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“Hey Ella, can you please send a message to the Angelini Emergency Line to let them know that we are en route to the hospital and will convene there,” I instruct my wife, trying my best to hold it together for the three of us. Pulling into the parking space, we all rush to get out of the car and into the building. Once at the nurses station, the only staff member at the desk is actively on the phone, so we try to maintain our patience. Suddenly, Ella leans down, grabs the front hem of her dress and pulls the seam apart. Claire and I stare in confusion, consideringthe bullet proof aspects of the dress, as to how my bride just ripped it like it was paper.
“It was my one request with the modifications that I have a single seam line that can be pulled apart in case I needed to move faster than the dress traditionally allots for,” Ella explained to us both to ease the confusion.
“Yes, folks?” The nurse gets all of our attention.
“Yes, my best man Romeo De Luca was brought in with a gunshot wound by ambulance from our wedding and we need to know if my father is here, Aldo Angelini,” I inform her, holding it together by a thread since we know Rome is in bad shape and we have no idea what shape my father is in. Claire reaches out for my free hand and Ella squeezes the one she is holding in reassurance. She types his name into the system, the tiniest flicker of tension in her forehead telling me that whatever she has to say is not going to be good.
“I will check with the doctor and have him come and notify you shortly. Given your family ties, would you like to take the conference room around the corner instead of waiting in the general waiting area?” She asks us, understanding who we are and that this may have started a bloody battle.
“We will, thank you,” Ella answers for me, guiding me around the corner and into the large empty meeting room. She holds my hand tight and as we take a seat and I pull out my phone.
Leo:
We are in a conference room next to the nurses station waiting for an update on both Rome and my Father.
We just breathe in silence as the men from our crew join us in the conference room. Two of them stand guard outside thedoor making sure that we have some level of security for the standing power of our organization. No one has indicated any knowledge of where else my father would be except in one of the hospital trauma rooms here. A doctor knocks twice and opens the conference room door and walks to the other end of the table.
“Mr. Angelini, we did everything that we could but Romeo succumbed to his injuries on arrival. I am so sorry that he died, but know that his injuries were extensive and there was nothing that you could have done to prevent this,” The doctor tells us and the floor falls out from below me. I know he is still talking, but the rushing in my ears is drowning everything else out.
“Thank you, Doc. Everyone but Claire needs to leave this room right now. Two of you need to go stand guard for Mr. Angelini,” Ella instructs without missing a beat. All the men in the room freeze and look at me.
“If you ever ignore a direct order from my wife again, she has my expressed permission to punish you as she sees fit. Whatever scrap of you is left standing will deal with me personally,” I utter with menace in my tone. Every man flinches before following her orders without any more hesitation. Good, I would rather not spill any more blood today.
“Leo, look at me,” My wife instructs with a gentle tone in her voice. I blink away the tears and look at my wife, centering my whole world. The sounds in my ears comes down finally, and I can hear the sobs of my sister. Before I can make myself move, Ella is already next to Claire consoling her but staring at me. She is analyzing how I am doing by my mere reactions.
“Your father is alive and in surgery,” Ella fills me in now that I am not catatonic and actively drowning in the loss of my best friend. Rome has been, or I guess had been, my person since I was a child and the closest thing to a platonic soulmate I could have had. He was there for every one of my dark points and thelast thing that he did was stand up for me and protect my sister with his life. The tears fall freely as I process everything that I lost today. Rome might have agreed to the plan but I gave the green light and it cost me my best friend.
I can hear the sound of whispering but I cannot process what is being said to my sister. The waves of grief keep crashing into me making it hard to breathe. What if my next decision kills Claire or Ella? How am I supposed to live with the decisions I made that have led to this? This may not be the first death that I have experienced but this is the first time that I have lost someone so close to me based upon decisions that I made.
“Leo, look at me,” My sister requests in a soft but firm tone as she reaches for me. The sadness in her eyes is like a knife to my heart. She shouldn’t have to share my pain, but I can’t change the outcome of today no matter how much I try to make up for it.
“Claire, I am so sorry for this,” I apologize, knowing that they are just words and will never make up for what was lost.
“Leo, I have known Rome as long as you have. You do not get to apologize for what happened today. He took a fucking bullet for me because I did not move with the team and needed to be by his side. I felt the impact of the bullet that hit him and could do nothing to stop it. We both know that he agreed to the plan and helped every step of the way. The blame lies only with the dead bastard who shot him. Not us. I have loved that man since I first understood what love is and now he is gone. He is the only man that has ever made my heart flutter and he died alone because I fucking broke protocol. If you had blame to be placed on you then I would do so, but you did everything right and I am the one who put a target on him. Not you. If you need a living person to blame for the loss of Rome then you are fucking looking at them because I am the one who made the mistake when I wasn’t supposed to exist in the first place,” Claire says, ending on a sob.Seeing her so distraught pulls me out of my shocked state and there is a knock on the door.
“Your father is out of surgery and in the ICU. He can have one visitor at a time until he wakes up and is moved to his in-home recovery wing, per the written instructions in his chart. The bullet was through and through, but he lost a lot of blood and is not out of the woods,” The doctor fills us in on my Father. The bastard made it when Rome didn’t. He deserved death when Rome deserved a better life with happiness and a future. I finally make eye contact with the doctor.
“The bodies need to be routed to their respective family funeral homes to be individually dealt with. Each mortuary should have expressed instructions for the fallen, and I know the bloodshed from today has over extended the hospital and I apologize for that,” I instruct falling into the role my Father has trained me for my entire life.
Leo:
Take a roll call and tally our losses. Send in the two highest ranking members of the team to the conference room so that we can discuss the fallout and next steps.
Chapter Thirty
LEO
“From wounded to warrior, she survived the horrors of her family house and now the memories will burn with it.”
The subtle knock on the door draws our attention before it opens, revealing my new leaders. Less is gruff, but I am glad that he is still kicking after the dust settled and sitting here waiting for further instruction. The ability to hold back is more important to me than running into the fire unprepared. I see the subtle hints of steel enter Ella’s shoulders like she is preparing for a battle. My sister is still struggling to regain control of her emotions.
“Boss,” Gio greets me, an understanding expression on his face. He and Less take a seat at the conference table close enough for comfort but respecting the space that we need. Claire is sitting on the left side of me and Ella on the right, both holding my hands to show a united front. This is uncharted water for the business, my Father has been in power for the last forty years.
While Claire may be my half sister, she has as much to inherit negatively as she does in a positive manner from the outcome of our Father’s medical situation. I would never sell her handin marriage, but there will be a lot more inquiries now that we have flaunted her at the wedding. My wife will always wield just as much power as I do as long as I am in charge of the Family business. Taking a deep breath, I steady myself to fill them in with what we know before they report.
“Here is the update. Father is in the I.C.U. but currently stable. We lost Enzo at the chapel; he was too far gone to save. Rome was shot protecting Claire and he died when he arrived here,” I say, barely holding the emotions at bay. This is not the time nor the place to feel those. I need to be a strong leader even on my darkest day or it could put everyone in more danger. Both sets of eyes are glued on me as they process the news of our fallen.
“Overall, we don’t have any additional losses. The man who shot your Father was one of Fabbri’s,” Less spoke, looking from me to my wife and pausing.
