Page 19 of Angelo’s Vengeance (The Commission #3)

ANGELO

The hospital walls were the color of paper—white, sterile, and so thin that if you pressed too hard, the entire place might collapse under the weight of your sins.

It smelled of antiseptic and stale air, and the chairs in the hallway were just as hard.

Simply walking inside the place gave me the fucking creeps.

It amazed Remo and me that Frankie wanted to work in places like these, where people were perpetually sick, weak, and frail.

She said they were also places of joy, and I looked at them all wrong.

My sister wanted me to think of a glass half full.

Her perspective was that people came to the hospital for help, got well, had babies, and returned to their families —that they were places where relationships were mended.

I couldn’t see it. Walking into this place made me break out in hives. All these people moaning in the emergency room or shuffling around with their IV poles gave me the heebie-jeebies.

But Theo was alive.

That was the only thing that mattered.

Still, the past three days had carved me hollow.

I’d been hunting Renzetti like a dog, teeth bared and blood on my hands.

I’d been rooting out men that he’d hired for that party of his from every hole-in-the-wall motel that I could find and every back alley bayou.

Bacco, Remo, and I had delivered some extremely enjoyable torture sessions in borrowed barns and then fed the remains to the swamps.

There were some pluses to being in Louisiana despite the humidity.

However satisfying, we hadn’t learned any actionable intel other than the fact that all the security had been hired muscle.

I’d left Theo in the care of her brothers—something that had taken more self-restraint than anything I’d ever managed in my life.

Every second away from her was like walking with a knife between my ribs.

I needed to be moving, to be doing something.

And if I were going to let off steam, I’d do it the way I knew best: with precision and fire.

Today was discharge day. The day we’d all be returning to New York. Thank fuck. I was cutting it close when I stepped off the elevator. All the Anthakos siblings were already present and accounted for, flanking Theo’s wheelchair like some royal entourage.

Clearly, she wasn’t too happy to be forced into a wheelchair; she scowled at her brothers as they spoke in low tones, turning at the sound of my boots.

She wore oversized glasses and a scarf that she had crafted into a couture-style headband, complete with a trailing bow down her back.

The woman had taken a bullet, yet was still somehow on trend.

When our eyes met, the tightness in my chest finally cracked.

"You’re late," she said, one brow arched above the glasses. “I’ve been sitting here for hours.”

“Don’t listen to her. We just got her into the chair.

They’ve taken forever to get her discharged.

You’d think we weren’t capable of taking care of her or something.

The paperwork is a nightmare.” Vaso rolled his eyes at his sister, but I knew he didn’t mind waiting around if it meant she was taken care of.

“We’re still waiting on the nurse to bring us our last care package.

There are some bandages and stuff I guess that we need. ”

My eyes swept over her again. She kept herself clear of the wheelchair’s arm to avoid jostling herself. Her face appeared almost pale, and I doubted she was very comfortable.

“Listen to you being such a smart ass,” I replied, unable to stop the smirk pulling at my mouth.

“Starting to feel better. I like it.” Directing the question to Ilias, I asked, “Can we hurry the nurse up at all so we can get Theo somewhere more comfortable?” I didn’t like that she was sitting out in the open with Renzetti on the loose.

“Spiros is on it. Hopefully, it’ll just take a second. Any update on the bastard?" Ilias asked.

My smile dropped like a guillotine. "He’s gone to ground. We tracked him to the Gulf, but someone tipped him off. Locals say he had a boat. Could be anywhere in the Caribbean by now."

Theo leaned back in her chair and sighed loudly and theatrically. "Great. The guy who tried to sell me like a human handbag is off sipping mojitos in a hammock while I’ve been stuck here with ice chips.”

"For now," I said. "But I’ll find him."

Spiros finally rushed back with the nurse, carrying what appeared to be a larger bag of items than we could need.

It wasn’t as though we needed supplies from some backwater hospital.

I would have a private doctor visit her twice a day.

I’d campaigned to have her airlifted home after the surgery, but I’d been vetoed.

My confidence in the care here was almost nonexistent.

At least in New York, I would have more control.

Here, I felt like I lacked the same contacts.

The Anthakos brothers, however, had shut me down, and I didn’t have a leg to stand on.

Now, my teeth ground together at every second of the delay.

There were even more papers to sign, and I barely managed not to snap the poor woman’s head off.

“Let’s blow this joint.” Gripping the handles of the chair, I ignored the scowl of the attendant who had moved in. “I’ve got it. Step off.”

“It’s protocol, sir,” the man attempted to argue, appearing put out. “Hospital regulations.”

But I was more than done, and the Anthakos clan was already moving with me as I started to propel Theo through the hallways, even though the attendant doggedly kept up with me. The dude was lucky I didn’t sock him right in the jaw.

“Fuck right off,” I ground out, glaring at him.

“Angelo.” The quiet reprimand came from Theo. “It’s his job.”

“No, piccola . It’s my job. I’ll do it. Fuck him.”

Every time I looked at her, uncomfortable feelings still lingered, especially now that she was weak and injured.

I wasn’t used to it. Usually, she was all claws and teeth, fighting me at every turn.

I began to feel a little better about closing the door on my complicated feelings for her and the situation we found ourselves in.

However, that door had developed a small melted hole, softening around the edges.

I wouldn’t even touch on the anger that perpetually followed me, but I couldn’t blame her for it.

It was an old friend from childhood and living with Don Santelli .

“Fine, whatever.” Her retort was barely loud enough for me to hear, but I pushed her a bit faster before she insisted that I let her go in favor of one of her brothers.

I helped her out of the chair when we reached the curb and the waiting car. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anything special, but I had to prioritize comfort over flash. One thing I loved was cars, but sacrifices had to be made in certain situations.

Theo scowled at me but allowed me to help her, leaning into me so that I felt the tension in her body.

The way her hand curled around my arm —both delicate and defiant — made my heart race.

She didn’t want pity; she desired control, even if she wasn’t steady on her feet, and I understood that.

After being in the hospital for so long, she seemed smaller, her arm still frozen against her side.

The doctors had given her a favorable prognosis for recovery, but it would take time.

I’m sure they discussed with her in the last few days that she’d have limited mobility. She’d hate that. I hated it for her.

"We’ve got the jet on standby," I said as we loaded up the car. "You ready to go home? "

She made a face. "New York isn’t exactly home anymore, but I suppose it’ll do until I get kidnapped again. I do want to see Frankie,” she quipped.

I wouldn’t let her comments hurt my feelings, but she was wrong if she thought New York wasn’t home.

Her days of running away were long gone.

It was time to face the music. My feelings about being forced into something were still all over the place, but they were steadier regarding the woman Theodosia had turned out to be.

Kostas muttered something about her being finished in Europe, and Ilias shot him a glance. I couldn’t fault them. If our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t let my sister out of my sight either.

Theo turned away from the window as we made our way through the streets toward the airstrip.

Her hands were still on her lap, her thigh almost touching mine, and suddenly, I wanted to feel her heat.

Slowly, I spread out more so that my leg touched hers.

Her eyes shot to me, narrowing, but I ignored her and stared across the limo as if I hadn’t done it on purpose, instead turning my focus to Ilias .

"We can discuss strategy when we land,” I told her brother, keeping my voice low.

He nodded. “We’d like to get on track right away. We can’t let him get away with a move like this.”

“Renzetti will surface again. His ego won’t allow him to disappear forever.

According to Carlo, there are still whispers in the city about the Oliveto territory,” I scoffed.

“As if we’d allow his ass in New York. We would burn him out before we let him set foot in our city. We should be prepared, though.”

Vaso snorted. “He’ll definitely make another move, especially after he got humiliated. His little auction fell apart, his men got slaughtered, and now he’s a marked man in more ways than one.”

I grunted assent. "Maxim’s already circulating word through our southern contacts. Conall’s got his Irish eyes in the ports. Anyone who tries to help Renzetti’ll bleed for it."