Dom’s mother ambushed me a week after the gala.
Carlotta De Lucci was done being ignored.
I was on my way to have lunch with Nurse Addy. She’d given Luca a glowing rec and deserved more than lunch, but it was a start. She was also excited to hear about my Delphine project and said I could use her as a resource.
Since I was running late, I had the driver bring the car to the entrance of the building. That was when I ran into Carlotta in the lobby.
“Mrs. De Lucci.” My bodyguard, a De Lucci soldier, intercepted Dom’s mother. When Dom moved back in, Lucy’s security went with her, so Dom was interviewing for my permanent security detail. It chafed, but I was learning to live with it.
“Surely I’m not a threat, Hector.” Carlotta smiled at him.
“The boss said—”
“Said what? You’re forgetting I’m his mother.” She said it in a way that reiterated her position in the crime family. Redness climbed Hector’s neck and his jaw clenched. Matriarchal respect was huge in Italian families but I wasn’t about to hide from Dom’s mother or put my bodyguard in an awkward position.
“It’s okay, Hector.” I inserted myself between them.
“But boss—”
“Like Mrs. De Lucci said…” I held Carlotta’s eyes. “She’s not a threat.” First lesson for Dom’s mother to learn, I was not changing my schedule to fit in her pettiness. I nodded to the doorman who held open the elegant dark wood door. “But you will have to walk with me. I’m late for an appointment.”
“An appointment?” Dom’s mother said behind me. I could feel her eyes give me a once-over. I’d slowly rebuilt my wardrobe both with my money and Dom’s. With my upcoming responsibilities, I had no problem dressing the part. Sera and Ivy helped me pick out suits and cocktail dresses I could wear to events where we met with donors. For my lunch with Nurse Addy, I simply wore a tailored pantsuit.
“Dom’s not home.”
“Oh, I know.”
I glanced at the driver standing by the sidewalk. I wondered if he was the one who tipped off Carlotta. No wonder Dom wanted my security detail to be separate from the crime family. “Listen, Mrs. De Lucci, I don’t know why you’re here. I don’t think Dom is comfortable with us meeting behind his back.”
“He changed the code to his floor.”
“He doesn’t want you barging into his penthouse anymore.” I checked the time on my phone. “And I know you used to take care of things inside the penthouse for him, but he has me now.”
Her mouth thinned, and I knew that was the last thing you told a mother who was used to being the central female in her son’s life. But Carlotta needed to understand that the situation had changed.
“I’m not keeping your son from you. I’m just leaving it to Dom when he thinks it’s right for us to share dinner or get to know each other—”
She waved her hand. “I’ll cut to the chase. I know I can’t offer you money because Dom’s already given you free rein to his bank account.”
In her eyes, I was still a gold digger, which was fair, and surprisingly, I didn’t care. Only a few people’s opinions mattered to me and so far Carlotta hadn’t earned it.
“You’re a hardworking woman and I like that,” she continued. “Success? I like that too. But my son is both a Moretti and a De Lucci. You don’t understand the opportunities open to my son to make a good match.”
“According to your son, I’m his perfect match.”
“Miss Scott,” Hector cut in. “We’re too exposed here and you’re running late.”
Carlotta glared at my bodyguard again in a way that promised payback.
“Lottie! Goddammit!”
Paulie was hurrying across the street. Lucy was leaning against an SUV with her arms crossed. She was shaking her head, but I couldn’t tell if she was amused or annoyed.
“She has our son twisted around her finger!” she griped.
“You are such a hypocrite, cara.” He reached her side and clasped her elbow. “You can’t deny you haven’t done the same to me.”
I smothered a grin.
Paulie awarded me with an apologetic look. “I apologize for my darling wife. I failed my duty to keep an eye on her.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” she expressed indignantly. But I noticed the way she melted into her husband’s arms. Maybe they had a toxic relationship, but they seemed to thrive on it. Who was I to judge?
“No harm done. I’ll tell Dom we need to do dinner soon.”
Lottie huffed. “It’s about time. How does he expect me to like you if he doesn’t want me to get to know you?”
I rolled my lips to keep other words from slipping out. Paulie’s amused eyes met mine, knowing exactly why Dom was keeping his mom away from me. He didn’t want her scaring me off. At this point, it would take more than Carlotta De Lucci to scare me off.
“Soon. Now, I’m really late.”
I waved at Lucy, who waved back. My hand froze in the air when I noticed the hulking familiar build of a man emerging from a parked SUV at the corner. He had on a cap and sunglasses but there was no mistaking who he was.
It could be my imagination, but he smiled at me before he pointed a gun at Lucy.
“Gun!” I screamed.
“Lucy!”
Someone tackled me to the ground, but two distinct shots rang out.
Screeching of tires.
Screams.
Shouts.
Stampede of feet.
Then more rapid-fire gunshots.
Time slowed.
A loud crash. Metal on metal.
More screaming.
“Are you all right?”
Dom dragged me up from under Hector and gripped my shoulders. When did he get here?
Dazed, I still had the presence of mind to answer, “I’m fine. Lucy?”
“She’s fine. Pop has her.”
Then he pressed something in his ear. “Okay. Got it.” He planted a quick kiss on my lips. “That’s Trevor. Anton’s fleeing on foot.”
Then he left. “Be careful!” I shouted after him.
Men swarmed around us, securing the perimeter. I ran over to where Paulie was checking on Lucy. Both were sitting on the sidewalk. His suit was disheveled and there were smudges of dirt on what was once his pristine white dress shirt. Carlotta was on her knees, sobbing in front of them.
“I’m fine,” Lucy mumbled.
“Can you check her out?” Carlotta asked me.
“We can take her to the hospital,” I said.
“I’m fine. I didn’t even lose consciousness. I just skinned my palms when Dad pushed me away. You should be the one to be checked out, Dad.” Lucy glanced at me. “He got hit by an SUV.”
“Sideswiped,” Paulie corrected.
“That was more than a sideswipe,” Lucy argued.
Carlotta stood in front of him and glowered. “You’re really okay? You told me you’re okay.”
He hesitated in answering. He was looking pale. His lips were losing color. Dammit. Maybe he was bleeding internally.
“Call 911. And have them send an ambulance ,” I told Hector. I switched into nurse mode.
“Dad!”
“Paulie!”
I turned in time to see him collapse sideways onto the pavement. Oh no!
I shoved Carlotta aside and sank to my knees in front of Paulie. He was breathing rapidly. His neck veins were bulging. Not good. I laid him flat on the sidewalk and ripped his dress shirt open.
“Knife!” I shouted. Three blades were shoved under my nose. I grabbed one of them and split his undershirt in two.
The beginnings of bruising were taking form on his chest.
I sprung to my feet and asked Hector, “ETA on the ambulance?”
“Six minutes.”
That might be too late, but I had to be sure. Good thing I always kept a medical kit with me in the trunk of the Audi. I grabbed it, and rushed back to Paulie, and measured his vitals. Blood pressure was low. I could barely make a pulse.
I tried to remain calm. I heard the sirens of an ambulance, but they were distant. And God knew if they were coming for Paulie.
Carlotta was crying and mumbling prayers, gripping Paulie’s hand. Lucy was the one who asked, “What’s wrong? Is he bleeding internally?”
“There’s a sac around the heart that’s filling up with blood and preventing it from beating properly.” Cardiac tamponade usually happened with piercing chest wounds from a bullet or knife. I’d seen enough of them while doing backroom surgeries for the mafia. I remembered a study I’d read that it was flagged rare with blunt force trauma because it wasn’t diagnosed and treated at the scene, leading it to damage the heart before the patient reached the hospital, eliminating it as the source of injury.
Getting struck by a large SUV would do it.
“I need your permission to relieve the pressure.” That was why I always kept plastic tubes in my med kit. The fucking mob prepared me for this. If I could save one life before I kissed my NCLEX goodbye for performing this illegal procedure without a license, I wanted it to be Dom’s dad. I couldn’t even stop to think if I would get thrown into jail.
“Do it,” Lucy cried.
I looked at Carlotta’s face. I understood her hesitation. Her fear. The life of the love of her life was in my hands.
So I added, “I’ve seen this many times. If we delay, it could cause irrevocable damage to his heart.” Which could be fatal.
She nodded. “Okay, yes.”
A calm blanketed me. If Paulie died, Carlotta would hate me forever. I didn’t know what would happen between me and Dom. But I knew if his dad died and I did nothing when I was almost a hundred percent certain of his diagnosis, I would never forgive myself.
Do no harm.
That was a double-edged sword at this moment.
So I chose not to live in the guilt of inaction.
I chose to give Paulie a higher chance of survival.
