Page 58 of King of the Bronx

Chapter Twenty- Five

Raven

I drummed my fingers on the counter of the kitchen island as I waited for Enzo. My stomach was in knots. I hated that all I could do was sit here and cross my fingers. I wanted to help, but I knew Enzo wouldn’t allow me to get involved. Erica must be terrified. The apartment door burst open and I jumped out of my chair. Cole and another guy were carrying Enzo. My stomach dropped as I saw the blood covering Cole’s shirt.

“Enzo! Cole, what happened?!”

They rushed past me and laid Enzo down on the kitchen island. His eyes were open, and his face twisted in pain. I wanted to grab onto him, but there was blood everywhere. I couldn’t tell where he was bleeding from.

“What the fuck happened?” I snapped, anger mixing with my fear.

“Doc is coming up here now. He got shot in the side,” Cole said. I looked down at Enzo, noticing what looks like a sheet wrapped around his torso.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Enzo croaked, his voice filled with pain.

“It’s not bad? You promised you’d be safe and you’re bleeding on the table!” I retorted. I shouldn’t be so angry at him, but I can’t help it. The apartment door opens again, and a gray-haired man walked inside with a medical bag in his hand.

“He got shot on the left side, Doc,” Tommy told the man. I moved to get out of the doctor’s way as he looked over Enzo. I came to the other side of the island and grabbed Enzo’s hand. His green eyes looked up at me, and he reached a hand up to wipe at my face. I didn’t even notice I’d started to cry. His face twisted in pain again as the doctor moved him.

“I got to cut this sheet off. You guys might want to leave. It could get pretty bloody.”

Tommy and Cole left the room, but I stayed put. There was no way I was going to leave his side. The doctor gave Enzo some pain medicine and got to work removing the bullet and stitching everything up. By the time he finished, there was blood all over the kitchen, but at least it looked like Enzo wasn’t in pain anymore. We hadn’t said anything to each other while the doctor worked on him. I ran my thumb across our conjoined hands. Everything we needed to say to each other was in our shared gaze. We might disagree on things, but I couldn’t lose him. Despite the twisted way we came together—the lies, deception, and forced marriage—the only person I wanted was Enzo. The doctor packed up his bag, and then gave me very strict instructions to make sure Enzo stays in bed and takes his medicine so he doesn’t get an infection. Tommy handed the doctor a stack of rolled up cash and patted him on the back before he left.

“Let’s get you into the bed while you’re still rolling high on the morphine,” I said.

Enzo smiled a sloppy grin. “I just got shot and you’re already trying to get me in bed.”

I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips.

I turned to Tommy. “Help me get him in the bedroom?”

Tommy came over and, together, we walked Enzo to our bedroom. I helped him change into clothes that weren’t completely soaked in blood. All the while, he insisted that I was trying to fuck him because I found gunshot wound victims hot. It took everything I had not to laugh at this goofy side of Enzo, but doing so would only encourage him. Once he was asleep and tucked into bed, I slipped out of the room. Tommy and Cole were sitting in chairs across from each other, both focused on the phones in their hands.

Tommy lifted his eyes to look at me. “Cal is bringing Erica in,” he said.

In the midst of seeing Enzo almost bleed out on the kitchen island, I’d forgotten about the reason he’d put himself in danger in the first place.

“She’s here? Why—?”

“She was passed out when we found her. They must have drugged her. Cal has been watching over her in the car. She just woke up.”

Fuck. What if the drugs they gave her triggered her addiction? The front door opened, and Erica’s eyes were wide with a mix of confusion and fear as she slowly walked into the room. Cal stood behind her but didn’t move.

“Erica!” I said before crossing the room and pulling her in for a hug. Tears streamed down my face, and Erica returned my hug. I’d been terrified since the moment Erica went missing. I pulled back to look over her. She looked fine, but that didn’t mean anything. I placed my hands on both sides of Erica’s face.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Erica wiped at a tear that slid down her face. “Yeah, I’m okay. I don’t remember much…I’m just really hungry.”

I smiled, but then looked over at the kitchen. Blood was still caked on all the surfaces.

“I’ll order you some take-out.”

*****

Erica ate and showered before going to sleep in the guest bedroom. I didn’t miss the way Cal hovered around her as if he still needed to watch over her. Tommy and Cole left after they had someone clean up the blood. The guy who’d shown up to clean the mess was young. He was probably trying to prove his worth to the mob, but I’d still felt bad as he scrubbed the kitchen clean of any traces of blood.

After what felt like the longest day in my life, I finally showered and changed into pajamas before laying in the bed next to Enzo. He laid on his back and raised his arms up as I got into bed, indicating he wanted my head on his chest. I curled into his good side and rested my head against his naked chest. I stared into the dark bedroom for a while, just feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath. His hand absentmindedly stroked my hair.

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