Chapter 162: I Heard She Was Shot

Luca was sitting on the sofa in the hospital room, watching every slight movement of Veronica as she slept. He had asked Valentina to go home and take a break. The girl had looked at him like she wanted to argue, her eyes full of questions. Even Marco had looked like he was about to explode from the flurry of questions coming from her, but Luca had been in no mood to talk. Not to them. Not to anyone. His gaze fixed on Veronica’s face. He was still angry that he hadn’t killed someone that day.

The anger sat in him like poison. He had been so close. So fucking close.

He had promised Vee she would be safe. Promised her that anyone who harmed her would die. It had been a simple promise when he said it.

But he had never thought that promise would have him face off against his own family.

His gaze flickered to her hand resting on the blanket.

A sudden vibration cut through the silence of the room. Luca’s head lifted immediately, his instincts snapping into place. He thought it was his phone. His hand moved toward his pocket automatically.

But the vibration continued.

His eyes shifted toward the bedside table.

Veronica’s phone was lighting up against the wooden surface.

Luca stood slowly and reached for it. The moment he saw the name on the screen, his jaw tightened.

Cassidy.

He thought he handled this fucker already.

For a moment Luca simply stared at the name as the phone continued vibrating in his hand.

Apparently the idiot still hadn’t learned.

Luca glanced at Veronica again. She hadn’t moved. Her breathing remained slow and even. His thumb slid across the screen and he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hello, Cassidy.” He drawled.

“Luciano Genovese. Picking her calls now? Did you finally have her killed?” Cassidy spat.

The venom in the man’s voice came through the phone so clearly Luca could almost picture his expression.

“I see you still have some misplaced bravery left.” Luca said lazily. “What do you want?”

On the other end of the line there was a short pause.

“Just checking in,” Cassidy finally said. “I heard she was shot… by your wife. Imagine that.”

Luca’s eyes hardened slightly. “I don’t have time for this.”

“I called to see if she is okay. Nothing more.”

The line went dead before Luca could respond.

Was Cassidy still waiting for her?

The thought was almost funny.

The man was going to wait forever.

Because Cassidy didn’t understand something very simple.

Veronica wasn’t something you waited for.

She was something you fought for.

Something you bled for.

He leaned back in the chair, exhaustion pressing into his bones now that the adrenaline of the last few hours had worn off.

The door opened quietly, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Boss, everything is done. Need anything else?” Marco asked.

Luca glanced over at him. Marco stood near the door. The man looked tired but he still carried himself with the same disciplined loyalty he always had. “No.”

Marco nodded slightly. “Do you want me to stay with her while you go rest?” he asked after a moment. “You haven’t taken a break since you got back.”

Rest.

The idea felt foreign right now.

“I’m fine.” Luca said calmly. “Just make sure everything is running smoothly at the club.”

“Yes boss.”

Marco turned toward the door, already reaching for the handle.

“Oh and Marco?”

Marco paused immediately. “Yes.” He turned once more.

Luca’s gaze was steady when it landed on him. “the next time you hurt her,” he said quietly, “I will make sure you die in the most gruesomely painful way.”

“Luca, I wouldn’t if there was any other way. The bullet was still inside her.” Marco tried to explain.

“I don’t care,” Luca said. “I don’t care what happens to me. She will not go through that kind of pain again, ever. Is that understood Marco?”

He spoke calmly, but the anger under the surface was unmistakable.

“Luca, don’t put me in this position.”

Luca slowly turned his head then, dark eyes finally landing on him. The look was steady. “I asked you a simple question.”

“You could go to jail if that bullet got into the wrong hands,” Marco argued carefully. “You know that.”

The idea of prison clearly meant nothing to him in that moment.

“You still haven’t answered me.”

Marco glanced briefly at Veronica, then back at Luca. He understood why Luca was like this. Hell, anyone with eyes could see it. The man looked like he had been hollowed out and filled with rage and exhaustion. “I’m sorry,” Marco said after a moment. “I cannot. If I ever find myself in that situation again, I will make the choice to keep everyone safe.”

“Goddamnit, Marco!” he snapped. “If it ever came down to her or me, you choose her, you choose her every goddamn time.”

“Understood boss.” Marco sighed under his breath and quietly walked out of the room.

Luca leaned back slightly in the chair, his body finally starting to feel the weight of everything that had happened. The adrenaline that had been burning through his veins.

For a moment his eyes closed.

Just for a second.

His eyes burned slightly.

Soon he was asleep, the adrenaline and the jetlag finally catching up with him.

The nurses came in then to clean her wound and he startled awake instantly.

His body reacted before his mind caught up, muscles tightening, senses sharpening, instincts screaming that strangers had entered the room.

It took half a second to recognize the pale blue uniforms and the rolling metal tray between them.

They moved through the room, waking Veronica up.

“Oh jeez, not again…” Veronica sighed. She shifted carefully against the pillows, wincing slightly as her body protested the movement. Her eyes blinked open slowly, adjusting to the light.

Then she spotted him.

Luca was sitting in the chair beside the bed, looking like he had been carved out of the same rigid stillness as the furniture. His shirt was creased, his hair slightly disheveled, but his eyes were already alert.

(Brought to you by Martina Kralj)

Going to have a shut eye now. Will continue in the morning. Whew!!!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep