Page 70 of Off-Limits Protector Daddy

Aria shrugs and sets the glass back on the table. “You’re not that bad. It could have been a lot worse. The vest you were wearing was faulty – at least that’s what Jameson thinks. The bullet missed your organs but it did cause some internal bleeding.”

I nod and look at her, trying to memorize her face. She has dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks look hollow. Aria’s shoulders sag as she reaches for my hand.

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping,” I say as I run my thumb over the back of her hand.

“Not much. It’s been a rough couple of days. I spent most of the first day while you were in surgery talking to Jameson, and then most of today waiting for you to wake up.”

“He gave you things to eat, right? And a place to sleep?”

She nods and smiles tenderly. “Yes. I was taken care of. It’s just been exhausting. I’ve been waiting to hear from my brothers, but none of them have messaged me yet.”

“I doubt they’re going to. It wouldn’t be smart to get in contact with you with an active investigation going.”

She sighs and squeezes my hand a little tighter. “I know. They’ll tell me what’s going on, though.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “None of you are good at staying hidden.”

“We’re just fine at it, but how can we keep each other safe if we don’t know what’s going on?”

“You have a point.” I pull her a little closer and lean over to kiss her. “They would do best if they go deep underground for now and hide. The FBI is going to be looking to take down more members, especially with the information that both of us have given Jameson.”

“Damien knows that. I have to talk to him to get the full story, but I think he’ll make it seem as if they’ve disbanded for a little while.”

It’s the only thing that they can do. The businesses her father owns will be raided. If Damien is as smart as I think he is, he’s already seized the assets and wiped the buildings clean. Anything that they still have should be moved to properties that are completely unattached to any known members of the Russo mafia.

“We have a lot to figure out now that we don’t have to worry about my father.” Her voice sounds choked as she looks away from me.

“Has Jameson said how long your father is looking at?”

Aria looks back at me, tears shining in her eyes. “He… He isn’t… He was going to kill me. I wasn’t sure that he hadn’t killed you. Our baby would have died.”

There is a large pit that opens in the bottom of my stomach. In all the ways that I thought this would end, I never thought that it would result in Aria killing her father. I never wanted that for her.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, sliding over slightly in my bed despite the pain. I pull on her hand and she gets onto the bed, curling against my side. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think I was going to have to be the one to kill Dad. I always thought that if the shot had to be taken, it would be someone else that did it. I know he wasn’t a good man, but I still feel like a part of me has died.”

“Families are complicated. No matter who or what your dad was, you loved him, and in his own way, he loved you. It’s only natural to mourn that.”

She sniffles and buries her face in my chest. I wrap my arm tighter around her, my hand drifting up and down her waist. Her tears soak through the thin material of the hospital gown. As she cries, I keep rubbing her waist.

There is no other comfort that I can give her. She had to kill her father. It’s something that I could never imagine doing. I know there’s going to be more grief that she’s going to deal with over the coming months. No matter how I feel about her father, I’m not going to make this worse for her.

When she stops crying, she wipes her eyes and looks up at me. “This isn’t what I thought would happen at all.”

“I know.”

“I’m worried about my brothers. You know Jameson is going to try and grab them if he can.”

I comb my fingers through her hair. “I didn’t tell Jameson anything about what they were doing. Some of the other agents might, but there were only two others undercover with me that I know of. The main target was always your father.”

“Salvatore is the most likely to go to prison. He was the one who was around my father the most.”

“That’s true.” I kiss her temple. “It’s going to be okay. Your brothers weren’t as arrogant as your father. From what I’ve seen, they’re all discreet in their dealings.”

Aria nods and takes a deep breath. “I know, it’s just a mess to think of. In a way, it doesn’t feel right that I’m not going to serve any time while they might.”

“Jameson is going to honor the deal?”

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