Page 38 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

He hoped it was just the fact that he was worried about Monique that had him feeling this way. However, he was a man who trusted his instincts. And his instincts told him something was wrong.

“Brother,” a deep voice filled the air, a voice he recognized instantly.

He looked left to see Cas limping down the hall toward him. His brother wasn’t dressed in hospital attire. Instead, he had on gray jogging pants, a white t-shirt, and flip-flops with white socks.

Rome must’ve left that for him. Though Cas was pale, a little bruised up, and limping, he still looked far better than Raz had expected. A bit of that knot in Raz’s gut unraveled, making him feel a little at ease.A little.Cas smiled.

“You can meet me halfway,” Cas told him. “I’m the one limping, not you.”

“I thought you’d still be laid up in bed,” Orazio called back, keeping his protective stance near Monique’s door.

“You know me. I never could stay put for long.” His grin widened as he limped closer. “Besides, I had to make sure you weren’t getting into trouble without me.”

“Trouble?” Orazio raised an eyebrow. “I’m always on my best behavior.”

“Yeah, right,” Cas retorted. “So, you’re really going to keep standing there and make me walk all the way to you, huh?”

Raz hesitated, his gaze drifting to Monique’s door. The thought of leaving her side, even for a moment, filled him with even more unease.

“Monique must be in that room,” Cas mused, limping forward with a wry grin. “I get it. Don’t worry. I’ll hobble over to you. Just call me Hobble Cattaneo.”

Raz chuckled and strode forward, stepping away from Monique’s door. A chill crept over him. He stopped and looked back, waiting to see if the doctor would come looking for him. Her door remained closed. Raz turned and headed in Cas’s direction.

“Are you in pain?” he asked as he neared his brother.

“Do deer have nuts?”

“Some do.”

“There’s your answer,” Cas told him. “Some parts of me hurt. Some parts don’t. Rome sent me a bag and left me some meds. I just took one. I should be feeling less pain soon. What about you? Shouldn’t you be in bed? Didn’t you have surgery on your brain?”

Raz chuckled again as he came toe to toe with his brother. “I know you’ve heard about all the bullshit your father has done.”

“Ourfather,” Cas corrected him. “And he was your father before he was mine. But yeah, I’ve heard.” Cas took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Are they okay? The ladies?”

“Are you asking about all of them, or are you worried about a certain lady?” Raz questioned, already knowing the answer.

Cas stared down at his feet. In the span of a few seconds, his brother seemed to get paler.

“She... is she alright?” Cas finally asked.

Raz didn’t bother asking which lady Cas was referring to.

“According to Leo, she is,” Raz informed his brother. “I haven’t seen her yet. I’m not sure what room she’s in, but she’s on this floor. You can visit her.”

Cas shook his head slightly before meeting Raz’s gaze again. “While we were at the casino, before this shit happened, she told me she couldn’t date someone like me because I was involved in too much illegal shit. I swore to her that I wasn’t part of that side of things. I lied and said I was just a simple casino owner.”

“There are nosimplecasino owners.”

“That’s what she said. And that was just one of the many lies I’ve told her. I promised her that I wasn’t involved in theotherside of things. I lied to her, thinking I could keep this type of shit from her. I should’ve known that was impossible. She was kidnapped, Raz. Kidnapped because of my father. And wherewas I when she needed me? In the fucking hospital, unable to do shit. Even you went and helped Monique. I didn’t do shit.”

“This all happened so fast, Cas.”

“It doesn’t matter how fast it happened. I wasn’t the one who saved her. I didn’t protect her at all. While she was being taken, I was kidnapping that fucking Tatum prick. While she was in danger, I was in the hospital because my enemies ran my car off the road. I’m exactly who and what she thought I was, meaning I’m exactly who and what she doesn’t want in her life. We aren’t even dating yet, and she’s already been kidnapped and had her life threatened. There’s no way she’d consider giving me a chance now. There’s no way I’d ask for a chance after everything she’s endured because of my family. She deserves better.”

“Cas, don’t just assume there’s no chance between the two of you. Wait until you’ve talked to her. Wait until...”

Cas shook his head. “Waiting won’t help. Neither will talking about it. It’s not like with you and Monique.”

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