Page 55 of Lines Drawn
“Alright. I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“You don’t have to, Boss. You lead, and we’ll follow. Always.”
Carter straightens and sheds his last bit of helplessness. It’s beautiful to see that switch into him being a Boss, and reassures me that we made the right decision. Even if it hurt Lio. We’ll still be with everyone, so if we’re needed, I’m sure we can all come together. But for now, we’ll put our focus on the De Lucas, and on our new Boss. I know he’ll do great things, and I want to be there for it. Cristian can get fucked for taking Carter for granted. We won’t ever do that.
“Let’s go, Tease.” Keegan nudges me in the side. “We need to get our son all set to go. I don’t want to run into problems with Padrone waking up before we’re gone.”
“Alright. Did you see Lio, though? I wanted to touch base with him first.” My gaze roams the emptying study, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
Keegan shakes his head. “No. But I’m sure he has plenty of shit to do. We can talk at the O’Connel house.”
Giving up, I shrug one shoulder and let myself be pulled along. This is going to be frantic, but thankfully, we excel under pressure. Escaping hell? No problem. It’s time to start a new life, with a new Boss, and admittedly…I’m way more excited over that than I thought I would be. Too bad Il Padrone is such an asshole, or maybe I’d thank him for this shit.
My biggest fear? What happens when those two Bosses get their shit together? I can’t see us merging all that easily, because if this proves anything, it’s that once you have a taste of power, there’s no going back. Maybe that’s why Il Padrone and Cristian were trying to hold onto everyone so tightly, or maybe their minds were simply too warped from the kidnapping. Fuck if I know. And at this point? I don’t give a shit. While they cling to the embers of the past, life moves on—without them.
Switching out Luca’s bag of fluids takes all of my concentration and training. I don’t regret my decision, staying wasn’t for myself, but for the good of my Family. The people I love, they’re more important to me than anything, since I never had that growing up—Cristian’s dumbass just happens to be part of it, too.
Daddy wraps an arm around me once I’m done messing with Luca. He holds me tightly, and his touch is the only thing holding me up, if I’m being honest. There’s so much strength in his small frame, and I will never take that for granted. Which is why I don’t know how Cristian and Allesandro can do so when it comes to the people they’re supposed to love.
“Are we doing the right thing?” I say, just above a whisper. “Should we have gone with them?”
“You had a point about needing to be here to care for Luca.”
“We could have taken him with us.”
“That’s kidnapping, Baby.”
“They took Ignacio without getting his opinion,” I argue.
Daddy sighs. “Ignacio will be grateful when he wakes up fully and realizes what’s happened. Luca would not. He is Il Padrone’s, everyone was adamant about that. We need to be careful with him. As much as we want to help him, and protect him from the Bosses’ wrath, we can’t let our guard down. There’s a good chance the six of us are in danger here.”
“I won’t let them hurt any of you. As much as it’ll hurt…I’ll take Cristian out before he or Allesandro can lay a finger on you.”
He sighs. “I know, Baby. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Before anything else can be said, the door to Luca’s room is swung open and the Bosses stumble their way in. I have to bite my tongue to prevent a grin from spreading across my lips. Seeing what are supposed to be two strong, formidable men get their bearings after a drugging is fucking hysterical, not that I want to see that.
“Where. Are. They?” Allesandro growls, with a fire in his blue eyes that would scare me if I didn’t spend most of my life with Tennant.
“Where are who?” I tilt my head and pull out of Daddy’s embrace, putting myself between him and the Bosses, while pulling my scalpel at the same time.
“My Boys. Where are they?”
I can’t help but let the small, cocky grin slip onto my lips, power rushing through me at knowing I helped put these men on their knees. “They’re gone. And you have no one to blame but yourselves.”
“Ashby…” Cristian warns.
I sneer at him. “You have no right to use that name with me. Ever.” I look between the Bosses. “I answered your question, butin case you’re still feeling the side effects of the meds, I’ll be more clear this time. They. Are. Gone. Now, get out of here if you’re going to be an asshole. Luca doesn’t need the stress.”
“Doc…” Cristian whispers, and for just a moment, there’s a bit of devastating clarity on his face before his expression hardens.
“They’re gone, Cris. And I will be too if you don’t get thefuckout.”
Allesandro clenches his teeth, but he glances at Luca, and some decency must still live in his thick head because he swallows as he stares at his friend, before spinning on his heel and escorting Cristian out the door.
“This isn’t over,” he tells me. “I am still Il Padrone, and you won’t get away with what you did.”
I grin at him. “I am just doing my job, sir, like I have been all morning. Go drink some water and think about your life choices.”
