Page 4 of Enzo (The Amato Family #2)

I pull up to the scene at the same time Rose does, and we’re barely out of our cars before Doc is barking orders.

“One of you check on Roman and get him back to the house, the other will be assisting me.” Doc doesn’t say anything else, too focused on bringing his phone to his ear and calling someone.

Rose and I exchange looks, and with silent communication built from years of being friends and working together, we come to an agreement.

Rose grabs her medical bag and heads to where the intact SUV is. Amato guards encircle the vehicle, keeping the valuable target inside from sight. At a quick glance, I see none of them are Enzo. Even as I open the side door to my van, I scan the area, hoping for a glimpse of him.

Fear tries to override my senses, but I shove it down. Doc needs me more than Enzo does right now. Whatever happened, there’s nothing we can’t fix. I need to focus on my job now and my personal life later.

Grabbing my bag and the bodyboard I keep in the back of the van, I head to the destroyed SUV. The few guards standing there with Doc move out of my way.

In a firm, no-nonsense voice, Doc orders, “I want this done quickly. He’s already lost too much blood, and I’m worried he’s in shock. We need to move fast, without risk of injuring him more.”

Carefully, Doc and another guard drag the man in the front passenger seat out the window and onto the bodyboard I set on the ground. Only then do I get a good look at his face. I had a feeling I knew who it was the entire time—I just needed to see it to believe it.

Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I push away all my personal feelings. They have no place here.

The sight of the man I love lying on the bodyboard is too much, despite the professional compartmentalization I’ve established.

A sob catches in my throat and my stomach twists with nausea at the sight of him so battered and barely hanging on.

So as they pick Enzo up and carry him to the van, it’s all I can do to race ahead and get the door open.

Doc climbs into the back of the van and helps get Enzo situated. I climb in as well to assist while James, Doc’s bodyguard, gets into the driver’s seat. Once Doc and I are shut into the back of the van with Enzo, James gets moving.

We’re not nearly as equipped as we need to be for this situation, but that’s something I can’t worry about now, not when Enzo’s blood is all over my hands as I try my best to stop the bleeding.

His leg is a mangled mess, and I choke on a sob as I work on him. For the first time in my career, my stomach twists and nausea rises. It’s different when you hold the life of someone you love in your hands.

Doc makes a call, giving the hospital our ETA while I continue to staunch the bleeding.

“You sure the hospital is the right move?” I ask as soon as he hangs up.

“No. I’d prefer to do the entire surgery myself, but neither you nor Rose have the right qualifications, and I don’t have the equipment. Both things I will need to rectify.”

I grimace, knowing he’s right but hating it all the same. “I’m not going back to school. I like what I do and where I am.”

Doc nods almost absently, his expression dark. “Then I’ll tell Cristian to hire someone who is trained in surgery.”

I want to ask why he hasn’t before, but that’s not exactly helpful, so I keep my mouth shut and focus on my job, working once more to push my personal feelings to the side.

Everything is chaotic once we get to the hospital. Doc and the head surgeon go toe to toe right away, and I worry for a moment we’re going to get kicked out because of Doc’s ego and brattiness. Thankfully, the surgeon just glares and jerks his head in a “follow me” way, and spins on his heels.

Doc doesn’t hesitate to march his way deeper into the hospital, and I follow behind like the lost little duck I am.

We scrub in and I try not to think about the fact I’m about to watch the love of my life fight for his life.

Doc bulldozes his way into the operating room and I take a long breath before following. It’s…chaos. So many people in such a small space. Doc and I try to stay out of the way, and I’m glad for the mask covering my face that’s now absorbing the tears steadily running down my cheeks.

We stand off to the side, to keep out of the way as they work on saving my love.

Words are thrown around in clipped voices, and I try hard to pay attention to what they’re saying, but everything is going in one ear and out the other as I glance between the monitors and the glimpses I get of Enzo’s ashen face as they work on him.

When he flatlines, my knees almost give out and a strangled sound leaves my throat. They jump into action, and though they’re able to bring him around quickly, it doesn’t stop my own heart from giving a little jolt as I’m faced with the reality that he might not survive this.

Doc glances at me, though I keep my focus on Enzo. “You can leave if you need to,” he says gently. “Go wait with James.”

I hate the sympathy in his voice, as if he’s already buried Enzo while he’s still on the table.

Shaking my head, I reply, “I’m okay.”

Before Doc can say anything else, the head trauma surgeon calls Doc over to start cauterizing Enzo’s blood vessels, and I fight back a sob as more tears flow down my face. For the first time in my career I hate what I do, because it means I understand far more than I want to about what’s happening.

Though some of the more complex terms and procedures go over my head as the surgeons work on saving what’s left of his leg, I can understand enough that my entire being starts to shake.

Doc steps back from his task and looks over at me. “Go give James an update, and text Rose to find out how Roman’s doing. Also, ask James to track down some coffee. We’re in for a long few days.”

I don’t hesitate, needing the breather he’s giving me. “Yes, sir.”

Casting one last long glance at Enzo’s prone form, surrounded by doctors and nurses, I swallow and hope to a God I don’t believe in that this isn’t my last glimpse of him alive.

I find James in the waiting room for the surgical floor and he jumps up when he sees me. His dark brown eyes are full of worry, and his auburn hair is in disarray as though he’s been pulling at it.

As a bodyguard, this has to hit close to home. Not only are James and Enzo friends, but James is uniquely aware that his job comes with risks, that today it might be Enzo, but it could easily have been him on the table fighting for his life.

“How is he?”

I shake my head. “He…they’re having to amputate his leg.” I let out a sob, wrapping an arm around my middle.

James crosses the space between us and pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly. “He’s strong. He’ll make it through this.”

Clinging to James’s shirt, I cry, letting the torrent of pain crash over me after having to hold myself back for so long lest they kick me out of the operating room.

When my tears subside and the only sounds I can make are little whimpers, I pull back, but still stay in the comfort of James’s embrace. “I…I need to call Rose and get an update on Roman. And the Boss needs to be informed about Enzo.”

“I can do all that. You sit and take a few minutes for yourself.”

“Doc wants coffee.”

James huffs. “Yeah, I think we all need that. Sit, and don’t worry about anything.”

Guiding me to one of the seats in the room, James urges me to sit down, and I copy his movements as he takes a few deep breaths.

When he’s satisfied I’m not going to fall apart, he steps back and moves to the corner of the room, pulling his phone out.

Wrapping an arm around myself, I close my eyes, tuning James’s low voice out because I can’t handle hearing him give our Boss updates.

Fuck. How did it all go so wrong? I’m not stupid; I know the risks of the job. Doc, Rose, and I have patched up many of the guards who work for the Family, but this… This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to Enzo.

Please. This isn’t it. This isn’t how our story ends. Please, baby, don’t leave me...