I didn’t completely believe him. Hawk had just as many reasons to want to find Jr as I did. Jr’s men had taken Hawk’s girlfriend, which was why he was even in New York. Thankfully we’d found the girl in one piece, but she’d been sick with blood poisoning. She was still in the hospital and Felicity had told me she was making a slow recovery.
“I’m sleepy,” Scarlett murmured, cuddling closer before shivering. “And cold.”
“Don’t go to sleep,” I commanded as I started back toward the SUV with two of my other men right behind me. “Keep your eyes open, baby. Talk to me.”
“So bossy,” she said with a small grunt. “Don’t yell at me.”
“I’m not yelling. It just feels that way with your head all fuzzy.” I quickened my steps but had to be careful with the ground so damp and the rain starting to fall heavily. She was getting soaked. “Stay awake, Scarlett.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
She lifted her head to glare at me. Even in the dim lighting from the flashlights, I could see that spark of life flashing back at me. It warmed my heart to see it. “I don’t know why I love you, Ciro Donati. You’re such a dickhead most of the time.”
I felt a smile actually teasing at my lips, and pressed a quick, gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’m just thankful you do love me, Scarlett. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Don’t say things like that. I can’t tell if you’re playing with me or speaking the truth.” Her bottom lip pouted out and I had to force myself not to suck that lusciousness into my mouth.
“It’s the truth, baby. Every word.”
Chapter 14
Scarlett
I hated hospitals. Doctors were kind of creepy if you asked me. They always had cold hands and they talked down to you like you didn’t have a brain in your head. Like it was your fault when you got sick or had an accident that required emergency attention.
Because of Victoria’s diabetes, she’d had to deal with doctors all her life. She handled having to be pinched and poked on a regular basis like she did most everything else: with a sweet smile on her happy face for the doctor. I hadn’t been sick very often and the few times I had been, I tried to hide it so my father wouldn’t make me see a doctor. Irresponsible, maybe, but my dislike of anyone with a medical degree hadn’t cared.
I didn’t have a choice this time. Ciro wasn’t likely to take no for an answer, and I hurt so badly that for once I didn’t care if I had icy hands poking and prodding as long as they gave me something strong enough to knock me out so I could escape from the headache pulsing behind my eyes. The cracked ribs made it difficult to breathe, but that pain was nothing compared to the headache.
Ciro made having to deal with the arrogant-ass doctor a little easier. The smile the doctor had worn when he’d first entered my private ER room had disappeared the instant he’d set eyes on the beast of a man who refused to leave my side. Because of me, the ER was pretty much shut down.
Ciro’s men had sealed off a few private rooms and had refused to let anyone but the doctor near me. Not even the nurses were allowed access. No one had dared to argue. My father had already called and from the tone of his voice, I was pretty sure he was approaching the end of his limit. He hadn’t talked to me, but even from where I’d been sitting I could hear the rage in his voice—and the fear. He was on his way and I could honestly say I’d never wanted my Papa more than I did right then.
Within minutes of getting to the ER, I was having x-rays to see how bad my ribs were and the doctor had already diagnosed a concussion. I’d already known that, damn it. A few Vicodin for my headache was all I was really looking for.
“I’m going to admit her for observations,” the doctor told Ciro once he had my x-rays back.
“I don’t want to stay. I just want to go home,” I snapped at the man who had spoken only to Ciro during the thirty minutes I’d been in my room.
It was like I wasn’t even there. Honestly, I understood why he’d only been talking to Ciro. He’d taken charge of everything like he normally did, but there was something about him that screamed ‘I will fuck you up’ tonight. Even more so than normal. The doctor had practically pissed himself when he’d first started examining me and I’d been unable to bite back the pained whimpers as he’d checked my ribs. Ciro hadn’t even moved, but the growl that had left him had sounded so animalistic that the guy had actually started to shake.
“If the man thinks you should stay, you’ll stay.” Ciro’s tone didn’t leave room for arguing and my head was hurting too bad for me to try.
“Will you stay with me?” The thought of being alone in a place I didn’t want to be was too much to handle right then. Not just anyone of my father’s men would do, either. It had to be Ciro. He would protect me. He would make sure the doctor didn’t talk down to me. He would keep whoever the hell had done this to me from doing it again.
I put it down to the concussion, not wanting to admit what it really was.
That maybe I was scared.
Ciro turned away from the doctor, his blue eyes softening as he lifted a hand and cupped my aching face. “Baby, I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
I couldn’t get my voice to work so I just nodded. Stupid concussion. Now I was close to tears for no reason at all.
Carefully, he lowered his hand but claimed mine. His big paw practically swallowed mine, but if anything, that made me feel better.
“We should have a room for her soon, Mr. Donati,” the doctor told him after a moment. “I’ll make arrangements to have your…associates made comfortable.”
Ciro’s head snapped around, his eyes drilling into the doctor and making the man pale. “You worry about making Scarlett comfortable. My men will be fine.” His hold tightened on my hand, but not painfully. “She’s in pain. Do something about that instead of kissing my ass.”
“Y-yes, sir,” he stuttered, then left tread marks on his way out he was moving so fast.
“Well, this has been fun,” I muttered with a dry laugh. He glared down at me, his jaw tensing, and I had to laugh again. “You’re kind of cute when your nose flares like that.”
“Your head must be more fucked up than I thought,” he said, shaking his head, but I thought I saw a ghost of a smile teasing at his lips.
“It’s killing me right now,” I told him, rubbing at my temples with my free hand since he didn’t seem to be willing to let me go. I wasn’t going to complain.
The door to the exam room opened and the doctor returned just as quickly as he’d left, this time with two syringes in his hand. “This should do the trick,” he muttered as he moved around Ciro to get to me, then paused. “I’ll have to put it in her hip.”
“Of course you will,” Ciro gritted out.
Reluctantly, he released my hand and then helped me turn onto my side. I felt his fingers skim up my thigh, pushing my dress up to expose my left hip. Shifting my panties out of the way, he waited until the doctor gave me the shot. I was so distracted by the feel of Ciro’s warmth trying to invade my every sense that I didn’t feel the sharp prick of the needle. The burn as the medicine went in, however, was too strong to ignore.
“This might upset your stomach, Miss Vitucci. I’m going to give you something for nausea to keep that at a minimum.” As he said it, he stuck me with the second needle. This time the burn was less harsh, but it still had my hip aching. He finally put a bandage on and then stepped back. “The combination of the two will probably make her fall asleep. Someone will be in to wake her every two hours because of the concussion.”
I was already starting to feel the effects. The pain in my head didn’t completely go away, but it was enough that I breathed a sigh of relief. My eyes grew heavy and it was an effort to keep them open. As they started to drift closed, I snapped them back open. The darkness felt like it was trying to swallow me whole.
Ciro retook my hand, his heat seeming to invade my body and ease my rac
ing mind. This time when my eyes refused to cooperate and stay open, I gave up the fight. I was safe with Ciro. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me. If nothing else, I at least knew that much.
“Rest, vita mia. I’ve got you.”
Ciro
Scarlett’s soft breathing was the only sound in the room. Whether she knew it or not, she was practically clinging to my hand in her sleep. She didn’t have to. There was no way in hell I was going to let her go.
Behind me the exam room door opened, and I slowly turned to face my father and Vito as they entered the room. Cristiano was right behind them, his mouth already open but I held up my free hand to quieten them all.
“She’s sleeping. Don’t wake her.” I kept my voice low so she wouldn’t be disturbed.
Cristiano’s mouth snapped shut, his hands thrusting into his pants pockets as he stepped forward to look down at his sister. He was pale, his eyes bloodshot and wild. Between him and Vito, I wasn’t sure who was more worried. They both looked like they’d aged a decade.
The three other men seemed to take up most of the space in the little room, but I wasn’t about to move away from Scarlett. I wasn’t going to let her go for any reason. After only a few minutes, Vito pulled his son away so he could take his place, his eyes tracing over his daughter’s face. With each bruise he saw I could feel his tension growing until the room seemed charged with it.
He lifted his head, a cold, blank expression on his face. “I want that bastard dealt with. No excuses.”
“We’ll get him, Vito,” my father assured him, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Let’s focus on the fact we got Scarlett back. Santino and his son will get theirs soon enough.”
“Not soon enough for me,” Vito snapped, then quickly lowered his voice when Scarlett shifted into a more comfortable position. “Do whatever you have to, but make sure that Jr takes his last breath.”
“I have every one of my men on it, Vito. Volkov has one of the men from tonight. He’ll get some answers.” I rubbed my thumb over the back of Scarlett’s knuckles, letting her warmth ease some of my own growing tension.
“How the fuck did he know where to find her?” Cristiano muttered as he leaned against the wall by the door.
“I don’t know and I don’t care. All that matters is that we have your sister back.” Vito bent, pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, then quickly moved back. The suit he was wearing was rumbled, his shirt half unbuttoned and his tie gone. This was the most unkempt I’d ever seen Vito in my entire life. Normally he was put together no matter how stressed he was.
Having nearly lost Scarlett was showing on him and I couldn’t blame him. I hadn’t seen myself in a mirror, but I knew I probably looked just as fucked up as he did.
There was a sharp tap on the door before one of my men stuck his head inside. “There are two nurses out here that say they want to take Miss Vitucci upstairs, boss.”
“So they are admitting her?” Vito’s face grew gray, unable to hide his worry now.
“Just for observations. Her ribs aren’t broken, just badly bruised, but her concussion is something they want to keep an eye on. It’s only for twenty-four hours, Vito.” I had to keep reminding myself of that. Concussions were tricky. The safest place for her was in the hospital where she could get immediate help if she needed it.
“Let them in,” Cristiano told the man.
When the door opened again, two nurses in green scrubs entered. They were both middle-aged, the stress of their jobs showing on their faces as well as the silver that streaked their hair that was pulled into tight buns.
“We’re here for Miss Vitucci,” the one holding a chart said as she offered us a sympathetic smile.
“We’re coming with her,” Vito informed her.
“I don’t think—” the other nurse started, but Vito quickly cut her off.
“I’m not really concerned with what you think,” he snapped, causing them both to pale and Scarlett to shift restlessly. “We will be accompanying my daughter. Someone will be with her at all times and my men will be stationed outside her room.”
“Yes sir,” the first nurse murmured. “We will be happy to accommodate your daughter’s needs. May we take her up now?”
He stared them down long and hard, but then stepped aside to let them closer. When they saw how badly Scarlett’s face was bruised, they were unable to contain their surprised gasps. The second nurse opened her mouth, but a cold look from Vito had her biting her tongue.
“Sir…” The first nurse was beside me now. “You’re going to have to release her.”
“Fuck that. I’ll help you, but I’m not letting her go.”
“Son, the nurses are only doing their jobs.” My father tried to be the reasonable one, but I didn’t even look at him.
I. Wasn’t. Letting. Her. Go.
She shifted again, her hand tightening around my own and I looked down to find her eyes wide open. “What’s wrong?”
I stroked a finger down her cheek. “Nothing. Go back to sleep.”
She didn’t listen. She never did. Her brown eyes went around the room. “Papa,” she whispered a little shakily, and Vito was beside her in the blink of an eye.
“How are you feeling, passerotta?”
A smile lifted at the corners of her mouth. “I’m pretty high right now, Papa.” She blinked, the smile slowly fading before it had even really formed as she finally saw how bad Vito looked. “Don’t worry about me, Papa. I’m fine now. Ciro has been taking great care of me.”
He tapped her on the nose like he always did. “I know that, passerotta. There’s no one I would trust you with but him.”
“We should get her upstairs now.” The nurse who was still holding the chart spoke quietly. “She will be more comfortable up there.”
Scarlett’s fingers tightened again, her eyes widening as she took note of the nurses. “Not without Ciro.”
I lifted her hand to my lips. “I swear to you I’m not going anywhere.”
I watched helplessly as her chin started to tremble, but she quickly reined in her emotions and gave a small nod. “O-okay.”
The nurses weren’t happy, but we managed to get her upstairs without me releasing Scarlett’s hand. The private room was only slightly bigger than the ER exam room, and with the nurses taking vitals and attempting to make her comfortable, plus four large men, there was no room to move around.
I knew she didn’t like all the people in there with her when she was feeling so vulnerable. “I’m sure Ma wants to know how Scarlett is,” I told my father. “Maybe you should call her.”
My father took the hint. Smiling adoringly down at Scarlett, he moved close to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’m glad you’re okay, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Zio Ben,” she murmured.
“Cristiano, go check on Victoria,” Vito commanded, realizing why I was getting rid of my father and sending his son away to make it easier on Scarlett.
“She’s at Anya’s place, Papa. She’s perfectly safe and fine where she is.”
Vito glared at his son. “I want you to go and check for yourself. If your eyes aren’t on her, then how do you know she’s fine?”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Cristiano nodded. “You’re right.” Reluctantly he moved so he could bend over and kiss his sister the same way my father had. “I love you, Scarlett.”
“I love you too,” she said into his chest as he hugged her. “Give Tor a kiss for me.”
Once the two were gone, the room felt bigger and Scarlett relaxed a little more. After a few more minutes the nurses left us alone and she finally started to let her eyes drift shut once again.
Vito pulled two chairs over to the bed. I took one, still holding tight to her small hand. We sat together watching Scarlett sleep for a long while before Vito spoke again.
“I said I wanted you to handle Jr, but the more I sit here thinking of how strong Scarlett is, I know t
hat I can’t allow you to be the one to end him.”
My blood ran cold as a sinking suspicion filled me. “It’s my right to take care of that little motherfucker.”
Vito lifted his eyes from his daughter’s sleeping face. He looked at me for a long time, his face blank, but then shook his head. “It’s Scarlett’s right, Ciro. She deserves the chance to put a bullet between his eyes. No one but her.”
“No.”
I wouldn’t let her bloody her hands, not even to end the man who had hurt her. That was why she had me. It was my right—my fucking privilege—to take care of her in every way possible. That included slaughtering the man who had dared to beat her.
“All her life, you’ve been so unyielding about keeping her and Victoria as far away from this side of your life,” I tried to reason with him, feeling like Scarlett’s soul was on the line. “Don’t pull her into it now, Vito. Don’t make her like me.”
Understanding filled his eyes and he shook his head. “My boy, I know you love my daughter, but you’ve really let yourself turn a blind eye to her true nature. I know she’s come to you for things in the past. You’ve helped her more times than I really want to know, but if she hadn’t had you how do you think she would have accomplished those things?”
I didn’t want to think about not being there for her when she’d needed me in the past.
Vito sighed at my stony silence. “She is just as capable of doing those things herself, Ciro. I love that girl more than anyone else in the world. Maybe it’s because she’s so strong that I’ve let myself play favorites between her and Victoria. I don’t know. What I do know is that if she’d been born before Cristiano, I would have happily turned everything over to her when I die.”
“I don’t deny her strength, damn it. It was what drew me to her in the first place.” I lifted her hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “It’s the blood, Vito. The blood I’ve spilled stains my soul. Don’t let that happen to Scarlett.”