lot friendlier once you’re healed, so behave yourself. I’m looking forward to that.”
He enjoyed seeing the color sweep into her face. He grinned at her, liking that she relaxed, and that even now, under these circumstances, she still could tease him. She didn’t even pull her hand away when he took it again, this time bringing her fingers to his mouth.
“Detectives on their way up,” Ricco warned in a low voice, looking down at the text on his phone. “Stefano has sent for Vinci. He’s on the way.”
Vittorio didn’t pull his phone out to see the mass text Stefano sent them all. “Vinci is our lawyer, Grace.” He kept his voice gentle, holding her gaze. “Let me talk to them, and just follow my lead. If they question you and you’re uncomfortable, look to me and I’ll handle it.”
He hated watching the smile leave her eyes and her body grow tense. She’d withdrawn, the way she did when she felt vulnerable.
Grace nodded, and he moved to place himself squarely between her and the door. As he did, Art Maverick and Jason Bradshaw entered. The two detectives were well known to the Ferraros. They had started out certain the Ferraros were a crime family, just as the Saldis were, but now, having investigated them on more than one occasion, they weren’t so certain.
Ricco greeted the two men, his body slightly in front of his wife. “I didn’t expect to see you with all the business going down on the second floor. We called in the fact that someone tried to kill Grace and Emme with some kind of gas, but we’re all safe. You have a crime scene down there.”
Grace’s hand jerked in his. Vittorio immediately turned his full attention on her. His thumb slid over the back of her hand and he pressed her palm tightly to his thigh. He hadn’t had the chance to gently tell her what had happened to Ale Sarto. She was intelligent, and she knew that whatever had brought the police detectives to the second floor probably wasn’t a coincidence with Haydon’s strike at her.
“Grace and Emme need care,” he said. “Perhaps we should take this into another room.”
“We need to speak to Ms. Murphy,” Art said.
Vittorio frowned. “You are aware she was shot and the surgery was . . . complicated. She’s in pain and another attempt has been made on her life. She has to use oxygen in order to counteract the gas. This isn’t a good time.”
“Vittorio.” Jason Bradshaw gave a little sigh. “We wouldn’t bother her if it wasn’t important. I believe you were on the second floor in a meeting with your brothers when the bodies were discovered. We were told Stefano cleared the crime scene and held everyone who had gone into the room. You and Ricco raced upstairs to make certain Ms. Murphy and your sister were okay. Clearly, they weren’t. We have to do everything we can to catch this man.”
“I can tell you Haydon Phillips is a serial killer and he’s been killing for years. Unfortunately, there’s no proof.”
Art’s gaze jumped to Grace’s face. He looked like what he was, a shrewd, intelligent man capable of putting pieces of a puzzle together very fast. “I need to know everything you know.” He directed his statement to Grace, deliberately bypassing Vittorio, who he knew to be immovable. “We have to stop him, Ms. Murphy, and I don’t believe we can do that without your help.”
Vittorio felt tremors running through Grace’s body as she nodded. Her gaze clung almost desperately to his. Now she knew Haydon had killed someone on the second floor of the hospital. Not only had he attacked her, but also Emme, Mariko and their bodyguards. He’d done so in broad daylight. Very gently, Vittorio gathered her closer, shifting her body so he could keep her injured shoulder and arm away from everyone while he positioned himself between her and the detectives. He was the one to remove the mask for her, retaining possession of her hand.
“She’ll need to use the oxygen after five minutes,” Vittorio said. “I’ve texted her doctor to see if that will be problematic. If it is, she’s back on it.” He glanced at his younger sister to make certain she was continuing to use the oxygen.
Emme winked at him but kept her head turned away from the two detectives. She didn’t want to answer questions or talk to them. Both men were waiting for Vittorio to give them the okay