Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Something in his tone tightens my stomach. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m afraid I have bad news.”
I go into full-on panic mode. “What happened?”
“Your mother escaped.”
Chapter
Seven
Saverio
* * *
When Dante brings my phone, laptop, and clothes during the afternoon visiting hour, he tells me the news about Mary Brennan.
I bristle with fury. “How the fuck did she manage that?”
Dante scratches his head. “She stabbed the supervising nurse with a kitchen knife and stole his access card.”
That’s why I need my phone. If I had it on me, I would’ve already seen the message from my informant.
“She sure knows how to pick her timing.” Turning my face sideways to have a full visual on him, I ask, “Do you have someone looking for her?”
He watches me with a level gaze. “Anya told me not to bother. She already updated Mary’s psychologist. The police are on the lookout. Said her mother was on her own this time.”
“That woman is a disaster waiting to happen. We need to find her.”
He hooks a thumb into his waistband. “I’m respecting Anya’s wishes on this one. Besides, we don’t have the men to spare. They’re spread thinly between the hospital and the clubs.”
I think about that. Anya is right. Her no-good waste of a mother deserves her fate. Whatever comes her way, she brought it on herself. We have more important matters to focus on.
When he hesitates, I snap, “What?”
“The business took a dive. We’re battling to keep things afloat. Some suppliers pulled out. They’re scared.”
I gnash my teeth. “The Bolivian deal?”
He shakes his head. “Folded.”
Clenching my fists on top of the sheets, I spit out a curse.
“Yeah.” He pinches a forefinger and thumb together. “We came this close to signing the contract.”
I suppress my rage, bottling it down to unleash it later on someone who deserves it, someone like Morelli. There’s no point in putting Dante under fire. It’s a waste of energy to take my frustration out on him when it’s not his fault.
“Can we save the deal?” I ask.
“I doubt it.” His expression is grim. “Things are too volatile. The situation is still uncertain. As far as they’re concerned, you’re not only a new boss who needs to prove your worth but also seriously injured. You know how people talk. There’s a lot of speculation going around. Many men are wondering if you’re going to make it.”
“Goddamn.”
I wince at the pain, which is my own fault. The morphine drip hangs on the IV stand next to my bed. All I have to do is push a button and call a nurse. All it will take is the prick of a needle. But I prefer it this way. I want to feel every fucking thing so that every second of the hell I’m living can remind me of what Morelli did. Because the more my body burns, the less I have to focus on emotions. It’s easier to ignore the thoughts tormenting me when I have to use every bit of my energy to survive the pain. When each breath I take is a fight for survival, I don’t have to think about her. Yet I do. Fucking day and night. Even when there’s the business to run, a business that’s too damn fragile right now.
“What do you want me to do?” he asks.
“The families need to be compensated,” I say.
“Already done. Anya told me to use the cash in the safe. I reckoned it was a clever move. So far, the feds haven’t broken down the doors, but if they get another warrant to search After Dark, we don’t want a pile of money lying around. She told me to make sure everyone knows that you’ve taken the reins and that you’re not going to kick the bucket any time soon.”
My chest swells with that unfamiliar feeling of pride. Then again, I’m not surprised. I always knew she was a warrior. She knows how to keep a level head in the midst of a crisis. She can run the club and boss around my second-in-command when a grenade exploded in her face and she’s just had a baby because she’s had enough practice in saving herself and everyone else in her short but traumatic life.
Not trusting myself to speak, I only nod.
“The doctor is discharging her today,” he says.
There’s more to his words, but I choose to ignore the subtle meaning in his undertone.
He props his hands on his hips. “You need to see her, man. She’s your wife.”
I don’t tell him the stubborn woman sneaked in here. I’m too angry about the fact that he’s defending her. That’s my fucking job.
“I swear to God, Dante,” I bite out. “Stay out of it. Keep your mind and mouth off her. Don’t make me hit you in the face.”
“If punching me will get the shit you’ve got going on in your head off your chest, then go for it.” He steps closer, pointing a finger at me. “You married her. You have a responsibility toward her and her kid.”