She acknowledges my promise with another nod.
The emergency room doors open, and additional members of Rinaldo’s crew walk in. Becca is with them, so I presume the shipment has been delivered to our warehouse up north. I make eye contact with Paulie, who gives me a big smile as he approaches.
Without a though, I pull back and punch him in the face. The guy is as close to a solid brick as he can be, and I might have actually cracked a knuckle, but I don’t care. He flies back, but gains his balance before falling. I grab hold of his shoulders and throw him against the wall, pinning him there with all my weight and fury.
“You ever flip me off again, and I’ll put your severed head on Rinaldo’s desk.” I punch his gut, just to emphasize my point. “You need to figure out just who the fuck you’re dealing with, capisce? You do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it. You don’t like what I have to say, you keep your fucking mouth shut and do it anyway.”
I let him go, and he slumps down to the floor, stunned. Beni moves to help him up when I walk away. Lucia is staring at me, and Lele is pretending she didn’t see anything happen.
“What was that all about?” Jonathan uses an unlit cigarette to point to Paulie.
“Disrespect,” I reply dryly as Jonathan and I find some seats in the waiting room, away from the group. “Where the hell did you go, anyway?”
“Wild goose chase, apparently. One of the alarms went off at the northeast warehouse, but there wasn’t any sign of anyone around. Everything that should be there is there. Probably just the cold or something. I got one of the electricians checkin’ it out. Timing sucked. With the new system, I shoulda been able to detect the approach of the vans sooner.”
I don’t believe in coincidences, and this is no exception. An alarm doesn’t decide to randomly go off while we’re all engaged in a big shipment of guns. Someone triggered the alarm in order to pull Jonathan away and leave Rinaldo vulnerable, but who?
“Who sent you away?”
“Rinaldo told me to check it out. Not sure who told him, but he was talking to Beni and going over Becca’s lists right before then.”
I should have trusted my instincts. I knew something wasn’t right, and I’d let Rinaldo ignore my warnings. I should have been more forceful about my position. Despite what Lele says, this is my fault.
He relied on me to protect him, and I’d failed.
The doctor comes back out and gives Lucia and Lele another update. I watch their expressions of relief and don’t need to hear the actual words of reassurance. He is out of the woods, as doctors always say. Now it will be a matter of recovery.
What if he doesn’t walk again?
I’d seen plenty of leg wounds in the war. I’d also seen plenty of guys lose their limbs. Rinaldo must not be in danger of amputation, or Lele wouldn’t look so pleased with the doctor’s words, but he could still have some permanent damage.
Lucia walks over to the main group, and most of them file out the door. Nick stays behind for a moment, but after he and Lucia exchange words, he storms out in a huff. I watch Lele glance at him as he leaves, then turn back to her daughter.
Jonathan heads out for a smoke, and Lele comes over to where I’m sitting.
“There’s no reason for you to stick around, Evan dear,” Lele says. “They say Naldo will be out of it for a while. You should go home and get some rest.”
I barely keep myself from laughing. I won’t be getting any sleep tonight—that is for sure. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving until I’ve seen Rinaldo for myself.
“I’m staying.” She must hear the resolve in my voice because she doesn’t press me any further. Even after I hear Lucia explain that the bullet had gone clear through, and Rinaldo was expected to make a full recovery, I refuse to budge.
Sometime around two in the morning, the doctor comes out and says the family can go into Rinaldo’s room. Without batting an eye, Lele informs the doctor that I am their son, and I’m allowed back in the room along with Lele and Lucia.
Though Nick had returned after his snit, he remains off to the side, staring at the ground. No one asks him to join us.
Rinaldo’s hooked up to all the usual equipment, and there’s a soft beeping sound that makes me tense. His eyes are open, but they have that glazed look only morphine can give.
I stand back, and Lele and Lucia fret over him. A sheet is pulled up to Rinaldo’s chest, so I can’t actually see his leg, but I can tell it’s in a normal, straight position. All the vital signs displayed on the monitor look normal, too.
After Lele finally releases Rinaldo’s hand and wipes her eyes, she balks when he tells her and Lucia that he needs to speak with me. He gives her a disapproving look, and Lele sighs audibly but doesn’t protest any further. She holds Lucia’s hand as they walk out of the room.
I don’t ask him how he’s feeling.
“Who did this, Evan? Stark? Taylor?”
“I don’t know, sir,” I say, “but I’m going to find out.”
“I should have listened to you. You were saying from the beginning that the location wasn’t safe. I thought that bloodbath you orchestrated in Auburn Grisham was enough to keep anyone away.”