Page 48 of Dark Consequences

“I am.” I don’t know why, but something about him rubs me the wrong way. Call it intuition or a gut feeling or whatever, but he doesn’t share the same kindness in his eyes as his brother. Don’t get me wrong, Dante is a scary man, but in the brief time I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve seen how much family means to him and how it drives him.

But this man? There’s something hard in his expression. Something I can’t quite define but see.

“Save my son. Now,” he orders in a firm tone, stepping closer.

Enzo’s hand tightens on my arm, and I back up toward him, as if seeking the safety his large presence provides.

“Leo,” Dante warns. “Back off. Let Lily work.”

Leo sneers at his brother before glaring at me one last time and turning away. Enzo releases me a moment before Raphael and Michael return, their arms heavy with supplies.

“What can I do?” Raphael asks when I step over to grab what I need.

“Just be ready to hand me things when I ask for them.”

The way Dominic’s body has been stabbed, beaten, and broken is terrible and cruel. I can only imagine the pain he went through. He’s missing a finger on both hands, and one ear is so badly burned, it may need to be amputated altogether. He’s missing teeth while others are broken. The bottoms of his feet have been shredded like they took a cheese grater to the skin. His knees don’t look right, and if I had to guess, I’d say his kneecaps are shattered. The number of stab wounds decorating his body is too many to count. Some are scabbed over, and some are still fresh enough to be bleeding.

If he survives this, his recovery will be long and painful. And that’s a big if.

I glance at Raphael and see the question in his eyes. He’s wondering the very same thing. I could lie to him. I probably should. But he deserves to know the odds. And they’re not good.

I shake my head slowly, and my heart sinks when I watch his face fall at the news.

“We need to take him to the hospital,” Leo says to his brother.

“You know he won’t survive the trip, Leo,” Dante replies.

Leo whirls around and swipes his arm over a side table, sending a vase of flowers to scatter all over the floor. I jump back to avoid the mess and bump into Raphael.

“Knock it off, Uncle!” Raphael shouts over me. “Your anger is not helping.”

“My son, your cousin, is dying. He should be at the hospital receiving the proper medical care, not second-rate care from the doctor of the man surely responsible for this,” Leo snaps back. “For all we know, she’s killing him right now.”

Raphael moves toward his uncle, but before he can get to him, Dante steps in front of him, places his hand on his chest, and yells, “That’s enough! Both of you.”

“Once he’s stabilized, we can move him to the hospital,” I say, hoping to ease the tension in the room. It’s nothing I’m not used to. In times of crisis, family members often react strongly, especially when they feel powerless.

The room falls silent enough for me to refocus on Dominic. For a minute, I have hope. Hope that there’s really a chance. And then his blood pressure tanks.

“What’s happening?” Raphael asks.

“He’s crashing,” I reply. “Start CPR, and I need a syringe and the bottle of epinephrine.”

Raphael starts compressions while Michael hands me a syringe and a glass bottle. I draw up the amount I need, and once administered, I check his pulse and curse when I feel an erratic rhythm.

“Keep going,” I tell Raphael as I prepare another syringe. “Do you have a defibrillator?”

Dante nods and disappears down a hall, returning less than ten seconds later with a bright red and clear box. I need to shock his heart now before I lose his pulse.

Once hooked up, I shout out, “Clear!” and press the paddles down on Dominic’s bare chest, sending a strong current of electricity directly to his heart.

Dominic’s body lurches upward, and I drop one paddle to press my fingers to his neck. Still not regular.

Increasing the level of electricity, I shock Dominic again. Only after the third round does his heart finally restart into a normal rhythm.

Setting the paddles down, I breathe a deep sigh of relief. Raphael places a comforting hand on my damp back, and I practically melt at his touch.

“We should get him to the hospital now,” I advise them.

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