Page 104 of Don't Let Go

“I’m not sure. I couldn’t understand Carmen, but something about mamma being shot.”

“Oh, shit,” I said. “Do you think it was Paolo?”

Rory unlocked the Charger and got in, starting it right away. “I don’t know. I need to get down there.”

She put the car in reverse and was already moving down the driveway before I had my right leg in the car and shut the door.

“Your mom will be okay,” I said, hoping it wasn’t a lie.

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and stared at the road with so much concentration that I didn’t think she blinked. “She has to be. I can’t lose someone else I love,” she whispered. That darkness was cast over her face again.

If her mother died, I didn’t think I’d get Rory back. She’d fall into the darkness within and become nothing but a soulless being hell-bent on vengeance and destruction.

As soon as the elevator door opened, my legs propelled me forward. The back of my mind knew this hospital, leading me toward the nurse’s station. The short brunette nurse with a button nose looked up at me in alarm from her computer. She held a hand over her heart. “You came out of nowhere. You scared me.”

“My mamma. I need to find her. Sofia Giordano,” I said breathlessly, looking to my left and right, trying to locate one of my siblings.

“Let me look her up.” She typed on her computer. “Sofia Giordano is in the ICU, room 301.” She pointed down the hall. “It’s a few yards that way. You’ll see a security door to your left.”

“Thanks!” I shouted over my shoulder, running down the hallway and darting past an elderly woman being pushed in a wheelchair by a man a few decades younger than her.

“Rory! Wait for me!” Tyler yelled. He was somewhere behind me, but I had no time to wait. I needed to be at my mamma’s side.

My palm slammed the red button by the steel door. “I’m Sofia Giordano’s daughter,” I said into the speaker. The door made a buzzing sound, and I pushed it open.

Tyler barely made it inside before the door closed.

I saw Carmen with her face buried in Lorenzo’s chest as he hugged her tightly. Franco stepped out of the room and looked over at me. He set his jaw and shoved his hands in his pockets, remaining silent.

Tyler grabbed my arm, pulling me toward him and away from the nurse’s cart I almost crashed into. “Be careful,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I rushed over to my siblings. “What’s going on?”

“Where have you been?” Franco demanded, narrowing his eyes.

I side-eyed Tyler, not knowing if news about Paolo had spread yet. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” I stepped around him to peek into Mamma’s room. “How is she?”

Carmen sniffed and shoved a finger into my chest. “Like you care. This is all your fault. I heard what happened. You pissed off Paolo and—” her voice faded as she had another breakdown.

Lorenzo coaxed her back to weep on his chest. “Shh, I got you,” he said repeatedly in a soft voice.

My blood froze in my veins.Do they know what I have done? Did the mob already give the green light to take me out?

“I—I—” I felt like my brain had a mini-stroke and couldn’t string together sentences anymore.

Paolo couldn’t have shot Mamma. Not after I blew his kneecap off.

“Who—who shot her?” I whispered, choking on a sob.

Lorenzo sighed. The bags under his eyes gave away how tired and stressed he’s been. “Paolo's cousin, Marcos. He gave a short message to Mamma about you after he—” He dropped the sentence, hugging Carmen tighter as she whimpered.

Franco patted Lorenzo’s shoulder.

“What happened, Rory?” Franco asked, taking a step forward. “Mr. Dickson was here earlier looking for you. He said you were needed for questioning after Paolo was wounded and his cousin, Vincenzo, was fatally shot.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “I should’ve seen your pain. I should’ve listened, and now…”

My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I was done crying. I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, “I—I didn’t mean to. I did it for…for Lizzy,” I was tongue-tied, and my legs felt weak as if my weight had tripled, and my knees buckled under the pressure.

Tyler put his hand on my lower back. “Rory, you’re going—”

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