Page 94 of Ruthless Consequences

“Don’t do this,” I breathed out. “Don’t go to him. Even if he believed Gallo, he’s not going to admit it. He’s going to destroy anything to do with this.”

He shrugged. “I’m not hiding. I’m not running. No chains. No locks.”

“What about the baby?” I said, my eyes straining against the tears. He couldn’t give me himself, and this, and then take it away again.

“We know what we’re dealing with this time. The risk from before. We’ll do all we can to avoid them, to take good care of the both of you. You and my baby will be safe.”

“We will?”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

“But thatwedoesn’t includeyou.”

“Choices have consequences, baby. Mine just happen to come with ruthless ones.” He came to the side of the bed and gave me his hand. He helped me stand and kept me close as we walked out of the emergency room.

We took the elevator to the ICU floor. Tigran sat in a chair in the waiting room, more men than I could count around him. He was scrolling through his phone, his dark features brightening with the screen.

He rose from his seat and took Lilo’s hand when he noticed us, pulling him in. He didn’t seem to care that his thousand-dollar suit was getting dusted with flour. They slapped each other on the back, white powder floating in the air, then pulled apart.

“How’s Aren? Michele?”

“Both good,” Lilo said. “Michele has a clean shot. In and out. But Aren needs more work. He needs surgery.”

“I’ll see to them both.” His warm brown eyes turned to mine. He had the kind of soothing presence that made a person want to sink into his arms and forget about the world, letting him take every worry and care.

Just like his nephew. Even the cologne.

“Hello,” he said to me, taking my hand and kissing it. “You must be the newest Mrs. Valentino. My mother and sister told me so much about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Thank you for taking care of my dad.”

He nodded, studying my eyes, keeping my hand in his. It was warm. Pleasant. Like his stare. “My pleasure.”

His eyes looked past me for a second. I turned my head a fraction and watched as Ava took a seat, her phone to her ear. She bounced up, pacing a bit, and then sat down again.

“Your sister?” His hand held mine a little tighter, but I didn’t think he meant to do it. “Ava?”

“Yeah,” I said. “My sister.”

Lilo put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer. Tigran snapped out of his trance and looked at Lilo again, releasing my hand. He didn’t just drop it. It was much smoother than that. And that was exactly what he was—smooth. He didn’t flaunt his power; he didn’t need to. It radiated off him.

“Pick your prize, baby.”Like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but the proof stared me in the face.

“You need a shower,” Tigran said, but he looked us both over.

“Does that favor have a time limit?”

“For my sister’s son? Never.”

Lilo glanced at me and then he met his uncle’s eyes. “Get us a room here for tonight? My wife’s hurt and pregnant and she needs sleep. And then I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Ava’s eyes snapped up. I nodded. She shook her head and went back to her conversation, but she stood and walked farther down the hall, her voice quiet.

“Done,” he said, like Lilo was asking him for a ride down the street.

We checked on Sonny, but there wasn’t much we could do. They wouldn’t let us see him. They said he was too unstable. A doctor came out and led us, with two men trailing, to an empty room on a floor that seemed extremely quiet. Not many patients. She seemed excited to do this favor for Tigran. I was too tired and too stressed to ask Lilo about it.

The guards walked the floor, but I knew they would be stationed on the unit for the night. But they didn’t linger. Maybe because they didn’t want to make it obvious where we were.

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