Sweet Pain (Amatucci Family #3) - Sadie Jacks Page 0,42
Amatucci brothers had brought with them. Mas was stepping out of the last car. Dressed in black pants and a black t-shirt, he looked like a Grim Reaper in the low light of the garage.
He walked over, joined us. “I’ve got thermal imaging set up in the car. If you’ve got an idea on location in the building, we can use that to see if there is anyone in a bed with a host of medical equipment.”
Nik trotted to one of the cars, slapped her gear bag on the hood of a black shiny car.
Turo winced slightly. “Cricket, the paint.”
She snapped her teeth at him. “I’ll pay to get it repainted. Don’t fuck with me, Turo.” She bent over her gear, her fingers flying over the keys.
The oldest Amatucci went over and crowded against her back. I saw him dip his head, whisper in her ear. Whatever he said had Nik’s body trembling slightly. She hip checked him to get him to back up.
His chuckle was low and predatory. I imagined I sounded like that when I was stalking Willow at any given time. Best of luck, fratello, I said mentally. Nik could stand to have a good man like him. And one she couldn’t run off.
“I’ve got registered offices on floors one and two. Everything else is fair game,” Nik announced. She turned to face the group. Her cheeks were rosy.
“Good job, cricket,” Turo said softly.
She danced out of his reach. “Does that help, Mas?”
Mas nodded. “Si, sorella.” He turned back to his car. His low whispered call to his group of men was just barely audible. He ducked into the backseat of his car, pulled out a large gun-shaped item and a connected computer that looked either very old or cutting edge techy.
From Nik’s sudden inhale, I was going with cutting edge techy. “Is that the X3490?” she asked, her voice reverent.
Mas smiled. Nodded. He gestured for her to join him.
Turo’s lips twisted as he growled low in his throat. The men who had been pushing up into Nik’s space scurried back like frightened rats. He smiled at the amount of space around his claim.
Mas, Nik, and the group of mafia men gathered around the computer and imager. My mom looked at the assembly. Shook her head. “I had no idea there were so many mafia in New Trenadie.”
Turo smiled, his dark eyes dancing. “And we would just as soon have you forget.”
My mom nodded. “Yes. Once I get my baby girl back, I’ll go back to my ignorance with a blissful state of mind.”
Turo nodded. “I do believe you are the second woman to call me stupid.” He turned to look at me. “Where have you been keeping all of these strong, beautiful women, fratello?”
I snorted. “Strong is such a nice word for them.”
Willow and my mom both slapped me. “Rude.”
They turned to each other and smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “Weakness doesn’t last well in my world,” I said to Turo. “The weak tend to be culled pretty quickly. Only the strong and resilient remain.” I pulled Willow into my side. Pressed my lips to her hair.
Again the thought that she was mine, that she was really here, slid through me like a sigh. I would never take for granted her touch. Her body against mine. She was my true anchor to this life.
“We’ve got a visual,” one of the gathered Amatucci men with Nik and Mas announced. He waved us over. Average height with dark hair and dark eyes, he looked like just another random guy on the street.
The look in his eyes though…those told another story. One of pain, duty, honor. If he wasn’t a top man in his unit, he was well on his way to becoming one.
We assembled around the hood of the last car. Mas and Nik had a section of the building across the street highlighted on their screen. A bed with a familiar form on it was nestled in the top floor, corner room. At least three pieces of machinery were plugged in and pulling power if the heat image was anything to go by.
“That’s her. I’d recognize her languid sprawl anywhere,” Mom said as she pointed to the motionless reddish orange section of the person in the bed. She looked like a starfish most times. Today was no different
I smiled. A fierce pride welled within me. She was still here. Still hanging on. Now we just needed to get her out of there and back to the hospital.