Page 73 of Beautiful Devil

Confusion crosses her face while she says, “Why would you have to kill him?”

“Because,gattina, you’remine,and anyone who touches you or even dares to look at what’s mine, won't live to see another day. Now, go get dressed.”

A mixture of emotions appears on her face, and none of them bad.

Mygattinalikes it when my beast shows.

Duly noted.

* * *

Forty minutes later, I’m all bandaged up. Gia was right, I did need stitches in my side – twelve of them, to be exact. She was also right about me having a concussion. Thankfully, I didn’t break my elbow. I just dislocated, badly bruised, and sprained it, so I’ll be in a sling for a few weeks, doctor’s orders.

He’s just finishing up telling Gia how she needs to wake me up every hour on the hour and what symptoms to look for when I hear her sweet voice.

“Thank you, Dr. Anderson. I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he wears the sling.”

Internally rolling my eyes at that, I think,Good luck trying, dolcezza.

“Good. He’s a stubborn one. It was nice meeting you, Gia.” They share a little laugh at my expense before he turns my way. “Take it easy, Mr. Moretti. Let me know if you need anything.”Will do. Thanks, Doc.”

And with that, he’s gone. Leaning my head back against the headboard, I close my eyes. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.

I must have dozed off, because I can hear the faint sound of Gia’s voice, but I have no clue what she's saying.

“Hmm?”

“Fabi, wake up. How’s your head?”

“Gia? It’s fine. Go back to sleep,dolcezza.” I roll over, and I’m instantly out.

* * *

I wake up early, feeling surprisingly refreshed and doing my best not to wake Gia. I head to the bathroom, relieve myself, and brush my teeth before quickly putting on a shirt and a pair of sweats. Grabbing the damn sling, I put it on and leave a gentle kiss on Gia’s forehead.

“Be back soon, dolcezza,” I whisper.

Entering my office, I see Jeff sprawled on the floor, sound asleep. Sitting down at my desk, I realize I don’t have my cell phone since it was broken in yesterday’s wreck. Luckily, I still have the landline my father insisted on in case of emergencies.

Lifting the phone from its base, I hit the button for Marco’s number. He picks up on the third ring, and it sounds like I woke him. Shit, what time is it? Looking at the clock hanging on my office wall, I see that it's just after 5 a.m.

“Boss, everything okay?” he says, sounding like he’s still half-asleep.

“Everything’s fine. I was just hoping for an update from yesterday's events.”

“Now? Can it wait ‘til later when I come in?”

“Yes, now. Now is when I’m calling.”

He knows better than to argue with me and I know I’ve got him when he sighs. I smile to myself at the little victory.

“We still don’t have a lead on the SUV. We checked every local garage for any that might have shown up with damage, but none have gone in for service.”

“What about the warehouse?”

“Still nothing, but Luca was still digging into it when I left last night, so he might have something. But maybe you should wait before you wake him up, too.”

Smartass.

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