30. Tito
30
TITO
I blink my eyes into focus. The lights are bright overhead, and I hear sirens roaring. I'm moving, being jostled by a force greater than myself. Two people, a man and a woman in what appears to be scrubs, sit on either side of me. I'm in pain, excruciating pain. There's something strapped to my face, a breathing mask, possibly? Am I in an ambulance?
“Mr. Ramiro, you have been stabbed. We're taking you to Our Lady of Mercy Hospital.” One of the EMTs is speaking to me, but I'm barely able to understand what they're saying. I feel lightheaded and dizzy, probably an effect from losing blood.
“Two CC's of epi now," the other one says.
I try to look around, try to locate whether Aria is in the ambulance with us, but I don't see her. And that little bit of activity makes me feel so exhausted, I have to shut my eyes. It's hard to breathe. It's hard to move. I remember marching into that furniture store and warehouse to take back the dignity that was stolen from me when my enemies attacked Aria’s father's home. I don't, however, remember how I ended up in this ambulance on my way to the hospital.
"My wife,” I croak out, but before I'm able to hear a response, I lose consciousness again, sucked into the void of blackness where I stay for I don't even know how long.
The rhythmic whirring and beeping of machines lulls me to a state of consciousness. There's a pressure on my chest, as if someone or something is lying there. I'm groggy. I don't remember where I'm at or how I got here. I smell the faint hint of lavender shampoo, and I think of Aria, her smile warming my heart without even having seen her.
I try to open my eyes but I feel like I've been drugged. And that's not all I feel. I'm in pain, a pain unlike anything I've ever experienced before. It starts beneath my rib cage and spreads across my whole torso. I try to breathe in a deep breath, but the pain is so intense I wince. Like fire and ice being poured into my veins at the same time, a volcano meeting an avalanche and suffocating me in its world of heat and pressure.
I am not a weak man. I have stood upon the precipice of death many times, looked into the void of eternity and questioned my existence, what comes after this life. But this—this is excruciating. And then it all comes back to me—the look in my brother's eye as he pushed the knife into my gut is all I can think about. The anger in those eyes, the jealousy. And the words he said to me as he did it were even more painful.
"You will never be my leader."
Those words reverberate inside my mind until my eyes force themselves open to avoid seeing that hatred that bore down upon me. My throat is dry or I would speak. Instead, I lift my hand and rest it upon the back of Aria's head. She lies draped over my chest, arms extended to wrap around my torso as much as possible. I can see that she has tried to avoid the spot in my stomach that's so painful, but just the light pressure of her draped across me makes me grimace.
" Mia cara ,” I whisper.
Aria sits upright with her eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth. “You're awake? Oh, my God, I thought you were dead. There was so much blood, Tito.”
“Shh, I'm here now.” I try to reach for her, but the small strain to my stomach muscles as I lift my arm up and extend it in her direction is enough to make me wish I had never woken up. She captures my hand and brings it to her lips, kissing it, and then lays it gently at my side where it relaxes and the pain lessens.
"Tito, I'm so sorry." There's apprehension in her gaze, like she has some reason to feel guilty or apologize to me. But I know I am the one who's guilty. I'm the one who should be apologizing. Her brother is dead because of me. Her father and mother are in the hospital. Their home is destroyed, and it will take years to rebuild.
My enemies have become her enemies—have become her parents' enemies. None of them deserve this. It was my selfish plot to try to assume control of something that did not belong to me. I brought this upon them all, even upon myself.
"Shh, hey, this isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize to me.” I wiggle my fingers, indicating that I would like to hold her hand, and she notices. She laces her fingers through mine and squeezes gently.
I'm beginning to remember more now. I remember her hovering over me with a gun in her hand aimed at my brother. I remember her firing several shots into that narrow hallway. I remember the look of rage in her eyes, the kind of rage that I have felt before when seeking vengeance for someone or something that had been wronged. I remember the way she fell at my side and held me, pleading over me, weeping onto my face.
"You don't understand, Tito.” Aria is sorrowful. Her head droops but she doesn't stop holding my hand. “This is all my fault.”
The silence of the room is only broken by the rhythmic beeping of the machine above my head. My heart is steady and strong, though my mind is confused. When I look into her eyes, I want to erase her pain. I want her to forget anything and everything that might be causing her discomfort. But I am beginning to remember even more now.
“Carlos… Did you…? What happened?” I study her with an intensity, hoping to draw answers from her expression, but she says nothing, and in that silence, I remember everything.
My brother flung harsh accusations against my wife. He told me that Aria is the one who set me up, that she is the one who partnered together with him to take me down. His maniacal laugh as he stood over me after having stabbed me with his gun pointed at my chest, it's something I'll never forget.
“It's true, Tito. I did everything he said.” There's a sadness to Aria's tone as she confesses to me what she believes to be her gravest sin. I can see it in her eyes. She feels guilty. “I was so angry with you. I heard you in that meeting telling Carlos and your cousins that you were going to take over my father's businesses and how you were going to do it. Our agreement was supposed to be so that you would save my family, not so that you could take over my family.”
I listen to her carefully as she spells out every detail of her betrayal to me. In any other circumstance, the person sitting before me admitting this level of disloyalty and disrespect would earn death. But these words are coming from the lips that I've kissed so passionately, the woman I have loved so fiercely, and the heart that beats so boldly in my favor, so I can do nothing but listen. And I wonder how she can be confessing this to me after knowing that I am the one who killed her brother, by whose command her heart was destroyed. And I realize that all along, she had the power to break our agreement, keep my money, and set herself free while saving her family.
“ Mia cara ," I hum, reaching for her. I find just enough strength to reach up and cup her cheek. “You were angry. I did plot against your family. I did intend to take over. But I give you my word, I did not purposefully kill your brother."
"I killed my brother.” Tears well up in her eyes, and when she blinks, they creep down her cheeks.
“What do you mean, you killed your brother? That order came directly from my lips. Aria, this isn't your fault.” I brush her cheek with my thumb and wipe away a few more tears that escape.
“But I'm the one who leaked the information about that drug bust, Tito. Jasper knew nothing about it, not until it was done. Not until the drug bust was spoiled and you were angry. I called him in celebration that my plan was working. I wanted to celebrate with him because I was going to take you down from the inside, make you hurt and then break our agreement and go home to my family.”
Aria's sincerity tells me that she's telling the truth. Even after watching the pain she went through upon learning that her brother had been murdered, the grieving that she did that she still does, I can't find it in my heart to be angry with her.
“Then we're even. I've wronged your family, and you've wronged me. Either one of us could break the agreement. Either one of us could back out right now, and it would take a court of law to negotiate who got what portion of the settlement.” I brush her cheek again, and her eyes open and she looks into mine.
“What, then? Are you going to kill me the way you killed Jasper?”
“And kill the best partner I've ever had?” I don't know how to articulate what I'm feeling without sounding weak, without showing my hand, my vulnerability. “I am your husband, Aria. I love you. Can we put this all behind us now and simply love one another?”
She bursts into tears once again, draping herself over my chest, and I feel a crushing weight that makes me grunt in pain. I use every last ounce of my strength to wrap my arms around her and hold her while she cries. I'm never giving her up, not after everything we've been through.
I hear the swish of a door opening and I look up to see Sal pushing a wheelchair. My father sits propped by pillows with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. His eyes are more sunken than normal, and it appears he hasn't eaten in several days. He looks like he's lost even more weight.
“Well, you've done it this time, haven't you?” His tone of disapproval does not surprise me at all, but now that I know the truth, that Carlos has been working against me this entire time with or without my wife, I'm now ready to stand against my father if it comes to that.
Aria sits up quickly and then stands, turning to face the imposing figure who has entered my room. I couldn't sit up if I tried, but she comes to my defense quickly, and I find myself nudged out of a conversation I'd rather not have, anyway.
"Mr. Ramiro, sir, Tito almost died. It was Carlos. I saw him myself. Things aren't what you think." She's flustered, and rightly so. My father would cut her down at the knees if he had the strength. She spoke when she wasn't addressed, and he hates that.
"Ms. Peralta, I?—"
"You mean Mrs. Ramiro. Or more rightly, Aria." Her determination knows no end. I can see the look on my father's face, and instead of being angry as I expect him to, he's amused, perhaps impressed.
"Aria, sit," he says calmly. Though his voice is muffled by the mask and his hot breath steams the clear plastic, I understand him. "I've come to visit my son who nearly died. And I understand all the facts of what happened. Nigel and Hector have been to see me. I know everything." Dad coughs and takes the mask off to cover his mouth with a handkerchief. Sal hovers behind him like a nursemaid. We all know it won't be long now. Days, maybe.
"Are you okay?" Aria asks, and I wonder that myself, if today will be the last breath, or tomorrow.
"I'm fine," Dad grunts as his coughing fit passes, and he covers his mouth again. His breathing is raspy and choked by mucus in his airway. "I came to tell you I will handle what must be done with Carlos. I've had a visit from a certain young man whose name I will not mention, but he said to tell Aria that he is fond of his kitten and to thank her yet again."
Aria's cheeks flush and she looks away nervously. I make a mental note to ask her what that means later and then turn to my father. "So, what will be done with him?" I don't want my brother to die, but the suffering he's caused is too great to look past.
"I'll handle it, Tito. You will lead this family, and that's my final word. Now, do exactly as the doctors say because we need you at home. There's too much to do, and I won't be around much longer." Hearing my father speak of his own imminent death is disheartening, but it's a truth we can't turn away from.
"I'll make sure he listens," Aria says with a smile, and Dad nods.
Together, these two are going to make my life hell for a few days. I just wish I knew what Dad intended for Carlos. He won't kill his own son unless Carlos refuses to repent. Even still, it will be a cold day in hell before Carlos is trusted again.
Dad moves closer and sets the brake for his wheelchair, and I listen as he begins to unravel his plans for our family, the Peraltas, and dealing with the Russians. The fact that he doesn't ask Aria to leave is encouraging. Even he sees her as my partner now, and that's all a man could hope for from his father in these, his last days. I think everything is going to work out fine now. As long as Carlos is handled, I will recover and lead, with my wife by my side.