Page 60 of Memento Mori
I stopped pacing, my eyes narrowing as I glared at Abel. I’d tried to kick him out of the house, but he had refused to leave. So, I’d been ignoring him while I stressed about what was happening with my husband.
“I’m not talking to you,” I said defiantly, placing my hands firmly on my hips. “You didn’t warn me he was doing this.”
“I agreed with his decision,” he said, shrugging. “I didn’t tell you because I knew how you’d react and what you would try to do.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “And that wasn’t a decision he nor you should have made for me! I’m his wife. We discuss shit before it gets done.”
“He was trying to protect you, Nzuri.” Abel let out a deep sigh, the sound echoing through the room. “Any man would have done the same thing in his position.”
My eyes narrowed as I shot him a piercing glare. “I don’t care if he wanted to protect me! I can protect my damn self!”
“We both know that you can, Aaliyah. But that man loves you. Did you think that maybe he wasn’t just protecting you? Maybe he was protecting himself too?”
Frustration etched across my face; I resumed my restless pacing. It hadn’t crossed my mind to think about our situation in that way.
“He would be utterly destroyed if something happened to you,” Abel continued. “Cut him some slack.”
I didn’t want to cut him any slack. I was absolutely seething mad about what he did. I knew deep down there may be truth in whatAbel said, but it still didn’t wipe away what Antonio had done. I feel absolutely helpless sitting here doing nothing to protect him.
“It’s your fear that’s got you so pissed off,” Abel said. “Not anger. You’re not angry he’s doing it by himself. You’re scared.”
I stopped my restless pacing, fixating my gaze on him for a brief moment before unleashing a sob that had been building up inside me. I covered my face because I was terrified. Terrified that I would have to navigate this world without him if anything happened.
“Nzuri,” Abel said, pulling me into his arms and burying my face into his chest. “He’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” I mumbled, my voice barely audible. “He could be dead, and I’d never get to see him again.” I stepped away from him. “He should have let me go with him. I could protect him.”
“And he would have spent his time trying to protect you. That would have been a dangerous situation for both of you. Antonio made the right decision, even if you don’t believe it.”
Before I could respond commotion sounded at the front door.
“Stay here,” Abel said, his footsteps echoing as he hurried towards the front door.
There was no way I was going to just stand there and do nothing. Then footsteps thundered towards me.
“Tony!” I yelled as I rushed forward.
Before I could make it to him, Abel managed to catch me in his grasp. There was blood everywhere. Antonio was drenched in it, and the bedsheet they had transformed into a makeshift stretcher was saturated in blood.
“What happened?” I asked as I tried to get to him, but Abel kept a tight grip on me. keeping me away. “Tell me what the hell happened! Let me go, Abel!” I screamed, as I struggled against his hold. “Tony!”
“Get him to the medical suite,” Luca shouted, pointing to one of the hallways that led to the east wing of the house. Next, his gaze fell upon me. “Donna, let me get things squared away with the doc, then we’ll talk. He’s alive.”
“I need to see him!” I yelled, attempting to break free from Abel’s grasp.
“I’m sorry Donna, that’s not a good idea,” Luca said calmly as he left me standing there rushing behind the other men.
Abel forcefully grasped my arms and locked eyes with me. “Pull yourself together, Nzuri,” he growled. “He needs you but so does this Family. You have to calm down.”
I inhaled deeply, then exhaled while nodding. He was right. Despite my heart breaking, I had to remain strong. Not only did Antonio need me but so did the Family. If he was hurt, there wasn’t any doubt we’d lost men. I wiped the tears away just in time for Luca to give me an update.
“Donna,” he said, giving me a slight nod.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Tell me what happened.”
“Everything went as planned. We didn’t have too much push back when we breached the estate. The Don had us taking out guards inside the estate along with Mr. Sefu’s men. Once we cleared the bottom floor, we went to the top and found him lying in a safe room.”
“Who did this?”
