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Chapter Twenty-Four

Sophia

What is that beeping? I think with irritation.

I try to open my eyes, but they feel like they are glued shut.

“I think she’s waking up.”

Angelo? Is that his voice? I try to turn my head in his direction, but I can’t seem to move it.

“She did well in surgery,” another voice says. “However, she has suffered so many injuries she will need to stay here for a few days so we can be sure that she’s stable.”

“I understand.”

That is definitely Angelo’s voice. I swim harder toward the surface of my consciousness. I need to see him. I want to know what is going on.

When I’m finally able to crack my eyes open, the light in the room blinds me, and I wince, closing my eyes again.

“Hello, Tesoro mio ,” he says to me, leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.

My tongue feels too thick to speak and I suddenly remember my mouth being filled with Guiseppe’s blood. I gag a little, pushing away the memories. I’m not ready to deal with them yet.

I open my eyes again and Angelo’s handsome face swims into view. He’s smiling gently at me as he reaches out to push my hair back from my face.

“The…baby…” I manage to say, my voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

He grins. “Fine as can be. You did a good job of keeping that baby safe, my love.”

“I’m sorry…I…” I start to try to explain about the baby but start coughing. Pain flares to life everywhere in my body and I gasp and writhe.

“Shh,” he says to me, reaching behind him for a cup of water with a straw in it. “It’s fine. There wasn’t time to tell me. Guiseppe told me, as it turns out, while he was threatening me. It doesn’t make me any less happy about it.”

I look up at him as I sip at my water. He has a couple of bruises on his face, but otherwise he looks no worse for wear. I take stock of all of the various aches and pains that are affecting me. I realize I heard someone talking with Angelo about a surgery and I look around the room to see if the doctor or nurse is still present.

“Good to see you back with us,” a male voice says, and I look to my right and see Alessio Ricci looking down at me with a smile on his face. “I scrubbed in on the surgery to remove the bullet from your shoulder,” he tells me, giving my fingers a squeeze.

I squeeze them back, and wince.

He grins. “See? I told you she’d be as good as new in no time if she can already use her fingers with no trouble. Rest up,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waggles his fingers at us and leaves the room.

“Doc wanted to help with your surgery. I’m glad that the hospital agreed,” Angelo says.

“Didn’t they have lots of questions?” I whispered roughly, coughing again.

Angelo shakes his head. “No. We took you to a hospital that my father helped to fund. They don’t ask questions about…these kinds of things.”

I nod once, a small bob of my head, because doing anything else feels unreasonable due to the pain flaring through my body on and off when I’m not even moving around.

“Is she asleep?”

This is a new male voice, one that I don’t recognize. I squint, trying to force my tired eyes to focus and I see a smallish, slender man walking up to my bed.

“Rudy,” Angelo says fondly, grabbing his hand and shaking it before drawing him in for a back-slapping hug. I watch them for a moment, trying to place this newcomer and failing. “We wouldn’t have made it out of this one without you. I can’t repay you for your help…and for coming out of retirement.

The man who Angelo called Rudy just shakes his head and steps out of the hug. “It was nothing. It was the least I could do for a dear, childhood friend.”

Childhood friend? I frown, trying to figure out what on earth is going on. I stare at Rudy as he walks closer to me. As I meet his gaze, my sluggish brain tells me that he is familiar, but I just can’t figure out why.

“You probably don’t remember me well, Sophia,” Rudy says to me, “but we grew up together.”

I frown, reaching back into my memories. I suddenly recall a young boy with spiky, messy brown hair. We were playing with toys and he was telling me about how he wanted to take his mom’s computer apart, but she kept saying no to him.

“You’re that Rudy?” I say, remembering him for the first time in years.

He smiles, the expression softening his sharp features and making him far more approachable. “In the flesh,” he says, opening his arms a little. “I helped dig up the intel on Guiseppe that these guys needed to come rescue you.”

“Thank you,” I say. I barely remember this man, but he cared enough about me to help rescue me from Guiseppe. I keep being bowled over by signs of the care and love that my Italian family held for me, in spite of my mother taking us away and putting us into hiding. It feels good to realize that I am not alone, not even close to alone as it turns out.

“I hear that you need a right-hand man,” Rudy says. “I know I’m not the usual kind of big, tough-guy type that does these things, but I think we would make a good team.”

I smile at him. “We like to buck the trends around here,” I whisper.

He chuckles and nods. “Well, I’ll let you get some rest. We can talk about whether or not you want to have me stick around once you are out of here.”

I shake my head. “You’re hired. There’s a lot that needs to be done. Angelo can help you get started.”

He grins and nods. “Text me,” he tells Angelo, and then he leaves the room.

I sigh and close my eyes. My head feels like it weighs ten tons.

“You should rest, Tesoro mio,” Angelo tells me fondly.

“Angelo?” I say to him drowsily, holding up my hand a little. I feel him take my fingers in his. “I love you.”

He squeezes my fingers. “I love you more, Tesoro mio.”

“Thank you for bringing me home,” I say.

“It was easy,” he replies. “This is where you belong.