“At least, I didn’t rape her,” he pleaded. “He gave me permission to, but I didn’t!”
I stood up. “At least, you didn’t-” I was too astonished to continue.
“Fuck this shit,” Luca growled before discharging his gun and firing a bullet in the side of the piece of shit’s head.
“So, I get to kill this fuck, since you guys got yours?” Ciro asked, thrilled with the possibility.
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m the one who gets to end this fucker’s life. After all, it was my wife he put his hands on.” I told him, staring into Randy’s frightened eyes. “But you’ll have plenty of time to play with him first, seeing as how she’s your sister, and all.”
“I just needed money!” Randy shrieked. “I’m sorry!”
“You’re not,” Luca told him. “But you’re going to be.”
The guns had silencers, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Every minute we were here was a risk. “We’ll put those assholes in the doc’s car and take them back to Morgan City, where they’ll be cleaned up.” I kicked Randy on his bullet wound. He howled but, fuck him. “We’ll take him back with us.”
“Torch the house?” Ciro asked.
Luca nodded. “It’s old and run down. Manipulate the wiring and no one will be the wiser.”
I cocked my head and grinned at Randy. “Did you know that Ciro, here, can keep a man alive up to two weeks before the poor asshole’s body finally gives up?”
Randy paled and pissed his pants.
Chapter 20
Francesca~
Basco had done his best to fix my face, but he said that, while the cut wasn’t deep enough to warrant stitches, he still believed it would leave a scar. I had a trail of seven butterfly stitches down my face, and he said a bottle of Motrin would help with the rest unless I wanted something stronger. Right now, I felt fine, however, I knew tomorrow my body would be hurting like a sonofabitch. I opted for the Motrin with a stronger backup for tomorrow, if needed.
He tended to me first, and I had protested since Robbie had gotten the worst of it, but Basco made it clear that I was his first priority and the sooner I settled down and let him tend to me, the sooner he could see to Robbie’s needs. Needless to say, I ended up cooperating.
Once Basco was done fixing me up, I had moved from the couch to the armchair closest to Robbie. I wanted to be close by, in case she needed me, but I didn’t want to be in Basco’s way either. I was still kind of shocked that Basco still worked for the Benettis. His shock of white hair and his aged skin should have him years into retirement by now, but I suppose that was just fanciful thinking. Everyone knew you never truly retired from the Mafia.
Robbie’s eyes looked haunted as she stared at me, letting Basco look her over. “I’m so sorry, Frankie,” she whimpered. “I’m so, so-”
“Stop it,” I demanded. “This is not your fault.”
“Of course, it-ow! Shit. Sorry,” she mumbled to Basco. Her eyes flew up to look my way again. “Frankie, I’m the one who told Randy who you were. This is completely my fault.”
“She’s got a couple of cracked ribs,” Basco announced. “Nothing to be done about those except to bind them properly.” He eyed her skeptically. “Can you sit up, child?” Robbie tried to sit up and immediately winced against the pain. Basco and I gathered her in our arms and helped her sit.
“Is that okay?” I asked, scared for her. Scared that she might have more than just physical damage.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
“I need you to stand,” Basco instructed. “I need to bind your ribs and it’ll be easier that way.”
Robbie gave him a tight nod and I helped her stand even at the protesting of my own body. I hurt, but not like she was.
Basco didn’t bullshit her and I think she appreciated that. “This is going to hurt like a sonofabitch,” he told her. “Scream if you must.” When Basco lifted her shirt, I almost started weeping. Robbie was black and blue all over. You could see an actual outline of a footprint where someone stomped on her so hard. Basco began his ministrations, and she didn’t scream, but she bit down on her lip so hard, fresh blood started oozing down her chin.
I needed to distract her from the pain. “This is my fault for failing to tell you not to tell anyone who I was,” I said, bringing us back to the topic at hand. “I should have told you to keep it a secret.”
Robbie shook her head in a grimace. “It doesn’t matter, Frankie,” she argued. “I knew Randy was a loser. I knew he was a loser and I still dated him. I knew he was a loser and I still shared with him…things that were none of his business.” Her eyes glossed over in wretched despair. “I wanted so badly for him to be a good boyfriend, I pretended he was and treated him like I thought he should be treated.”
“All done.” Basco announced.
“I need to sit,” she blurted.
Basco just nodded. “Intense pain can bring on waves of dizziness,” he explained.
Robbie sat down and the movement broke my heart. She endured this beating to protect me and I felt helpless in her time of need.
Basco took her left hand and let out a deep sigh. “Child, you have two broken fingers that I’ll need to set,” he told her. “This too will-”
“Hurt like hell,” she finished, trying to laugh off the pain, but was unsuccessful when she winced.
“Yes, it’s going to hurt, but it must be done. They appear to be clean breaks and should heal nicely.” Robbie didn’t comment. She just gave him another small nod to get on with it, and this time she couldn’t contain her moan of agony.
“You’re doing great,” I said lamely. I didn’t know what else to
