanks, guys. You can head home.”
“Are you sure?” Mom asks. “We don’t mind keeping Laurie company.”
“I’d like to be alone with her,” I say so Mom will leave. They need to get some rest.
“Okay.”
I watch as they say goodbye to Laurie, then give them each a hug.
When we’re finally alone, I sit down on the side of the bed and rest my forearms on either side of my wife’s head.
Staring at her, time slips away, and I get lost in drinking every inch of her beautiful face.
Eventually, Laurie’s eyes drift shut as she falls asleep, and needing to be closer to her, I carefully lie down on her left side, holding her like the precious being she is.