Page 87 of This Thing of Ours

She wearily rested back against the glass doors as she waited for Frankie to make his phone call. Whomever he called, picked up because Frankie started talking. It was a short, terse conversation that amounted to, “We’re at the front door. Open it.”

Not a minute later, Ricky rounded a corner, coming into view. She waited impatiently as he turned the key in the door and pulled it open.

She rushed inside and gripped Ricky’s arm. “Where’s Marco?”

Ricky shook his head. “He’s still back with Doc. We haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Where’s Nico?”

Ricky removed her hand from his arm and clasped it. “Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

The place was blindingly white—the walls, ceiling, floor. There wasn’t even a fleck of dark to mar the whiteness of the grout between the floor tiles. The overall effect left Gabby feeling colder than she already was.

Ricky directed her around the same corner she’d seen him come from, and up ahead, she saw Nico pacing in front of a row of chairs in a makeshift waiting area. She lost Ricky’s hand when she quickened her pace. Nico saw her coming and braced when she threw herself into his arms.

Frankie and Ricky stayed a respectful distance away, in view but out of hearing range. It didn’t matter because they didn’t say anything, just held on to each other tight. After a few minutes, Nico pulled away, cupping her shoulders and looking her right in the eyes. “He’s going to be okay.”

Gabby only nodded, unable to speak through the thickness in her throat.

Nico saw her struggle. “A Conti never cries. A Conti inspires tears.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Right.” She got herself together. There were questions she wanted answered, and now that she had Nico cornered, he could no longer avoid her. “Tell me what happened.”

Nico took a deep breath, took a few steps away, then gave her his back. She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. It continued down to land on his nape where it stayed planted, squeezing his neck. His other hand landed on his hip as he bowed his head. All signs he was troubled. Signs that pointed to the fact, she wouldn’t like what he had to tell her.

“He saved my life. The bullet had been meant for me.”

Gabby’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Conflicting emotions warred within her. Relief and gratitude that her brother was all right, along with anger and resentment that it had to be at the cost of the one she loved—her soulmate. Her mind in turmoil, she didn’t know how to react, so ended up plopping onto one of the chairs, saying nothing.

But Nico wasn’t finished. “I still don’t know how he got to me so fast. One second he was at least twenty feet away, the next he was pushing me to the floor.” He paused again before he said, “It was all a fucking blur.”

Gabby stared at the floor as she leaned over, elbows resting on her knees, hands clasped. “What happened to the guy? The one who shot him.”

She felt Nico’s presence and saw from her periphery as he took the seat next to her. “Marco got a shot off before he fell. Killed the fucker.”

Gabby nodded, then asked the one question she was dreading hearing the answer to most. “What are his chances?”

She heard Nico sigh. “I don’t know, polpetta. He lost a lot of blood.”

Was he bracing her for the worst? She felt her eyes fill, but she sat up and tipped her head back so they wouldn’t fall. She fingered her engagement ring, worrying it around her finger. Would a wedding band ever accompany it?

Unable to sit still a moment longer, she got up and started pacing. The same path Nico had traversed.

After a few minutes, Nico reached out, taking her hand. “Sit down, polpetta. You’re making me dizzy.”

She didn’t sit, but she did stand still, crossing her arms and hugging her stomach. “How long has he been in there?”

Nico pulled out his phone and woke it. “A little over an hour.”

An hour! “That’s a long time, right?”

“Not really. Try not to worry. That we haven’t heard anything yet means he’s still…”

“Alive?” Gabby filled in his blank when he hesitated.

“Yeah,” Nico breathed out on a sigh. “Alive.”

Chapter Thirty

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