Chapter 161: Eve Must Not Know

Marco helped him down the hall to Nonna’s bedroom....small, warm, smelling like lavender and old Italy.

She had him lie on the bed, started cutting away Marco’s bandages.

"Marco, get the medical supplies from the bathroom. Top shelf. The real kit, not the first aid box." Nonna examined Dimitri’s wounds with practiced eyes. "Who removed these bullets?"

"I did," Marco said. "On the plane."

"You did good work. For someone who is not a doctor." She looked at Dimitri. "This will need proper stitches. Antibiotics. You will have fever by morning."

"I can’t let Eve know," Dimitri said. "She can’t see me like this."

Nonna raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to hide two bullet wounds from her in this house?"

"I’ll manage."

"Will you?" Nonna’s smile was knowing. "Or have you forgotten that you fuck her all the time? Don’t tell me you plan on depriving her until your wounds heal in secret. Because that girl will know something is wrong. She reads you better than you think."

Dimitri closed his eyes. "I’ll figure it out."

"Hmm." Nonna started cleaning the wounds properly. "Stupid man. Thinking he can keep secrets from a woman who loves him."

She worked in silence for thirty minutes.

Stitched both wounds with steady hands. Applied antibiotic ointment. Rebandaged with professional precision.

"You will rest tomorrow. No work. No meetings. No leaving this house." Nonna’s voice was firm. "And you will tell Eve the truth. Or I will."

"Nonna...."

"Sleep now. We argue in the morning."

Dimitri didn’t have the energy to argue.

He pulled out his phone, texted Mike: Come to the penthouse first thing in the morning. We need to talk.

Then Marco helped him to his feet, guided him down the hall to the master bedroom.

Eve was asleep, curled on her side, hair spread across the pillow looking beautiful, peaceful and safe.

Everything he’d almost lost today.

Dimitri slid into bed beside her, pulled her carefully into his arms. She mumbled something, curled into him, still asleep. He closed his eyes, let the warmth of her body ease some of the pain, and let exhaustion pull him under

***

Pain woke Dimitri at 6:47 AM.

Sharp, burning pain that radiated from his shoulder and lower back, reminding him of yesterday’s violence with every breath.

He lay still for a moment, assessing.

Fever....low grade, manageable. Nonna’s antibiotics were working.

Wounds....stitched, bandaged, but the shoulder was bleeding through. He could feel the wetness against the sheets.

Eve....still asleep beside him, her hand resting on his chest, completely unaware that he’d been shot twice yesterday.

Dimitri carefully extracted himself from her grip, moving slowly to avoid jarring his wounds.

She stirred but didn’t wake.

He grabbed a clean shirt from the closet, pulled it on with gritted teeth, his left arm barely cooperating....and made his way to his home office.

The penthouse had two offices: one for show, where he met with legitimate business contacts, and this one....soundproofed, secured, where the real work happened.

He’d texted Mike last night to come at 7 AM.

Dimitri needed to brief him on the Calabrian attack, needed to plan retaliation, needed to make sure yesterday’s ambush didn’t embolden other families to try the same thing.

He poured coffee with his good hand, sat down carefully in the leather chair behind his desk, and waited.

Mike arrived at 7:03 AM, let in by the private elevator that went directly to the penthouse.

He walked into the office, took one look at Dimitri, and stopped.

"You look like shit."

"Good morning to you too." Dimitri took a sip of coffee. "Close the door."

Mike closed it, moved to the chair across from Dimitri’s desk, his expression shifting from casual to concerned.

"What happened in Italy?"

"Everything went according to plan. Marcelo saw the evidence about his wife and agreed to turn against my father. He gave us full intel on Rome operations.....drug networks, protection rackets, weapons caches, corrupt officials. Everything." Dimitri set down his coffee. "Then we were ambushed leaving the safe house."

"By Antonio’s people?"

"No. The Romano family. Calabrian crew out of Naples. Fifteen men led by Salvatore Romano. They followed us from the airport, waited until we were vulnerable, tried to kill me and take my territory."

Mike leaned forward. "Tried?"

"All fifteen are dead. Sal Romano died first....bullet between the eyes. The rest followed." Dimitri’s voice was flat. "We fought our way out."

"That doesn’t explain why you look like you’re about to pass out."

Dimitri pulled open his shirt slightly, showed Mike the bandages.

"I was shot. Twice. Shoulder and lower back. Marco removed the bullets on the plane. Nonna stitched me up when we landed at four this morning."

"Jesus Christ." Mike stood, moved around the desk. "Let me see."

"It’s fine...."

"Dimitri. Let me see."

Dimitri stood carefully, let Mike examine the bandages.

The shoulder wound was bleeding through....not heavily, but enough to soak the gauze.

"You need a real doctor," Mike said.

"I need to not draw attention." Dimitri sat back down. "Nonna knows what she’s doing. I’ll heal."

"And Eve?"

"Doesn’t know. Won’t know. Not yet."

Mike returned to his chair, his expression hard. "You’re planning to hide bullet wounds from your girlfriend. The woman you fuck regularly. The woman who shares your bed every night."

"I’ll manage."

"How?"

"Carefully." Dimitri’s jaw tightened. "I’ll tell her when the time is right. When I can explain without her panicking. When I can show her I’m already healing, already fine."

"She’s going to be furious when she finds out you’ve been lying."

"I’m not lying. I’m just... delaying the truth."

"That’s literally what lying is." Mike shook his head. "But fine. Your relationship, your choice. Let’s talk about the Romanos."

"They’re dead. All of them."

"Not all of them. Sal had a family. Brothers. Cousins. A whole organization in Naples." Mike pulled out his phone, started searching. "They’re going to want revenge."

"Let them want it. They attacked me on foreign soil and lost fifteen soldiers. If they’re smart, they’ll take the loss and back off."

"And if they’re not smart?"

"Then I’ll kill them too." Dimitri’s voice was absolutely cold. "What will I do to them for daring to attack me? I’ll make an example that resonates across every family in Italy. I’ll show them that touching me....anywhere, anytime, means death. Not just for the soldiers who pull the trigger, but for their bosses, their families, their entire organization."