Page 15 of Merciless Attraction

My hair’s soft to the touch when I run my fingers through it. No product, no shave... it’s a reminder that it only takes one event to throw my life into a tailspin.

Everything is a routine for me, and while Gemma is the best part of this shift, it’s not permanent. This chaos is temporary. How is she going to deal with my hours at the hospital? My routine isn’t suitable for spontaneity, let alone helping one of my closest friends get rid of a dead body

Will she even want to deal with me after all of this?

It’s not a surprise bodies pile up when Bash and his brothers are around. But with one disastrous situation after another, how am I supposed to sell the idea of being engaged when any other woman would flee?

“ANTONIO!” Ronan shout-whispers into the line and pulls me back to our conversation.

“I’m here. Calm down and get him out of sight. We’ll be there soon.” I tell him and hang up.

The front door of the clinic opens with a bell chime I typically ignore, but these past 24 hours demand I pay attention to every detail. Ronan’s sister, Dr. Camilla Canella, strolls in with her head shaking before I can get a word out.

She shakes her head, dismay in her hazel eyes as she speaks. “No, Antonio, I don’t want to hear it. There are bullet holes in the walls beside the door.”

“I can explain that, Camilla.”

She points at the floor, her eyes widening with building anger. “There’s literally a trail of blood through my waiting room. You’re lucky Cat is on vacation and Carmen doesn’t come in until later. You and Ronan are always bringing your extracurricular activities here. I’m turning my head, ignoring the obvious, and going to my office. I don’t want to be disturbed.”

She’s angry and rightfully so, but I don’t let her get far before holding a hand up to stop her from heading toward the exam room. I doubt that seeing Bash waiting for me to finish bandaging his wounds will lessen her anger.

“How about you get breakfast and come back in ten, fifteen, minutes? We’ll be out of your way and Ronan will be back ... soon,” I tell her and usher her out the door. Camilla doesn’t panic. She rarely does, simply taking my and Ronan’sextracurricularactivities in stride.

Panic, duty, and loyalty swirl around my head as I’m faced with protecting Marzano family interests once again. This time with Gemma involved, I’m even more invested than before.

I head back into the exam room where I still need to cover the stitches on Bash’s ribs. Color’s coming back to his skin, and it’s clear he’s ready to leave.

“I thought you said Casper was cleaning up the mess you made last night?” I ask while taping a patch of gauze over the area.

“He is. What’s going on?” Bash asks.

“We have to finish cleaning up your mess,” I tell him as calmly as I possibly can. “He’slanded on Ronan’s doorstep.”

“Fuck. I told Casper that asshole was still on his feet.” Bash huffs and grinds his teeth with the pain spiking through his body as he stands up.

“We got another problem,” Damian interjects.

The subtle throbbing of an erupting migraine pulses behind my eyes. I’m already running on a few hours of sleep, but I have to keep my mind sharp.

“What now?” Gemma asks her brother with the same amount of exhaustion I feel brewing inside of me.

“We have to help Casper. He’s in a situation at the cleanup site. Someone is following him, and he still has stuff to get rid of from last night,” Damian tells Bash.

Bash turns to me. “Do you think you can handle the Ronan situation until we get to Casper?”

“Of course, I can. It won’t be the first time, and it won’t be the last,” I tell him. I turn to Gemma and Natalie who are whispering amongst themselves. When Damian leaves with Bash, he wraps his hand around Natalie’s to leave with him.

Gemma follows me out of the clinic just as Camilla comes back from her coffee run. After a brief introduction, I give her a flimsy excuse about why Ronan isn’t inside to clean up the mess we’ve made of her exam room. She’s in a constant state of irritation when it comes to me and Ronan using the clinic for ourfriends, but I can’t hash this out with her right now.

I’m torn over bringing Gemma, but I know she needs to stay with me as this Frankie situation escalates. There’s an uneasiness settling over me as we head to Ronan’s house. I’m constantly checking the rearview mirror to ensure we’re not being followed. If things happened the way Ronan said, it wouldn’t surprise me if Verducci is looking for me.

“What’s actually going on, Antonio?” she asks. I can feel her anxiety growing alongside mine.

“Someone showed up at Ronan’s place and we have to help him.”

“Help who?”

“Ronan. We’ll talk more when we get there and see what we’re dealing with,” I tell her with my eyes ever alert. I hate talking in the car about these kinds of things. Too much detail can lead to subpoenaed testimony if I’m not careful.

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