Page 6 of Lines Drawn
Donovan waves off Hollis’s concern. “I’m okay. As I was saying, the road to recovery will be long. His wrist is shattered. Murry and the ortho he brought in have pieced it together withscrews and plates. It’s going to be a bitch to heal. His leg isn’t that badly off, but it’s fractured in three places, and will have him laid up for a while.
“There was shrapnel in his side from the window exploding, and that took a while to clean out. There must have been at least a hundred pieces of glass extracted from him. We had to be very careful and precise, so we didn’t leave a sliver behind—the last thing he needs is an infection.
“His ribs are also fractured in a few places, so that’s going to add time to his bedrest.
“We will start off slow with visitors. He should be coming around in a few hours. They’re getting him cleaned up now. No more than two at a time until he’s fully awake, and none of us will hesitate to kick you out should you stress him out. Understood?”
“Yes. Thank you, Vonny,” Cristian replies.
Donovan dips his head. “Doc will be out after Roman is all cleaned up, but don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you might have.”
“We can wait. Go rest, Vonny. It’s been a long night for you all.”
“Thank you, Boss.” Vonny doesn’t hesitate to reach up and remove his CIs, and I don’t blame him one bit.
“I want to see my son.” Cristian looks at those of us that are gathered. “I know you do, too. But please…I need to see him first.”
“Of course,” Hollis says. “We can wait. You and Carter take as much time as you need.”
Cristian meets me eyes and I give him a nod. “Go be with him, Cris. We will wait.”
Il Padrone doesn’t hesitate to press a kiss on Cristian, and then Carter, which makes Benjamin hold me a little tighter as Itense at the show. When he pulls away, Cristian reaches for him, bringing their mouths together once more.
“Go be with your son, Dolce Cuore. I’ll take care of everything in the meantime.”
“Thank you.”
Clenching my jaw, I allow the weight of the baby mouse against me to ground me and keep me from doing something stupid. There will be plenty of time to confront the Martelli Boss, and make sure he’s good enough for Cristian, but right now, all that matters is the little shit who can’t keep himself out of trouble.
As if he can read my thoughts, Il Padrone looks me in the eye. I don’t try to hide from him, letting him see the fear, the pain, and my utter devotion to the men who I call mine.
He wants to have his wicked way with those I’ve claimed? He will learn he has to face me, too. Game on.
Iopen the door to our suite and practically drag myself in.Fucking hell. Every inch of me hurts, and I swear I’ll be coughing up black shit for days. Smoke inhalation is a bitch.
At least, Keegan is here. Although he merely raises an eyebrow in greeting when I head toward him. Grimacing, I glance down at the blood and soot covering me, and quickly head to the bathroom instead.
Flicking on the shower, I peel off my clothes as it warms up, some of the garments sticking to me. I wince as I pull part of my shirt off, and try to muffle my cursing. The clothes are definitely going to need to be marked for the burn pile. I shove them into one of the bags specified for that, and thank fuck the maids know how to handle these situations.
“How did you get injured?”
I jolt at Keegan’s voice, shaking my head as I didn’t hear him come into the bathroom over the sound of water falling. I have to give Il Padrone bonus points for the water pressure here. It’s one of the few things that doesn’t suck about being recalled to the mansion, when I’d rather be at our house, with my love and our son.
I swallow hard as Keegan comes up behind me and grasps my shoulders tightly, turning me to face the mirror, before he drops one hand to trace the knife wound. It’s ugly, but that’s nothing new. My body has more than its fair share of scars. At least, this one only needed a few stitches.
“One of the men we captured had a knife. He wasn’t properly divested of it, and it came as a surprise…” I trail off at Keegan’s glare. He moves his hand up to my throat, applying pressure as I meet his eyes in the mirror.
“Tease. I expect better from you. Your body is mine. This is unacceptable.” He lets his hand drop, and I immediately miss the sensation, even as I draw in a shaky breath. His stormy eyes don’t leave mine, forcing me to speak.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have trusted the men. It’s taken care of now. The man who came at me paid with his life. There were others we were able to capture and hold. Three survived.
“Lio and I put them in cells with chains. I wanted to push them, but Lio had a point. He didn’t want to fuck with them until Tennant was available. He helped patch me up, since it’s barely a scratch.
“Ely’s gang lost two men. We only lost one. And that’s because he’s the one who fucked up and let a knife get through. Lio…did not hold back.”
Grunting, Keegan nods. “I wouldn’t have either. I’m assuming he’s back with his Master?”
I shrug as I open the door to the shower, intent to clean off the blood and grime covering my body. “Likely. We took off afterwe got everyone here, and by the time we got back, it was quiet. I think it calmed Lio down to have something productive to do.”
