Chapter 22 Antonio

There’s nothing more relaxing than waking up to Gemma in my bed, but I need to keep myself in good shape. I can’t take another day off from training, but I don’t want to leave her alone. I start by going downstairs and that’s when it hits me.

The living room is still in disarray. I slept through the night.

I don’t remember any nightmares, or the incessant need to wake up and move things around because I can. Being confined to a prison cell for six years makes me cherish the ability to move around at any time I want. The problem is that I could never sleep for too long behind those walls because it’s not made for men like me to sleep peacefully.

I survived too many attacks and learned to never let anyone sneak up behind me. But having Gemma here, our passion, our connection, it lulls me into a sense of security I’ve never felt before. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose her.

Instead of moving the furniture into any suitable setup, I use the empty space to do pushups and jumping jacks. It’s simple and effective. Especially when I commit to doing five hundred of each.

My body is dripping in sweat by the time I finish, and I’m happy to see Gemma snoring peacefully in my bed. This girl could probably sleep through a hurricane. After I get in the shower, she turns over, eyes still shut, but pussy begging for my tongue to wake her up. I fight the urge, because just like me getting a full night of sleep, I want her to do the same.

After putting on some coffee and whipping up some pancakes and sausage, I sit down to make some calls and check my emails. It’s then I remember to call in to check if there are any messages on my hospital extension. I take a few moments to have my calls forwarded to my phone and I’m happy to hear Ronan’s voice.

“Hey, I figured you’d be calling to check this soon enough. I’m heading to Jackson, but call me on this number, I tossed my old phone. Camilla and my sisters have the new number now too, but the clinic’s going to be closed for the next few weeks. Call me.”

I decide to go into my office to use the phone. It’s not an archaic landline, but a phone with an internet number which doesn’t belong to me, so it’s unlikely to have someone listening in. I sit behind my desk to call him, and he picks up immediately.

“What the fuck did you do to piss off Melanie?” he asks with laughter bursting through the line.

“I told her I needed to take a leave of absence for family stuff,” I tell him.

“She’s pissed, and I told her that your fiancée was living here now. She said she didn’t believe me and we were in cahoots, her words not mine, to leave the hospital because I too requested a leave of absence. I didn’t even know you were doing that.”

I find myself laughing. “That’s definitely her problem, but at least I got your message before she wipes our access to the systems.”

“I figured, since we’re talking right now.”

“Don’t be an asshole. Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I just left Vegas. Not the most welcoming place for me right now. I’m heading down to Jackson. A friend of mine runs a private game out there.”

I blow out a puff of air. “Be careful. You know that’s MC territory and Dixie mafia, right?”

“Everywhere is someone’s territory, but thankfully enough, I have enough cash to get by. Did you know there was an obscene amount of money in Frankie’s car?” he says, and I can hear the grin in his words.

“That’s not a gift, Ronan. Don’t spend that money,” I warn him.

Ronan laughs. “Why not? It’s not like he’s going to be able to spend it.”

“Because I got paid a visit by two friends—” I’m cut off from a light knock on the door.

Gemma pokes her head inside and I can see she’s fully dressed as she speaks, “I’m going to meet Casper for breakfast and grab the package at my place. Do you want me to grab anything for you while I’m out?”

I want to stop her, to escort her around, but I know that’s not realistic. Instead of caving into my fears of what could happen, I tell her, “Be careful. Pay attention to your surroundings and make sure Casper knows you’re on your way and that he is going to meet you whenever you get where you’re going.”

“Relax, Antonio,” she says with a wink and blows me a kiss. “I’ll be back soon.”

She walks out and I nearly forget that Ronan’s on the line. “Aww, you care about her, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“If you want her to be your fiancé, you should legitimately propose,” he says.

I tell him, “Don’t change the subject, Ronan. Don’t spend that money just yet. Two officers paid me a visit yesterday, popped my finger out the socket and decided to use me as a punching bag.”

“Fuck, was it Verducci or Vito?”

“It was Verducci’s guys. I think the rift from Vito killing his own people when dealing with Luca and the whole movie studio starlet shit is backfiring because Verducci’s in charge. The cops gave me the impression they’re keeping Vito out of the loop.”

“We might be able to use that as leverage. I’m still good with Vito.”

I don’t like the sound of that as I speak in a low tone. “Don’t stir any more shit into this pot, Ronan. I gave you some breathing room because those cops showed up at the clinic.”

“Were any of my sisters there?”

I groan and tell him. “Camilla was there, but she’s okay. I took the brunt of it and they didn’t look interested in her in the slightest. I was able to make them think Frankie’s on the run and wouldn’t come to see you since you’re Vito’s doctor and would never do work for Don Verducci.”

“So fucking smart. Thanks, bro. Okay. I’ll keep my spending to a minimum, and I’ll keep a low profile. Maybe I’ll take a trip to see my folks in Arizona or something. I don’t need any problems with the Dixie mafia, so I’ll skip the private games for now until we’re sure you guys up there are no longer in harm’s way.”

I let out a sigh of relief. It’s rare that Ronan listens to reason, but this is good for now. “Thanks.”

“Do me a favor and go by my place. Have the landscaping people come out to mow the grass and whatever else they do. Then move one of my cars and park it in the hospital lot. Leave it in my space until I come back, or Melanie revokes my parking pass,” he chuckles.

“You got it. We’re in a good place to make it look like you’re still in town and that Frankie jumped ship.”

“Thanks, Antonio. For everything.” Ronan’s voice is low, but ripe with sincerity. We end the call, and I walk out of my office to see a picture coming through of Gemma standing with Casper in front of a diner.

Relief again rains over me as I decide to get dressed and head to the gym for another workout. I don’t much like the one in the building, so I head to the one me and Ronan use near the hospital. Since it’s not far, I opt to run there to get my cardio in before hitting the weights.

While running through the early morning San Francisco streets, I feel like someone’s following me, but any time I glance over my shoulder, there’s no one there. I’m eager to see if that peeping tom asshole from the cafe makes another appearance. I’d gladly use today’s workout to get out my frustrations. Unfortunately, the asshole’s nowhere in sight.

As I step inside the training facility, there’s a faint scent of chlorine in the air which makes me want to go for a swim, but I stick to my original plan to weight train. My headphones silence the noise around me. The music puts me in a zone where I feel like I’m the only person in the room. I get to work.

Once I finish, I go into the empty locker rooms to shower and change. I leave and head back home where the security guard in the lobby of my building stops me and hands over an envelope. There’s no return address and the guard can only tell me that it came via messenger.

When I open the envelope, I see the dirty undercarriage of a car with a cut line dangling above a street. The space between the street and the car is bright enough to let me know it’s daytime. There’s a puddle of liquid under the cut line.

I flip the card over and there’s a sentence sprawling across the back of the photo that says, “Since you can’t keep your hands to yourself, maybe this will teach you to stop and think ... or maybe not.”