I slipped my phone into my pocket, letting the call go to voicemail.
“Looks important, since your face paled about four shades,” Janie said.
“Just a blast from the past. Someone I don’t have any want or wish to speak with.”
“Now you know you have to tell me who it is, right?”
But, before I could shoot her down, the intercom came on over our heads.
“Code Blue, all available staff report to the E.R. immediately. Code Blue, all available staff report to the E.R. immediately.”
“At least we had lunch on the right side of the hospital this time,” Janie said.
Just like the night before, we abandoned our food and took off. We rushed out of the cafeteria and down the hallway, and it only took us a few seconds to sprint into the E.R. The paramedics hadn’t even unloaded the patient yet. So, Janie and I stood at the door. Ready to receive whoever it was.
“Psst! Giana!”
I whipped my head over to the nurse behind the counter, doing intake for walk-in E.R. patients.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Just got done talking with the paramedic. Gunshot wound victim. Be ready.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Peyton.”
“What’s up?” Janie asked.
“Gunshot wound, be read--.”
“Oxygen levels dropping!” the paramedic yelled.
“We need blood. He’s lost a lot of it.”
“Looks like his shoulder’s dislocated, too. Probably from the fall.”
“Tell me what I’m looking at,” I said as the gurney rolled up beside me.
But, when I looked down at the victim, I recognized who it was instantly. It was Julian Diliano. The youngest of the Diliano Family.
Was that why Mom was calling me?
“Three gunshot wounds. One to the gut, two to the chest.”
Oh, no.
“Dislocated shoulder. Possible gun fragments lodged in his blood vessels.”
“What gives you that idea?” I asked.
Then, I looked up at the paramedic and recognized him. It was the paramedic from last night. He was probably making that assumption based off what happened with the boy.
“Any exit wounds?” I asked, putting my stethoscope in my ears.
I heard Janie yelling for an O.R. to be cleared as we rolled Julian down the hallway.
“No. no exit wounds. I believe it’s the only reason he’s still alive.”
“Probably. We’ll have to be quick, though. If there are fragments, we’ve only got minutes,” I said.
The paramedics abandoned the gurney as three more nurses came up to my side. I started clocking the wounds, trying to figure out if they’d nicked any major arteries. If they’d done any major damage. The wound in his stomach was almost certainly causing internal bleeding. But, the two in his chest had missed his heart by miles. Which subdued some of my fears.
Because when my mother fired a gun, she didn’t miss.
“The police are here. Why are they filling the E.R. waiting room?”
“Maybe this boy was shot for a reason?”
“You think he was stealing something?”
“Home invasion gone wrong?”
“It’s the Diliano boy, ladies,” I said flatly.
And with the last name thrown in, they knew exactly what was going on.
“That doesn't mean we don’t treat him, though. I need help fishing out the chest bullets. I want to keep the stomach one lodged, though. His stomach hasn’t pooled with a lot of blood yet. Which means it’s blocking blood flow. We need to keep it that way until the O.R. is prepped,” I said.
I worked in silence as the other girls whizzed around me. One nurse got him set up with an I.V. and everything needed for surgery. Another girl cut his clothes off him, checking for other wounds. I set his shoulder before massaging his other digits, making sure no other joints were out of whack.
Then, I set my sights on those damn bullets.
“All right. Here we go,” I said breathlessly.
My hands were steady as I worked. But, my mind wasn’t completely clear. I kept looking down into Julian’s face and wondering what his brother might think of all this. I understood how families like this worked. The loyalty required for them. All I knew were the rumors on the street. And when the older Diliano brother turned his back on his family, it fell to Julian to carry on the family legacy. It was a bullshit way of living, but I understood it. Loyalty. Respect. I was over the lifestyle before I ever lived it, but if anything happened to my family I’d be there in a heartbeat.
Because family comes first.
“He’s crashing!” a nurse yelled.
I whipped my head up, cursing myself for getting lost in my thoughts. His oxygen and pulse dropped like a damn cannon ball, bottoming out to nothing.
“I need a crash cart in here! Now!” I roared.
I finished off the last of the stitches in his chest before a cart appeared at my side.
“Whatcha need?” Janie asked.
“I need you to get ready to roll this boy into surgery once he’s back,” I said.
I smoothed the paddles together as they charged. I yelled ‘clear!’, then placed them against Julian’s chest. Staying away from the stitches as best as I could. I slammed them down, pressing the button as his body jumped. But, when that damn monotonous sound kept droning out, I growled to myself.
“Again.”
The pattern continued as sweat dripped down my brow. I rubbed the paddles together, pressed them down, and watched his body jump. I must’ve zapped him four our five times before I had to take a break. This didn’t make sense. He hadn’t lost enough blood into his stomach or the gurney to crash like this. Which meant shock had taken him under.
“One more time. Come on. Wake the fuck up, Julian!” I roared.
And as the paddles charged, I yelled ‘clear’ one last time. I placed them onto his chest, pressed the button, and watched him body jump.
Before the machines finally came back to life.
“Holy shit,” Janie whispered.
I looked around the room, watching the other nurses look at me with wide eyes. Fuck. I’d said Julian’s name. That had given me away, hadn’t it?
I couldn't focus on that right now, though. Julian had to get into surgery.
“Take him, Janie. Now,” I said.
Then, a phrase I never thought I’d hear rose from down the hallway. A stern voice. A booming voice. A thunderous voice, laced with passion, worry, and anger.
“That’s my brother you have in there! That’s my brother!”
And before any of the other nurses could spit out their curious questions, I went rushing out of the room.
Holy shit, the eldest brother had actually showed up.
4
Eli
“That’s my brother you have in there! That’s my brother!”
I barged through the emergency room doors and roared above the crowd. I saw a gurney rolling down the hallway back there, and I knew it was him. Dad told me everything. How he’d been shot. How he’d lost so much blood. How they’d lost him there on the pavement before resuscitating him back.
“Sir, you have to calm--.”
“I want to see him. Now,” I demanded.
“You can’t. He’s heading back for emergency surgery.”
“What happened? Is he okay? Is he going to live?” I asked.
“Sir, you have to take some breaths. You have to cal--.”
I barreled through the nurse, rushing for the metal double doors. Until police started swarming the damn E.R. room. I felt a man wrap his arm around me, holding me back from charging down the hallway. The gurney rolled out of view as my vision tunneled. I saw my brother drifting away from me as the police officer held me back. I wiggled out of his grasp, rolling my shoulders as I whipped around. Staring him straight in his face.
“Officer, my name is Eli James. I’m this man’s criminal defense attorney, and I need to know what in the hell happen
ed so I can figure out how to mount my defense against the man who shot him,” I glowered.
The officer narrowed his eyes at me as two more approached. I watched them pat the officer on the shoulder before pushing him back a bit. I cracked my neck, trying to draw in steady breaths as people rushed around me.
“Eli James?”
I looked down at the other officer’s name tag.
“That’s me, Officer Holloway.”
“That man is your client? I thought he was your brother,” he said.
“Right now, he’s both until I’ve been told otherwise. Does anyone know what happened?” I asked.
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”
I turned around at the sound of the voice. I wasn’t sure who the hell was talking with me, but they were about to get a piece of my mind. I stood there, ready to chew someone’s face off. Ready to say and do and spew whatever necessary to get details out of all these assholes.
Until my eyes landed on the body the voice came from.
“Because that sounds like a conflict of interest.”
The voice was strong. Commanding. But, had an air of softness to it. She wasn’t yelling. She wasn’t shouting. And she wasn’t upset. Her eyes looked almost shocked. A bit wider than normal, as they danced around my face. Did she recognize me? Was she part of the community somehow?
Did she understand how beautiful she was?
“I need someone to start talking and tell me what happened,” I said.
“I know about as much as you do, probably. He’s been shot. It looks bad. He needs a lot of blood. Things like that,” the nurse said.
“Is he going to make it through surgery?”
“His chances are high. But, he’s had to be resuscitated twice now. Once out there, once back in my room.”
“You worked on him?”
She nodded. “I did, yes.”
“Do you know what happened out there? Does anyone?”
“Do you have family headed this way?” Officer Holloway asked.
“I’m sure they’re on the way,” I said, unable to take my eyes off the beauty in front of me.
“Well, it’s going to be easier to do all of this in one fell swoop. That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you, if you’d stop fighting with us long enough.”
I nodded, still not taking my eyes off her. “Duly noted.”
Why the hell did she look so familiar? She had to be part of the community? Part of some family I’d run into at some point in time as a young boy. Before I decided to pull away from everything. Before I put my brother, Julian, in danger.
I should’ve stayed and protected him.
The world slowly faded into the background as I racked my mind on who the hell she was. But, as we continued staring at one another, I felt the officers walk away. The E.R. waiting room toned down, now that I was no longer yelling in it. I couldn't take my eyes off her. Why couldn't she take her eyes off me?
Why was I incapable of looking away?
She was magnificent. Dark curly hair piled high on her head, with wispy curls cascading down the sides of her face. Framing her forehead. Sticking up from the top of her head a tad. Wild hair, denoting how much she’d rushed around to try and save my brother. To try and prepare him for whatever surgery he needed. She was short and stocky, but had curves in places women paid thousands of dollars to have. Her gray eyes were piercing. Steeled against me, with flakes of yellow that brought out the creamy texture of her skin. She had a dark mole just above her upper lip. In the right corner, making it more kissable than anything I’d ever seen on a woman’s face.
Drawing me straight to her pouty lips. Uncaked with makeup, and yet somehow still looking smooth.
I wanted to know more about her.
“Sir, can you hear me?”
Her voice ripped me from my trance. “Yes. Sorry. What was that?”
“How long have you not been able to hear me?” she asked.
“I’m--not sure.”
Immediately, her hand shot out to my neck. Her cool fingertips pressed against my neck, dipping against my artery. I closed my eyes as I reveled in her touch. They drifted along my jawline before coming to my temple. I didn’t know what the fuck she was doing, but I didn’t want her to stop.
And once her fingers fell away from my skin, my eyes opened.
“Your heart rate’s a little higher than I’d like. Let’s get you sitting down. Have you had some water?” she asked.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I said.
“You won’t be if your heart rate keeps climbing. Let’s stop yelling and getting ourselves worked up and wait for the rest of your family.”
Her hands gripped my arms and she guided me back into my seat. Her touch was perseverant, but gentle. Guiding, rather than commanding. She didn’t expect me to bend to her whim, but she was ready to throw her weight around if I did. I liked that. It matched the strength of her eyes. Everything about her simply… worked.
How was that possible?
She released my arms as I sat down, then walked back down the hallway. She returned a few minutes later with a bottle of water, which she cracked open and handed to me. I nodded my thanks before taking it from her. My leg jiggled with anticipation as I waited for my parents to show up. I knew Mom would come. I wasn’t sure if Dad would, though. If he was currently cleaning up the mess, he might not be done in time.
Especially if this was a mess he started.
Wouldn't shock me one bit.
I watched the nurse walk off in my peripheral vision, and I wanted to reach out for her. Pull her back into my atmosphere. But, I restrained myself. The officers were still side-eyeing me. Much like they did the majority of my family. I mean, I knew changing my name wouldn't pull me away from their darkened legacy. However, I would have hoped it would’ve garnered some favor with the police department. Especially since I knew a few of them from the courthouse already.
You blew that when you told them your brother was a client, idiot.
“Shit,” I murmured to myself.
I kept my eyes trained on the E.R. doors. I’d been sitting there for damn near an hour, waiting for someone to arrive. I kept sliding my phone out of my pocket. Trying to see if anyone called. Or messaged. Or emailed. Or sent me a damn picture with something in it. An hour. How the hell had it taken someone other than myself from the family to show up after something like this? Julian had been shot. Three separate times! He’d been bleeding out! He was in surgery! He--.
“Eli?”
I dropped the empty bottle of water from my hand as I stood up. The E.R. doors parted automatically, revealing my mother as the mass of air kicked on to keep out the bugs. Her eyes locked with mine in soft confusion. But, she kept her composure as she always did. Her heels clicked across the floor. She smoothed her hair back with her fingers. She looked put together, as always. Even for two thirty in the morning.
“Mom. Hey,” I said.
I walked toward her, watching as she cased me with her eyes.
“What are you doing here, Eli?” she asked.
I peeked over at the officers, who were clearly eavesdropping on our conversation.
“I’m here because Dad called me. Told me what happened to Julian,” I said.
“Are you here to provide help? Or support?”
I peeked over at the officers again. Watching me as they waited for my answer. I had a chance to clear up my misunderstanding with them. I had a chance to get back in their good graces. I mean, I sure as hell didn’t want to be associated with the community. Even if it was defending my brother after he’d been gunned down. But, I knew how my father worked. And if I took my brother’s case--despite the conflict of interest--he’d see that as an open door into my business.
I couldn't let that happen, either.
“Support, Mom. Like always,” I said.
She nodded slowly. “Like always.”
I saw the officers nodding, almost as if they were applauding me. But, my mother
leveled me with that soft, disapproving look she always had. I was no stranger to that look. But, tonight? It hurt more than usual.
“Mom, I just--.”
She held her hand up. “It’s okay. I understand. You have to live your life as you see fit, no matter who you leave behind.”
“It’s not like that. You know it’s not like that.”
“Tonight isn’t about you, though. So, I wouldn't be too quick to put the spotlight on you. I’m sure your officer friends will forgive you once they see you in court defending some man from charges that don’t suit him. That’s what you do, right? Defend the innocent? Like your brother?”
“Mom, it’s a conflict of interest.”
“Story of your life,” she said plainly.
I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt someone come up to us, and I smelled her. That faint scent of Dove body wash and the honey vanilla she used in her hair. Or somewhere on her body.
It was the nurse. And she was probably here to speak with us.
“Hi there. I’m Nurse--.”
“It was kind of you to show up, Eli. But, you’re dismissed,” Mom said.
I slowly turned around, ignoring the dumbfounded face on the nurse as I stared at my mother.
“Dismissed?” I asked.
She nodded. “You’re free to go. I can take it from here. I’ll have your father update you on your brother’s condition once we know more.”
“I’m not leaving. This is Julian we’re talking about.”
“And you should have thought about that before you decided we were a conflict of interest.”
I scoffed. “Don’t do this, mother. Not now.”
“I need to speak with this nurse. And you need to leave. Thank you, son. It was nice seeing you again.”
As she turned her back to me, I felt my world slowly caving in. She stepped between myself and the nurse, already bombarding her with soft-spoken questions. She had a straight back and an evenness to her tone that chilled me to my core. Almost as if something like this didn’t affect her any longer. I stood there, wondering if Mom might step off to the side. Come to her senses and stop holding that grudge for one damn second.
But, she didn’t.
And I felt more out of place than ever.
Eli (Sinful Shadows Mafia Book 2) Page 3
