“I’m fine,” he panted, cutting Iago off.
Othello knew he was about to die, but as long as his family was safe, it was all that mattered to him. Grunting, he held on to Iago, trying to sit up but being pushed back down.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Iago shouted. “And you’re not fucking fine. You have a damn hole in your chest and no exit wound. How you’re still awake and trying to move around is a mystery to me.”
Othello gave a weak smile, closing his eyes and being comforted by Iago’s ranting. He knew the day he died, he’d hear his friend cursing him to hell and back as he felt his consciousness slipping deep, and there was nothing else he could say as he heard Tallen shouting his name.
"Quiet,"Alessandro said, his tone soft but speaking many volumes about why he was the Don of the Famiglia Romano. They had gotten away from the warehouse with a minute to spare before the cops arrived.
“Don, are you sure it's the right decision to take him to the hospital?” Iago said. “We could get our in-house doctor to patch him up while we find a doctor to take care of him. If we take him to the hospital, the cops will know we were at the warehouse tonight.”
“Iago, shut the fuck up,” Alessandro snarled. “Look at him and tell me if he can wait!”
“Papa, I…”
Alessandro held up a hand, stopping Iago’s nattering. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t deny that Iago was right. Taking Othello to the hospital would put them in the bullseye of the cops–well, the ones that weren’t on his payroll. As crazy as it might sound, for as long as he had been the leaderof a criminal organization, having a member of his family getting fatally shot was on his bingo list for confirming the rumors of those he did legitimate business with. To those in certain parts of Verona Heights, the Romano family’s wealth came from a prosperous construction company that had been in the family for years.
We have to have somewhere to hide the bodies.
But Alessandro didn’t care if the family was found out to be a criminal syndicate. He couldn’t lose his precious son. Othello wasn’t his flesh and blood, but that was only semantics. He wasn’t a doctor, but he could tell that Othello would die if they didn’t get to the hospital soon.
“Marco, how far are we?" he asked.
"We'll be here in five seconds," came the answer, but Marco wasn’t the one to respond. Looking at the passenger seat, Alessandro realized Julian Falcon was in the car with them. "I have someone working in the emergency room tonight. I let them know we're coming in hot, and he’ll keep things on the hush-hush, but it looks like your guy will need surgery, and I don’t know if he’ll be able to help."
"Thank you." Alessandro nodded. “I’m grateful for any help right now.”
"Think nothing of it. We're allies, after all," Julian said, looking down at Othello.
Alessandro looked at Othello, unable to hide his worry. This kid has always been giving him trouble ever since the day he and Iago came up with the scheme to pick his pocket. He’d allowed them to do whatever they wanted and brought them into a world that most would warn their kids to stay away from. Othellowas a curious child he’d guided to his adulthood. Othello was intelligent and tactical, took no prisoners, was loyal, and lived by the family and his own moral code, even in a criminal world, which was something Alessandro admired. Those were some of the reasons he chose Othello as his successor.
He knew which of his sons could handle the pressure of being the boss. Othello was decisive and never backed down from his mistakes; he only learned from them. He had once thought that he’d scared Othello with one of his actions, but instead, the boy wholeheartedly embraced his world. Many would question his parenting skills, but he knew how strong his boys were, just as he knew the risks of the world he brought them into. Alessandro didn't care if he lost all his material things. He could regain them again; he just couldn't survive without his sons and wife, who was going to kill him when she found out about her precious Othello. But he couldn't worry about that; now, he had to focus on keeping his son alive.
The car stopped abruptly, pulling Alessandro from his thoughts. He watched Tallen rush out of the car without anyone ordering him to and disappear into the hospital. Not even a minute later, he returned with hospital staff pushing a gurney. Without saying a word, the staff got to work whisking Othello away, leaving Alessandro and the rest to follow behind them.
While the staff worked on Othello, Alessandro stood aside, refusing to let them draw the hospital curtains blocking him from his son but not wanting to get in their way, while his instincts were telling him to take control of everything. Still, he would only make the situation worse. He didn’t look away from the doctors working furiously when he felt a presence next to him, but he knew who it was.
“This changes everything,” he muttered. “We might be rivals, but I have a lot of respect for Othello. Whoever did this knew when and where to strike.”
Alessandro nodded as his admiration for the young don grew. “We’ll find them and then make them pay,” he said, his voice low.
“Yes,” Julian responded, then groaned, causing Alessandro to take his eyes off his son. That’s when he noticed that Julian was bleeding from his left shoulder.
“You should get that looked at.” He looked around and saw two of Falcon's guards standing not far from him. “Get him looked at.”
“Yes, Don Alessandro,” they answered together.
One of the men stepped over to Julian and was about to lead him away when the young man held up a hand. “Let me say this before I go. I didn’t lose any of my men tonight. Sure, we got a few scrapes here and there, but nothing as severe as your son.”
“What are you saying?” Alessandro asked, feeling as if he knew where Falcon was going, but he needed to hear the words.
“I know it was chaotic in there, but I’m certain all this was to take Othello out. Like I said, we came out with minor injuries. He’s the only one on death’s door.”
If what he said was true, Alessandro couldn’t let this matter go on for too long. He had to have his people look into it. They both nodded, coming to an understanding, and then Julian’s men led him away. When they were out of sight and hearing distance, Alessandro turned to Iago.
“Contact our people at the police station and tell them to collect everything the police might have found tonight at the warehouse. Then, Iago, I want you to do this discreetly. Investigate our people.”
“Papa, you’re not thinking that one of our people did this?”
