Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80: You Know His Blood Type

"I...I can’t, Luca."

"This is not the first time," he said, "and this will not be the last time." His gaze locked on hers. "You have to learn what being in my world means." He tightened his grip on her hand and lifted it slightly. "Watch."

Vee’s eyes dropped. Blood smeared her fingers, darker now, tacky as it dried. Her stomach churned. She followed the line of her own hand to where the doctor worked. The doctor didn’t look at them. He didn’t care about the emotions cracking open in the room. This was routine to him.

Luca felt her shaking. He shifted his hand, threading his fingers through hers. "Hey," he murmured. "I’m fine."

It was a lie and they both knew it. He was bleeding. He was weak. He was human. But Vee nodded anyway. She held on to his hand.

Why does this hurt so much?

Why did her chest feel like it was splitting open? Why did her heart shatter at the first flicker of pain crossing his face, at the tight inhale he tried to hide? Why did the thought of him dying terrify her?

Her gaze drifted, unfocused, to the IV stand as the doctor prepared a blood transfusion.

When did he get inside me?

"You...you know his blood type?" Vee blurted suddenly. She looked at the doctor, then back at Luca.

Luca exhaled slowly, a faint, strained chuckle ghosting past his lips. "He is my doctor, Vee. The code you sent told Marco everything he needed to know." He squeezed her hand again. "He knows exactly what he’s doing."

That should have reassured her. It didn’t. Because what terrified her wasn’t the competence in the room. It was the certainty settling in her bones.

This was his life.

Blood. Violence. And if she stayed, this would not be the last time she’d stand over him wondering if he would live.

Vee nodded then. Her shoulders sagged.

"Actually," Luca said, "I thought you would be relieved if I die."

Vee’s head snapped up. She looked at him. "I once said that prayer," she admitted quietly.

The honesty startled even her. She didn’t decorate it. There had been a time when Luca represented everything terrifying. A world that devoured girls like her sister and called it commerce. Back then, wishing him dead had felt right.

"And now?" Luca asked. He winced as the doctor pulled a stitch tight, jaw tightening reflexively, but his eyes never left hers.

"I don’t want you hurt," she said.

That was it. Simple.

Luca smiled then. Progress, he thought dimly. Good progress. Worth bleeding for.

Time blurred after that. The doctor finished his work, murmuring instructions to Marco and the men stationed outside. Luca’s breathing evened out as the medication took hold, his body finally surrendering to sleep. He looked younger. Beautiful.

It would be a while before he could be moved.

Vee rose quietly and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She turned on the faucet and stared as water rushed over her hands, pink at first, then clear. Blood swirled down the drain in thin ribbons, stubborn where it clung beneath her nails. She scrubbed harder than necessary.

My husband.

The words echoed, again and again, bouncing violently inside her skull. Her feet stopped moving. The hallway seemed to tilt, the walls narrowing. She turned slowly, eyes wide, staring at Marco.

Husband.

"Mrs. Genovese," Marco said smoothly. "I’ll have Luca call you as soon as he can. Have a good day, ma’am."

The screen went dark.

Marco lowered the phone slowly and finally looked up. That was when he saw Vee’s face. The color had drained from it entirely, leaving her pale, eyes glassy, lips parted. Shock clung to her features.

Marco swore under his breath.

Luca didn’t tell her?

She turned back toward the bedroom slowly. Luca slept on, unaware, breathing evenly, stitched together.

*****

Nonnina, despite the tightness around her eyes and the way her hands trembled just slightly as she clasped her rosary, had prepared the recovery room long before Luca’s car even turned into the gates. Marco had called her ahead of time. She did not need details. Nonnina felt danger in her bones before words ever arrived.

(I did it! I did it. Okay, yeah. i thought i would do it in two days but hey, i still beat the time.)