The Mafia Contract Series

ALESSANDRO

The ride in the ambulance is short and sweet yet seems to last a lifetime. All the way to the hospital, the medics do their stuff, leaving me sitting watching, feeling more helpless than I have ever felt in my life.

As soon as we reach the hospital, she is whisked away and I am left to wait in the hope they can bring her back to me.

Almost as soon as she disappears through the doors, the emergency room fills up with more black suits than a wake as Angelo storms the building with his usual entourage. The fear on the nurses faces is almost laughable as Angelo’s men do what they are trained to do and cover every exit and glare with menace at anyone who dares to look at them. As Angelo rushes to my side, the pain and fear on his face will live with me to my dying day.

“Where is she?”

I jerk my thumb toward the door and say huskily, “She fell and hit her head on the corner of the table. She has a head wound and is unconscious.”

“But she’s alive.”

“She’s alive.”

Angelo nods but I can tell he’s shit scared, and it strikes me this is what it’s like to be helpless and I don’t like it at all.

The nurse approaches us tentatively and says with a slight catch to her voice, “Um, we have a private room you can wait in. Perhaps you would all be more comfortable in there.”

She glances at the soldiers who just stare around them with no emotion and Angelo nods. “Thank you.”

He turns to his consigliere, Roberto and says firmly, “Secure the entrance, and instruct the rest to wait in the car.”

The nurse looks relieved as Roberto nods and one by one, the men leave.

We follow the nurse to the room she decided was the best way to deal with the situation and as she leaves us to it, Angelo prowls around like a panther.

“What happened?”

As I fill him in, I sense his anger growing because I hold nothing back.

“He hit her?’ His voice is laced with retribution, and I nod. “She was a mess, Boss. Her face and neck were bruised, and it looked as if he’d roughed her up on the journey over.”

My voice breaks as I say angrily, “I swear to God it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do to stick with the plan because all I wanted was to tear the fucking bastard apart with my bare hands.”

Angelo nods. “Where is he?”

“Ivan dragged him off somewhere.”

“Is he still alive?”

“I’m not sure.”

Angelo growls, “I fucking hope he is, because I want to make his death a long and painful one.”

A hesitant knock on the door grabs our attention and as it opens, Charlotte’s anxious face peers into the room.

“I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind, but Ivan asked his men to bring me here.”

Angelo nods. “Of course, it’s fine. Grab a seat.”

“Have you heard anything?”

I don’t miss the frightened expression in her eyes and that the dress she is wearing is stained with Winter’s blood and for the first time, I register it on my own hands. Angelo also notices it and the fury in his expression makes me hope that Massimo still breathes because, like my friend, I want to be the one to take his last one.

“She’ll be ok.” Charlotte’s voice quivers and I’m sure she’s saying that more as a wish than anything else.

“She has to be.” Angelo growls and as Charlotte drops down into the seat beside me, her voice is full of concern as she touches my arm and whispers, “Are you ok?”

I will never be ok all the time Winter is at risk and I shake my head. “No.”

She sighs and leans back, saying sadly, “I hope he’s dead.”

Suddenly, we remember just who is sitting here and we stare at her as her voice shakes. “It was obvious he was deranged. Thank God Winter acted so fast. I was so afraid.”

Angelo lowers his voice. “We would never have put you in danger without protection. I’m just sorry you had to meet him at all.”

“I’m not.” She exhales sharply and forces a brighter tone to her voice. “At least I looked him in the eye and saw the madness for myself. The only thing that scares the living daylights out of me is that I’ve inherited some of it.”

Just looking at the sweet, pretty blonde who looks as if she was spun from cotton candy makes my lips twitch for a second and Angelo’s own expression softens as he quips, “I think you’re right.”

“Excuse me.” She looks up in alarm and he says with a smile, “Any woman who marries a savage must be mentally disturbed. We’ll get you professional help. God knows you’ll need it.”

She shakes her head and points her finger at him, making me grin. “You leave my husband out of this. He’s one of the good ones.”

Angelo bites back a grin as Charlotte jumps up. “I’ll go and fetch us some coffee. Obviously, I would prefer tea, but I guess that’s probably not an option.”

She makes to leave, and Angelo says firmly, “Sit down.”

She spins around and he sighs. “Ivan was right to send you here. You need protection and setting you free in this hospital is not an option. I’ll organize the coffee, and I will fetch you a tea, just in case you think we are all savages.”

She drops back into her seat with a shocked expression on her face as Angelo opens the door and places our order with one of the soldiers outside.

As he slams it shut behind him, he raises his eyes. “Consider it done.”

“I’ll never get used to this.”

Charlotte shakes her head and I growl, “You’re one of us now. We look after our own.”

She smiles but I see the concern in her eyes as she whispers, “She’ll be ok.”

“What are you, a doctor now?” I grin to remove the bite from my words, and she shrugs. “I’ve studied first aid and am quite the fan of hospital drama. She’ll pull through, just you see.”

We all fall silent as we pray for the same thing. To get Winter back and lose her so quickly just isn’t a fucking option. Of course she’ll make it. She has to.

It must be two hours later the doctor pays us a visit and his blank expression gives nothing away as he says wearily, “Is one of you her husband?”Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Angelo steps forward. “I’m her brother.”

The doctor nods. “She’s stable but unresponsive. She suffered a head trauma, but there is nothing on the scan telling us we need to operate. To be safe, we have placed her in an induced coma to give her brain time to function properly. We should know more in a few days.”

“Will she be ok?”

Angelo asks the question we all need the answer to and, as always, the doctor gives nothing away.

“There is no obvious damage. As I said, we will monitor her.”

“I want to see her?”

Angelo’s tone doesn’t give the doctor many options and with a sigh, he nods. “Of course, only you, though.”

I jump up. “Not happening. We all go.”

I fix the doctor with my most fearsome expression and he swallows hard. “Maybe in this case we’ll bend the rules a little.”

He sighs. “Follow me.”

We walk behind him, and I swear my heart is thumping because I’m not sure if I can hold my shit together. Angelo looks destroyed and Charlotte anxious and as we head toward the ICU, I die a thousand times inside.

The doctor stops outside a room and a huge window gives us a view inside and we see the frail body of the woman we have ached to bring back to us wired up to frightening machines, looking like an angel hovering between heaven and earth.

Angelo glances at me and for a moment we share the same emotion. I understand exactly what he is going through right now, and I can tell he thinks the same. The doctor cuts through the emotion and says wearily, “You must gown up and scrub up if you want to go inside. One at a time though, the room is too small for a party.”

He pales as two dark stares fix on him and he stutters, “Well, anyway, I should be um, heading back. Leave your details at reception and we’ll keep you informed of any changes.”

He scurries off, and Charlotte shakes her head as she watches him go. “You could have thanked him. That was awfully rude, you know. The poor man, I didn’t know where to look. I was so embarrassed.”

She sighs and says quickly, “Well, what are you waiting for, scrub up boys, Winter’s waiting.”