Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“How bad is it?” she asked, minute by minute seeming to come back to herself.
“You’re still gorgeous, but it’s not as easy to see,” I told her, making her snort.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“My ribs a little.”
“This okay?” I asked, gathering the bottom of her shirt and waiting for her nod before lifting it up.
I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled at the smattering of bruises up her side, tracking back. Glancing behind her, there were thick bands of bruises across her hips and shoulders.
With careful fingers, I probed around her ribs. She gasped but didn’t cry out.
“No breathing issues?”
“No.”
“Okay. I think these are just bruises. Bad ones, but not a sign of something worse. Alara,” I said, dropping her shirt and resting my hand on her thigh. “What the fuck happened?”
“Break-in.” Her gaze dipped as she spoke. “I was between the rows; he shoved one into me. I fell back into the other one. And then the front one crushed me. But a cop pulled down the street. He spooked. And—” She raised a hand.
“Alara, why didn’t you call one of us?”
She shook her head.
“I wasn’t really thinking. I just wanted to get home. And then I guess I just zoned out.”
I could see that.
Alara was a woman who was so confident, so strong, that realizing that even strength wasn’t necessarily enough to keep you safe, could really fuck with the mind.
The first time I really got my ass handed to me, I’d been detached for a week after. Not quite to the extent Alara was, but stuck in my own head for sure.
“How’s your head?” I asked, tipping up her chin to check her pupils.
“Hurts. But I was punched too. It got me more in my ear, but still.”
There was no stopping the growling sound that moved through my chest and out from between my lips.
To that, Alara’s lips curved ever so slightly.
“You all do that,” she observed. “It’s silly,” she added. “But also kind of hot.”
“Yeah,” I said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You’re gonna be alright. But I do think we need to get that foot checked out by Salvatore.”
“Between me and you, I’ve always kind of wanted to be examined by Salvatore ‘the Surgeon’ Costa. What a brag that will be.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “But maybe you could have stubbed a toe or gotten a nasty splinter, not been brutally attacked.”
“Yeah, I’m really not happy about my foot.”
“I think I’m gonna have to piggyback you out of here. Those steps are too steep and narrow to go down carrying you.”
“Can I get cleaned up first? I feel gross.”
“Depends. Can you do it without stepping on that foot?”
“It’s a small room. I can hop. Can you get me a change of clothes, though?”
“Yep. Give me a few.”
With that, I made my way back out of the bathroom, closing the door for her. But also because I didn’t want her hearing me on the phone as I went into her room.
Her room was made, though mussed at the bottom like Tuna had slept there at some point.
“Hey, bud. I think you’re coming with us too,” I told him as I went to her closet.
And there it was.
Her stalker board.
I thought she was exaggerating.
She wasn’t.
There we all were. Organized by family, sure, and with silly little notes about how we took our coffee or things we hated. Apparently, Leo hated sauerkraut. I had known him basically my whole life and didn’t know that about him. But anything else she had written or color-coded was done so in some code that only she knew. There wasn’t even a key to be found. The kids were only noted by the initials of their first names.
She was careful.
The Family would appreciate that.
“Hello?” Brio’s voice met my ear.
“I’m calling you before Lorenzo because it’s more personal to you,” I started. “Alara was attacked. She’s alright. Busted up. Fucked up her foot or ankle, so I’m taking her to Salvatore. But I wanted to tell you.”
There was a pause.
“Tell me we know who it is?”
“Honestly, I didn’t get a lot out of her yet. She was really out of it when I got here.”
“I’ll call Salvatore and meet you there.”
I grabbed some loose black pajama pants, in case she needed a cast, a tee, and a zip-up hoodie before going into the dresser at the back of the closet.
“What’s up, Chris?” Lorenzo greeted me as I tried not to notice more about the underwear other than I grabbed a pair and some socks.
“Alara was attacked.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I don’t have a lot of details yet. I will get them, though. But she’s pretty worked over. I need to get her foot checked out by Salvatore.”
“Fuck. At home?”
“In her shop. Yesterday.”
“Christ. Okay. I’m gonna send Leo and Nero over there. I want a presence around so everyone knows who they fucked with.”