“I mean it.”
“Okay.”
I turn and run toward the trauma room. Before I do, I hear the two whisper to each other.
“Did you see her last name?” Gabe asks Mateo.
“Yeah, I did. Esposito,” Mateo responds.
“Do you think?”
“No. There’s no way.”
Well, that was cryptic as fuck.
I know I have a fairly recognizable last name, but I really hope they don’t know another Vanessa Esposito, or worse, that they are looking for one. Because if they are, I’m screwed.
And if I’m being honest, Mateo is hot. Dark hair. Medium tan skin that contrasts almost too well with his soft green eyes. Gabe is attractive too, in a way, but there’s something about him that’s more menacing than appealing. He has that I will kill you if you piss me off look, which I am very much trying to avoid provoking.
I run into the trauma room to find Dr. Mitchell and Tanner already working on getting him prepped for surgery. Dr. Mitchell focuses on locating the bullet or bullets, while Tanner cuts off the man’s shirt, clearing his abdomen toget a better view of the wounds. His heart rate is slow but stable, to where he can get to surgery.
I pull on gloves and start getting an IV set and drawing blood for a transfusion. He’s lost so much already that without the transfusion, he could die from blood loss alone.
We get Alonso stabilized and transferred up to surgery. He’s been shot twice and lost a significant amount of blood, which explains why he passed out. Neither immediately life-threatening, but serious enough that he’ll be here for a few days.
I step out of the trauma room once the surgery team takes him up, ready to give Mateo and Gabe an update. I look all around the waiting area, and they’re gone.
I head to the desk and ask the administrator if she’s seen them. She tells me they left as soon as I ran into the trauma room.
Well, I guess they didn’t need the update.
The rest of the shift passes without any more men in black suits. No threats. No intimidation. Just quiet.
After my shift, I decide to grab some bagels and stop by Aunt Lucy and Uncle Kevin’s place. After overhearing those two men talking like they knew me, or my father, there’s a possibility this could finally lead us to him.
I reach their building and take the elevator up to their apartment. I’m just about to knock when I hear voices on the other side of the door. Not talking. Yelling. Arguing.
“Lucy, we can’t just tell her,” Kevin says.
“Bullshit, and you know it, Kevin. She was here last night ready to tear me a new one. She’s starting to realize we know more than we’re letting on, and now this. Come on, she’s twenty-four years old, she’s old enough to know.”
“I want to tell her, but I just found out the whole fucking reason my best friend hasn’t been around for over two years. Doyou really think she’s ready for her life to be completely fucked and dismantled?”
“Kevin, you are grieving. She needs to grieve too, before Gino comes knocking on her door.”
“He won’t drag her into it. He won’t come anywhere near her.”
“How can you guarantee that?” she scoffs.
What the hell is going on? Who is Gino? Grieving. Who am I supposed to be grieving—oh shit.
That’s when I unlock the door, easing it open as quietly as I can. Maybe they won’t notice me right away. Maybe I can listen a little longer. A little closer.
“Gino doesn’t know she exists.”
“What?” Lucy yells.
“I didn’t tell Gino when I saw him yesterday. He thinks she’s our kid.”
