Love and War 2 (17 page)

“Can I see him?”

“He’s asleep,” Gloria stated. “I’m getting him some ice water in case he wakes up.”

“Your text said he was awake.”

“Well, he’s asleep now. You can go home. I’ll call you or somethin’ when he wakes up again.” Gloria gave Caprice an evil smirk and started to walk down the hall.

“Don’t wake him up,” she said as she passed Caprice.

Caprice took a deep breath. “It’s always a pleasure talking to you, Gloria.”

She walked away, down the hall. Diesel’s room was the last room on the right. She was a little annoyed by Gloria’s nasty little comments. She wondered if the woman was going to pull some more shit that was worse than moving Diesel to a New Jersey hospital just because she was screwing a doctor.

It doesn’t matter
, Caprice thought to herself as she pushed Diesel’s door open. As long as her man was conscious, Caprice was happy. She was smart enough to know that no one came out of that kind of trauma unscathed. They would get through this ordeal just fine…no matter the aftermath of his injuries.

Diesel was still hooked up to a few different machines that quietly hummed and beeped. He was still sleeping. Caprice pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. She began to cry softly as she touched the bandages wrapped around his head and arms. Like Nico, he probably had been burned pretty badly too.

As her eyes roamed over his injuries and her fingers delicately touched his bandages, Caprice wished she could turn back the clock seventy-two hours. She wouldn’t have been such a brat. She would have gone to the restaurant alone, and not insisted that he and Nico help her carry in boxes of decorations.

She promised him a safe life and she’d broken her promise. Caprice held Diesel’s hand in her and rested her head as close to him as she could. She prayed that he would forgive her.

Caprice watched the lines on the heart monitor keep record of the beat of her man’s heart. Seeing him laid up like this was harder than she imagined. Diesel was strong. He was tough. Now, he didn’t look like he was any of those things. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t do anything to deserve this.

Tiny movements in Diesel’s fingers made Caprice jerk her head up. He wasn’t moving. She gently squeezed his hand and felt a slight reaction. She wanted him to wake up. She wanted him to know that she was there with him. Ignoring his mother’s order not to wake him, Caprice leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“Baby. Baby, wake up.”

Nothing happened.

She tried three more times before Diesel’s eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times, then opened his eyes all the way. Caprice’s heart practically exploded in her chest.

She leaned over and buried her head in the crook of Diesel’s neck and hugged him the best she could. She ignored the machine chords that were getting in the way. She just needed to touch him.

“Baby, you don’t even know how happy I am to see to you. I’m so damn sorry.” Caprice was talking super fast. She wanted to say everything she needed to say before he fell asleep again.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. And I know you just wanted to protect me; that’s why you came with me to the restaurant. I should have gone to Oregon like you asked. Oh my God, baby, I’m so sorry. I love you so much. I’m going to fix this. I promise you, I’m going to make this right.”

Caprice took a deep breath and waited for Diesel to say something…anything. Any type of acknowledge that he heard and understood what she was saying was a step in the right direction.

When Diesel didn’t nod his head or say anything, Caprice stood up straight and looked down at him. Something was wrong. Could he not talk? Could he not hear? What was going on?

Diesel lowered his eyelids and squinted at her with absolute confusion wrinkling his forehead. Caprice sank into her chair. Something wasn’t right with her man and she feared the worst.

“What’s wrong? Can you talk to me? Can you hear me?”

Very slowly, Diesel nodded his head yes. But, he kept staring at her without saying anything. He stared at her for so long that she began to feel uncomfortable. Finally, his lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he said. She leaned closer.

“What did you say?

His voice was barely a whisper when he asked, “Who are you?”

Caprice wasn’t quite sure she heard him correctly. “What?”

“Who are you?”

“What do you mean? I’m Caprice. You know who I am. Stop playin’.”

“I don’t know you,” he whispered. Panic filled Diesel’s eyes. “Where’s my mother?”

“Baby…what?” Caprice stammered. She couldn’t get her mouth to make sounds that actually made sense. She was just trying her hardest to stay calm and figure out what the problem was.

“He doesn’t remember you,” Gloria said from the doorway.

She was standing next to a tall and handsome doctor. Caprice hurried over to them and pulled Gloria into the hall.

“What the hell are you talking about? How come he doesn’t know who I am?”

“Lower your voice,” Gloria scolded. “Head trauma isn’t a joke, Caprice. You have two degrees. You should know that.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Why doesn’t he know who I am?”

“They’re still running tests, but the doctors think that his memory may have been affected. He remembers me, though.”

Caprice rolled her eyes. She didn’t have the energy to deal with Gloria’s smugness. She ran her hands through her hair and started pacing the hall. She went about ten feet, stopped, then walked back.

“Amnesia?” she asked the doctor. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“No!” Caprice shouted. “You can’t be telling me that the man I’ve spent the last two years with does not remember who the hell I am. No. that’s not right. You’re joking. You’re just fuckin’ with me because you don’t like me.”

“I’m afraid it’s not a joke. Duane suffered a serious head injury-”

“Who the hell are you?” Caprice yelled at the doctor. “I mean, I know you’re fuckin’ his mom, but are you a brain surgeon?”

“You’re such a rude bitch,” Gloria yelled.

“Ladies, arguing isn’t going to help,” the man stated. “To answer your question; no, I’m not his surgeon. But I did go to medical school and have been working at this hospital for twenty years. I think I’m qualified to interpret his chart.”

“Whatever,” Caprice snapped. “Finish what you were saying.”

“All I’m telling you is that he has a long road to recovery. At this point we don’t know if his memory loss is just a temporary side effect caused by the swelling in his brain, or if a part of his brain has been permanently damaged.”

“No, no, no,” Caprice cried. “This can’t be happening. What can we do?”

Once again, Gloria’s evil grin surfaced. “You can leave,” she said nastily. “There’s no point of you being here. I’ll call or something if he starts asking about you.”

Caprice looked into Diesel’s room with a quiet sense of desperation. She wanted him to see her face and know who she was. But, he’d fallen back to sleep.

“I’m his girlfriend,” she said softly. “He loves me.”

“Right now,” Gloria grinned. “You’re just a stranger.”

Caprice tried her best to ignore the smug look on Gloria’s face. Anger, sorrow, pain…all those emotions were building up and threatening to slap the shit out of her. Caprice knew that smacking Diesel’s mama in the middle of a hospital would do nothing but land her a night in jail. She had to leave.

She pushed past Gloria and the doctor and ran down the hall so fast that the nurses and doctors had to scramble to get out of her way. Her vision was blurred by hot tears until she couldn’t hold them back any longer.

She slumped against the elevator walls and cried her heart out as soon as the doors closed. When the elevator stopped on the parking deck level, Caprice wiped her eyes, straightened her shoulders, and drove home.

When she entered her condo, she collapsed on the sofa and started crying all over again.

Her life was over. In a blink of an eye, everything that mattered was taken from her. Sure, she still had money, her businesses, and her casino. But the love she cherished, the power she had gained had all been stripped from her.

Through her teary eyes, Caprice stared at the diamond ring on her finger. Whether Diesel ever got his memory back or if Nico ever woke up, people were going to pay for what they did to her.

The house was dark and quiet when Caprice and her cousins walked through the back door. She didn’t turn on any lights as they walked through. She didn’t need lights. She was too numb to care about knocking over something and causing a disruption.

The trio managed to make their way to the living room with zero damage being done. Caprice flopped down on the couch and crossed her legs. No one spoke. For a long time, only the hands on the grandfather clock loudly ticking away the seconds and minutes, and the sounds of Mateo, Giovanni, and Caprice breathing were the only noises in the room.

There was a strange stillness outside as well. The house sat far off the main road, plus the neighborhood was generally a quiet place to live. Private, exclusive, and isolated. Perfect for someone in their line of work.

“I want a drink,” Caprice announced. “You two want a drink?”

“Sure,” Mateo answered.

Caprice walked across the formal living room into the dining room. She went over to the custom made bar and located a crystal decanter. She poured about an inch of Lagavulin 16 into three glasses and walked back into the living room skillfully carrying all three.

“Drink up boys,” she said to the twins. “That’s sure to put some hair on your chest.”

She sat back down and took a swallow of the single malt scotch. It delightfully burned her throat when she swallowed. She was beginning to develop a liking of the strong whiskey, even though nothing in the world beat a perfectly made pomegranate martini.

“Next thing you know, you’ll be hanging out in cigar rooms with the men,” Giovanni teased.

“The best deals are made over cigars and brandy or on the golf course,” Caprice replied. “But I’m not interested in getting lung cancer. Guess I better invest in some golf…” Caprice abruptly cut off her statement.

Car headlights flashed brightly in the driveway. She listened for the garage door to open and close. To her delight, two familiar voices were heard entering the house through the kitchen. Caprice and the twins grinned at each other and stood up, waiting for the men to walk into the living room. But they didn’t. They went straight into the dining room.

“Turn on some lights, old man!” Luca Lucchetti laughed and stumbled into the dining room. He was pissy drunk. “Where’s your whiskey? We still have a lot of celebrating to do!”

“On the bar,” Paolo said. “You know that.”

One of them must have located a light switch because the living room and dining room like up like a department store. The twins stared to move but Caprice held up her hand and mouthed
wait
. She wanted Luca and Paolo’s undivided attention, and the only thing the two drunks were focused on was pouring more liquor.

“Why do you think Domani wants to meet us here?” Paolo asked his traitorous friend.

“Who cares?” Luca howled. “He probably doesn’t want that little cunt he calls a daughter to know that he’s back yet! Oh man, you shoulda seen the look on the bitch’s face when I told her I wanted her precious casino. She looked like she was going to run home to Mommy and cry.”

“Yeah, but your guy fucked up,” Paolo said. “They weren’t supposed to walk away from that explosion. And now Domani’s back. We have a serious problem, don’t ya think?”

“Fuck the Bonatelli’s,” Luca slurred. “They all can get fucked! We’ll take down all three of them. When they’re all sleepin’ with the fishes in the Hudson, I’m gonna bulldoze the hell out of the monstrosity that Caprice has been playing around yet. Domani thinks he can just come to my cities and start buildin’ shit? He’s got another thing comin’. Disrespectful motherfucker.”

Caprice heard enough to get her even madder than she already was. She couldn’t believe that Paolo was working with Luca to bring down Domani! She and Nico were one thing. They’d openly defied and disrespected him, but Domani…her father? He’d been nothing but loyal to Paolo. He trusted Paolo more than anyone. He confided in him. Now Paolo was trying to destroy the Boss.

And they were stupid enough to believe that Domani had sent the text that had brought them to Paolo’s house. Domani didn’t even know how to text! He rarely used a phone at all. Why would he start now?

Caprice pulled her .9mm out of her waistband and turned off the safety. The twins followed her lead. She walked to the doorway of the dining room and cleared her throat. Paolo’s glass fell from his hand and shattered on the hardwood floor. His eyes practically bulged out of his skull.

“Careful there, Uncle P,” Caprice grinned. “You don’t want to have another heart attack, do you? A second one might kill ya.”

“What are you doing in my house?”

She raised her empty glass. “I was having a drink and listening to the most interesting conversation I’ve ever heard.”