“Pissed off. How could you let me sleep that long?”
“Bitch you needed to rest. Now I’ve got some good news and bad news. The good news is that you don’t have any patients for the next couple days. I called in our substitute cardiologist to take them over for the next couple days. Now before you get mad, which I’m certain you will, let me tell you the bad news.”
“Selena you know I need this job and this money, especially now more than ever. Ugh. Really I’m fine.”
“No you’re not you have a couple broken ribs and some internal swelling. In fact you’re lucky that they didn’t penetrate your lung wall. You have to take it easy for a few days. There’s nothing we can really do for the ribs but wrap them, so Andi and Dustin are going to do that now, and I’m going to get you a prescription for some pain medication. The good stuff, not just Tylenol. You need it to recover enough for that swelling to go down. Don’t fight me on this either Rachel, I know how you are. It’s time you listen to your own doctor.”
“Fine. Let’s just be quick about it so that I can get back to work.”
There wasn’t any room for modesty and I sighed in exasperation and reached behind me to untie my hospital gown. I let it fall to the hospital bed, and was naked before my colleagues and friends. This was nothing new for Selena, of course, but I did redden in embarrassment for Andi and Dustin. They were professionals, so they didn’t judge my blush. I also knew they would never speak of this in front of any other doctors in the hospital. They had a healthy respect for me, and I would often consult with them on some of their patients and surgeries. It felt good to be respected. Clearly I didn’t get that from anywhere else. I lifted my breasts in both hands as they placed the bandages securely around my rib cage. I couldn’t help but mutter out a few choice words as they tightened the bandages to secure the loose fragments from moving around too much internally. As a doctor I knew this was important, but as I reclined on the bed I silently wished there was a surgery to heal them. That’s the bad thing about ribs, there’s nothing that can be done. There’s no way to put pins or screws in them to pull them back together. They just mend together on their own. Over time. Fuck I didn’t have time for this. Before I could ask Andi and Dustin just how long they thought it would take for at least the swelling to go down, a nurse barged in the room, with a very frantic looking Tony in tow.
“I’m sorry—he just would not listen to reason. He says he needs to see you, Rachel.”
“Tony!”
He saw my nakedness as I quickly pulled up the gown to try to hide my body and he looked down and immediately reddened. “Oh geez! I’m sorry Rachel. I thought you were working. Gramps said to come and pick you up and when you didn’t meet me at the car… well I don’t know, I thought I’d come find you. You didn’t stop by for coffee this morning either and I thought we had an arrangement.”
“An arrangement?”
“Yeah. Like I made ya a special cup of my own personal brew.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Tony. I have been well… distracted. Um, is your Grandfather okay?”
“No, ma’am I don’t think he is. There’s been some news that’s concerning. He’s been a little, I don’t know. I guess, ashen today.”
“Shit. Sigh. Let me finish up here and we’ll go.”
“Right. I’ll just um, I’ll be in the hallway.”
After he exited Selena immediately walked to the bed while Andi and Dustin quickly finished their work. Despite my grimace of pain Selena was the first to question me about the intrusion. She always busted my balls, but it was normally for my own good. “Just who the fuck was that Rachel?”
“Um…that’s Tony.”
“Tony who?”
“Tony Caparelli.”
“Would you mind to tell me what the hell he’s doing barging through my ER looking for you?”
“Um. It’s complicated.”
I nodded at Andi and Dustin as they helped me to my feet. “Thanks. I really appreciate your help. I really owe both of you. When I get on my feet again I’ll buy you dinner or something.”
Dustin looked at me and put his hand on Andi’s shoulder. “Really it’s no problem, Rach. Just take care of those ribs for a couple days and let any of us know if there’s any changes.”
“I will.”
They walked out of the room and I began getting dressed once again while Selena continued her interrogation. “So what does he want?”
“Sigh. Fine. I took an outside job for his family. They’re on the North End.”
“The North End? Why on Earth would you do that? You know how dangerous it can be there!”
“Well they needed my help. You know I can’t ever turn away a family in need. This family just happens to be a bit larger than the traditional families we see.”
“Wait.”
“Yes.”
Selena then drew back and roughly slapped my shoulder. “Ow! What the fuck was that for?”
“Are you fucking telling me you got a job working for a mob family? What the hell are you thinking? Jesus Christ. Go tell him right now you quit.”
“Just calm down. It’s not like you think, there’s no horseheads in my sheets or anything. Honestly, they’re nice people and have treated me with the greatest respect. I’m very professional in my visits and they’ve had no trouble paying me on time. I asked for a car this evening because I didn’t have the gas to get to the North End to see him.”
Selena began mumbling to herself then made a prayer sign with her palms folded together. “What are you doing?”
“I’m praying to God to keep your stupid ass safe. I know that you’ll never listen to the voice of reason and you’re gonna do this anyway so just be fucking careful. I can’t lose my best friend. We’ve got a lot of living to do still.”
“Yes, you’ve got that right. I guess I better go. Thank you for taking care of my patients today. Knowing this does your offer still stand about staying over?”
“Of course you ditz.”
Selena then wrapped her arms around me gently and she even kissed me on the cheek. “Take care of yourself out there, I’ll see you tonight.”
“Sure thing.”
Andi and Dustin returned with a small satchel full of my medication and different bandages for redressing my ribs. I slung it and my work bag over my shoulder and walked down the hallway slowly to see Tony sitting on the edge of bench looking distant and worried. “Hey ya doc. You okay?”
“Yeah I’ll be fine. Care to give me a hand?”
He nodded then slung both bags over his shoulder and proactively offered his elbow to me as we got into the waiting elevator. He began to speak and I interrupted him abruptly saying, “We’ll talk in the car. I don’t want my bosses in the hospital to know I’m working for someone else too. They may get the idea they need another cardiologist to replace me.”
“Understood. It’s not personal, it’s business.”
“Yeah something like that.”
We got to the waiting car, which Tony parked right at the hospital entrance and he opened the door for me. He then placed my bags in the backseat and I slid in the passenger seat saying, “Oh. Ow…fuck.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me and looked concerned. He then did the unexpected. He leaned over and reached over my shoulder. I sat back at first and closed my eyes flinching. “Hey… hey now. Relax. It’s okay, I’m just going to do this for you, since you’re having some trouble. I’m not going to hurt you, I swear.” I didn’t respond, I just continued to be as still as possible. There had been many occasions when my ex had said the same thing and the next thing I know I was on my knees or my back gasping for air. He gently moved my hair out of the way and pulled the belt across my body. I heard it click into place and he did the same thing with his. He then turned on the air conditioner and asked, “Is that okay?”
“Yes, it’s fine. Thank you. Thank you for picking me up too. I was in a bit of a jam.”
“Yeah. I saw that. Um… can I be nosy?”
> “You can. Beside I’m going to need your help this evening anyway, so you kind of have to know.”
“I’m all ears.”
We drove in silence for a few miles while Tony waited on me to begin my story.
“Well doc… you’re awfully quiet. I hope you’re ready to spill the beans.”
“Yeah… so I’m just going through a bit of a rough patch right now you’d say.”
“Hmm. Rough patch. Our family is no stranger to those rough patches. How’s your car trouble? I mean, I know a few things about how things work under the hood. I’d be happy to take a look.”
“Car trouble? My car’s fine—.” I stopped myself in the middle of the sentence, knowing I’d just been caught in the white lie I told earlier in the day. Fuck me.
“I could have sworn you told Gramps you were having car trouble. Well if I can’t fix it I know more than a few reputable mechanics. They’d be happy to take a look. Those guys owe me some favors anyway. I guess that’s a rule in life isn’t it? Always try to have people who owe you favors.”
“Well I intend to take the car service off of my bill for your family, so thank you for picking me up, even if I kept you waiting.”
He suddenly made a left hand turn without warning and pulled into the parking lot of a local delicatessen. “I’ll be back, I have to pick up a few things for the boys at home.” He quickly got out of the car and stalked into the deli. I just didn’t know what to make of him. He looked like a bull in a China shop through the window. His massive frame took up most of the counter space, and he hunkered his shoulders down to crane his neck to see the menu. I hadn’t realized at first just how well built he actually was. I saw him smile broadly at the older man in a white t-shirt behind the counter and then playfully slap him on the shoulder as he nodded to the car. The man handed him two full-looking grocery bags and Tony didn’t stop to pull out his wallet. He then returned to the car, with his same, serious expression emerging on his face. He placed the bags in the backseat and then paused while he raffled through one. “Here. Take this.”
“What’s this?”
“I don’t know what kinda crap they fed you in the hospital, but this is what will cure any of your ailments.”
“Tony I’m not really—.”
“Take the damn sandwich and shut up!”
It looked like Tony had a short fuse after all. I took the sandwich and began opening the wrapper as he pulled off. “What is this anyway?”
“It’s pastrami. The best in the city, the old man well he did some good deeds for Sam in the past, so free lunch is always a perk of the job. It’s a perk for you too now. So are you gonna tell me what’s up with the bandages and shit or do I have to guess?”
“You’re a stubborn son of a bitch aren’t you?”
Tony smirked while I took a bite of the oozing sandwich and said, “In my line of work ya gotta be. Now spill the beans.”
I swallowed as he drove along the city blocks, occasionally cursing the stalled traffic. “So… my car trouble. My car’s absolutely fine. I’m broke.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me? You’re a doctor—a well-paid one at that. How’d that happen?”
“Sigh. My douchebag of a now ex drained all of our accounts and maxed out my credit cards.”
“Son of a bitch. Well, you’re working so at least you’ve still got that. Don’t worry though, my family and I … well Gramps and Pops, at least, we’ve got you.”
“Oh no. It’s fine. I’ll be all right. I’m going to get my money back, that’s going through to be done through the courts or something.”
“Hmm. Whatever floats your boat.” I saw Tony redden as he made a right-hand turn, finally taking a shortcut through the midtown traffic. “So the bandages…”
“You’re like a dog with a bone. Ugh. I may have had an accident that wasn’t really an accident.”
“What the fuck does that even mean, Rachel?”
I looked at him and shook my head, then turned my eyes downward as I finally admitted to myself that I was a victim in a terrible situation. I suddenly didn’t want my sandwich anymore. “It was my Richard. My ex. Let’s just say his baseball team lost and somehow I got in the way of his tirade.”
“He did that to you?”
“A few cracked ribs and some swelling. It’ll heal, just will take some time is all.”
“I’ll fuck him up myself. I need to stretch some old muscles anyway. That’s not going to fly. Where is the bastard?”
In a small voice I just said, “I don’t know. I hope he’s not at the house.”
“Yeah. Well don’t you worry about none of that doc. We will take care of all that for you. Listen, you’re gonna stay at the house tonight with me and Gramps.”
“Oh, it’s alright Selena said I could stay with her, no worries.”
“Just… consider it okay?”
“Yeah I will. You seem unusually tense this evening. What’s going on with you?”
“Sigh. This fucking traffic for one.”
“Don’t lie to me. It’s more than that you’re hunching your shoulders and that’s a telltale sign of stress.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t noticed.”
He pulled up to the house and parked the car, getting out with his arms full of bags. Even so he still managed to open my car door with one arm, which at this point in my day I found endearing. “Thanks for dinner. I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was even after the hospital food.”
“Don’t mention it. There’s plenty so I fully intend on you finishing with the rest of us. Come on, into the house. We’re all going to be eating in the dining room tonight. There’s some important family matters to discuss and you’re included.”
“Fuck really?’
“Yeah. I’m not looking forward to it either, but yeah. Come on.”
I walked into the house and found the living room empty. We rounded the corner to the dining room and to my amazement, I saw Amato sitting at the head of the table, fully dressed. He looked oddly pale, but seemed in good spirits otherwise. There were several other men gathered around him and I knew that I had walked into some kind of family reunion. I let out a long sigh and stifled a groan. Fucking ribs. How the fuck could I have gotten myself into this situation? Oh well I knew I had to press on. I was in too far to get out now. Tony walked into the kitchen and yelled a few words in another language. I think it was Italian, but I really couldn’t be certain. I made a mental note to ask him later. Several of the men got up from the table and gave him hugs, and clapped him on the back. There were handshakes and smiles all around as he sat the food down on the table. Amato saw me and nodded at me, stretching out his hands and gesturing for me to come forward. “Hi, Amato. How are you feeling today? I apologize for my lateness. There were some….incidents that delayed me.”
“Oh my dear, I understand, you are an important surgeon. You save lives, I can forgive a few extra minutes for that.”
“Yeah. If it were only that.”
“Oh well… the details do not matter my dear, it’s only important that you have arrived to be here for a joyous occasion. My brothers and their sons have arrived from the west coast just to pay a visit. So welcome to our little family reunion. Over there are my brothers, Marion and Delvino. Marion’s son is Rodrigo and there’s Delvino’s son, Luciano.” I looked across the table as he pointed out the family. They all shared the same broad shoulders and general bone structure, but that’s where the similarity ended. I watched Amato’s brother’s talking with Tony and something in me stirred. I was angry? I don’t know why, but they rubbed me the wrong way. There was something cold and calculating about them. Tony and Amato both had kindness behind their eyes. The other family members did not. As we all got seated, Tony was certain to take a spot beside me. I noted how he leaned in closer to me, almost protectively. I don’t think he even realized what he was doing, but I knew better than to question it at this point. Amato loudly clanked a wine glass in front of him as everyone was seated, an
d had full plates after sides were dished out. “I’d just like to take a few minutes to say I am a grateful man. My son gave to me a wonderful extended family in my dear grandson and my brothers have indeed made my life fuller as well by having some lovable children of their own. Now I must say that it is with great joy I can see our family legacy will live on even when I am long departed from this Earth. Now you better eat everything on your plates otherwise I’ll tell Dan at the deli and you know what an asshole he can be.” They all laughed in agreement, and started their meal excitedly. As they ate there was small talk about what each of them was doing and Tony’s eyes lit up as he talked about his coffee shop. I ate my sandwich and nodded politely at the conversation, but suddenly Luciano said, “So we’ve heard some rumors about Saul. What’s the deal between you and him, Amato?”
Amato’s eyes widened and he looked paler than I had seen him. He cleared his throat and smiled for a moment before looking up at me. He was considering his words. “I don’t really know what you’ve heard, but Saul and I let’s just say we parted ways ages ago.”
“Oh yeah? That’s not the word on the street. Well at least on the West Coast. There’s even been some accusations again our family we’ve had to clear up if you know what I mean.”
Tony’s eyes flashed in anger as he stopped himself from getting up. “Hey! Lay off! I don’t care what kind of situations you’ve gotten yourself into on the West Coast, but as far as it’s concerned, if Gramps says he ended things with Saul long ago, well then just drop it.”
“You tell me, how the fuck can we drop it when we have his people banging on our door asking questions we don’t know the answers to?”
“What the fuck? Are you fucking stupid? Just tell them you don’t give a fuck and you don’t know anything, for fuck’s sake it’s not that hard Luciano!”
“You got a beef with me or somethin’ Tony? All I’m doing is just asking a question.”
“What if I do? I don’t like how you come in Gramps’s house and accuse him of things that he’s got no control over.”
I watched as Luciano stood up and threw his napkin on the table. “Fuck this. I knew this was a mistake coming here. You never change, Tony! Even as kids, you always had to blow up and have the last word. I don’t need this bullshit. I’m out of here.” As Luciano started to walk away Amato’s voice boomed over the table. “Enough! Stop right there. This is a family dinner and everyone will remain at the table until I say you can leave! Out of respect for an old man, you two knuckleheads just sit down and listen to reason.” Tony looked at me, as I drank a couple of sips of the wine, Amato provided and nodded his head. He readjusted his tie and cleared his throat, “Luciano… I’m sorry. You know I have a hairpin trigger. I’m just stressed out over this Saul situation. I think we all are.”
Mobster's Mistress (A Caparelli Family Romance Book 1) Page 3
