Page 85 of Volatile Vice

Same dark eyes—except where Vinnie’s are kind and sparkling, Mr. Bianchi’s show malevolence.

A moment later, a nurse comes and escorts Mr. Bianchi into the ICU hallway.

He must be going to see his daughter. Vinnie must be back there with her, along with Falcon and Savannah, unless they went somewhere.

“That’s Mario Bianchi,” I say to Jared.

He nods slowly. “I know who it is.” He jumps to his feet. “I want to get you out of here now.”

“No. I can’t leave Vinnie.”

“You have to. That man is dangerous.”

I cross my legs. “I’m perfectly safe in a hospital waiting room.”

“Any maniac can come in here with a gun and start shooting people,” he says.

“That can happen anywhere. In any restaurant, any hotel lobby. It’s not going to happen here. And if it does? Mario Bianchi won’t have anything to do with it. He’s smarter than that.”

Jared lets out a breath but doesn’t say anything.

A few moments later, Falcon enters the waiting area.

“Where have you been?” I ask.

“I went to get a bite to eat,” he says. “What are you still doing here?”

“I’m not leaving him, Falcon.”

Falcon turns his attention to Jared. “Why is she here again?”

“I’m not her keeper,” he says. “I can’t force her to leave.”

“Well,Ican.” Falcon grabs my arm and pulls me out of my chair.

“Get your hands off me,” I say, attempting to wriggle out of his grasp.

Jared rises. “You may be the one paying me, but you’re not going to manhandle her.”

Falcon shakes his head and lets me go. He rubs at his forehead. “I’m sorry, Ray. You too, Jared. I just need you to be far away from here. Savannah is my fiancée, so I have to be here. But Bianchi could show up at any time.”

“He’s already here,” Jared says. “He went back to his daughter’s room.”

Falcon widens his eyes. “See what I mean?” He turns to Jared. “Why didn’t you get her the hell out of here?”

“Because I can’t make her obey me, Mr. Bellamy. I’m her bodyguard. It is my job to keep her safe wherever she goes. And right now, despite my fervent insistence to the contrary, she wants to stay here.”

“Right,” I say, trying to sound more confident that I am. Frankly this whole discussion is making me very uncomfortable.

Savannah comes out of the hallway then and Falcon goes to her. “Vannah,” I hear him say as he takes her into an embrace.

I walk up to them. “How is she?” I ask.

Savannah sighs. “The nurse claims she’s fine, but she’s still asleep. But that’s not what I’m worried about at this point.”

Falcon grabs her hands. “Your grandfather’s here.”

“Yeah.” She swallows. “He and Vinnie are down the hall talking. The nurse came in and said I needed to leave, that my mother needs her rest. I don’t know why I can’t stay. It’s not like I was keeping her from resting.”

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