Page 56 of Family Secrets

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Hold on,” Gino whispered into his phone as he untangled himself from Elizabeth. He’d held her until she fell asleep, her rosary clutched in her right hand. He’d forbade her going to the hospital, his reasoning of being seen there when she had no reason to be, falling short.

Closing the bedroom door behind him, “What do we know, Niko?”

“We found the car abandoned not far from the restaurant, the VIN stripped and the interior wiped clean. Whoever did this wasn’t an amateur.”

Gino speared his fingers into the crown of his head, his eyes landing on his shirt draped over the back of a chair, Emilio’s blood covering it.

“Who’s on your shortlist?”

“No one I can prove,” Niko huffed. Gino silently agreed with the frustration wrapped around Niko’s clipped response. His gut feeling was his father’s death and the attempt on Emilio were connected.

“What’s the word on Vittorio?”

Blowing out a breath, Gino headed across the room to the bar, pouring himself a healthy amount of whiskey. “He made it out of surgery, three bullets to the chest and one to his thigh. He lost a lot of blood, but if he survives the next forty-eight hours, he stands a chance of pulling through.”

Gino didn’t want to think what would happen to Elizabeth if Emilio died. She was strong as fuck, but with the recent death of her Nona, and finding her father and then losing him, he wasn’t so sure.

“I hear you have a new house guest,” Niko snorted, taking far too much pleasure in his misery. Shortly after Emilio went into recovery, Felicia called Gino demanding he offer her protection as the moment the news was released, Carmine, Emilio’s brother, and his wife Loretta jumped into their car and sped off into the night, presumably headed for one of the safe houses.

“The only female Vittorio I’m interested in protecting, is asleep in the next room. Her cousin is sitting in the house she claimed she wanted to be the lady of, surrounded by a few of the men her uncle has on his payroll.”

“You may never get her out.” Niko joked, having seen Felicia in more than one of her tantrums when she failed to get her way.

“As soon as she figured out I wasn’t living there, she blew up my phone, begging me to get over there and protect her,” Gino smirked, filling his glass again. “I’m putting it on the market as soon as the dust settles. She can annoy the new owners for all I care.”

“Are you sure about this, Giovanni? If what you say is true about a life with Elizabeth, don't you need a home to bring her to?”

Tossing back his second drink, “I have a childhood of bad memories in that fucking house. The last thing I want is to bring Elizabeth to a place even I don’t want to go back to.”

* * *

Reaching across the bed,Elizabeth searched for her phone, the annoying alarm pulling her from a fitful sleep. Dangling her feet over the edge of the bed, she looked out to the city beyond her window. Somewhere, out in the masses of people, was the individual responsible for shooting her father. Had he been the target all long and not her mother?

A white cup filled with steaming liquid appeared before her, as a strong arm pulled her back against a solid body. “Good morning, beautiful,” Gino’s deep voice sounded in her ear, followed by the softness of his lips on her bare shoulder.

“Thank you,” she looked down to the cup. “But I don’t drink coffee.” She admitted before returning her gaze to the street below.

“I know, sweetheart. This is tea.”

Spinning in his arms, “How did you know?”

Handing her the cup, “I know lots of things about you. Like you love tea and hate coffee. How you prefer white wine over red. You like your steaks rare, and your pork chops a little pink in the middle. You order a salad instead of soup and you hate ham.”

Gino backed her against the pane of the glass, placing a kiss the spot on her neck which made her squirm.

“You like chocolate and nuts, but not together.” Gino kissed her again, trailing his lips along her jaw and back to her lips. “And I know you’re willing to sacrifice everything important to you so someone else can be happy.”

Elizabeth pushed at his chest, setting the cup of tea on the bedside table. “I used to put other's happiness before mine, but not anymore. Not after I moved to New Jersey.”

Pushing passed him, Elizabeth headed for her closet but was stopped when Gino tugged at her arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To get dressed,” Elizabeth pointed in the direction of her closet. “I have to be at work in a little over an hour.”

“You’re not going to work, it’s too dangerous.”

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