Mateo Caputo (Unseen Underground 2)

“Like shit.” It was the truth, but that wasn’t the only thing I was feeling. “What happened?”

He shook his head, his gaze sliding away from me. “We can talk about that later. You need to heal and—”

“Nope.” I sat up straighter, the pain almost too much to bear, but so was not knowing what had happened after they’d injected me. “I need to know, Mateo.”

He groaned, letting out a breath that washed over my arm, eliciting goose bumps. “Stan isn’t Stan.” I frowned, wishing I hadn’t when my eye pulsated. “He’s part of a crew that’s been causing trouble.”

“Okay…” I pursed my lips, stroking my palm over his arm to bring his attention back to me. “And my mom and dad?” I held my breath. “What about them?”

He scraped his hand down his face. “There’s something I need to tell you.” He licked his lips, grasping my hands tighter as he told me about the day he went to the apartment block. He told me how he’d given his mom money to get her to sign over her rights to Cardo and Chiara, and then how he went outside and saw my dad. “He wanted to get clean,” he said. “And I…I believed him, Luna.”

I shook my head. “He’ll be clean for a while then when Mom uses he’ll go right back to it.”

“Not this time.” Darkness flitted over his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “I took him to rehab. He’s been there since.”

I blinked, trying not to let the tears fall. “He’s in rehab?”

“Yeah, darlin’.” He placed his hand on my face gently. “And he’s doing really well. It’s a six-month program.”

“I…” I swallowed. “I don’t know what to say.” The prospect of my dad getting clean and staying clean was a wish I wasn’t sure I should hope for, but it was there nonetheless. I wanted my dad in my life. I wanted him to be part of what Mateo and I had. “Wait.” I pulled my hand out of Mateo’s hold. “So he wasn’t there with my mom?”

“No. It was all her,” he clipped out.

I stared down at my fingers, recalling what she’d said to me. She’d thought Mateo had taken Dad. And technically he had. But he was helping him.

“What about my mom?” I asked, my voice small. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know where she was or what she was doing. What she’d done was the final straw for me. We couldn’t go back, not after the way she’d treated me. Not after…

My gaze drifted to my arm, hating the mark left behind from the needle. I’d never touched a drug or any substance in my life, and part of me wondered whether I would be an addict like my parents now. But the thought of taking anything made me feel physically sick.

“She’s dead.”

I choked on a lungful of air. “What?”

“Romeo shot her.”

He was being matter of fact, telling me the truth and not leaving anything out. I appreciated it more than he’d ever know.

“Romeo?” I looked over his shoulder, hearing murmurs coming from downstairs. “Where are Cardo and Chiara?”

“School.” He turned to look in the same direction as me. “Aida and Lorenzo are here to see how you are.” He paused, his head turning back around to face me. “And Romeo.”

“He’s downstairs?” My breaths turned choppy, my head spinning. “I need to go down there.” I lifted off the bed, my legs feeling wobbly, but I was determined. I had to see. I had to look him in the eyes.

“Luna,” Mateo warned. “You need to stay in bed. The doctor said you could have a broken rib. And your—”

“Mateo,” I rushed out, standing in front of him. “I’m going downstairs.” I raised my brows. “You either help me or get out of my way.”

He grinned, his stupid lips spreading wider and wider. “There she is.” He winked, wrapped his arm around me, and helped me out of our bedroom. “I was wondering when your bossy side was gonna turn up.”

“My bossy side is always there, bubbling under the surface, ready to tell you to pick up the socks you leave lying all around the house.”

He chuckled. “You know I do it on purpose now, right?”

I grunted, knowing full well he did. I’d finally snapped at him a couple of weeks ago about his stupid socks, and now he did it even more. That was okay though, because as soon as I found out what I did that annoyed him, I’d being doing it every chance I had.

Wincing, I halted halfway down the stairs. “Maybe we should have asked him to come up to me instead.”

“Probably would have been a good idea.” Mateo’s gaze drifted over me. “I can just carry you down?”