Page 13 of His Kind of Beautiful
Chapter Eight
“Tony, baby, I can’t breathe.”
Leona’s tone was dry, as if mocking him for the tight hold he had on her. “I don’t really give a shit, Lee.” He was balanced precariously on the side of her hospital bed, but comfort be damned, at least this way he knew she was safe. “Hell, as soon as I can spring you from this place and have assured myself that you are in fact in one piece, then I might actually give in to this insane urge I have to spank that ass of yours ’til it’s glowing.”
The press of her lips against his forearm still wrapped tight around her shoulders and the soft laughter that filled the air told him exactly how threatened she felt by that.
“Goddamn it, Leona, I thought I’d fucking lost you.”
The memory of slamming through that door and storming into the room to watch the exact moment Tito fired his damn gun in his woman’s direction would stay with him for life. He’d faced death before, but he’d never known fear like he did at that moment. He’d absently noticed as he lifted his own weapon and fired that a knife Gino had thrown at the fucker struck true, perhaps at the same time as Tony’s bullet. Tony had been on the move before Tito’s lifeless body hit the ground.
He’d cleared the large room in four strides to get to his woman. His heart stopped, literally stopped when he saw blood pouring from a wound on her temple. It had pounded back into life when he saw her flinch when he moved her. He didn’t think it would ever beat in a normal rhythm again.
Perhaps sensing his train of thought, Leona rubbed her hand down his arm, pressing herself tighter against him. “I’m okay, Tony. I’m here.”
Tony exhaled slowly, making himself relax his hold a little. “I know that, baby. I just have to remind myself of it. Probably a lot over the next few—years.”
The two of them lay quietly for a moment, listening to the sounds of the hospital around them and Tony was struck once more about how very wrong things might have gone that day. And of course how much different things would be from now on.
The city officials would be watching the Carlisi family a lot closer now. Hell, John was probablystilldealing with the legal and political fallout of what was essentially an organized crime war between two family factions in the heart of the city. Gavriil and Abby were somewhere in this hospital, not leaving until they had the all clear from Gino’s doctor. Gavriil had promised to come by with an update before they left. Tony was staying right where he was, wrapped around his heart, keeping her safe until such time he felt safe enough to allow her out of his sight.
Then there was the woman who’d dragged Leona down. She was in a room on this floor, and from what the doctors had said, she had suffered more than anyone, and not just today. Apparently, her body, both inside and out, bore the scars of years of horrendous physical abuse, and Tony was fairly certain that would be matched with psychological trauma to go right along with it. No one on earth could survive that kind of torment and not have it change them.
“Did Gino seem different to you?” Leona asked quietly and Tony could hear the sadness and guilt that tinged her tone.
“Leona, what happened to Gino was not your fault.” He felt her sigh and wriggle a little closer to him, and he loved that she turned to him for comfort.
“Logically, I know that. But he just seemed—different.”
Tony knew exactly what she was talking about. Gino had insisted they see to the woman, the one no one had a name for, before he would let anyone see to him. Leona, when she finally came to, had also insisted the woman be taken care of, and as soon as he’d heard she’d pulled Leona down and potentially out of the way of that deadly headshot, Tony had joined that particular bandwagon.
“He did, and he is. He was beaten pretty badly.”
Tony knew that wasn’t what had Gino acting so differently. Gone was the happy-go-lucky jester of the crew, the peacemaker who could be relied on to bring Gavriil or even himself out of a homicidal rage. And in its place was a cold indifference that most would not recognize, but Tony did. And so did Gavriil. He suspected it had something to do with the woman.
He pressed a kiss to Leona’s neck and willed his body to relax. “Sleep, baby. Just relax and know that I’m here and you’re safe. We can figure out what’s happening in the family tomorrow.”
Leona sighed and relaxed against him. “That sounds good.”
Tony smiled. “You can sleep for as long as you like.”
Leona shook her head. “Sleep sounds great, but thinking about tomorrow and knowing we’ll be together means a lot more.”
Tony couldn’t agree more. “We’ll have all the tomorrows in the world,bellezza mia.”
He held his woman as her breathing evened out, and she slipped into sleep. He took a deep breath, pulling her scent into his lungs, feeling his body relax slightly as he exhaled. If he never felt that fear again in his life, it would be too damn soon.
“She asleep?”
Gavriil’s whisper came from the doorway, and Tony shook his head. “Shit, Gavriil, you’re like a damn ghost.”
Gavriil gave him a small smile as he came closer to the bed. “Perhaps you were simply distracted.”
Tony nodded. “Maybe, brother, maybe.” He’d known Gavriil since they were young, and he knew when his brother’s mind was churning. “Spill it, Gavriil. What are you thinking?”
Gavriil leveled him with a gaze. “The Battaglia family. I am getting sick of those bastards fucking with my family. I want to take the next round to them.”
The tension Tony had been battling since the moment he’d realized Leona had left finally dissipated beneath the heat of bloodlust that flooded through him. “Hell yeah. They took my woman. They hurt her. When do we move?”
