Page 35 of His to Hold

“Gio’s out of surgery and they’re bringing him to the ICU. When he’s settled, they’ll let you visit, but one at a time.”

“He came through it okay?” I ask.

Marino nods. “They repaired some damage to the aorta and they’re worried about his head injury.”

“I thought you said it was just a graze,” Leo interrupts with a snarl.

“It was, but he hit his head off something as he went down. They’ll keep an eye on him in the ICU. When he wakes, they’ll know more.”

“So he’s going to be okay?” Alessandro asks from across the room.

“He’s a strong kid, and he’s held his own this far, but he’s in rough shape.”

The way Marino spreads his hands open in a gesture of uncertainty isn’t exactly reassuring but I guess he doesn’t want to make any promises he can’t keep. It rarely ends well when people do that to us.

Dismissing the doctor with a curt nod, I turn my attention back to Leo. I lower my voice so my mother and sister don’t hear.

“Go deal with your wife.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze, partly to offer him support but also to emphasize how serious I am about this. “Do what’s necessary, yes?”

“Yeah.”

The air of defeat surrounding my brother concerns me but I have to give him the chance to speak to Vinnie before stepping in and getting Matteo to deal with it.

“Family comes first,” I remind him.

He nods, but I can tell how conflicted he is. For his sake, I hope the Bianchi girl isn’t the one who set Gio up.

“Do you think he’ll get the truth out of her?” I ask Matteo as the door shuts behind our brother.

Matteo shrugs. “He’ll try.”

I’m about to respond when Alessandro’s wife, Emilia, approaches. She’s a beautiful girl, only a couple of years older than my sister.

“Emilia.” I greet her with a kiss on each cheek. “You okay, sweetheart?”

I wasn’t sure about my brother’s wife at first. Their marriage came about as the result of a deal made by her grandfather and my father, which I chose to honor. When Alessandro brought her home, she seemed too naïve to make it in our world but she’s adapting well and my brother is happier than I’ve ever seen him.

“I’m good, Antonio.” She glances at the floor, still shy around me. “I just wanted to see if I could fetch you a coffee.”

After the night I’ve had, I could use a caffeine hit. “That would be amazing, sweetheart. Thank you.”

Alessandro gets up from his seat and rolls his neck from side to side. “I’ll come with you this time. It’s not safe out there.”

I raise an eyebrow. There’s a vending machine in the lobby outside. A dozen of our men are stationed there. Does he think any of them would hurt her?

“The coffee here is undrinkable,” Emilia explains. “Matteo and I found a cute place down the street that’s a lot better.”

“Why don’t you send one of the men out?”

Emilia shrugs helplessly. “I need something to do.”

I understand her desire to keep busy. Waiting around hospitals isn’t my idea of fun either. As she and Alessandro leave, I can’t help smiling. “She’s a good girl.”

“Yeah. She single-handedly chased the cops out of here when they came by to ask questions,” Matteo said.

I hadn’t even considered that yet. An official investigation into Gio’s shooting will be a real pain in the ass to deal with but I guess it can’t be avoided. The attack happened in a public place and even if it hadn’t, bringing Gio to the hospital would have triggered police action.

“She told them to speak to her lawyers if they want to see footage from the hotel security cameras.”

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