Page 110 of The Slayer
“I’m coming.” Chuito walked past Wyatt and punched his shoulder lightly. “It’ll be okay.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt whispered, but he didn’t sound like he meant it. “Thanks, buddy.”
The shock of walking from the darkness in the hallway to the absolutely boisterous joy that was Jules’s hospital room was jarring.
Tino jumped up from a seat he’d been sitting in, holding one of his new nephews. “Look at this bambino.”
“Valentino!” Romeo shouted from his seat on the edge of Jules’s bed. “Stop hopping around with him. We’re going to take him from you if you keep doing that.”
“Nah, he’s strong like his zio.” Tino walked over and showed the baby off to Chuito and Alaine. “He’s handsome like his zio too. You wanna hold him?”
Chuito held up his hand. “I’m good.”
“I’ll hold him.” Alaine took the baby from Tino. Then she turned to Jules, who was sitting up in bed. Her hair was tied back, and she was still pale from her surgery, but it looked like she was healing. “Who is this?”
“Freddy,” Jules said as she pointed at the baby in Alaine’s arms.
“How can you tell?” Alaine asked, smiling ear to ear. “I can’t tell.”
“I don’t know. I just can.” Jules laughed and then gestured to Nova sitting in another seat, with another baby in his arms. “Have you met Nova? He always breezes in and out of town. I wasn’t sure if you’d met him.”
“I’ve been to your office, Jules,” Nova reminded her and then gave Chuito a wide-eyed look. “And we were all here when you had the twins.”
“This morphine has me so fuzzy,” Jules complained. “I hate it.”
“Enjoy the ride, mama.” Tino laughed and then walked over to Nova. “Give him to me.”
Nova jerked back, holding the baby in his arms tighter, giving his brother a glare. “Back off, Tino. I’m leaving in a week. You’re staying here. Let me hold my nephew.”
Chuito actually laughed at them, because it was sort of shocking to see them being so fucking domestic. This was the Nova and Tino that Jules saw, and he understood why she didn’t see anything else.
For the first time he was really glad for it.
Chuito didn’t want Jules to have to see the darkness of the world any more than he wanted Alaine to see it.
Even if it lived under her roof.
“Can you two not shake the babies?” Romeo growled at both of them. “I’m serious. If you—”
“They’re fine,” Nova said dismissively. “Strong.” He looked at Tino and gestured to himself with his free hand. “Like their zio.”
Jules laughed. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer than a week, Nova?”
“Yeah, I’m sure; I got business to take care of,” Nova said, his eyes on his nephew in his arms.
That one statement sort of sucked the joy out of the room, making it very clear that everyone was aware of what that meant.
Tino was out.
Nova wasn’t.
And they all knew it.
“You could move here,” Jules whispered as she broke the silence, because she was never good at keeping her thoughts to herself even when shewasn’ton morphine. “You could—”
“Jules,” Nova cut her off and lifted his head to give her a sad smile. “I’ll visit. I promise.”
“But—”
