Read Omerta (The DeLuca Family #1) Online
Authors: K. A. Ware
Omerta (The DeLuca Family #1) (24 page)
I could hear voices, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying, like I was under water and people were speaking above the surface. I tried to take a breath and coughed, something was in my throat. I tried to grab at it but my arms were pulled back. I heard yelling and movement, but when I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on I was blinded by a bright light. There was a tingling sensation in my arm that traveled up and through my body as my muscles relaxed and floated off into nothingness again
The next time I came back through the darkness I was able to breathe. I felt something squeeze my hand. “Carlo?” I heard, I would know that voice anywhere.
Mia
. I had no idea where I was but Mia was with me so it had to be okay, she was safe. The last thing I remembered was pushing her out of the way of Vlad’s gun.
I tried to speak but my throat was on fire. “Shh, don’t talk, I called the nurse. Just relax. Everything is going to be okay,” she soothed. I tried to open my eyes again, the light was still blinding but I was able to squint and after a while, my eyes adjusted. Turning my head to where her voice had come from I saw her. Tears in her red rimmed eyes spilled over when she smiled at me. “Hi.”
“Where?” I tried to speak again but the burning was too much. It felt like I had swallowed sandpaper.
“Don’t try to talk,” she said sternly, “You’re in the hospital. They took you off the drugs that were keeping you out a while ago. The nurse said you’d feel groggy, don’t worry, its normal.”
Just then a nurse walked in, “Ah Mr. DeLuca, glad to see you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals and the doctor will be in to examine on you in a minute.”
She moved around the room to the opposite side of the bed Mia was occupying and looked at the machines I was hooked up to. “Everything looks good considering, your blood pressure is on the low end of normal but that’s to be expected with the heavy sedation you were under. I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Don’t try to speak, just nod or shake your head. Got it?” she waited for me to nod before continuing, “Okay, is your vision normal?”
I nodded.
Walking around to the foot of the bed she lifted the blanket exposing my feet, “Can you feel this?” she asked running the end of her pen up the length of my foot. I jerked my foot away and nodded.
“Good, can you move your arms for me?”
I lifted my arms one at a time and set them back on the bed. I was starting to get irritated. She was treating me like a fucking invalid. Mia seemed to sense my frustration because she spoke quietly into my ear, “You’ve been out for four fucking days, she’s just doing her job. Don’t be an asshole.”
I looked at her in shock.
Four days?
What the fuck happened to cause me to be unconscious for four fucking days?
“Now, Mr. DeLuca, do you have any head or neck pain?” The nurse asked. I nodded, my head was pounding. The rest of my body was sore too but it was my head that was killing me.
“That’s normal with the sedation. As soon as the doctor checks you out I’ll give you something for the pain.”
“How long until he can go home?” Mia asked.
“That’ll be up to the doctor, honey. I know you’re eager to have him home but right now the best place for him is here where we can keep him under observation.”
“Okay, thank you Florence,” Mia said giving the nurse a soft smile.
The nurse, Florence, gave her a quick pat on the arm, “Okay, I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake and come back with some medication for the pain and some water for your throat,” she said and left the room leaving Mia and I alone.
“She’s been here every day since you came in,” Mia said noticing my confusion at her ease with the nurse, “I’m not supposed to be up here during non-visiting hours but she called in a few favors and got them to let me stay. I haven’t left since you got here.”
She’d been here for four days? Where did she sleep?
“Don’t give me that look. I thought I lost you. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving your side until you’re safe at home.”
The door opened again and a tall woman in a white coat walked in. “Hello, I’m Dr. Marshall,” she said coming to the side of the bed and looking over the same machines that the nurse had. “Your vitals are good. I think it’s safe to say we’re out of the woods here. It will take some time and you’ll need to take it easy while your body heals but from what I can tell, you should make a full recovery. We’ll keep you here for a few days and get you on the right medication dosage to manage your pain at home. Now, your wife mentioned that you’re from the Seattle area. I have a colleague up there that I’m going to recommend you to see. He’s one of the best rehab specialists on the west coast, and he’ll make sure your recovery goes smoothly.” I gave Mia a sideways glance when the doctor referred to her as my wife. She just shrugged and returned her attention to what the doctor was saying.
“You’re a lucky man, Mr. DeLuca. Not many people would be able to recover from this kind of trauma. Thankfully you’re young and healthy so that will be a big factor in the speed of your recovery. Florence will give you some pain medication for any discomfort you’re feeling. In a few hours you should be able to speak in short sentences. It will take some time for the pain to subside since you were on the ventilator for several days but you should be speaking normally in a day or two,” she said and turned to Mia, “Do you have any questions for me?”
“No. Thank you, Dr. Marshall.”
“Of course,” she said and exited the room as quickly as she’d entered.
It had been two weeks since Carlo had been released from the hospital and he was doing remarkably well given the injuries he’d sustained. He was off the stronger of the pain meds, only taking the occasional pill when he’d over done it. The most difficult part about his recovery was trying to get him to rest. Everything was slowly starting to get back to normal, at least normal for us.
At the moment we were lying in bed. Having just woken up from a nap, I was curled up to his left side, careful not to put any weight on his ribs that were still healing. According to the doctors, since three of his ribs had been fractured on the left side they would take almost as long to heal as the incision from the surgery and the gunshot wound.
“How are you feeling? Are you hungry?” I asked. “I can have Elena bring something up.”
Carlo heaved a sigh, wincing at the pain it caused. “I’m fine, Mia. I’ll let you know if I’m hungry. I just hate being laid up like this. I have shit to do.”
“You don’t have anything to do other than be here with me. The guys have everything else under control.”
He growled, “Doesn’t make me feel any better. I should be running my business, not them.”
“Don’t get that tone with me, you’re the one that jumped in front of a fucking bullet. It’s your own damn fault.”
“What was I supposed to do? Let you get killed?”
“Okay, fine.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Cocky bastard.
“So, did the shipment come in all right?”
“We are not talking about work right now. I’m enjoying this moment, don’t fucking ruin it by micro managing. Everything is under control. The shipment came in without issue, just like the last one. I will let you know if something changes. Just focus on getting better, okay?” So far, we’d used Mouse’s parents’ company to haul in two shipments from the southern border and both had been executed exactly as planned.
“That’s all I’ve been doing, Mia. I need a fucking distraction otherwise I’m going to go insane.”
“You need me to take your mind off things for a while?” I asked coyly.
“Don’t fucking tempt me, woman,” he growled, “You know I can’t do any strenuous activity for another six weeks, and what I have planned for you is most definitely a strenuous activity.”
I laughed, “I wasn’t talking about that. I have some news that I’ve been waiting to share with you.”
“What is it?” he asked, concerned.
I propped myself up on one elbow and looked down at him with a smile, “I’m pregnant.”
Eddie
They thought I was dead. They still had no idea that I’d plotted my revenge, made nice with the Russians, and double crossed them.
My entire life I’ve lived in the shadow of my cousin. He was bigger, stronger, smarter, more charming, and more successful. He was the golden boy to my black sheep. He took everything from me when he went off to become a hero. I was alone in the shadow he’d left behind, but I made my way, carving a path of my own. One that would lead me to the crossroads where I could finally face him and show him what I had become.
They had underestimated me my whole life, but I was about to show them what I was capable of. How fierce and cunning I could be. I learned patience, lurking on the edge of the shadows for years formulating my plan and laying the groundwork. He’d left me for dead outside of that warehouse and that had only solidified my hatred for him.
He’d stolen the heart of the girl I loved, but I would get her back. Because above all else, I had one undeniable truth that guided my way. She. Was. Mine.
We did it! I say we with complete sincerity, there is no way I would have been able to bring this story to life without the support and encouragement of my friends and family.
To my editors: I love you guys to pieces! Dani, if it wasn’t for you pestering me about writing and fangirling every time I sent you a new chapter I don’t think I would have ever finished. Thank you for reading my first 20k words and demanding the rest of the story, you really did give me the boost I needed to believe in myself and actually finish. Robo, you are my hetero-lifemate, thank you for your honesty and candid feedback and for not getting sick of me teasing you with half-finished stories over the years and inspiring me to keep at it.
Ma and Pop: You guys have the coolest daughter in the world, hope you realize that. Ma, thank you so much for being my biggest supporter no matter what I choose to do in my life, you are always there cheering me on. Pop, you keep me humble and are a constant source of entertainment, please don’t ever change. I love you both to the moon and back!
To all my girls: You beautiful bitches know who you are, thank you for letting me talk incessantly about my characters as if they are real people and getting excited with me at every milestone in this process. I raise my glass to you, I don’t know where I would be without every single one of your gorgeous faces in my life.
Now enough with the mushy shit, it’s time to celebrate! Where’s the tequila?
K.A Ware is an indie author living in Portland, Oregon. While she was born in the Portland area, K.A moved to Texas as a teen and fell in love everything the great state had to offer. She goes back to visit as often as she can. K.A. moved on to live in Alabama and Washington before settling back in her hometown.
Her days consist of working at her real life job in the financial field and taking care of her young daughter. Writing is not her only passion, K.A. also serves on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit and spends way too much time reading.
When she’s not busy mothering, working, writing, or reading she enjoys spending time with family and friends and embracing the weirdness that is Portland. K.A. loves music so if you ever find yourself at a metal show at the Roseland, take a look around. She’s the crazy redhead headbanging at the front.