Page 21 of Veil of Vengeance

CHAPTER 6

VALENTINA

My chest heaves with the effort of holding in my cries.

Bile rises in my throat as the smell of blood fills my nose. The man that Emiliano had ordered to assault me is dead on the floor by the hands of the same man.

Emiliano looked like a man possessed when he slowly crushed that man’s throat. It was terrifying. I caught a glimpse of the madness that the Made men talked about in gatherings, but that wasn’t what had terrified me the most.

What terrified me the most was the satisfaction I had felt seeing that man slowly be crushed to death within the hands of such ruthlessness.Cazzo.

Romiro heads my way after Emiliano instructed him to take me to the house doctor. He reaches his hand toward me, but retreats when I flinch. He steps back to give me space so I can get up. Once I do, he tilts his head and points at the rope that’s tied around my wrists. I nod since I can’t speak around the gag.

As he steps closer, I take the time to appraise him. He has a jagged scar that runs from the middle of his cupid's bow to the corner of his mouth. His eyes lift to see me watching him and his lips twist into a flirty smile. It drops when I move back and yank the gag down for it to hang from my neck. I wince as I notice the redness forming on my sleeveless arm. I am going to fucking bruise.

“Come on.” Romiro breaks the silence, and when I look up at him, he motions for me to follow. I take slow steps toward the stairs, feeling a little disoriented. Once we reach the corridor, I follow Romiro in silence as he guides me through the place, and then we come to a stop in front of a wooden door.

Romiro knocks and a man opens the door, filling the frame with his tall, lean stature. I lift my eyes to look at his face and, holy shit, is he good looking. His eyes are a light amber shade and his blond hair is slicked back, wearing a long white coat. So, he’s the doctor. I squint my eyes at him, which makes him raise an eyebrow at me before he steps aside and lets us in. Romiro lets me walk in ahead of him before following.

“What can I help you with, Rom?” the doctor asks, as I take a look at the room. Dull cream walls and a black carpet muffles our steps. There’s a desk in the far back corner of the room with a laptop and some papers. Next to the desk is a door that nearly blends with the wall perfectly if it wasn’t for the black doorknob. I look to my right and see that there’s an examining table.

“Eli wants you to make sure she isn’t physically hurt,” Romiro informs him. I face them and scoff at the way he phrases it. As if that brute doesn’t want to hurt me. It makes both men turn to look at me.

“What the fuck are you two looking at?” My voice comes out soft, unlike how I intended. It makes Romiro laugh and the handsome doctor gives me a small smile. His smile might be breathtaking, but it seems cold, calculated, and almost deliberate in a sense.

“Would you get on the examining table, please?” the doctor asks me after he shoots Romiro a blank stare, who is still laughing. I send a glare Romiro’s way and hop on the table with my legs dangling off the edge.

“I just want to have a look at your cheek and your arm. They seem to be the ones that need immediate attention. After that, I'm going to check if your eyes are fine.” The doctor walks me through the examination, being careful not to make me uncomfortable. He grips my chin, turning my face from side to side before tapping my cheek. I wince, and he gives me an apologetic smile.

“I’ll give you an ice pack for this; it seems like it will be swelling soon. Do you have a headache?” My temples throb, and I feel a bit sick in my stomach.

“Yes,” I tell him as he examines my bruised arm.

“Could you tell me how it feels? Is it pulsing? Is it on only one side or both sides?”

“It feels like there’s something pressing on both sides of my head,” I explain.

He hums but doesn’t say anything, then walks off after he’s done examining my arm. When he comes back, he has an ice pack in his hand and two pills.

“Here’s some paracetamol for that headache and here’s your ice pack. Other than that, you seem to be fine, but I do recommend that you keep monitoring her and make sure she’s drinking enough water.” He says the last part to Romiro before he moves to the desk in the far corner and sits behind it to write something. I look at Romiro, who shrugs at me before asking the doctor.

“So, she’s fine?”

“Yes, that’s what I said, Romiro. There isn’t anything wrong.” He replies as he continues to write. Romiro scratches his head.

“Then what the fuck are you writing?” he asks.

“I am writing a report for you to give to the boss.” Well, he’s definitely straight to the point. The room settles into a silence, the only sounds the shuffling of paper and the scratch of the pen.

After a couple of minutes, the doctor gets up and walks toward Romiro. He extends his arm and hands Romiro the sheet of paper. I decide to get off the examining table and head to the door.

“Wait a second.” It’s the doctor who stops me. I turn to look at him, but I’m met with his retreating back as he steps over to a large metal cabinet. Opening it, he picks something up and comes back my way. Once he reaches me, he extends his hand out. I look down at what he’s giving me and to say that I am shocked is the least of it. Clothes… He’s giving me clean clothes. I reach my hand out tentatively and take them.

“Thank you…” I say slowly.

“Doctor Callahan,” he supplies. My eyebrows shoot up. He’s Irish. Romiro is the one to inform me as to why an Irishman is within the establishment of the Camorra, when neither the Irish Mob nor the Italian Mob like each other.

“He works for the Camorra. He doesn’t have any affiliation to the Irish Mob.”

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