Page 72 of Twisted Vows

“Hey, I have a family emergency and need to leave. Right now,” I say.

Dr. Taylor steps forward as though he means to argue with me, but I ignore him and grab the pad of sticky notes and a pen. Iwrite as hard as I can and leave an impression on as many sticky notes as possible and rip them off as I toss the pen onto the desk.

“I’m not asking. If my husband comes looking for me, give him this,” I say as I press the top note into the hand of the nurse who just performed my ultrasound. Belatedly realizing they’ve never met Fiero before, I call out over my shoulder as I sprint out the door. “Big guy. Lots of tattoos. Handsome. Deadly. You’ll know him when you see him.”

Without a clear plan and still in my scrubs with my stethoscope around my neck, the sonograms in my pocket, sticky notes in one hand, and my phone in the other—which I refuse to use for fear of Seppi somehow knowing and hurting Katherine—I crumple up each sticky note before systematically dropping them in Fiero’s normal skulking locations.

My lungs burn and the few people on the streets look at me like I’m crazy, but I run as fast as I can until I reach where my sister was in the photo. My phone chimes with another picture.

When I search the pockets of my scrubs, hoping to find a strip of paper or something useful amidst the odds and ends I accrued throughout the day, I realize the only thing I can write on are the sonograms. Stuffing the extra pens and bigger items in my hip pockets and the smaller things—a hairpin, several safety pins, and a single dime—into the pocket on my chest, I pull the photos of my pregnancy out of my back pocket.

Cursing Seppi with every breath, I scan the area, ensuring no one is watching, and tear the first picture off the strip before clicking my pen and writing Katherine’s new location on the back.

My heart aches as I weave the paper into the slats of the nearest trash can. I hang my stethoscope on the rim, hoping it’s enough to catch Fiero’s attention. Regret and sorrow nearly bring me to my knees as I imagine my husband finding my trailof clues, but for Katherine’s sake, I firm my spine and start down the stairs.

There’s no point in glancing over my shoulder. I can’t look back or I’ll falter.

My sister needs me. I can’t fail her.

And I need Fiero.

Only the certainty that nothing will stop him from finding and protecting me gives me the strength to continue deeper into the subway.

Chapter 20

Fiero Capito

I kick the crumpled yellow squareinto the gutter as I cross the street, annoyed someone left their litter in the middle of the sidewalk, and stalk toward the smoking area where I normally wait for Emma. Expecting her to be behind the nurse’s station, I lean against the corner of the building and flick my lighter open and closed a few times. As I reach for my smokes, a yellow sticky note near my heel catches my attention.

The hairs on my nape stand on end as I recall seeing others along the last block or two, almost as though someone left a trail near places I might linger. Moving on instinct, I bend down and grab the slip of paper without lowering my gaze as I scan the area.

Even without the cutesy drawings on the edges—or even ink on the page—I recognize the indentations as Emma’s messy scrawl. I step closer to the streetlamp and angle the paper to better read it.

My heart seizes.

With four words, she conveys a message so horrific my humanity takes a back seat. I know exactly what happened when I read my brother’s first name, her sister’s name abbreviated, and a subway station number. I curse and close my fist around the paper as I lunge into motion. Running faster than I have inmonths, I sprint down the sidewalk, not slowing when I reach the end of the block, pushing myself harder as I speed dial the emergency chat.

The call connects. Three people—the boss man, boss lady, and our best soldier—listen in, but Giorgio answers.

“Speak.”

His clipped command is all I need to clear my panic away.

As soon as I found out who Katherine and Emma were, I confessed to Giorgio, knowing I couldn’t protect both my wife and her sister while I staked out Narciso without his help. He had already known about my identity because the boss lady snooped.

I should have known they would accept me into their family without prejudice. After all, their biological families were almost as fucked up as mine.

“My brother is in New York City. He found Katherine and contacted Emma. She’s ahead of me. Alone.” I relay the location and skid around the corner to sprint down the last block.

The sky lightens as the rising sun reveals a mostly empty street, but as I place my foot down onto the first step of the subway stairs, a white rectangle on the outside of the trashcan flutters in the wind, stealing my attention.

A stethoscope hangs above it.

I lean down to inspect the paper.

The handwriting is Emma’s. I snatch it out from between the slats and open my mouth to relay the next location to Giorgio, but fear steals my voice as I turn the laminated paper over.

She’s pregnant. My wife is carrying my child.

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