Page 58 of His to Break

“Leo told me to wait.”

I look around and see Alessandro crouched by his mother’s side.

“What’s happening?”

“Leo wants you out of here.” Matteo grabs my wrist in a bruising grip. “So be a good girl and come with me. I don’t like hurting women.”

But he will. That’s the threat he leaves hanging between us. As I weigh my options, a woman cries out in a gut-wrenching scream. I glance back over my shoulder to see Ava collapsed in Alessandro’s arms. Something bad has happened. Something really, really bad.

I want to go to her, to offer comfort, but Matteo’s already leading me away. I’m powerless to stop him as he drags me outside and shoves me into the back of a black SUV. A moment later, a man I don’t know gets in beside me. His lip curls into a snarl as he looks at me with such hatred, I feel it in my soul. “Sit tight, Ms. Bianchi. You’re in for a bumpy ride.”

My blood runs cold as he addresses me by my former name. Hostility toward me oozes from his pores. Terror floods my veins. Where the hell is he taking me?

CHAPTER 22

Leo

Hospital waiting rooms rank high on my list of least favorite places, right after funeral homes and dentist offices. I’ve spent too much time in places like this, dreading the news the doctors would deliver. I’m restless, but I stopped pacing the floor hours ago when my mother told me I was unsettling her. The last thing I want is to add to her pain. I’ve fucked up enough already.

Whether it’s for my hubris in believing I could marry the enemy’s daughter without suffering the consequences or because of my dismissive attitude toward my younger brother, I feel as if I’m being punished. Lately, I’ve written Gio off, treated him as less worthy because he’s not interested in the family business. But when I saw him lying in the hotel corridor, drenched in blood, it shook me to the core.

When I thought my baby brother was dead, a cocktail of fear, anger, and guilt seeped into my bones. In that moment, I shut down, became completely fucking useless. I stood there, unable to move, powerless to act. Then Matteo slapped some sense into me. He told me Gio was still breathing, that help was on the way. He made me pull my head out of my ass and remember that Volantes don’t break down in public.

As Dino worked to ensure my brother didn’t bleed to death, something that deserves a massive bonus, our men speculated about who was responsible. Suspicion turned immediately to my wife’s family and to Vinnie herself. Everyone’s been on edge about my marriage to a Bianchi. Her father’s a snake, entirely untrustworthy and the men don’t expect Vinnie to be any different. I’m not sure about her either. I thought we were growing close, yet I know she’s concealed information from me. Perhaps if I had listened to the niggling voice at the back of my mind and kept her under lock and key, this wouldn’t have happened. But, no, I had to agree to a party to show the world who she belonged to.

Her father showing up at the hotel wasn’t something I anticipated. Vinnie speaking to him was even more unexpected. Everything she’s said since we first met suggests she hates the man, so why did she make the effort to go talk to him? My men were handling him.

Jimmy and Davide, who were on door duty, didn’t hear their conversation. The assholes thought they should give her privacy, that it would be okay since Gio was with her. They should have known better. Now Vinnie is the only one who can tell me what passed between herself and Carlo, and I can’t be sure she’ll be straight with me, especially if she’s complicit in Gio’s shooting.

I’ve been trying to work out why Vinnie would cooperate with her father. Perhaps he offered to exchange information with her. Nico called me a couple of hours ago to say that Daniele and his bride escaped Chicago unscathed. Was setting Gio up the price Carlo extracted for giving Vinnie time to warn her brother he was in danger? It makes no sense that she’d sacrifice Gio, but perhaps the intended target was me. I heard her try to call my brother back when he went to fetch her purse. Was she going to ask me to go instead? I can’t believe she’d be cold-blooded enough to send me into a trap.

“Fuck!” Grabbing a metal-framed chair, I fling it against the wall as frustration overwhelms me.

The sudden, violent outburst startles my mother, who’s sitting by the window, flanked by Alessandro and Olivia. Out of all of us, they’re the two siblings most capable of offering the comfort she needs. She stares at me, wide-eyed, afraid of what I’ll do next. I hold my hands up placatingly. “I’m sorry, Mamma.”

My contrition is genuine. This woman is the heart of our family and she’s already hurting. She doesn’t need to see me losing it. She offers me a weak smile, one that conveys her understanding. My mother knows how badly I handle times like this, when helplessness has me in its grip. Since Antonio isn’t here yet, I have to step up as the eldest brother, but I’m too busy wallowing in self-pity to be the man my family needs. I have to shake it off.

The door opens and everyone tenses, expecting a doctor to walk in. It’s just Emilia and Matteo returning with coffee. They went out in search of somewhere that makes a decent cup. Even in this ultra-exclusive wing of the hospital, they only offer the usual vending machine swill. It’s kept us going for most of the night, but Emilia decided if we were here for the long haul, we needed something better. With Mamma clinging to Alessandro for dear life, Matteo offered to go with her.

While Matteo goes straight to our mother, Emilia walks up to me, holding a tray of coffee and a brown paper bag.

“Got you a Danish.”

I shake my head. “Not hungry, sweetheart.”

Her lips form a disapproving pout. “You must eat something, Leo.” She tilts her head subtly toward Mamma and my siblings. “They need you.”

Nodding, I take the bag and accept a coffee from her. Emilia surprises me with a kiss on the cheek and goes to sit by Alessandro. She’s been incredible since we arrived at the hospital almost seven hours ago. She’s done whatever she could to keep everyone thinking positive while ensuring we’re all topped up with caffeine. When the police arrived to take statements, she shooed them away. She even stood her ground when they demanded to see security footage from the hotel, telling them to wait until our lawyers okayed it. She’s done what I failed to do and taken charge of the situation. My brother’s wife might not have grown up with the mantle of mafia princess, but she wears it proudly now.

I’ve just finished eating my Danish when the doors fly open again. Antonio sweeps into the room, an angry energy swirling around him. He pauses to compose himself, then goes straight to our mother, crouching at her feet. He apologizes profusely for not being here sooner. My mother doesn’t know Isabella is back in his life. He’s keeping that news under wraps until he’s sure what the future holds.

Kissing Mamma’s hand, he begs forgiveness. In the outside world, my brother is a ruthless mafia boss but here in this room, he’s just Ava Volante’s son. Like the rest of us, he can’t bear to disappoint her.

When he’s finished soothing Mamma, he marches across the room toward me. I brace myself for a blow that doesn’t come.

“What the fuck happened?”

“Gio got shot.”

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