“Costa?”
“Dead. Jonas took care of him,” Merc said, walking over. “I’m Jason Collins. My friends call me Merc. Your brother is something else.”
Giovanni looked at the overly large man, said nothing as he shook his hand, then asked, “What is really going on here? What has my brother gotten into?”
“Who the hell knows. Gideon said he would brief us when we get to the island.”
“What Island?”
“All I know is that when Lorenzo is fit for travel, my team and I are to escort him, Donatella and the mouth over there to some fucking island in the middle of nowhere.”
The elevator door dinged.
The doctor walked out and spoke. “He will live.”
I lost it then.
The tears I had been holding back fell freely, as I turned to one of Lorenzo’s brothers, his arms holding me close. It was at that moment that I knew Lorenzo was mine, forever. I couldn’t live without him. He needed me as much as I needed him.
Yes, he drove me crazy most of the time but the feeling of relief hearing he was alive was all the confirmation I needed to know that I truly loved him and wanted to be with him for the rest of my life. Wherever he went, I would follow.
No questions asked.
My course was set.
I now had a purpose. With him by my side, I could do anything and with my cousins’ resources, I was going to make sure that whatever they did, I was there to make sure they all survived.
They all knew I was smart.
They just didn’t know how smart.
It was time I showed them. Showed them all what I could really do because like Lorenzo, I would do anything to keep him safe.
“Sissy,” a gravelly voice whispered, as all of us turned around. There, standing in the back of the big room, stood a man well over six feet tall. Broad muscular shoulders barely contained in the black t-shirt he wore. His face marred with worry, as he looked intently at Layla.
Layla gasped, her hand going to her mouth. Her unshed tears now falling freely down her face.
In the next instant, she ran towards the tall lumberjack of a man, throwing herself into his arms as he caught her, hugging her tightly to him as he too tried unsuccessfully to stop his unshed tears.
“Oh. My. God.” Illyria whispered. “That’s him. Isn’t it?”
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Antonio asked.
“Does Reaper know he’s alive?” Luciano asked.
“Who is that?” I asked. Gio never took his misty eyes off the couple as he whispered, “Her brother, Bullseye,”
We learned that Lorenzo couldn’t be moved for another twenty-four hours in the hours that followed. As for Nico, his injuries weren’t as severe and he would be able to travel at any time. Lorenzo’s brothers and Merc with the rest of his team had headed into one of the offices so they could talk privately. That left me alone with the women and Bullseye in Lorenzo’s room. Not that I minded. I kind of needed some female interaction. It was nice having all the men around but they lacked a quality that women had in spades.
The ability to gossip about any mundane thing on the planet.
Typically, I wasn’t one to partake in such conversations, but I needed to find something banal to ease the ache in my head. And listening to shit that didn’t matter worked like a charm.
“Lorenzo told me that you are in the middle of planning a wedding?” I asked Layla, who was sitting next to her brother.
“Yes but that shit can wait. What the hell is going on Dylan?” the strong southern woman said, firmly turning to her brother.
“What?” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.