you’re too swollen to poke at now. I’m going to use some surgery glue, and that should do the trick. It won’t be pretty, but you’ll live.”
“Just do what you have to,” Robbie replied. “I just…I want to go home.”
“Glad you said that, because your nose is broken too, child,” Basco grimaced, clearly upset by the damage done to her. “I’m going to pop it back in place, but it’s-”
“It’s going to hurt like hell,” we chorused.
“Hold her hands, Francesca,” he said, and the second I grabbed her hands in mine, he shifted the cartilage back into place.
Rivers of tears were cascading down Robbie’s face, and she suddenly looked exhausted on top of looking beaten, as Basco administered the mild sedative.
Basco wiped down her face the best he could all the while telling her, “It’s going to get worse before it gets better. The next couple of days you are going to be in excruciating pain, child. But more importantly, you’ll have to look for infection.” Basco glanced at me. “She really shouldn’t be left alone, Frankie.”
“I have to work,” Robbie blurted out. “I…I can’t miss work. I have bills to pay…and-”
Basco’s eyes rounded. “Young lady, you aren’t going to even be able to sit down to use the restroom without screaming in agony,” he informed her, cutting off her tirade. “I don’t know what you do for a living, but you will not be able to do it. Not to mention, you can barely see out of one eye to go about doing anything. You’ll need at least a full week to even begin to recover.”
“I need to work-”
“Robbie, he’s right,” I said, siding with Basco. “You need to concentrate on healing. I can take care of your bills while you recuperate.”
“I am not taking your money, Frankie,” she snapped. “Your family is downstairs cleaning up a mess I created. There’s no way I’m taking money from you when I’ve already…when you’ve been hurt…”
Basco ignored our bickering and asked the one question that, in a perfect world, should never be asked. “Child, I know you’re in a lot of pain, but…well, I’ve only one more place to examine…”
Robbie shook her head. “No,” she said. “They…they didn’t…I’m okay.”
Basco nodded. “Okay. Well, let me administer the sedative before I leave.” He kissed her on the side of her head, and said, “If you need me-”
“I’ll be fine,” Robbie blurted out, shocked by his show of affection. “You need to be there for Frankie.”
Basco snorted as he turned and began gathering his stuff. “Frankie has plenty of people who are going to be there for her,” he huffed. “She’s in good hands, that one.”
Before I could comment, footsteps alerted us to our company. I stood up and watched as Luca and Ciro walked into the living room. Behind them, Phoenix was dragging a passed-out Randy behind him.
Ciro walked up to me and wrapped me in his arms. It hurt, but I wasn’t going to deny him this. “You scared the shit out of me, Frankie,” he bit out, his arms tightening.
“I know,” I whispered as my arms circled his angry form. “I’m sorry.”
The second he let go of me, Luca walked over, planted a kiss on my forehead, but didn’t say a word. But that was our way. We didn’t need words between us.
Phoenix on the other hand…
“The second you’re all better, I’m going to fucking kill you,” he threatened from across the room. I guess we’ve gone from worried and concerned to pissed the hell off.
“Phoen-”
“Don’t, Francesca,” he snapped. “Just don’t.”
“It’s all my fault,” Robbie jumped in. “If…if I hadn’t told Randy who she was, he never would have concocted this…plan.” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry.”
The guys ignored her as Luca gave directions. “Basco, you know the drill,” he said. “You’ll have two packages to deal with. It’s business as usual
“Very good,” he replied, all his supplies packed and ready to go. He turned towards me and Robbie. “The next couple of days are critical. Take the antibiotics I’ve left for you, but also the pain medication for you’ll need it to sleep, if nothing else.”
“Thank you, Basco,” I told him. “I really appr-”
“Nonsense, Frankie,” he said, waving away my thanks. “It’s my job.” Then he pointed at Robbie. “But you,” he stressed the ‘you’, “no working or anything for the next week.” Robbie nodded, but I knew she had no intention of complying.
Basco walked out of the living room and I looked at Phoenix. “What next?” He glanced over