Page 75 of Gin & Trouble

“They have us in a private room.” I led them down the hall to a less controlled kind of chaos—our family.

Everyone in the waiting room turned and stared when Leo walked inside. Our mom took one look at the toddler and whispered a prayer.

Once again, Leo froze in his tracks. “I need to see Dahlia.”

“Mamma is here?” Gunnar perked up. “I see her?”

My heart broke for both of them. I couldn’t begin to imagine how I’d feel if it were Frankie back there.

Shanna walked into the room, stiff and stone-faced. “Enzo’s in surgery to remove the bullet. There doesn’t appear to be any damage to his internal organs, but the docs will know more once they get in and look around.”

My mom pressed her hand to her chest.

Leo rounded on Shanna. “Do you know where Dahlia is? Can you take me to her?”

She nodded to Gunnar.

I stepped forward to help, but Leo didn’t seem to notice.

He whispered something to the little guy and started to hand him off to Gabe.

Our mom had other ideas. Like a four-foot-nothing defensive end, she practically knocked Gabe off his feet to get to her grandson. “I’ll take him.”

The child stared at her for a heartbeat before taking Leo’s face in his fat little hands and forcing his father to look at him. The little guy tried to whisper, but he ended up sounding more like Christian Bale playing Batman. “Who is that?”

I’d never given much thought to having kids, but suddenly I wanted one who imitated superheroes and had my wild curls and Frankie’s eyes.

Maybe a girl. A tomboy who wears a pink cape and combat boots.

I shook myself out of the daydream.

Seeing firsthand how Leo was with his son, and watching Gunnar interact with my family, made me realize I’d been wrong about my brother. Very wrong.

When I’d first found out Leo had kept the child a secret, I’d been angry and hurt and couldn’t wrap my brain around why he’d do such a thing. I’d called him selfish. In reality, he’d been the opposite.

No wonder he’s been such a miserable SOB for the past year.

It must have killed him to keep his son away from the rest of us, or to be a part-time dad. He’d made a huge sacrifice to keep Gunnar and Dahlia safe from the mafia. I doubted I’d have the balls to do the same.

There’s no way I’m letting Frankie walk away. My family will accept her or lose me. There’s no other option.

I loved her and she loved me and that was worth fighting for.

22

Dante

An houror so had gone by and I’d felt each freaking second in slow motion. The longer Enzo’s surgery went on, the more the tension in the room rose. No one spoke about it. No one had to. We’d all been there before with Joe.

Even having Gunnar in the room gave me an odd sense of déjà vu. Joe and Rebecca’s youngest son, Ryan, had been about the same age when his parents were killed. The older two had been with Rebecca’s mother the night of the crash, but Ryan had been with my parents. Which meant, he’d come to the hospital with them.

Unlike Ryan, Gunnar would walk out of here with his mom and dad.

Leo returned to the waiting room with the Governor of Louisiana. Over the years, Waylon Calhoun, Dahlia’s father, had made it known he didn’t like my family or “our type of people” in his fine state. I couldn’t imagine his daughter getting shot had done much to sway his opinion.

“The chief of police shared footage from one of the city’s security videos with Waylon.” Leo glanced at each of us. “Take a look and tell me if the woman in the video looks familiar.”

A woman? Sophia Abruzzo? Could she still be in New Orleans?

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