Page 55 of A Valentino Reunion

Before he can respond, the door to the office opens and I curse under my breath when I see who is behind it. There’s only one thing worse than having my son’s wife in here right now and that’s having his daughter barge into the room.

“What the fuck happened? Dad? Oh my god! What happened?” Aurora screams as she rushes towards her father. She pushes Luca out of the way to get closer to him.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine, and lower your voice before your mother hears you,” Matteo tells her.

“Too late. What the hell, Tao? Who shot you? I’m going to fucking kill them myself!” Savvy yells as she pushes against Theo’s chest, turning all her rage on her husband’s brother. “You’re supposed to look out for him. How could you let him get shot!”

“Babe, Savannah, stop. I’m fine. It’s not his fault,” Matteo says.

“Not his fault? He’s supposed to make sure this doesn’t happen. Oh my god! Why is there so much blood?” she screams.

Of course, this only gets the attention of the rest of the household as Lorenzo and Enzo both run into the room, followed by Tilly and Kyla.

“Okay, everyone needs to get the fuck out now.” My voice rises over the noise of everyone else’s chaos, and all at once, they stop talking and look to me. “The doctor cannot get that bullet out of his arm if everyone’s in here causing a fuss. So stop with the hysterics and let the man do his job. Once Matteo is stitched up, you can all do whatever you want with him. Until then, either shut the hell up or get the hell out,” I tell them.

“I have one question first,” Aurora says. She’s the only one crazy enough to speak right now. I raise an eyebrow at her, indicating for her to continue. “Can I finally have a gun? Oh, and can I take the chopper to Rome?” she asks with all seriousness.

“That was two questions, Aurora, and the answer to both is a resoundingno,” I tell her.

“What? Why not? Someone shot my dad. I’m going to find them and shoot their dicks off,” she says.

“You can’t, because the person who shot him is already dead, sweetheart,” Luca explains.

“Well…” Aurora starts to argue.

“Aurora Valentino, zip it,” Matteo warns her.

“Daddy, are you okay?” She turns to him.

“I’m fine, honestly. Now move out of the way so the doctor can work,” he says.

“Okay.” She nods, then looks over at the doctor. “If he dies, I’m going to keep you alive for weeks, using those instruments of yours to inflict the worst kind of pain you’ve ever experienced. And then, when you’re finally begging me to put you out of your misery, I’m going to refuse until there’s nothing left of you but incoherent pieces,” she says to the doctor.

“Oh, fucking hell, Aurora. Now is not the time.” Lorenzo grabs hold of his sister, picks her up, and moves her to the other side of the room. “Rein in the Little Miss Psycho routine for a hot minute,” he tells her.

I shake my head. Of course, one of my granddaughters had to go and be as crazy as my sister. I have never seen anyone torture a man as expertly as Angelica can. Although something tells me Aurora might just give my sister a run for her money.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

When I come out of the bathroom, I find T pacing up and down the bedroom. He stops and looks at me. “I’m sorry, and before you curse me out, I had every intention of telling youafterhe was stitched up.”

My hands shake. The phone drops from my grip, landing on the tiled floor with a loud crack. T takes two steps forward until he’s standing in front of me. The tears that I’ve been holding in since I answered that call ten minutes ago stream out like a broken faucet. Uncontrollable, falling down my face as I heave in breaths.

“Shit, Holly. What’s wrong? Matteo is okay,” T says, wrapping his arms around me. Usually being in my husband’s arms is enough to comfort me. But not even the great T Valentino can fix this. He can’t change what’s happening… what’s already happened…

A cry pierces the silence of the room. It takes me a minute to realize it came from me. My body falls limp. T scoops me up and sits on the bed.

I hear a commotion, but I don’t pick up my head, keeping it buried in his chest as my fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt. I scream, letting his chest muffle the sound.

“Holly, you need to talk to me. What happened?” T runs his hands through my hair and up and down my back.

I shake my head. I can’t tell him. I can’t say the words. If I do, it’s real and I don’t want it to be real. It can’t be real. I just need to wake up. This day is not real. It’s a nightmare, and I’m going to wake up at any moment now. I have to.

“Pops.” Theo’s voice breaks through my fog. “It’s Zia Reilly,” he says.

And then I absolutely lose it. I don’t know what happens next. All I do know is that I’m clinging to my husband, begging him to fix it, even though we both know he can’t.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

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