Page 75 of A Thirst for Franc

“I’ll take care of it,” I said.

“I don’t want you to think I’m with you because of your money.”

“Why the hell would you think…?”Chardonnay. I was going to kill my sister.

“Doc, please evaluate her.” I kissed her forehead. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I’ll pay you back. Somehow. It might take me the rest of my life.”

“Quinn.” She stopped talking and blinked. “We’ll discuss this later.” Later, when Gio and the doctor weren’t there. What I had to say was between us.

Her lips parted, but she snapped them shut and nodded.

“Come with me,” the doctor said.

Quinn followed, then stopped. Her gaze met mine. Lines of pain cut into the slight creases around her eyes. Her irises filled with uncertainty.

“Gio and I aren’t going anywhere. We’ll be here. No matter how long it takes.”

She inhaled and winced, but before I could go to her and make sure she was okay, she followed the doctor out of the room.

Once Gio was discharged, we made our way to the waiting room to wait on Quinn. She was getting an x-ray of her arm.

“Oh, thank god.” Chardonnay’s voice rose above the TV’s playing the five o’clock news. She took Gio in for a hug before scanning over him. “You’re okay?”

“I’m strong.” He held up an arm and attempted to make a muscle.

“Of course you are,” Nero said, ruffling his hair. “Now give the boy some room to breathe.”

“You scared us,” Sherry said, bending and hugging Gio.

“I didn’t do anything,” Gio said on a screech.

“I know.” Sherry took him in her arms just as Rose and Wyatt walked in. It was a full-blown Grasso family gathering. We were only a few short. I wouldn’t be surprised if my parents parachuted in.

“See, he’s okay,” Wyatt said, then took a deep breath, as if he hadn’t believed his own words.

“I better call Rhone,” Wyatt said. “He called us in a panic.”

“I had left Rhone with the interns with nothing more than Gio was in an accident. Jesus. I should have texted him an update.

“Laurent is talking to Eli.” Eli was one of the local cops. “Looks like the guy who hit them was drunk,” Chardonnay said.

“What?” My argument from the town hall meeting flashed in my mind, Albert pointing a finger at me and saying,I told you so.

Dread flooded through me, making it impossible to stand. I grabbed the back of a chair. “He wasn’t coming from our place, was he?”

“No.”

I visibly sighed in relief.

“It looks like he met friends at the new winery just outside of town.”

“Those bastards!” My voice boomed, and a few people snapped their attention toward me.

Chardonnay rested a gentle hand on my forearm. “Laurent and I will handle them. You take care of Gio and… how’s Quinn?”

Frustration at the situation, at all this shit out of my control, rose inside me. “Do you even care? After all, she’s nothing more than a gold digger to you.”

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