Dawn shrugged. “I’m just glad I could help.”
They all said their goodbyes and ushered the happy reunited family out the front door.
As soon as the door was closed and locked, Antonio shouted, “You both could have been killed!”
“Dad, I told you over the phone, we’re fine.”
“Well, I was saving my yelling until now.”
“Shh…” Gabriella tucked her hand in the crook of her husband’s elbow. “I think he knows you were worried. We both were. But please take a moment to tell our son how proud you are of what he did.”
Antonio hung his head. “I’m sorry. Yes, what you did, Luca, rescuing that child, was…miraculous. I’ve rescued plenty of kids, but they weren’t in the same kind of danger, and neither was I.”
“Yes,” Gabriella breathed. “Who knows what would have happened to that precious little girl if you hadn’t acted.”
“I just hope I don’t get in trouble for not following protocol.”
“Son,” Antonio said, “even if you get fired, you did the right thing.”
“That’s what I believe too. But it wasn’t all me.”
Then he gave Dawn a look. She was beginning to interpret his subtle body language.
“I’m afraid if anyone messed up the investigation, it was me. I saw an opening and rushed in, grabbing Mandy without even thinking about any protocol that should be followed.”
“And I’ll bet you’d do it again if you had to.” Gabriella smiled.
“Yup. I’m afraid I would. And now I have to rescue my own grandmother. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”
Antonio’s cell phone beeped, and he pulled it out of his pocket. After a few short responses, Antonio thanked the caller and hung up. “Joe wanted you to know he picked up that woman in the dumpster and hauled her to jail.”
“Great. Now hopefully Captain Moore and half the BPD are on their way to arrest Butts and Ice,” Luca said. “In the meantime, we need to get Annette. Carla is still out there, and she could do something dangerous to save her skin.”
Hearing that broke Dawn’s heart, but Luca had a point. She had been colluding by looking the other way. Who knows what Carla had participated in knowingly?
Dawn was on pins and needles all the way to the hospital. They might have to sign Annette out AMA—against medical advice—but if that was what it took to keep her gran safe, so be it. Luckily, there was a young nurse on duty, and Luca worked his charm while Dawn went into Annette’s room to wake her up.
She was scheduled to be released the next day anyway, so she was just leaving a few hours early. Dawn found a wheelchair in the hall and took it into her grandmother’s room while Luca distracted the night nurse with his tales of working the streets at night. It sounded as if he’d been on the force for years, not weeks.
“Gran, wake up.”
Annette opened her eyes and stared at Dawn in surprise. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
“We have to leave. I need to take you to Luca’s parents’ house. Antonio is in the car, and Luca’s just outside at the nurses’ station. It’s not safe for you here.”
Annette nodded. If there was one thing about her grandmother, it was how smart and alert she was. Given her background and her experiences in her lifetime, she was no fool when it came to danger. Dawn helped her grandmother up and quickly packed up her bag, then helped her into the wheelchair and wheeled her out while Luca still talked with the night nurse.
“Thank you,” Annette said to Antonio when she’d been helped into the family’s SUV. “For looking after my granddaughter and now me! I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Don’t look at it like that. We don’t,” Antonio assured her. “Besides, my wife loves having people to cook big Italian meals for—and I benefit too!” His big grin reassured her.
By the time they got back to the Fierro house, Luca’s brother Gabe and his wife, Misty, were up with their toddler, Tony. Apparently, he had decided to wake up early—or perhaps the chaos woke him.
They were in the dining room, chowing down on the huge breakfast Gabriella had set on the table.
“Welcome, Annette.” Gabriella wrapped her arms around Annette and gave her a warm hug. She helped her sit on a chair with a cushion added and offered her some tea or coffee.
“Oh, I’d love some coffee. Thank you.”
