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At least when he opened his eyes, while completely unfocused, he had enough strength to grab my wrist, snarling as if I was the enemy.
“It’s okay, Brock. Just rest.”
When he opened his mouth, blood and saliva oozed from both corners, his breathing little more than labored gasps. “Did I… save… her?”
“You did, my friend. You did. I owe you my life and hers. You’re going to be okay.”
But I wasn’t certain of that. When I finally rose to my feet, I threw my arms back, letting out a guttural bellow as a promise.
If it took me until the end of time, I would hunt down the perpetrators.
Then I would spend days, weeks torturing them until there was almost nothing left.
And I would enjoy every. Single. Moment.
CHAPTER 29
Daniel
Hours had passed but I remained in the same blood-soaked clothes as did Margot, both of us refusing to leave the hospital where Brock had been taken. His injuries were considered life threatening and there was a distinct possibility he’d be paralyzed from the waist down given a lodged bullet. As he was currently in surgery, that left several of my soldiers, Leonardo as well as a half dozen of his men in the waiting room we’d commandeered the moment we’d arrived.
Daylight had turned into night, my baby still shaking. But she hadn’t cried, complained, or asked to leave. Quite the opposite. She’d gone to the cafeteria, bringing back food and drinks for the men until it had closed, using the vending machines afterwards to make certain the soldiers who’d done everything to protect her had nourishment as a way of thanks.
I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her and had refused to talk business, other than contacting Constantine and taking his return call. He was on his way with several of his men, being picked up by his buddy Gabriel. Phoenix was also on his way as was Sabatino.
They were determined to help me find the fucking bastards behind the battle.
Battle. It had fucking been like a goddamn warzone out of Afghanistan. I could only imagine the stories Brock would tell me once again as he compared the two.
That was if he lived. I fisted my hand, smashing it into the wall out of frustration.
Leonardo walked closer, raking his hand through his hair and nodding to Margot, who was currently trying to convince one of the soldiers who’d been shot in the arm to seek medical attention. She didn’t know how tough a bunch we were but I adored her even more for caring. Somehow, I doubted the real Maria would act the same. I wasn’t going to say that in front of Leonardo.
“She’s a strong woman,” he said.
“Yes, she is. A fighter. I love that about her.”
“You do love her. Don’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“If Maria responds well to her treatment, are you going to do the right thing and marry her?” His question and the tone were a reminder of how he felt about the woman.
I patted him on the shoulder. “Nope. Margot is my wife, although I’ll need to make that legal. Besides, I have it under advisement that Maria is in love with someone else.”
He opened his eyes wide and acted as if I would kill him for the betrayal. “I can explain.”
“No need to, Leonardo. You have proven yourself to be a worthy man. After this is over, we’re going to talk about moving forward. Incidentally, from a single day of treatment, it would seem Maria is responding well. It’s too early, of course, but I think you can throw in a few prayers for her recovery.”
His smile was huge, his nod of respect more pronounced than I’d seen. Both of us noticed two men walking in out of the corner of our eyes.
Don Giuseppe and Don Amato, who’d survived the attack. The other two had not, their bloody remains among the number of innocent bystanders, assassins, and soldiers, including two of Leonardo’s.
The Italian police had their hands full, but they knew better than to bother the families. That wasn’t in their best interest.
As the two men approached, I had a sense they had business on their minds.
“The balance of Italy has been disturbed. There are those who will stop at nothing to come into my beloved homeland and destroy all we’ve fought to achieve. Peace. Harmony. We care for our people, Don Thorn.”
