Mafia Wife (Mafia Series Book #2)

Part 12

A/N: STILL FRIDAY! Haha, happy friday. And if you're Canadian like me, enjoy the long weekend!

***

Motherfucker.

Niccolo didn't know how it happened - actually he did. The Mancini family played a role in this. He knew it. He couldn't prove it, not yet anyways, but he knew it was their doing. They used the crowd effect to allow an intruder to slip in.

The question left was: what was the point of this?

Was it a distraction?

Was it to hurt her?

Was it to send a message?

He couldn't tell where this was going next, and that was dangerous. Did this fucker plan on cornering her at the hospital? During transport? After all, he had done that before. Did he want this commotion? Was it a show of power to send a message and tell Niccolo he could get them anywhere, anytime?

Niccolo knew he wasn't invincible. He had contingency plans put in place in case.

He never thought he'd been using them in this situation... but what else was he supposed to do? If everything went according to plan, there would be an ambulance showing up but not the right ambulance.

Everything would make it look like Santi was heading to the hospital. The switch-a-roo should happen properly and while an ambulance would keep heading to the hospital, Santi would be heading to an undisclosed location where a doctor would be waiting for him.

That covered the hospital in case it was a trap.

Now, if it was a distraction then he needed to get her out of there. But he had to anticipate if the goal was to get her while they were on the road. So, the only way to do that was to get her inside to change while getting a double to safety.... And she would wait inside, somewhere where no one would find her or know where she was.

And if - if  for some reason the target was him. Well, then he was fucked. Niccolo couldn't both protect himself and her at the same time. If he protected himself he would give her away. If he protected her, he was giving himself away - it was the only way to sell it.

One step at a time.

Now he had to convince Gabriella that she shouldn't go with her brother and tell her they - her mother and brother - would be safe... without actually being able to say any of it. Considering how stubborn she was, it would be a difficult feat.

As the sound of an ambulance echoed through, he knew his time was running out, and he had to hurry. As soon as they would show up, Gabriella would want to follow. The one issue was that they had a crowd and he needed to speak to her.

Niccolo turned his head to the side, spotting his mother-in-law closing in on them with tears in her eyes. That would work. He maneuvered around Gabriella, handing Santi over to Mia. Her entire body was rattled as she hugged him tightly, allowing him to grip Gabriella by the shoulders.

He leaned into Gabriella, her face buried in his chest. "I need you to trust me, alright."

She was sobbing, crying, and snotting all over him - and he wasn't convinced she understood him. "It's very, very important, do you understand."

Nothing.

"Gabby."

It took a moment, but he felt a faint nod. Hopefully, it would be enough and she was lucid enough through all this to follow his lead and not fight him. He was not her priority; her family was and he knew she could be very protective of them.