Page 4 of The Sicilian Heir
Those were the last words I heard on a loop like a prayer. I was confused who could possibly be calling me baby, my mind in a whirl as I finally let oblivion take me.
Chapter 3
Vito
Ipaced up and down the hospital hallway, worried about my little lotus. The wedding was beautiful, and the ceremony was going well. Eunji's speech made me laugh inside. I couldn't laugh on the outside. No one really understood my spitfire.
As I looked around the ballroom, I noticed Eunji's fist was balled up on her side bunching her dress. I chalked it up to nerves. With everything she's been through, I didn't think standing in front of both outfits talking about love would be too much of a hardship. But as I kept paying attention to her, I could see the strain it was having on her body. I knew she was wrapping up her speech and had prepared myself to clap when all hell broke loose.
A big, burly man stood behind my mom and his whole disposition was off. I rose out of my seat so I could stride over there and check. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable when I heard the gunshot.
My mother's head was lolling backward, and blood had spread over her abdomen. Women were screaming and I drew my gun as I raced to my mother's side. I tried to stop the bleeding with one hand and fire off my weapon with another. I had her blood all over me, her body rocking against my chest as I heard her inhale her very last breath.
I just wanted to lie beside her and die as well, but I couldn't. She wasn't the best mom, but she was the only one I had. I laid her gently on the floor and rose, ready to take out the men who had done this. I popped off a few shots and saw my father, gutted, across the ballroom. I think he was trying to run. Coward.
I went after those men but stopped suddenly when I heard a bone chilling scream. It was haunting. I knew exactly who it was. The scream was muffled, and I was lucky to be as tall as I was. I saw a dark-haired man holding my little lotus down. I thought he was defiling her, and I rushed to get to her as quickly as possible.
When I reached her, he jumped away and smirked. I shot off three rounds, but I wasn't even looking at him when I did it. My attention had been locked onto Eunji. He had stabbed her and carved up her face. She was bleeding all over. I would be damned if I'd let her die on top of all the other people who had lost their lives today. I gently picked her up and rushed out of the hotel. A car was waiting for me and my trusted men and I rushed her to the hospital. It had been hours since that moment and she still hadn't woken up.
"Fratello." My bastard brother, Luciano, stopped me mid-stride in the hallway. He put his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.
"What do you want?" I growled.
I didn't have the patience to deal with whatever he was coming to me with. My lotus was fighting for her life, and since I wanted her as my wife, I wasn't leaving her side until she was healed. Even then, I thought she'd be stuck by me forever.
"It was the Russians." Luciano informed me.
I wanted to snap at him and tell him that, of course, it was the Russians. What other outfit were we fighting with? The only two plausible answers were either the Russian or the Falcone outfit. If we had someone betray us, then I would slaughter the entire outfit, including my little sister Rosalina. The very thought hurt my chest, but it wouldn't do to show weakness in front of my men. This was our way. Once Rosalina saidI doto Nicolo, she became a Falcone. She was no longer a Picone. That was our way.
"We need to retaliate," I barked. There was no way I could let this insult lie.
"I'll get on it." Luciano left as silently as he came.
He was an enforcer, so I knew he was going to round up information and start the torture. Since this insult was not just on the Picones, but also the Falcones, we would have to work together to get answers. I was going to have to speak with Don Falcone and see who he would leave here to help. Normally, I'd ask Nicolo to stay, but he just got married. Not to mention his wife was injured in the fray. She was at this very hospital, but again, she was a Falcone now. She didn't need me. A heavily pregnant nurse approached me with a dim smile. Her expression was unreadable so I couldn't tell if she had good news or bad.
"Are you the family of Eunji Park?" she asked gently.
I nodded my head, finding that my throat had suddenly closed. I held my breath trying to stay strong.
"The doctor will be with you shortly, but she is out of the woods. It was touch and go for a while. One of the knife wounds nicked a major artery and we had to give her numerous transfusions. Her blood levels are low, so she won't be leaving the hospital any time soon."
My mind was swirling with all the information. This was all my fault.
"Can I see her?" I croaked. The nurse in front of me, Beth Anne, her name tag said, gave me a sympathetic look.
"Sure, you go sit with her, and I'll send the doctor your way." She patted my arm and led me to Eunji's side.
If only she knew the monster she was trying to comfort. Her water would probably break from duress and she would run for the hills. I entered Eunji's private room and sank down into the first chair I could reach that was closest to her bedside. Her face was paler than normal, with dark circles under her closed eyes. There were gauze and bandages on the left side of her face, so I couldn't see the mark that bastard left on her. The steady beep of her heart was the only thing keeping me calm and rational. I only had myself to blame. I should've sent Eunji home to Texas after she healed from the Romano incident.
Instead, the minute I laid eyes on her, I carried her out of the estate and onto a private plane back to New York, essentially kidnapping her. She had been fighting me ever since. The problem I have with letting her go was that I knew she wanted me too.
Even though both my father and mother disapproved of her, I didn't care. I was courting her. I had many fights about her in my father's office. Mother hated her because she wasn't Sicilian, and Father hated her because she wasn't mafia. We gained nothing from a marriage with her, therefore she was disposable in his eyes. I argued that it didn't matter because one day Father would be dead, and I would lead. That day seemed to have come way sooner than I was expecting. I knew I couldn't keep Eunji against her will much longer. I was just hoping I'd be able to change her mind about us.
The door clicked open and a young male doctor wearing scrubs walked in. "Ah, you must be Eunji's next of kin. I'm Doctor Samson, it's nice to meet you." He held his hand out to shake mine.
We shook and I cocked my head and blurted, "You are way too young to be a doctor."
Doctor Samson paused, pushed his glasses up his face, and laughed. It was a deep belly laugh that made me feel embarrassed. "I get that a lot, but I assure you that I know what I'm doing," he said firmly.
