Page 20 of Wanted Twins with the Mafia Boss

Will she go to Matteo now? Call the security? The cops? I don’t know what she’s thinking or what she believes. I have to hurry.

Even if Matteo catches me, maybe I can lie about the whole thing. He doesn’t have to knowwhat really happened. I’ll tell him they confused me with someone else or that I got the cut later—here in the hospital.

I don’t know why I’m thinking about all of it, but I guess it keeps me calm. I need to believe I have options, even if I don’t.

As quickly as possible, I get out of my dress and put on the scrubs. Once I’m ready, I peek through the door. Nurses and doctors are everywhere, but no one looks familiar.

Hopefully, Matteo doesn’t have his spy here among the staff. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d lied to me about the whole thing. If that nurse works for him... But she wouldn’t have reacted the way she did. She would’ve told him right away, or maybe she’s telling him now.

I hurry in the direction opposite from the waiting room. Everyone’s busy with something, so they don’t pay much attention to me, and I keep my head down.

As I look into one of the rooms, I spot an open window. Patients are lying in beds, but I don’t see any staff, so I enter the room.

The patients are asleep, or at least they don’t even stir as I walk past their beds. I glance through the window, and then I haul myself through it. Pain shoots through my thigh, and it’s possible my stitches won’t survive this. But the painkillers must be kicking in because I manage to walk away.

The night has already fallen, and it’s dark. A little cold too, but I don’t have time to think about my discomfort. I stride as fast as I can, keeping to the walls. Nothing moves in the darkness, and I can’t see any suspicious men prowling around.

Matteo has really fallen for my act then. He doesn’t even suspect I might be up to something, but the nurse still might tell him the wrong thing.

As I cross the street, I let out a small sigh of relief. I’m not free yet or even safe, but if I can disappear in the alleys in front of me, then I have a good chance to lose Matteo and get back home.

But is that even a good idea? Will Matteo look for me there? Is Adriano still in my house? What is he thinking? I can’t just show up there either. Not without a good plan.

I need to find a phone somewhere first. Maybe in that one small café where they know me. I glance over my shoulder.

No one’s following me.

That’s good.

That’s really, really good.

CHAPTER 11

Matteo

I hate hospitals. Everything is so damn... sterile and dirty at the same time. Sterile because of the white walls, the unnatural glow of the light above my head, and the smell of antiseptic that permeates the air. The floor is stained, though, and the uncomfortable plastic chair I’m sitting in is chipped.

The chatter of the people and the sounds of rushing footsteps drive me crazy. One of my guards is leaning against the coffee machine as he looks around, and the other just sits there, staring at everyone.

The two of them are making people uncomfortable. I can tell because everyone keeps throwing them suspicious glances, and they don’t seem to get it.

But I can’t send them away. Not yet. It’s toodangerous, and I need them in case Adriano and my father realize where I am.

I could leave and wait outside, but if something happens, I have to be here to deal with it. It would take my guards too long to get to me and ask me for instructions.

I rub the back of my neck. This reminds me too much of my stay at the hospital when I was a kid. My father had me doing some kind of exercise in the heavy and cold rain, and I got sick.

He didn’t give a damn until it got so bad I thought I was going to die. Then he left me at the hospital with his men. I was delirious and didn’t know what was going on.

Once my fever broke, I was all alone and scared in my room. Surrounded by strangers. No one there to comfort me or tell me anything.

It was a hellish experience, and I was glad when they finally discharged me. But it was worse when I got home because the first thing I saw was my father on the sofa with Adriano, who was sitting right next to him. My father was laughing, but he stopped when he noticed me. Then his face turned serious, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

“Adriano caught a little cold too,” he said. “But look at him. He’s perfectly fine and strong. Notlike you.”

I ran to my room because I didn’t want to hear anything else.

A child’s cry brings me back to reality. I can’t keep sitting here and waiting. Thinking about the past will drive me crazy. I need something to do other than being trapped in my own mind.

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