Gianna whimpered as I left the warmth of her pussy completely. It sent tingles down my spine and I shivered. Standing, I tucked myself back in before closing her robe and retying the sash. After helping her to her feet, I grasped her chin and forced her to meet my hardened gaze.
“Unless you want to find yourself spanked until you can’t sit for a day, don’t ever answer a door like this again. I don’t care who is on the other side. This”—I slid my hands down her back and cupped her round, little ass, squeezing her closer until our bodies were melded together—“is for my eyes only. Got it, mia dolce?”
Gianna’s eyes narrowed slightly, and I thought maybe she would argue with me, but after a moment, she nodded in capitulation. I rewarded her obedience with a scorching kiss that was suddenly interrupted by the sweet sound of my daughter’s voice calling for me.
“Daddy?” There was an odd tone to her voice. She was obviously terrified about something. Gianna and I sprinted to the door and out into the hallway. Sophia was standing at the top of the stairs, and I took them two at a time to get up to her.
When I got to the last step, I jerked to a stop and yelled for Gianna to call 911. I heard her spin around and race back down the steps as I gathered my little girl in my arms and followed her path. Sophia’s bleeding nose was soaking my shirt, her head resting against my chest as she softly cried. “My head hurts, Daddy,” she sniffled.
My heart started pounding at the signs of severe hypertension and I barely felt any relief as an ambulance pulled up in front of the house. Luckily, we didn’t live far from the hospital, so we didn’t have to worry about the truck having to navigate through city traffic, slowing down our journey.
Gianna stopped at the door and told me to go, that she would get dressed, get my mother, and meet us at the hospital. I nodded, hoping my eyes conveyed my gratitude for her among the stark terror ripping through my heart.
Chapter 3
Anna
The day started badly, learning that Nic was the head of a mafia family, and it only got worse when Sophia was rushed to the hospital. I’d never be able to forget the sight of her standing at the top of the stairs, deathly pale with blood leaking from her nose in a steady stream. The look of horror on Nic’s face when he screamed at me to call for help. How shattered Allegra seemed when I woke her and told her what had happened. The way my heart raced as she and I rode in the back seat of the town car which we’d found waiting at the curb, our hands gripping each other’s tightly while the only sound was the prayers Allegra muttered underneath her breath to keep her grandbaby alive. It all replayed in my head, over and over, as I wondered how long it would be before the doctors would come out and tell us what was happening with Sophia.
In the blink of an eye, my anger at Nic for keeping such a monumental secret from me seemed unimportant. The only thing which mattered was Sophia’s health and well-being. My reaction—or lack thereof—to Nic’s place in the criminal world, him calling me his fiancée, and then point blank telling me he wanted to knock me up—all of it could wait until we made it through this crisis. Nic couldn’t afford any distractions. He needed to be strong for his daughter—and so did I. She’d quickly found her way into my heart, just like her daddy had. I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. I couldn’t fathom how Nic would go on if anything happened to his precious little girl.
Allegra and I almost hadn’t been able to get back to the exam room where Nic and Sophia had been taken, but I refused to allow a simpering nurse who couldn’t be more than a couple years older than me to keep us from them. Allegra looked on approvingly as I begged and pleaded, cajoled and threatened—and ultimately used the DeLuca name to get what I wanted.
“You will take us to my fiancé,” I growled at her, a hint of menace in my tone. “And you will do it immediately unless you want to face the wrath of the DeLuca family once she’s well. Don’t think for one moment that I’ll forget the time you’ve made us stand here when we could be back there comforting Sophia.”
“It’s fine, Sandra,” another nurse chimed in, stepping forward to intervene, her eyes wide as they darted between Allegra and me. “I’ll take Mr. DeLuca’s mother and fiancée back.”
“Fine,” the other nurse huffed, stomping away.
Sandra. I mentally marked the name down for consideration later. I hadn’t been issuing empty threats while I’d been talking to her. The sound of Allegra’s low chuckle had me jerking my head her way.
“What?” I asked defensively.
“You’ve been hiding some fire beneath your nice girl exterior,” she answered approvingly
“She’ll need it to be married to him,” the nurse mumbled as she opened the door to a spacious exam room.
“I thought they fixed it when she had surgery two years ago. Why is she having problems now?” Nic roared at a tall dark-haired man in a white lab coat. “And why has it taken so damn long for you to figure out what’s been going on with her?”
I hurried to his side, tugging his hand into mine and jerking my head towards the exam table where Sophia lay, watching her dad and the doctor with wide, tear-filled eyes.
“Niccolo,” Allegra tsked. “You can’t blame Dr. McGowan for Sophia’s condition.”
“He’s the only one who’s here,” he grumbled.
“Because you’ve probably managed to scare everyone else away,” Allegra chided, eliciting a snort of laughter from Dr. McGowan, confirming how true her words must have been. “Remember, she’s only been seeing him for a few weeks, which is hardly enough time to get the results back from all the tests he’s run.”
“Actually,” Dr. McGowan interrupted their argument. “Most of her tests came back this morning. If you’ll stay with Sophia for a moment, I’d like to speak with her father in the hallway.”
Nic gave Sophia a gentle hug and dropped a kiss onto her forehead before following Dr. McGowan into the hallway. I followed suit, pausing to whisper in her ear. “Love you, sweetie.” Her tiny hands gripped my back as she leaned up to reach my ear. “I love you too, Anna.”
I hurried after Nic, tears streaming down my cheeks at her admission. Both men turned to me when I joined them in the hall, shutting the door behind me.
“As I was explaining to Nic, Sophia’s refractory hypertension has become unresponsive to her drug therapy. When they operated two years ago, her condition was considered improved because her blood pressure was within normotensive range.”
“And now that they aren’t?” I asked, making Dr. McGowan pause and consider me assessingly.
“You must be the Anna I’ve heard so much about from Sophia.”
He moved forward to shake my hand, and Nic tugged me closer to his side. Dr. McGowan sent him a quick grin and took a step backwards, dropping his hand to his side. It was as though he completely understood why Nic didn’t want another man in my space. Some of the tension left Nic’s body. Apparently, they were united in their caveman-ness or some such ridiculousness.
“To answer your question, Anna, I’ve recommended another surgical intervention for Sophia. Her previous surgeon performed an aortorenal bypass with a vein graft, but the conduit has since undergone aneurysmal deterioration. I’d like to go in and use the internal iliac artery as a free graft. They’ve since become preferred for aortorenal bypasses.”
I gripped Nic’s hand more tightly, most of what the doctor had said going straight over my head. I glanced up at Nic, and the blank expression on his face made me think maybe he didn’t understand any better than I did. “Could you repeat that, maybe in English this time?”
“Sorry,” he replied wryly. “Sometimes I slip into doctor-speak and forget most people have no clue what I’m talking about. Basically, the method her previous surgeon used has failed, and I want to reconstruct her renal artery using one from her pelvic region. Recent studies have shown outcomes are much better this way.”
“What are our other options?” Nic gritted out.
The grave look on Dr. McGowan’s face w
as answer enough, but his words confirmed it. “She needs to have this surgery, Nic.”
I moved even closer to Nic and wrapped my arm around his waist, trying to lend him what little strength I had.
“Do it,” he growled.
Dr. McGowan gave us a jerky nod. “I’ll book an OR and make sure I have the best of the best in there with me. She’ll be in good hands.”
“She’d better be.”
In that moment, I had no doubt Niccolo DeLuca was a very dangerous man. If anything happened to his precious daughter, heads would roll.
***
Dr. McGowan moved quickly, and Sophia was prepped for surgery and wheeled away from us within less than two hours. Another ninety minutes had passed, and the three of us sat in the waiting room, Allegra and I on either side of Nic. His hand was wrapped around mine, and my head was resting on his shoulder. Head bent, his eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping and Allegra worried her rosary the entire time, lips moving soundlessly in prayer. The moment Dr. McGowan entered the room with another doctor at his side, we all leapt to our feet.
“How” —Nic gulped—“is she?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Nic,” Dr. McGowan breathed. “She’s in critical condition right now.”
Nic dropped back into the chair, Allegra and I following him down.
“The surgery was tougher on her than I expected, but it was successful,” Dr. McGowan continued.
“She’s a strong little girl,” the other doctor chimed in. “There’s a reason Dr. McGowan is our Head of Pediatrics. He’s the best in his field. We were lucky to lure him away from his previous position, a fact you seemed to be well aware of when you insisted he take your daughter’s case.”
The emphasis he placed on the word ‘insisted’ made me wonder what form of persuasion Nic used to ensure Sophia received the best care possible. I might not have come to terms with his role in the criminal world, but I couldn’t help silently cheering at the knowledge that he’d been able to leverage it to help her.
“My team will keep a close eye on her tonight in the ICU, and I’m hoping to be able to upgrade her status within the next twenty-four hours,” Dr. McGowan added, a slight blush darkening his cheeks.
Those hours passed in a blur, the minutes ticking by painfully slow. Sophia’s condition was finally upgraded to stable. She was moved to a private room on the pediatric floor, one which more accurately resembled a suite in a five-star hotel than a hospital room. Allegra came and went several times over the next few days, bringing many of Sophia’s things to decorate the room. Stuffed animals and toys were strewn about, and flowers and mylar balloons covered most of the available surfaces. Neither Nic nor I had left her side, though. A fact Allegra was quick to point out.
“Go home,” she ordered us bluntly. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my granddaughter, especially since I’ll have the help of the private duty nurse and aide you’ve hired for her.”
I stifled a giggle because it was a little over the top considering she hadn’t even been left alone for a second by Nic or me yet.
“I’m fine right where I am, Mamma,” Nic argued.
“No, you’re not,” she snapped, her gaze sweeping across the both of us. “And neither is Anna.”
Oooh, she was playing dirty now, bringing me into this. Nic’s head jerked my way, his eyes scanning my face for any sign his mom was correct.
“Look how tired the poor girl is,” she continued. “She hasn’t gotten a good night’s rest since we got here.”
I shook my head in denial, but she just carried on.
“Or a real shower.”
I barely resisted the urge to sniff myself to see if I stank.
“Or decent food.”
And that was the straw which broke the proverbial camel’s back. Nic had me bundled up and out the door while Sophia slept peacefully with Allegra in a chair at her side. When he had me settled in the back seat of the car and slid in next to me, it dawned on me—this was the first time we’d been alone since Sophia had woken up with a bloody nose and distracted us from the argument we’d been having. It was difficult to reconcile the Nic I knew with the one he seemed to show everyone else. I was falling in love with my Nic, but I wasn’t so sure about the other one.
Chapter 4
Nic
Gianna was sitting stiffly beside me in the car, which wasn’t acceptable to me. I needed her comfort as much as I needed to keep her from running away from me. I slid an arm around her waist and hauled her up next to me. Her spine stayed ramrod straight for about thirty seconds before she gave in and melted into my side.
I sighed and snuggled her in a little tighter. The feel of her body against mine was soothing some of my fear for my little girl. She was slowly improving, but I couldn’t help the terror at the idea of losing either of my girls.
The car pulled up to the house and parked, then the driver exited the vehicle and opened the door for us to get out. I released Gianna only to allow her to climb out. As I followed, I noticed the driver’s eyes were lingering on her ass, and I gave him a black look. Grabbing her hand, I brought her in close and tucked her into my side. He had the good sense to look apologetic and a little frightened, so I decided to fire him, rather than kill him.
The cleaning service was in the house when we arrived, and I dismissed them. It didn’t matter if they were finished or not. I needed to be alone with Gianna to assess where her head was after everything she’d learned.
“Are you hungry?” I wanted to take care of her before we delved into the serious discussion ahead of us. She shook her head as she hung up her light jacket in the coat closet.
“You need to eat, mia dolce. Let me feed you,” I said coaxingly, putting my hand at the small of her back and trying to lead her to the kitchen.
She shook her head again and stepped away, making me frown intensely. She barely noticed, when my look would have put the fear of God into anyone else but my mother.
“I will. But, right now, I need a hot shower and some clean clothes,” she said with a yawn as she started for the stairs. I put a hand on the back of her neck to halt her progress and moved in close, so I could rest my lips on her forehead. “All right, mia dolce,” I murmured, my lips brushing her skin with each word, “I have to make a call, but I’ll be up soon.”
Letting her go, I watched the swing of her curvaceous hips and sexy ass as she ascended the stairs. When she was out of sight, I remembered my purpose in staying downstairs. I swiftly walked to my office and sat behind my desk. I dialed my friend Brecken, a former military man turned security specialist. I had to recant my statement about who fears me. Brecken was one of the only other people who didn’t fall in line with my demands. He was more likely to tell me to go fuck myself and do whatever he wanted.
“Hey, it’s Nic,” I greeted.
“Nic? Damn, I haven’t heard from you since that thing, with the guy, in the place.”
It was a private joke between us, and I chuckled. The sound felt somewhat foreign, but it spread a little light in my current darkness.
“How’s the wife?” I’d heard he’d recently been married.
“Knocked up.” I could practically hear the smile on his face, and his words rung with pride. I couldn’t help feeling a little envious.
“Congratulations,” I said, genuinely happy for him despite my envy. “Listen, I need your help. Things in the family have progressed faster than I’d expected. I’m staring down the barrel of a fucking war and while I’m hoping to prevent it, I need to make sure my mother, Gianna, and Sophia are protected.”
“Gianna?”
“My fiancée,” I informed him. I loved referring to her that way, but I was eager to start calling her my wife.
“Seems the congratulations go to you, man,” he said, before pausing. “How is Sophia?”
“Back in the hospital. Another reason why I need guards ASAP. She’ll be coming home in a few days, and while I trust my men, I’d rather have
expertly trained ones guarding my mother, woman, and sick little girl.”
Brecken was silent for a moment. Neither of us were the type to get emotional, and I knew he was quietly conveying his sympathy.
“I’ll have some guys there tomorrow. Do you want them at the house or hospital?”
“Both. Things are extremely volatile right now.”
“Done.”
I thanked him and hung up feeling marginally better knowing my family would be a hell of a lot safer. After making a quick call to check in on Sophia, I stood and headed for the stairs. The thought of Gianna wet and naked in the shower had my balls aching and my cock reminding me I hadn’t had her in days. I’d chosen to make my calls first so she would be relaxed and taken by surprise when I joined her. I had no intention of letting my sweet Gianna shower alone. Besides my physical need to fuck her, I knew we would find a sliver of peace in the comfort of each other’s arms.
I looked for her in the bathroom of her old room and found it empty. The bedroom was bare as well. Smiling smugly, I mentally patted myself on the back for using our time away to have all of her things moved to my room—which I’d turned into our room.
Entering the master suite, I heard the sound of running water and hurried to undress, desperate to hold my woman. When I twisted the door knob to the bathroom, it was locked. I rolled my eyes and searched out the key stored in the top, left drawer of the desk in the sitting area.
I unlocked it and opened the door, my breath catching at the vision before me as lust roared through my body. Through the glass, I saw Gianna standing under the spray of hot water. It cascaded over her every curve. Her hands were buried in her long hair as she washed it, and the position thrust her large tits out, as though offering them up for my mouth.
Within seconds, I was inside the steamy shower, grabbing her waist and dragging her to me, lifting her small frame up so my mouth could latch on to her nipple. Taken completely by surprise, Gianna had no time to think and she immediately moaned, grabbing on to my head and thrusting her breast up even farther.
Danger (Mafia Ties #2) Page 2