Page 68 of Twisted Lies

“Boss, you’ve been hit.” Chris’ voice takes a moment to register. Glancing down, I realize that I’ve been hit in the chest. My breathing quickens at the realization, or maybe I had been breathing that heavily and just realized. “We’ll call the doctor and have him meet us at the house,” Chris continues, putting pressure on the wound.

“No. Have him meet us somewhere else.” The last thing I need is Lily to see me like this. The blood will be too much for her. I don’t need the men to see her in such a state, and I don’t want to cause her any more pain than I already have.

Instead of making a right, we make a left, and I know they’re following my orders.

Black dots circle my version. I try to ignore them as best as I can as they multiply. Before I gain control, they’ve grown to the point I can see around them. I sense the speeding up of the car as I fall into the blackness.

* * *

When I wake next, I feel pressure in my side. The pain alerts me that I’m still alive. If I were in Hell, I’d expect it to be hotter. I hear the voices of my men and Doctor Vince. Putting their words together, I gather that it was a hit by Daniel Ferrari’s younger son.

“Daniel made his move. I put my money on one of the other Families,” I say, moving to stand.

“Boss, you should stay down a little longer,” Antonio states, coming to my side.

“I’ve been here long enough. Is everything covered at the house?”

“Yes. We’ve made calls, and nothing has happened there. We’ve called in more men just in case they try anything.”

I nod. “Good. Let’s go.” The men don’t debate. The doctor agrees to meet us there with more pain meds, warning me not to rip the stitches.

Lily appears in the entranceway as we enter. “Where have you…what the hell happened?” she demands as her face turns white. Glancing down, I realize I had ripped a damn stitch. Damn it. Antonio steps in front of me, blocking her view of me.

“I’m fine, Lily. Nothing to be concerned about,” I respond, hoping to calm her. She partially pushes Antonio out of the way to stand in front of me.

“What happened?” she asks, gripping my arm.

“Daniel made a move. Now I’m making mine,” I snap as the doctor enters.

“We need to get that fixed,” he says, pointing as if we had not come to that conclusion already. I glare, but he seems unfazed. “Come,” he adds, walking deeper into the house, as if he had been here a hundred times. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to get it restitched, but he did put me on bed rest for a few days. They shut the office door in Lily’s face, and I know as soon as it opens, she’ll be glaring and ready for battle.

As the men slip from the room, Lily bursts in. Pissed as I thought.

“What was that?” she hisses.

“It needed to be restitched.”

“I could tell that. I’m referring to the fact that the door got slammed in my face. And who shot you?” she adds, pacing the room.

“Who shot me is not important. It’s going to be dealt with. As far as why you were not in the room, I didn’t want you to see the blood.”

“That’s my choice to make if you’re hurt. I know how much I can handle. If we’re going to make this work, you can’t send me out of the room every time you’re hurt. That won’t work.”

“I’m not going to put you in a situation that will cause you harm. Being around blood hurts you, and I won’t do that. It’s not happening,” I snap, stepping forward. Why can’t she just understand? It’s not that I’m trying to keep her out of all aspects of my life. She needs to understand because there is no other choice. “I don’t have the time for this. I need to go.”

She grabs my arm as I move past. “You can’t leave now. You just re-opened the stitches. I’m sure the doctor told you to rest.”

“The doctor does not get to make that call.”

“Do I get to make that call?” she challenges.

“No,” I hiss, pulling my arm from her grasp. “I get to make the call. That and all the ones that come after.” Her gasp of outrage follows me through the door.

“Let’s go,” I order the men in the hallway. While the doctor worked on me, Chris discovered that Daniel was at the office. I’m going to skin him alive if he had knowledge about his idiot son’s plan.

Bursting into his office, my men are quick to get his men under control. He doesn’t have more than ten men here, believing no one would dare attempt what I’m doing. Chris and Antonio stay by my side as I break down his office door. At our appearance, Daniel stands. Papers fling quickly to the side. The two men in the room stand, guns aimed.

“Tell them to put them down,” I order.

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