Page 78 of Corrupted Empire

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Alexis

Silvano is just as stubborn as ever, and I think that’s the only thing keeping him alive. The doctor has managed to stop the bleeding, but he has three bullet wounds, one of them where the bullet is still lodged inside, and has lost a lot of blood.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t take him to the hospital?” I ask.

Gabriel has told me twice before that Silvano will receive the same level of care in the mansion as he would in the hospital, but even though I can see the machines beeping and the doctor adjusting the bag of saline, I still struggle to believe it. After Gabriel’s near-death incident a few months ago, he had one of his spare bedrooms outfitted with enough medical equipment to resuscitate a small army. I only hope it will be enough.

“I’m going to be fine,” Silvano murmurs, eyelids fluttering. “I’ve never died before, and I’m not going to start now.”

His voice comes out thick. Groggy. I’m surprised he’s still awake.

Antonio’s bulky form hovers in the corner. He filled us in while the doctor was patching up Silvano’s various wounds. Silvano and four other men were meant to merely be providing a distraction while Gabriel’s team followed a lead on the location of Kevin Lynch. They attacked O’Neill’s, which should have been mostly empty at the time. Somehow Felicity knew about the attack, and she and a dozen men were waiting there when Silvano arrived. He was the sole survivor.

“Alexis,” Silvano croaks. His hand lurches over the side of the bed, searching for me. I grab it.

“Yeah?”

Gabriel watches the exchange suspiciously. In all fairness, Silvano and I are not friends, so I don’t understand why he’s addressing me on what could be his deathbed.

“Felicity said something,” he tells me. “She said something that you need to know.”

“What is it?” Gabriel demands.

I glare at him for his lack of tact. Gabriel ignores me.

Silvano’s eyes close, and his head drops to the side.

“Silvano,” Gabriel presses. “What did Felicity say?”

But Silvano is galloping away from consciousness, and he only manages to mutter two words before passing out entirely. “My angel.”

“My angel?” Gabriel repeats. “What does that mean?”

He looks at me, and I shake my head, though the words do pull at a thread somewhere in the back of my mind. I’m too overwhelmed with the evening’s attack to figure out why. Silvano’s whole team was killed. That could have easily been Gabriel.

Gabriel prods Silvano’s arm, and the doctor shoots him a sour look. “Sir, I need to start the surgery as soon as possible, and he needs his rest. He has lost a lot of blood.”

I tug Gabriel up. He’s still shirtless, and his skin is hot under my fingers. “The doctor’s right. Let’s go talk about what we’re going to do.”

He looks as though he’s going to fight me on it at first, but after blinking a few times and releasing a sigh, he follows me into the hall. Gabriel always loses his edge a little where Felicity Huffman is concerned. I don’t blame him. She’s been a constant antagonist in his life for years, and seems to have a very personal vendetta against him and his family. Plus she has a frustrating ability to pop up in the places you least expect it. It makes her hard to fight.

We go back to Gabriel’s office. Gabriel stops for a shirt on the way, much to my chagrin, and I clear up the rest of the garbage from the first aid kit while I wait for him. When he enters the room, he pours a glass of whiskey.

“If Silvano dies…” he begins, but doesn’t finish his thought. He downs his glass and fills it again before taking his seat.

“Silvano’s not going to die,” I say. “He’s too stubborn for that.”

“Vito was stubborn too,” Gabriel points out. He scrubs a hand over his face. “What should we do, Alexis?”

I’m touched that he’s asking my opinion. Our relationship has changed over the past few weeks, but something about me tending his wounds tonight seems to have cemented our new normal.

“What would you normally do in a situation like this?” I ask.

He takes a sip of the whiskey, shadows dancing over his features. “I would repay them in kind. Find every one of them who was there and cut them down so that the first drop of Italian blood they spilled is their last.”

“Then do that,” I say. “But make sure that while you do, you don’t get lost in the revenge. Be careful. Felicity is probably expecting you to retaliate. Hell, I bet she’s hoping you will. Don’t fall into her trap.”

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