"I'm fine right here."
He held my gaze for a moment as if trying to capture one more second before disappearing into the hallway. The twins had fallen asleep after the nurse gave them more medicine. And since Dante was finally showing real signs of life, I was staying put.
I couldn't believe Paulie betrayed the family after thirty years as Salvatore's advisor. It had to be about more than money. The Don paid him well and treated him like family. When Dante woke up, he would get the truth out of Paulie, one way or another.
I curled up beside Dante and watched his chest rise and fall, running my fingers through his hair. He hated any form of human affection. So I had to take in every inch of him while I could. He would wake up, and when he did, we would return to our no-touching rules.
At least an hour passed without Nico returning to the room. Dante moved again, and this time, his eyelids fluttered.
"Dante?" I brushed my fingers across his jaw. "Dante, can you hear me?"
ChapterFive
DANTE
White light blinded me when I opened my eyes. I blinked a few times, my eyelids heavy. Fuck, my head hurt, pounding like a drum from the stabbing pain at the base of my skull. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I couldn’t even produce enough spit to swallow.
I focused on the light overhead, which seemed to get brighter the longer I stared.
Am I dead?
In Heaven?
God wouldn’t let me into Heaven with all of the horrible shit I had done. So if this was Hell, the Devil was playing tricks on me, fucking with my head.
Clearing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to adjust to my surroundings. The small room had a shitty fabric chair in the corner. Ava’s Bottega Veneta purse, a birthday gift from Stefan, hung over the arm.
Most of the room was sparse. Monitors beeped, connected to the sensor on my arm. I could see a bathroom through the crack in a partially open door.
I’m in a hospital.
All at once, the memories from Monviso came flooding back to me.
The shooting.
My father dying.
Paulie’s betrayal.
Nico was right about not trusting Paulie. Our dad was too out of his mind to see it. He hadn’t been himself for a while, always forgetting shit. It was Paulie’s job to speak on behalf of our father, especially when negotiating with other crime families. But he had gotten too involved, venturing out on his own.
We all saw it.
But not Dad.
He was too trusting of his friends.
Look what it got him.
I tried to sit up and felt something tear on my right side.
Fuck.
Excruciating pain shot down my body, setting my skin on fire. I wasn’t sitting in this bed or staying another second in a hospital. So I gripped the bed’s side rail and breathed through my nose, attempting to get up again. I had to get out of this fucking place and find my brothers.
If they were alive…
The last I remembered, Angelo and Stefan used the table to shield us from the onslaught of bullets. Dad took several to the chest and passed out beside me. I would never forget the moment his eyes closed.
