Page 55 of Days Of Valentino

I nod as I stare up into the rearview mirror and eye the back seat. Josie is pale. In shock. I hit the button on the steering wheel. “Call Dante.” The sound of a phone ringing comes through the speaker.

“He’s not going to answer,” Josie says quietly.

“Why not?” I ask her, hitting the button to disconnect the call.

“I… ahh…” She stops short.

“You what, Josie?” I press her.

“I put sleeping pills into his drink,” she says while looking out the window.

I hide my smirk. Because that was fucking smart of her. I was curious as to how she managed to escape without him noticing. “You drugged him?”

“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds worse. They were just sleeping pills,” she tells me.

“Thatwas reckless, Josie, and Dante is going to be pissed when he wakes up and finds out what you did,” Luca interjects.

“He can be angry. At least he’s alive,” she counters.

By the time I pull into the driveway, the doc is waiting in front of the house. I round the car, open the door, and help my brother out. “He caught another one, Doc.”

“I see that,” Doc replies while looking down at Luca’s leg. “Let’s get him inside.”

“Josie, go and check on Dante. Make sure you didn’t kill him,” I tell my daughter.

Her eyes go wide. “What?”

“You gave him sleeping pills. Go make sure he’s just asleep for now and not permanently asleep forever,” I tell her.

“That can’t happen… can it?” she asks, sounding more panicked.

“I’ve seen it before.” I shrug. I’m bullshitting, of course, but if it stops her from doing it again, I’ll use it.

Josie runs inside the house, and my brother and I watch her go. “You just scared the life out of her,” Luca tells me.

“Good. Means she won’t drug anyone again. Come on, we need to get this bullet out of you before Katy finds out.”

“Shit, she’s gonna be pissed,” he groans as we walk through the front door.

“No doubt.”

I help my brother into the basement, where there’s a hospital bed and equipment set up. He lies on the bed before gesturing to the minibar. “Get me a drink.”

“This will work better.” Doc pulls out a small vial and needle.

“I’d rather a whiskey,” Luca grinds out.

“I’d rather you stopped getting shot,” Doc counters, and I chuckle. “Hold him down.”

I’m not very emotional and have a reputation for being cold. But seeing one of my family members in pain,thatalways gets to me. I can’t fucking stand it. Anger takes over at the fact the asshole landed a shot.

Once the doc does Luca up and I watch my brother’s eyes close, I walk over to the sofa in the corner of the room and pull out my phone. I need to call his wife. But first I need to check on the clean-up crew.

Episode Twenty-Six

“Ma, he’s fine.” I sigh as my hands grip the steering wheel tighter. I’m driving my hysterical mother to my uncle’s house, where my father is currently being treated for a bullet wound.

“He was shot, Orlando. He isnotfine,” Mum hisses, keeping her voice low because she’s sitting next to my son in the back seat of my car.

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