Page 27 of Loving the Enemy
He comes running down the hall.
“Look!” I hand him my phone. “Those fucking cocksuckers,” I say as I pace back and forth in the hall. Thank God Vince already left and can’t see this. He’d fucking go insane, and there is no sense both of us going insane. I will definitely keep this information to myself.
“Mikey, calm down. I know how it looks, but I want you to think of some things here, as bad as they may be. First off, she is fully clothed. Secondly, I don’t see bruises or red marks on her. And thirdly, she’s still alive.”
He’s got a point. “Find her, Ricco! Find Darius! He’s the key to finding her.”
I walk toward Ice. “Care to go for a ride?”
“Sure, man, where are we going?”
“The hospital. I need Ricco to stay here, but he won’t let me go alone.”
“Sure, we’ll go. Rebel, Hawk, let’s go, boys. We’re riding.” He looks at the last MC standing with us. “Spike, stay here and help Ricco with whatever he needs.”
“You got it, Prez.”
“Let’s go,” I say, and we proceed to the garage. Once we are all mounted on our bikes, I pull out first, with Ice, Hawk, and Rebel close behind.
We get to the hospital, and I rush immediately to the registration desk in the ER. “May I help you?” the woman behind the counter asks.
“Yes, I’m looking for Domenic Vitali. He was brought in several minutes ago via ambulance.”
“Are you immediate family?”
“Yes, I’m his son, Michael Vitali.” I know she is only doing her job, but I’m getting irritated.
“Follow me, sir.” she says, then glances at the men behind me. “I’m sorry, sir, but these men cannot accompany you.”
I walk up very close to her. “You know who my father is? You know who I am? I trust these men with the lives of my family as well as my own. They will go in with me, and they will stay as long as I need them to. Do you understand?”
“But, sir… there are rules.”
“Fuck the rules. We are talking life and death, sweetheart. Now take me to my father.”
“Fine, but if I lose my job over this….”
I have to say, I like her spunk. “Darling, if you lose your job over this, you come see me. I’ll give you a job and double your salary,” I say as we turn the corner into Pop’s room.
“Mamma, how is he?” I ask.
“Bene,” she replies. “He’s doing much better now.”
“What did the doctors say?” I ask.
“Turns out it wasn’t a heart attack as we had feared.”
“No?”
She shakes her head. “No, turns out it’s pancreatitis.”
“Pancreatitis? What does that mean?”
“His pancreas is inflamed, and the inflammation can cause severe chest pains. They’ve taken him into radiation for some imaging to confirm their suspicions.”
“Can it be cancer?” I ask.
“We don’t know yet. That is one of the things they are trying to rule out. It could just be an infection.”
