Page 52 of Burning Beauty

The doctor hesitated. "Well, yes, but I would administer then in the safest - " He yelped and leapt back as Nic reached for his gun.

Casandra made an angry sound and slid in between the two. "Are you fucking serious right now, Niccolo DeLuca? You're going to kill someone else in the same bedroom as the woman you traumatized less than a day ago by killing someone in front of her? You're such a fucking idiot."

Nic narrowed his eyes at Cassandra and switched to Italian so the doctor wouldn't understand their argument. "Watch your tongue. You are part of the reason she's like this now. If you hadn't been involved in her wild scheme, she would have been safe at home waiting for me. You bear equal responsibility."

"Maybe I do," she fired back, also switching to Italian, "but you are no innocent. You dragged her into our world and expected her to follow the rules without giving her a chance to understand how things work. She is not a mafia wife. She is not equipped for this violence."

"And you are?" Nic asked darkly, stepping threateningly toward her.

Cassandra stared at him, her eyes deep pools of sadness. "Yes."

He knew Cassandra's assessment was correct. Cassandra was soft and sweet in many ways, but she'd grown up in the mafia. She'd married mafia. She knew the score, knew how to keep her head down. She knew when to fight and when to run. Maria knew none of this. Maria only knew how to be herself, and every time she tried to let her bright personality shine through, the world stomped on her.

Finally, his rage turned to guilt as he realized the damage he'd done. His shoulders slumped a little and he nodded. "Alright, what does she need?" he asked, this time in English.

"She needs rest and calm," the doctor supplied helpfully.

Cassandra turned an imperious look on the man. "Not you, asshole. You were about to fill her full of drugs because you were too chicken to contradict the man with the gun." She turned back to Nic. "I'll take care of her. She just needs to sleep it off and see a friendly face when she does wake up."

"And that's not me," Nic said grudgingly.

Cassandra didn't say anything. She didn't need to. What happened next with Maria was anyone's guess, but she would be changed. She'd witnessed something no one should ever have to see.

Nic nodded his head slowly, thinking. He crooked a finger at the doctor. "Walk with me."

The doctor hesitated and Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Get out of here. If he wanted you dead you'd be dead."

The doctor followed Nic down to his office where Nic waved him into a chair. "Sit."

The man collapsed, somewhat gratefully, as though his spine was as afraid of Nic as the rest of him.

Nic sat behind his desk and eyed the man. "You came highly recommended to me. So far I am not impressed."

"I'm sorry, sir - "

"Don't be sorry," Nic said sharply. "Do better."

He nodded emphatically. "Anything you want."

Nic rubbed the bridge of his nose suddenly feeling very tired. "I want you to stay on for a few weeks. Monitor Maria. Do a complete health check when she's recovered enough."

"Of course."

Nic gave the man a hard stare and rubbed his chin with his tattooed finger, cutting a sinister figure. The godfather of mayhem and violence momentarily retreated to his lair. He purposefully allowed the image to settle with the doctor before speaking again.

"This woman is as good as a wife to me. Better even, since I have chosen her to stand by my side. It is your job to make sure she's healthy and fit to act as my companion. If you fail, I will remove you from the position and find someone better."

The doctor nodded emphatically, clutching his bag to his chest. "Anything you want."

Nic was already regretting his decision to keep this spineless man on his staff, but for the moment he didn't have quick access to a doctor, and he didn't want Maria to go without one for even a single second. "You will be given a temporary room next to mine, to easier facilitate monitoring your patient. If you need anything, you will let me know."

"Yes, sir."

Nic stared at the man and then looked pointedly at the door, dismissing him without words. The doctor hastily left Nic's presence, his sigh of relief trailing after him. Nic leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking. For perhaps the first time in his life, Nic regretted an action he took. He regretted punishing Maria by killing her bodyguard in front of her. She was a tough woman and he had made the mistake of believing that meant she could handle the grimmer aspects of his world. He'd been catastrophically wrong and was now responsible for harming his woman in a way he never intended.

Maria was changed. He needed her to wake up so he could find out exactly how much she was changed by this event. What if she was broken? What would he do if Maria woke up a broken woman? Would he let her go, let her live her own life? He could get the papers she needed to legally live in the US, far away from the conflicts of her hometown. He could watch over her from a distance, making sure she stayed out of trouble while ensuring she got the best possible life.

Nic pondered this thought for some time, then decided that, no, he was not unselfish enough to let her go. Maria belonged to him, whether she was whole or broken. If she was broken, then he would spend the rest of their lives trying to fix her. He would make her life so carefree and happy that she would have no choice but to find her way back to him.

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