Page 11 of Reign Of Triumph
I don’t give Serafina a choice and tell her, “I’m going to lift you up and come with you to the doctor’s clinic.” The doctor moves out of the way, murmuring that he’ll meet us at the clinic before he disappears out the door. I get up, then bend to slip one hand under her knees, the other at her back, and lift her into my arms. She moans, biting her lip and resting her head on my chest.
“I’ll drive you,” Luciano says. I’m grateful because I don’t want to let Serafina go.
“I want men at the house. I want Serafina and Vera protected at all times,” I say.
“Marco’s on it and has two soldiers on the way,” Luciano responds. “Let’s get Serafina looked after.”
Vera stops us, her attention on her daughter. “My brave girl.” Vera’s eyes are filled with tears.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Serafina reassures her. “I’ll be home soon.” Mom steps in, wrapping her arm around Vera. Dad follows us out to the car, where Luciano is waiting, and holds the back door open.
“Call and keep us up to date,” my father says, expelling a heavy sigh. I nod and climb into the car. I keep Serafina on my lap, holding her to me. Her body is tense but slowly relaxes as Luciano drives us into the city. When her hand drops to my chest, I see that her ring is missing and her hand is swollen. My jaw clenches, and I look up to see Luciano looking at me through the rearview mirror.
“Hold your shit together. We take care of Serafina first,” he says.
“I want to know who did this,” I tell him. Although, I’m fairly certain I already know. I’d bet my last dollar that this is Giusto’s doing, or at the very least, he had one of his minions attack his own sister.
“He’s still the head of the household,” Luciano points out.
“The minute I put my ring on her finger, Serafina became mine,” I grit out. Then it dawns on me that’s why he took it off. “He’s going to pay for this,” I vow.
“One problem at a time, Eros,” Luciano replies.
From the moment we arrived at the clinic, the doctor and his nurse began working on Serafina. I didn’t want to leave her side, but the nurse shooed me out when they were preparing her to take the X-rays. Unfortunately, I caught a glimpse of her skin, marked with the imprint of a shoe, before I was led out.
I pace in the hall while Luciano sits in a chair, watching me.
“She’s going to be all right,” he says.
“She shouldn’t be going through this at all,” I declare. “He’s a loose cannon. Giusto is a vindictive coward, and instead of coming after me, he went after his own sister. The guy is twice her size, and he went for her throat.”
It’s then that Nero walks in. His expression is murderous. Last night, Serafina showed her warmth, and she and Felicia bonded quickly. Serafina has no airs about her. She’s a genuinely caring woman and devoted to looking after her mother. I saw this, and so did Nero, which impressed him greatly. In our world, women can be as devious as men. Men are violent monsters, but the women are manipulative and deceitful. Nero experienced this firsthand with his own aunt, and since then, he’s been on his guard, even with family.
Serafina is a refreshing change from the women who are just looking for the richest husbands.
“Has Serafina told you what happened?” Nero asks.
“Not yet. She’s been in with the doctor,” I tell him.
“Your father called. Vera said Giusto showed up this morning. He’d been drinking. Vera could smell the alcohol on him. By the time she made it down the stairs, he was kicking Serafina while she was down. Vera tried to pull him off. He finally stopped. He threw her ring out into the garden, then left, but not before he spat on the ground in front of her. He told Serafina she wasn’t family anymore and she’s not allowed to see Bianca or the girls,” Nero says. “I know you want to kill him, but think this through. You have a plan, and he’s slowly losing it. He’ll come after you next. Then you can do your worst.”
“In the meantime, Serafina and her mother suffer. Anita and Alia are important to them, and he’s blocking them from seeing their aunt and grandmother.” I throw out my hand. “What if he goes after Serafina again?”
“You’re an underboss now. Your wife will need a bodyguard. Pick a good man, and one for Vera too. Both will be safe.”
“How safe are Bianca and the girls?” I ask sarcastically.
“Again, you’re the new man in charge,” Nero says. “Perhaps it’s time to send Giusto on a mission that takes him away for a couple of days a week. Out of town, maybe. We can sort something out with Reno or Alessio. Shit! Even Raffaele would assist if needed. It’ll put some space between Giusto and his family.”
“It’ll piss him off to be seen as Eros’s lackey,” Luciano cuts in.
“Enough to force his hand and make the move to take Eros out,” Nero replies.
“Fine.” I let out a breath. “For now, he lives, but one more move against Serafina and all bets are off,” I tell them both.
“Fair enough,” Nero agrees, then he jerks his head toward the closed door with Serafina inside. “How’s she doing?”
“She hasn’t said much. The doc wants to confirm nothing’s broken. He’s given her something for the pain.”
