A flicker—there, just for an instant—something like calculation crosses her face before it’s swallowed by more tears.“No, I was already hurt by then. I just heard… a shot. And then nothing until I woke up here.”
Another lie. Vito was killed execution-style, the back of his head blown off. He would have been facing his killer, which means Gia would have seen everything if she was conscious.
“I’ve got you,” I assure her, squeezing her hand.
“Promise me,” she pleads, fingers clutching at mine with desperate strength. “Promise you’ll protect me, Matteo. I don’t have anyone else. I’ve always… you know I’ve always loved you. Even after everything.”
The confession hangs between us, and I let my face soften, as if her words have reached some part of me I keep hidden. “I know,” I say, voice dropping to a gentle murmur. “And I’ll take care of you, Gia. I promise.”
Relief floods her features, and she slumps back against the pillows, exhaustion evident in the dark circles beneath her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispers. “I knew you’d come. I knew you wouldn’t abandon me.”
I stroke her hair back from her forehead, a tender gesture that makes her eyes flutter closed. “You should rest now,” I tell her. “You need to recover your strength.”
I press the call button, and when a nurse appears, I smile my most charming smile. “She needs something to help her sleep,” I say. “The pain is keeping her awake.”
The nurse nods, already moving to adjust Gia’s IV. “The doctor left orders for additional sedation if needed. She’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Gia’s eyelids are already growing heavy as the drugs enter her system. “Don’t leave me,” she murmurs, fighting to stay conscious. “He said… he said you’d come back to me… I just needed…” Her breathing deepens, and her grip on my hand loosens before she can finish talking.
He… who the fuck is thishethat’s been talking to her?
The moment she’s under, my expression shifts, the mask of concern dropping away like a discarded coat. I stare down at her sleeping form, mentally calculating how long it will take to unravel her lies and discover who she’s working with.
Raven
My phone rings while I watch the nurse administer whatever it is she’s giving Gia. Adam Kearney’s name flashes across my screen.
Damnit.
Normally, I’d ignore the call since it’s Friday evening and way outside business hours. But I’ve been shirking my responsibilities all week, and if I wish to keep my career, I need to woman up.
An elderly nurse walks by me and frowns. “Could you please turn that thing off or take it outside, dear?” Even though it’s posed as a question, her tone makes it clear it’s a demand.
“Of course. Sorry,” I rush out. “I’ll, umm, take it outside and get some coffee.”
I practically run all the way in my haste to get outside so I can answer the call. But of course, it ends before I’m even halfway outside. When I reach the gift shop and cafeteria, I pause long enough to get myself a coffee.
As soon as I’m outside, I call Adam back.
“Hi, Adam,” I say when he answers on the third ring. “I’m so sorry to have missed your call. But—”
“Actually, it’s Finn,” his brother says.
“Oh.” I remove the phone from my ear and check the caller. Nope, it definitely says Adam Kearney. “Did you need anything?” I ask, confused.
He launches himself into an explanation I barely understand. Something about a social media challenge they want to do next week.
“Do you think we can get it done in time?” he asks once he’s done explaining.
God, I really should have ignored the call. It’s Friday, for fuck’s sake. I could be drunk at a bar and not at all capable of working at all. But if that were the case, I would have sent the call to voicemail or ignored it.
“Yeah, maybe,” I hedge. “It sounds—”
“Would you mind coming over and having a look at it with us now?”
While I try to work out the best and most polite way to tell him to fuck off, I listen to the traffic in the background on his end. There are a few sirens.
“Now? It’s Friday evening, Finn. And I’m…”
