Page 54 of Depths of Obsession
She opens her lips, and I quickly pour most of the contents of the glass into her mouth. She chokes, swallows and then starts coughing. She shoots me a hard look as she puts one hand on her chest and coughs into the other arm. Finally, she stops coughing. “What the hell did you do that for?” she demands.
I look pointedly at her hands.
She looks at them. “Oh.” She meets my gaze. “Thanks.”
I stand up. “Get into the bath. I’ll have Harry bring up some tea.”
Pippa doesn’t move. “I…I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened to my hands.” She stares at them.
“You had a panic attack. It’s fine. You’re fine.”
She shakes her head sadly. “I’m not fine. Vampires are real. My father is dead. My mother is in a clinic in Switzerland. Gazzago still wants me as payment, and I think he shot at your men. And we flew across the sky. I’m a lot of things but fine is definitely not one of them.”
CHAPTER 18
My cell phone rings, and I know I have to answer it. I glance back at Pippa. Her eyes are wide, her body still trembling slightly. She needs space to process everything.
“Little one, have your bath. Relax. We’ll talk in a bit.” With that, I leave the room, my heart heavy. She has to accept the truth eventually, but this is definitely a setback. I don’t have time to coddle her, no matter how much I might want to.
“Rocco,” I say, heading down the stairs and into the hallway that leads to my office. I close the door behind me, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down. “Is anyone hurt?”
“Not so you’d notice,” he replies. “One of our guys, Antonio, got winged by a bullet when one of Gazzago’s guys got a little overzealous, but everyone else is fine.”
Harry enters silently, handing me a bourbon. I don’t indulge often, but sometimes it’s nice to have a drink, to pretend I’m like everyone else, that I can feel the same simple comforts. I give him a nod, and he backs out quietly.
“What did Gazzago say?” I ask, my eyes narrowing.
Rocco snorts. “What didn’t he say? He ranted and raved for a bit, and then his guy shot at us, but we remained calm. It wasn’t until Gazzago’s head of security stepped into the fray that things went south.”
“South?” I feel anxiety creeping in.
“He got mouthy, which was fine. But then he shoved me—not once, but twice. I tried to warn him it was a bad idea. I put up with his crap, but when he came at me a third time, I dropped him.”
I take a sip of my drink, savoring the burn as it makes its way to my belly, grounding me. “Is he alive, or did you kill him?” I dread the answer, but if Rocco did it, it was necessary. He’s never been one to overreact.
“He’s alive, but I broke some ribs, one arm, and his nose,” Rocco sighs. “It won’t help things with Gazzago, but honestly, boss, I didn’t have a choice. If I let him keep pushing, then Gazzago and his men would think they could push us in other ways. They might go after you, the clubs, or the family.”
“You did the right thing,” I tell him, feeling a sense of grim satisfaction. I will feel so much better when I feel the life ooze out of Gazzago at my hands. “Gazzago’s just looking to test us. I’m not sure why he thinks he’ll get away with it, but it’s good that you put him in his place. How’s Luna?”
“She’s fine. Shaken up a bit but coping. Smart thinking, crashing the car that way,” Rocco says.
“Yeah, it was. Any news on the mystery man?”
“No. I’ve got people looking and Bob is checking cameras so we’ll see what happens.” Rocco continues, “I can’t help wondering why he couldn’t escape using magick this time. How come we got so close to him at the club?”
I take a swallow of my drink. “Because I had Esme cast a spell around this club since it’s my main office. No magick can be used inside. I assume that since he couldn’t disappear inside the club, he thought something was wrong and that his magick wasn’t working all together.”
“That makes sense. I wish we had it at all the clubs.”
“So do I,” I say in agreement. “But it’s a pretty intense spell, as you know, and it would take a lot of time to cast it at all the clubs.”
Luca. Renzo is trying to open a channel with me.
I sigh softly, annoyed at the interruption. “I have to go. Renzo’s calling. No doubt he wants to talk about Gazzago. You did the right thing, Rocco. Thank the guys for doing their jobs. Give Antonio a bonus—figure out something suitable.”
Luca?Renzo presses again.
“Will do. I’ll keep you updated on our mystery man as well. I’ve got people watching for him—he won’t leave the city without us knowing.”
