Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I’d been waiting for this moment all night, and now that it was here, I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to grab his hand, but something stopped me from doing it. I just felt this overwhelming awkwardness between us. Did I thank him for what he did? Did I not acknowledge it at all?
He continued to stare at me, not as if he was waiting for me to speak, but as if he was surprised I was there at all. “I—I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The guilt rushed over me like a tidal wave. I felt bad for everything I’d said to him. I felt bad for the way I’d treated him, the way I’d broken his nose with the gun. “You’re my brother,” I said quietly. “I’ll always be here.”
He continued to stare at me with slight disbelief before his gaze softened in emotion. Tears welled in his eyes until they shone with the reflection of the fluorescent lights overhead. He started to move his hand, but his fingers only moved a couple inches before they came to a stop.
I lowered the railing that was between us and placed my hand on his.
He inhaled a deep breath at my touch, winced in pain, and then let it out before he winced again. “I’m sorry.”
I didn’t want to hold on to it any longer. If my father had seen what my brother did for me, I believe he wouldn’t want me to hold on to it either. He would want us to have each other. “I know.”
The moisture in his eyes turned to tears and dripped down his cheeks. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
“I know.” I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either if I’d done the same. “And I guess that’s punishment enough.”
Another round of tears streaked down his cheeks before he brought himself to calm again. It probably hurt to cry with the damage to his chest and the burn of the tube that had just been removed from his throat. “What happened?”
“You were shot in the chest,” I said. “You have a collapsed lung that was repaired. You’ll be in the hospital for a while. It’s going to be a long recovery.”
“Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll live?”
“You’ll live.”
“The last thing I remember is being hit in the chest, and then it was dark. Just assumed I was dead.”
“I’m surprised you made it too.”
“Maybe Dad had something to do with that,” he whispered. “Maybe he wanted me to come back, so I can continue to look after you.”
“Or maybe he sent you back because he was going to kill you if you stayed.”
It was a harsh joke, but it made Leo smirk slightly. “Yeah, that makes more sense.”
28
WOLFE
We got Leo transferred to a hospital closer to Caltanissetta, so it was easier for Francesca to see him every day. She wasn’t around the vineyard much over the following weeks because she spent all her time at the hospital. I saw her in the evenings when she came home and made dinner. I suggested we hire someone to cook since she was working so much, but she said it relaxed her. Who was I to argue when her cooking was better than anyone else’s.
I didn’t like being in charge of the business. I preferred to chase down assholes who didn’t comply with demands and enforce the boss’s orders. But I sucked it up and did it, looked through Francesca’s paperwork and made sure orders were on time and deliveries were made. I had to respond to emails too, which wasn’t my cup of tea. I had to text Francesca and ask her a lot of questions, and I found it even more laughable that Leo ever thought he could handle this job.
I was sitting at the desk, looking through her production reports, when Elio walked inside.
“How’d it go?” I immediately asked.
“Hector claims the guns are damaged.”
“Damaged how?”
“They’re scuffed, like they’ve already been used. I checked the other part of the batch from the warehouse, and it’s true. He says they paid top price for brand-new stuff, and he doesn’t want old shit.”
“I wonder if the Americans sent us the wrong batch.”
“Or they think we’ll just accept bullshit.”
I smirked. “Nah, they know I won’t accept bullshit. I’ll handle it. I’ll jump on a plane if I have to.”
He came closer to the desk, a couple years older than Don Mancini and still in excellent shape except for how leathery his skin was. He smoked way too many cigars, probably went through ten a day, and it was really starting to show on his face. “How’s Frankie?”
It used to annoy me when people called her that, but now I appreciated the fact that I was the only one who called her by her full, beautiful name. “Busy with Leo. She’s at the hospital with him all day, every day.”