Page 14 of Days Of Valentino

“I do.”

“Great, then you won’t mind telling me who it was.”

“I’m handling it,” I grind out.

“Yeah? You should have fucking handled it before my fiancée ended up with a goddamn bullet in her chest.”

“My daughter,” I growl. I don’t care what label Gambino wants to put on their relationship. Matilda is my daughter. She will always be my daughter.

I underestimated Doley. My opponent in the next election. That’s on me. But it’s also on me to show these fuckers what happens when they target my fucking family.

The double doors in front of us open, and Antonio and I look up as a doctor walks out. “The family of Matilda Valentino?” He glances at Antonio and then at me. His face blank of all emotion.

My heart beats out of my chest. My stomach drops. And everything sounds like it’s underwater. I can’t hear what he says next, my eyes blurring as I strain to focus on the words leaving the doctor’s mouth. All I can think about is how much blood I’m going to spill in defense of my daughter. In her name.

Because mark my words, this city is mine. And if I want to burn it to the fucking ground, I will.

Episode Six

“She’s in recovery. It was touch and go, but for now, she’s stable.” The doctor’s words crash through me.

Matilda is okay. She’s going to be okay.

I can’t say I’ve ever felt fear in my life before today. Not real fear. The kind of fear that pulls the ground out from beneath you. The kind of fear that cripples you completely. Being toldthat your fiancée took a bullet to the chest, that’s the kind of thing that destroys you.

I’ve done my best to keep my shit together. For her sake. When her father came in here blaming me, when his fist connected with my jaw, I kept my anger in check. Matilda would never forgive me if I retaliated against her family. Besides, Romeo wasn’t completely wrong.

The shooter might have been aiming to hurt him, mixed up with some political bullshit. But she’s mine. I should have protected her better.

“Where is she?” I ask the doctor. I need to see her with my own fucking eyes. I need to see her chest rise and fall with each breath she takes.

“She’s in recovery. Still asleep. Only two people can come back at a time,” he replies, looking around at the crowd that’s appeared. All Valentinos.

I need to see her, but so do her parents. So, again, I show the fucking restraint of a damn saint. “You two go first. I’ll wait,” I tell them.

Romeo gives me a nod of acknowledgement, while Livvy wraps her arms around me. “She’s okay. She’s going to be okay,” she whispers into my ear.

“I know,” I tell her, returning the gesture and internally smiling at the glare I receive from her husband. My future father-in-law.

I pull away and watch Matilda’s parents follow the doctor through the double doors. Every fiber in my being wants to push them aside and make a run for her room, the need to see her tugging me forward. Instead of doing just that, I pull my phone from my pocket and send Rafe a message.

ME:

Find out everything you can on the Doley family. Ice time.

The last part is code for:I want the fucker strung up and kept alive.

That’s right. I know the guy’s name. Romeo didn’t hide his screen as well as he thought he did. I know he’s got people out there already looking for the fucker responsible for shooting Tilly, but I want to make sure we get to him first. The asshole hired someone to shoot my fucking fiancée. I plan on making him feel just a little bit of what I’m feeling right now. And that’s pure fucking agony. Okay, maybe I want him to feel all of it. But I don’t think that’s possible.

“You holding up okay?” my younger brother asks while stepping up next to me.

“I’ve been better,” I grunt, scrolling through the contact list on my phone for John, the family fixer.

He’s the guy you go to when you want shit done cleanly. Getting rid of a politician isn’t as easy as killing a low-life criminal. Doyle is a public figure. Someone people will know is missing. We have to be smarter about the way we eradicate him.

“You can go back. She’s asking for you.” When I peer up again, I find Romeo standing in front of me.

There’s a lot I want to say to him, but judging by the look in his eyes, I don’t need to. He’s beating himself up enough over this, as he fucking should be. His bullshit job got Tilly shot. That’s not something I’ll ever forget or forgive.

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