Page 3 of Reaching His Heart (The Sartoris 3)

“I’m not sure. The hospital wouldn’t give me details, but they called me when they couldn’t reach you or Mr. Romy.”

Ezio slammed a fist on his desk. Of course they couldn’t reach him. He had turned off his cell phone while working on the report. Everyone he had dealings with knew to contact Kelli if they couldn’t reach him, and Romy was out of the country on business for the company.

He jerked his cell phone up from where it lay and powered it on. Dread washed over him. The missed messages came in, but he didn’t check them. As he headed out of the office, he dialed the hospital.

“This is Ezio Sartori. I understand you have my brother there in the emergency room. Give me an update.” Over his shoulder, he commanded Kelli. “Get Lucca on the phone. Tell him to pick up my mother, my wife, and Sonya. Then call Romy. Tell him to be on standby until I know how serious this is.”

“Yes, sir.”

The voice on the other end of the line came on again. “Mr. Sartori?”

“Go ahead,” he said as he stabbed the button to the elevator. Moe, his personal bodyguard, fell into position beside him, but he didn’t say a word.

“Mr. Cason Sartori is in critical condition,” the woman spouted off impersonally. “He’s got multiple fractures and a serious head injury.”

“Is he awake?”

The woman hesitated. “No, sir.”

Ezio’s stomach turned. “I’ll be there shortly.” He disconnected the call as he stepped into the elevator and sagged against the wall. Ezio prided himself on his strength and his intelligence when it came to business. There wasn’t much he loved more than destroying an opponent who dared to counter him in the corporate world. Yet, his biggest weakness was his family. He loved them more than life, and he loved having them close by. If anything happened to Cason, he didn’t know how he could stand it.

Ezio broke multiple speeding laws as he drove to the hospital. He had elected to grab a company car and drive himself rather than depend on Lucca since he had sent him home for the family. When he arrived at the hospital, it was to find chaos. Media were already on the scene, and it looked like there was more than just Cason involved in the accident. Ezio didn’t care about anyone except his brother.

A woman ran up to him and shoved a mic in his face. “Mr. Sartori, can you give us an update on the condition of your brother, Cason? Our reports say he was drag racing and—”

Ezio raised a hand to shove her away, but Moe beat him to it, shuffling the woman backward with just his massive form. Ezio pulled his ID out and flashed it to the triage nurse. “I’d like to see my brother now and I want to talk to the doctor attending him.”

The woman appeared a little put out, but she nodded. “Yes, sir. Right this way.”

“The rest of my family will arrive shortly, and I expect you to get a handle on the situation out there. I don’t want any of them harassed the way I was. All of them should be shown back here immediately.”

“Sir, we have a policy—” she began.

Another man rushed forward. Ezio recognized as the administrator of the hospital from previous dealings with him. “Of course, Mr. Sartori. We’ll take care of your family. Right this way, sir.”

Ezio followed the sniveling little man as they walked through a minefield of beeping machines, rushing hospital staff, and people he couldn’t see who were crying behind green and white curtains. He hated hospitals. More than that he hated that he was here because Cason was hurt.

A nurse opened the door ahead of him, and Ezio got his first look at Cason. His heart nearly stopped. Cason, so full of life and laughter lay still on the bed, his face and head battered and bandaged. An oxygen mask covered his mouth, and the arm that lay above the covers was encased in a cast. Just the tips of his fingers peeked out, but even they were bruised with small cuts.

Ezio took a step closer when he had gathered his strength and realized both Cason’s legs were in casts. “The doctor…” he whispered and cleared his throat.

A man stepped into the room. “Sir, if you don’t mind coming out to the hall so we can talk?”

Ezio joined him. He couldn’t process what the man looked like because all he kept seeing was his brother lying helpless on the bed. The authoritative tone to the man’s voice must mean

he was the attending physician.

“Mr. Sartori, I want you to know we’re doing all we can for your brother. We will monitor him a little longer, but we may need to do surgery to relieve some of the pressure on his brain. For his next of kin, we have down here Mrs.—”

“My mother doesn’t speak English. I am his next of kin! You can discuss everything with me.”

“O-of course.”

The prognosis didn’t look good.

“Right now he’s in a coma. He has some damage to his spine, and multiple fractures.”

“When will he wake up?”

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