“Please, just drive me home. I’ve been on my feet for twenty hours.” The words came out before Nina Kowalski had even pulled the passenger door shut.

by

Chapter 4

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Luca’s posture shifted instantly. “Nina.”

“What?” She didn't look up from the chart where she was inputting numbers. “I’m taking his clinical history. Gunshot wound to the left shoulder, through-and-through, severing the auxiliary branch. You want me to chart ‘spontaneous lead poisoning’?”

Tommy chuckled, then groaned as the movement pulled at his surgical incisions. “Valenti’s crew. Over on 26th. Thought they could take the distribution hub while Uncle Luca was in Philadelphia.”

“Tommy,” Luca commanded, the warmth completely gone from his tone. “Quiet.”

Nina finished her notes, tapped the screen, and hung the monitor back on its cradle. She walked to the foot of the bed, her face devoid of the banter. She looked at Tommy, then turned to Luca.

“You’re taking him home tomorrow, aren’t you?” she asked.

Luca didn't answer right away. “The private physicians are prepped. He’ll have twenty-four-hour monitoring at the estate in River Forest.”

“The graft isn't fully seated,” she said, her voice dropping into the firm, unyielding tone of a professional who had watched too many boys die for pride. “If he spikes a fever over 101, or if that drain backs up with serosanguinous fluid, an at-home doctor without a surgical bay won't save him. He stays here until Friday. If you pull him early because you're worried about your turf war, you might as well have left him on the sidewalk on 26th.”

Luca stepped away from the door. He walked until he was standing twelve inches from her, looking down into her upturned face.

Most people in Cook County shrank when Luca Moretti invaded their space. Judges grew polite; aldermen checked their words; rival bosses looked for the exits.

Nina Kowalski didn't blink. Her hands rested lightly on her hips, her scrub pants frayed at the hem where her sneakers had worn the fabric down, her blue eyes as clear and stubborn as Lake Michigan in December.

“You’re giving me orders again, Nurse Kowalski,” he said quietly.

“I’m doing my job, Mr. Moretti,” she replied. “Just like you’re doing yours. The difference is, my job keeps people breathing. Yours seems to do the opposite.”

For five seconds, the room was silent except for the rhythmic chirping of the heart monitor. Tommy watched from the bed, his mouth slightly open, looking between them like a spectator at a tennis match played with live grenades.

Then, Luca gave a single, curt nod.

“Friday,” he said.

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Table of Contents
“Please, just drive me home. I’ve been on my feet for twenty hours.” The words came out before Nina Kowalski had even pulled the passenger door shut.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 14
01 Chapter 1 02 Chapter 2 03 Chapter 3 04 Chapter 4 05 Chapter 5 06 Chapter 6 07 Chapter 7 08 Chapter 8 09 Chapter 9 10 Chapter 10 11 Chapter 11 12 Chapter 12 13 Chapter 13 14 Chapter 14

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