Page 11 of Little Deer
“Zeno,” Sofia huffs in exasperation. “Now, come on, we need to let the doctor examine Lucy or he’s going to have a coronary.” She looks at me. “I’ll be back with some food for you shortly.” Then she grabs Zeno’s arm and yanks him out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind them.
“All of you need to step away from the bed so I can begin,” the doctor says tersely. He looks down at me, his gaze softening ever so slightly as he looks at me. “And while I know you want to reconnect with your son, Ms. Taylor, he will not be able to stay there while I examine you. If you would hand him to?—”
“He’s staying with me,” I state firmly, holding his stare. “You can work around him.”
“I need to listen to your lungs and heart, Ms. Taylor, while examining your other injuries and a baby in the way is not going to make that possible,” he explains with strained patience. I can see him fighting back the urge to snap at me.
I bristle, ready to argue, but Kida says, “Let me have him back, sis. I know he won’t be happy, but it’s only for a few minutes.”
Reluctantly, I agree, but my body shakes with the urge to snatch him back, and then it jerks when Soren starts to cry angrily again as Kida steps away with him to stand near Rori. Damn it, why can’t I hold him? He needs me. He needs his mother.
“Steady,dolcezza,” Massimo murmurs, a gentle hand settling on my shoulder. I twist away from him, glaring at him angrily. How the hell can he understand? Who is he to tell me to basically calm down? “The sooner you let the doctor do his examination, the sooner you can have your son back in your arms, alright?” My glare deepens, but he just smiles at me, gives my shoulder another squeeze and moves to stand near Rori and Kida.
“Good, now we can get started,” the doctor mutters, making me look back at him distrustfully. “Now, Ms. Taylor,” he continues briskly, “if at any point you are uncomfortable, then we can have them leave.” Before I can answer him, he lifts a penlight and shines it directly in both my eyes, making my head jerk back in surprise. He doesn’t react, but when he lowers it, hemutters, “Yes, good, it seems the drugs are leaving your system. They should be gone completely in a couple of hours. You’ll probably be a bit tired for a while, but some food and fluids will help with that.” He moves on to checking my face and head. “You will have a minor concussion for a few more days, but thankfully, they left most of your head alone. Your face will be bruised for a bit longer, and there will be some swelling. I did look at your teeth, but saw nothing out of place or loose. If that changes, then we’ll need a dentist coming to look at you to make sure there is no permanent damage that will need to be repaired. Are you dizzy? Lightheaded?”
“No,” I murmur stiffly, clenching my hands on top of the sheets when he grabs his stethoscope and puts it between my breasts. I fight not to shove him away. I don’t want him touching me. It’s worse not even knowing who he is. I don’t care that he is a doctor.
“Your heart and lungs sound good. Now, we need to discuss your postpartum symptoms so I know what might be a problem and what isn’t. You gave birth six weeks ago, correct?” I nod. “Any major complications? Tearing? You’re still bleeding, though not as heavily, which I would take to mean that you’re well on your way to being cleared. There are things I can do to speed that up if you are interested in continuing having an active sex life?—”
“No,” I snap, recoiling away from him, disgusted that he would even suggest something like that. What kind of quack do these guys employ?
“Your husband may?—”
“My husband is dead,” I hiss, infuriated. “Don’t fucking touch me.” I jerk myself away, almost falling over, but I manage to keep myself upright, even as the jarring motion makes pain slice through me.
Suddenly, the doctor is hauled back and away from me so fast that at first I’m not sure what’s happened. Then I see Massimo slam him up against the wall, gun to his head, a furious expression on his face. The doctor’s face has gone white, his eyes wide with terror. “Rori, get Zeno or whoever is outside the door. Tell them I want this fucker out, and to tell Nico to find a new fucking doctor. Better yet, put this fucker down and be done with it. Disgusting fuck. You think to tell a woman who has clearly been through a horrific experience on top of having just given birth that she should only care about pleasing her husband? I should kill you now because who knows how many others you’ve done the same to.” He slams the gun against the side of the doctor’s head, making him groan and slump against the wall, a dazed look on his face.
The door slams open, making Soren scream and Kida shrink back, holding him tight. I want to get out of bed and rush for them, but I don’t know that I can, my body feeling heavy and unable to move. Zeno and another man walk in. This one is a giant, a dark and foreboding expression on his face, and my eyes go wide as he stalks forward and grabs the doctor from Massimo, slamming his giant fist into his face, before hauling him out the door, barking orders in Italian.
What. The. Fuck?
Before anyone can say a word, Zeno announces, “I’ve already got a call out to a local doctor that I found mentioned in some of Nico’s shit. They’ve used her once in an emergency. She’s competent and she’s on her way. I sent Dante a message to clear her.”
“Good,” Massimo says, voice tight before he turns back to me. I eye him carefully, my eyes taking in the gun.
Until this moment, I don’t think it’s really hit me where we are. Or who we’re with. Kida’s words earlier echo back in my head. Mafia. These guys are mafia, just like my so-called family.
And we’re all trapped here and at their mercy, just like I was with them.
8
MASSIMO
I can seeher fear and I silently berate myself. I should never have let that fucker in here. I should never have let him touch her. I didn’t like the way he looked at her or me in the first place, and I should have trusted my gut. It won’t fucking happen again. Fuck. I can already tell that this has only set us back on any semblance of trust or ease she was feeling. What her sister might have been feeling.
I glance at Kida and see her face is a hard mask as she holds her crying nephew tight. Hell, she looks like she’s ready to grab one of our guns and just kill us now.
Damn it. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This is not how I wanted this to go.
I put my gun under my suit coat before I turn my attention back to Lucy. “Lucy, I’m sorry,dolcezza,” I say gently. She shrinks away from me, and I stop, my gut twisting.
“You’re like them, aren’t you?” she whispers softly. “You’re mafia.”
“Yes, we are.” Why lie or try to downplay it? Her eyes widen and she starts to scoot to the edge of the bed, like she’s going to run. “But we are not like your biological family,” I quickly add. “We don’t?—”
“Do you kidnap people? Murder people? Do you run a criminal empire that makes people afraid of you?” she rasps out, rapid-firing the questions, even as she continues to get closer to the edge of the bed. “Because if you do anything like that, you are exactly like them. And I don’t want anything to do with you. I want to go home and I want you all to leave me the hell alone. I’m not part of whatever is going on here.”
