His air of superiority grates on my nerves, so I advance on him in two long steps. “I’m not a man who enjoys repeating himself.” I inch forward, forcing him backward while everyone has their gun out and Cam looks on, despondent, taking it all in.
My guards beckon with their guns for the rest of Pillon’s men to move out as well.
At the doorway, I shove Pillon into the hall and crane my neck. “Lock the door and watch her like a hawk, James.”
James bobs his head and shuts the door with Fallon inside Cam’s room.
“Adriano? No!” I overhear Cam’s anxious tone, and then James is comforting her.
In a flash, the police officers that Luca texted plow down the hallway, and everyone is targeting someone, except Pillon and me.
“What the fuck did you hope to accomplish by coming here?” I tower over him.
“That woman was not married before she fell into that coma. She’s not your wife and you know it.” He lifts his chin in challenge. “You’re using her because you know I’m investigating her and that could lead to you.”
I summon my composure and attempt to hide my complete astonishment. If he’s conducting an investigation of Cam, then there must be a copy of that tape still circulating. And I need to discover how long it’s been out there. Pillon must be working very secretively, because I’m sure that neither the FBI nor the CIA is involved.
“I have an incriminating tape of Guillermo. The same tape Wallace had a copy of, and you buried him in scandal very cleverly, but dear Medlov had already also provided me with a copy. And I’ll prove that you forged documents to marry Ms. Guillermo so that she can’t ever testify against you. You’re not invincible, Montesi. I’ve been waiting patiently for her to wake up. Yes, I know you run the largest branch of the Mafia in the state, perhaps even in the country, but I will bring you down, and my career will take off because of it.” He flays his arms dramatically. “It wasn’t easy to find men who aren’t on your payroll. As you can see, more of Chicago’s finest are targeting me, the DA, than you, a Mafia boss.”
I crowd him and growl, “You’re a dead man if you ever come near my wife again.”
Pillon blinks slowly and steadily steps around me when I don’t budge. He snaps his fingers, and his men tail him. “The investigation into the Syndicate has started, Montesi.” He complacently leaves.
Logan asks first, “Why did he come here?”
“To rile me up. He wants me, and Cam is his ticket. If he can’t use her to build his case, he’ll try her. He’ll arrest her to get to me! Don’t you get it?!” I clench my fists because I was too reckless regarding that tape, and now my wife might pay the price. I will not allow that to happen.
“If he is after you, then it’s a good thing you married her.” Luca hides his gun in his suit jacket. “He must have a good case.”
“Or he’s just a shark with a huge ego,” Logan contradicts. “He’s almost thirty-five and brutally ambitious. Hence why he targets the Mafia; the Mafia is the big dog of all criminals. If he has such a good case, why didn’t he already have a warrant when he came here?”
“That’s true, but we can’t assume anything until we know for sure that all copies of that tape have been destroyed. We’ve been negligent with this.” Luca mirrors my thought. “He only wanted to let us know that he’s investigating us. He wanted to provoke Adriano by coming here right after Cam woke up; he’s hoping to derail us.”
“This is a problem I don’t need right now,” I mention, exasperated. “Get extra security in here. No one gets access to this floor as long as Cam’s here. Logan, have Pillon followed and find out who he’s collaborating with and if he has a case. And Luca, ask Henry to get me a background check on Pillon.”
“What are we telling Cam?” Luca asks as he types a message to Henry on his phone. “Is she up-to-date on what’s transpired in the last four months?”
“I just told her we’re married when Pillon busted in. She knows about everything else. And I told her the tape issue was handled, which was a lie, unbeknownst to me.” I brush back a stray lock of hair from my forehead and order Luca and Logan, “I don’t want to stress her out, so follow my lead.”
While I would’ve protected Cam with my life before, after being in hell without her, I’ll never be lenient regarding her safety again. I’ve learned the hard way that when it comes to Cam, I’ll go to the moon and back to have the life I envisioned for us when I accepted the role of Capo crimine, so I will stop at nothing to finish Pillon as soon as possible. But right now, I need to give my undivided attention to Cam’s recuperation. I refuse to make the same mistakes as before and take our time together for granted. So for now, I’ll let Luca and Logan handle him.
I inhale a deep breath since I know Cam’s going to be firing questions at me the minute I return to her room, and I open the door to see James hugging his daughter.
Cam immediately sits up and flinches.
“Don’t get up.” I’m by her side within two seconds, guiding her back to rest against her pillows.
“What happened? Is this about Santino’s tape? Am I in trouble?”
“No.” I bend forward, but her cold conduct halts me. “You don’t have to worry—”
“Be honest with me! Tell me, am I under investigation?” Her heart monitor beeps faster and faster.
“You’re not. Logan and Luca are taking care of it.”
“How? So you don’t have the tape?”
“I do have the tape. But Pillon has a copy.” I watch her keenly, observing anxiety in her manner.
“Fuck! So I missed four months of my life for nothing! I missed four months of my own baby for nothing!” she shouts in a tone of voice I’ve never heard from her.
“Cam,” Fallon comments softly. “Take a calming breath.”
She complies and calms herself. Then she exclaims, “And we’re married?!” Her brows hit her hairline, and a pang of disappointment stirs me when she doesn’t give the impression that she’s pleased about that fact.
“Yes. I...” Fuck, she scalds me with an incredulous look.
“I know! Fallon told me.” Cam grabs my hand. “Where’s your ring?” Then she traces the tattoo with her finger. “You got a tattoo? Cam. My angel,” she murmurs and holds my eyes.
“Yes, and your ring is engraved too.”
She drops my hand and slides her ring off, reading the lettering: Adriano. My devil. Then her eyes pool with tears.
Her distant behavior is causing me to perspire. Is she mad at me?
“Are you angry?” I ask, my defenses going up because she doesn’t put the ring back on but twirls it between her fingers.
She’s slow to answer as she frowns at Fallon, James, Luca, and Logan, who are all standing around her bed.
“I don’t know.” She rubs her forehead and doesn’t look at me, which fractures a piece of my heart. I actually hear the cracks forming. She’s different, not my Cam. One second, she stares at me with all the love I feel for her, and the next second, she judges me as if I’m a stranger to her.
“It’s like it’s not my life.” She’s gazing down at her stomach as tears track down her face.
I move forward to touch her but startle when she yells, “Don’t touch me! Just leave me alone for a second.”
The hurt that’s pinging inside me switches to annoyance. “No. I will not leave you alone.”
And she finally looks at me.
Without breaking our stare, I tell everyone, “I need some privacy with my wife.”
As they disperse quietly, I sit down beside her hip, taking her ring, and she lets me slide it back onto her finger. “Cam, Marc warned me about how you might be overwhelmed when you woke up. That’s what’s happening to you. I married you because I wanted to and because I was afraid that James might try to make a decision about your treatment that I’d have no say in whatsoever. Can you imagine how that was for me?”
Her expression softens, luckily, because my heart is stuck in my throat. I want to
hold her and touch her, but there’s this wall between us that I need to eradicate.
“You’re trying to catch up on four months in a few days; that’s not possible,” I explain.
Ultimately, she relaxes and covers my hand with hers, resting it on her bump. “I’m not mad. I just don’t feel like myself. I’m so sluggish, and I hate that I missed so much. This is why I kept fighting you about Serena. Because I felt deep in my bones that my instincts were correct, Adriano. And you see now what the result was. I talked to Fallon, and I know everything that happened businesswise. Serena was working with Medlov.”
“Yes, you were right, Cam. And there hasn’t been a second in the day that I haven’t regretted not listening to you.”
Her sigh is one of impatience and a bit of anger. “I don’t even remember our wedding...”
“It wasn’t really a wedding, more a formality.”
“Oh, that’s romantic,” she grumbles.
“No, I don’t mean it like that. But once you’re out of here and feeling better, I’ll give you the wedding you’ve always dreamed of.”
Disbelievingly, she rolls her eyes. “No, because we’re already married.” When she catches my obvious disheartened reaction to her reply, she offers, “I’m sorry. I am happy you’re my husband.”
“It doesn’t seem like you are,” I admit honestly.
“I am. I promise. I’m just finding it difficult to cope with everything. Are you sure that I don’t have to worry about the tape?”
“Yes,” I lie because I won’t add any stress to her state of mind. I’ll never let anyone cause her or my child any harm.
“And I really can’t believe you got my name tattooed on you,” she whispers around a tentative smile.
“Isn’t that romantic?” I tease. “Fallon practically swooned.”
“It is.” Then, all of a sudden, her mood improves and she cheers, “Ah, she kicked! Did you feel it?”
“I did.” And I smile as I scoot closer, grasping on to this split-second of joy to revive our connection, our love.
Inside, I’m ecstatic because this is one of those pivotal moments that I wanted to share with her, feeling our child moving inside Cam. It kindles a sentiment that no words can express. It’s the first time the three of us bond.
“We’re making our memories now, Cam.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “You just need to focus on your recovery and our baby. I’ll take care of everything else.”
She raises her head, and thank god, that look of admiration has returned, so the rifts in my heart repair quickly. How long I hoped to see the vibrant color in her eyes again and hear the sound of her husky voice. Tension rises as her breathing increases, and she licks her luscious, pink lips. I follow the sensual movement, but regrettably, Marc interrupts us, so I wink at her before I turn around.
“Cam, how are you feeling today?”
“Much better than yesterday,” she answers.
“Let’s start your physical therapy and discuss your schedule for rehabilitation for the next few weeks. And I want you to talk to a therapist who can help you process everything, because I understand you’re confused, which is completely normal, Cam.”
“I’m ready. I want to get my strength back as soon as possible. I’m going crazy lying in this bed.”
I smirk because my Cam is returning in full force.
“Then let’s get you out of that bed,” Marc comments. “My colleague will be here in five minutes.”
“Thank you, Marc,” she says as he exits the room and demands my attention by pulling me closer to her by my hand.
I shift her hair back from her face and raise my brows in question.
The side of her mouth pulls up into a sexy grin. “Congratulations, by the way.”
I brace a hand on each side of her head, bending down and stealing a kiss, sharp and brief. “Mrs. Montesi, you’ll never get rid of me now.”
She palms my neck and pulls me close again, the tips of our noses touching. “I don’t want to.”
Of course, the physical therapist has the same inconvenient timing as Marc, and again, Cam and I are interrupted. “Mrs. Montesi, ready to get out of that bed?”
I stand back up, swipe the sheet off, and help Cam to sit up. Instead of leaning on her therapist, Cam uses me for support, to my greatest pleasure, and braces her feet on the ground. And finally, after four months of living my worst nightmare, my pregnant wife is standing beside me again, albeit a bit shaky. So I laugh at her and she makes a face at me in return.
“Don’t even say it. At least I’m standing,” she warns me playfully, knowing what’s going through my mind.
“We’re going to do exercises daily to strengthen your muscles. Marc and I have set up a schedule for you. Shall we start?” the therapist asks.
“Yes,” we both say in agreement, eager to continue with our lives.
CHAPTER 46
Adriano
Three weeks of heavy rehabilitation follows with a strict routine for Cam.
During the first week, she’s already on her feet, determined not to waste any time. On occasion, she has a setback and lashes out, but those episodes become less frequent when she recuperates faster than anticipated.
By the third week, her body has strengthened significantly. Slowly, Cam’s becoming herself again. The resilience and courage in her spirit has returned. She’s back to bantering with me, and the detachment of those first couple of days has evaporated.
Cam’s road to recovery moves miraculously fast, due to the fact that she was in perfect health before she was injured. She’s determined to make up for lost time; however, sometimes I’m concerned that she’s pushing herself. But the psychiatrist says that it’s aiding her recovery now. Her mothering instinct has kicked in as well. I always knew she’d be strong enough to conquer any obstacle that’s thrown our way.
By not leaving her side for a second, I manage to revive our relationship. And by being forthcoming regarding everything that’s happened, I help her come to terms with the lost time. Although I believe it’s still consuming her thoughts at times, since I frequently catch her daydreaming with a melancholic flicker in her eyes as she wraps her arms around her middle and talks to our baby. It bothers her greatly that she missed four months of her pregnancy and our wedding.
While I haven’t wavered from her side, Luca and Logan are obsessed with finding the tape of Cam and Santino. But even gaining sight of Pillon is impossible because he’s found men to guard him who are as highly trained as we are. Yet I haven’t informed Cam about this, and currently, the security in the hospital is even tighter than in the White House. But I ordered everyone – including Fallon – not to tell Cam anything about that issue because she can’t have any stress. Even Fallon, who was my biggest concern, hasn’t disobeyed my orders.
I stand in the doorway watching Cam, dressed in black sweats and my white dress shirt, talking innately with Fallon while she’s sitting Indian style on the bed, devouring a plate of food.
“Oh my god.” Cam points her fork at Fallon, who’s sitting opposite her. “I remember that name. I was thinking who the hell is Jamie Fraser constantly.”
“So he’s the hero from Outlander. I almost read that entire book to you,” Fallon explains and adds, “Jeez, you sure can eat nowadays.”
Cam barks out a laugh, a true, relaxed laugh where she throws her head back. “I think I eat more than Adriano now.”
“That’s impossible,” I say, and their gazes whip to me as I close the distance and sit beside Cam, pressing a kiss to her temple and resting my palm on her stomach.
Then I steal a piece of fresh bread from her plate and pop it into my mouth.
“Hey!” Cam objects in a mock theatrical tone, “Don’t eat my food. You’re eating your baby’s food.”
I smile and raise a brow. “Then what does my baby want? And I’ll get it for her.”
Fallon exclaims, “You’re having a girl?!”
I frown at her in confusion when Cam ans
wers, “We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl. Adriano always says she though.”
“Because I want a girl that looks exactly like Cam,” I explain.
“And what if it’s a boy?” Cam retorts.
“Then I’ll be just as happy,” I answer honestly, “But I’ll still hope the next one is a girl.”
“The next one?” Her eyes grow wide with that statement.
“Um, yes, we are having more kids.”
Cam’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out, so I grin and can see her suppressing her laugh.
“This is my cue to leave.” Fallon moves off the bed and kisses Cam’s cheek, hurrying out.
“How many kids do you want then?”
“I don’t know.” A lot.
“Don’t I have a say in this?”
“No,” I answer, just to rile her, while grabbing another piece of bread, but just as I’m about to toss it into my mouth, Cam snatches it and provocatively shoves it into her own mouth.
I lean forward and push her back onto the mattress with her hands above her head, grazing my chin up her throat, giving her the tickling sensation of my beard.
“No...stop.” She squirms beneath me with a throaty laugh that makes my groin ache.
We laugh together freely for the first time after such a long, bleak period. And in this moment, I realize how true my wedding vows were – If you die, I die – because without her, I don’t exist. I ceased to exist for those four months.
Pulling back, I entwine our fingers and plant her hands beside her ears. Cam’s breath lodges as I slide her legs apart and push myself between them. I’ve never wanted to fuck a woman more badly. But Marc ordered me to keep it PG-rated. Seriously, that was the most awkward conversation ever when her uncle practically told me I couldn’t have sex with my wife until she’s gotten her strength back. After three weeks, I’m on the verge of exploding, and she’s been giving me plenty of signs that she’s ready for more too.
My cock is so hard I think it might punch through my pants as I grind against Cam and she moves with me. A soft whimper leaves her lips as I lower my mouth to just below her ear, stroking my tongue along the delicate skin there.
For Cam (Chicago Syndicate Book 4) Page 28
