“If I could hug you, I would,” I told him. “You guys are lifesavers.”
The next couple of hours were spent catching up on gossip from the first month I was out of work and talk about our favorite binge shows and just all-around banal conversation. Mona and Teddy were able to get my mind off my troubles, even if only for a little bit.
It felt nice and it was painful to realize it was probably going to be one of my last good memories. Of course, I had no idea what we took with us to beyond the grave, but I liked to believe I would still remember even in the afterlife.
When the time came for them to leave, Teddy brought me another water and a painkiller with promises to visit me tomorrow and to keep checking up on me. I was truly grateful for his and Mona’s concern, and I checked my pride at the door and told them I’d really appreciate it.
After taking the pill and getting comfortable on the couch, I fell asleep. I wasn’t sure how long I was out for, but a resounding knock on my door woke me up.
It took me a bit to work my body enough to sit up, but as the pounding grew louder, I realized it was coming from the backdoor. I was also afraid the person on the other end was going to end up breaking my door down. “I’m coming,” I yelled as best I could.
A couple of minutes later, I was opening my backdoor to a worried Frankie, sympathetic Phoenix, irritated Ciro, and a stoic Luca freakin’ Benetti.
Holy shit.
Chapter 21
Ciro~
If I still hadn’t been pissed that Robbie tried to kick me out of her life yesterday, I’d laugh at the shock on her abused face. No doubt, it was Luca’s presence that had her stuck in surprise.
“Robbie?”
She turned her head to face Frankie. “Huh?”
“Are you okay?” And then Frankie quickly realized how stupid that question was. “I mean…I know you’re not okay, but is it okay if we came inside?”
I could see Robbie grimace. It could be from pain, but I was pretty sure it was because, while she might want to invite Frankie in, she didn’t want the rest of us here.
After I left the hospital last night, I hadn’t gone directly back to Morgan City. Frankie and Nix had gone back home in their car but I had stayed behind. I had called Marco and asked him where he was. The sonofabitch had lied and told me he was sitting in front of Robbie’s house and when I drove by, I could see that he wasn’t. And if you were going to lie to me, I had no qualms about lying to you. I had told him that Robbie no longer needed to be watched and I told him to go back to Morgan City. I also told him to be on hand because I was going to need a briefing.
After that I had called Mathias and I sat outside London Medical Center and stood watch until he showed up. It was the first time I’d ever said the words out loud, but I had told him that the woman I loved was in room 1298 and that if he wanted to live to see the next day, he had better make sure nothing more happened to her. The man had sent me hourly updates from outside her room all night until this morning when Robbie had stubbornly discharged herself. After that, he had sent them from across the street. He didn’t leave until I called him five minutes after we showed up in her backyard.
Once I had gone back to Morgan City, I had called Marco and told him to meet me for a summary of his watch. I had him meet me at my condo on Iverson and once he walked into the living room, I had hit him hard enough to knock a tooth out. Once we got to the funhouse, that was a different story. My usual routine of giving them a fighting chance had gone out the window.
This was Robbie.
I had tortured the sonofabitch until he confessed to even cheating on his SAT’s. He confessed to everything he has ever done in his life, big and small. I had saved the best for last, though.
When I got to my final question and asked him where he was Monday night, while Robbie was being beaten, he admitted to fucking some easy piece he had run into at the bar.
It hadn’t been the first time he deserted his post.
I had skinned the motherfucker alive.
And, now, we were making are way down the hallway to Robbie’s living room and I suspected the only reason she let us in was because Luca was with us. She knew she could work on Frankie’s sympathies to get rid of her and Phoenix, and she was no longer scared to tell me to go fuck myself, so that left Luca.
Thank God for Luca Benetti.
We all stood in her living room and it was awkward and tense as hell. It also hurt to look at her. The damage always looks ten times worse the next day, and Robbie looked like she was at her worst.
She finally asked, “What are you guys doing here?”
“May we sit,” Luca asked, and I watched as she looked ready to bolt.
“Uh…of course,” she mumbled, and I felt kind of sorry for her. I knew she was going through a lot and throwing Luca into the mix probably wasn’t helping.
Everyone sat, Frankie and Nix on the couch together, Luca on one of the mismatched armchairs, Robbie on the opposite side of the couch, and me on the coffee table closest to Robbie.
Frankie was the first to speak. “Robbie, I know you’re upset and don’t want us here, but we can no longer stand by
