All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(72)
“Oh God,” Andreo mumbled, his face going pale. “All these years of keeping my brother hidden, and just like that, it’s all gone to hell. It’s totally my fault, too.”
“How do you know all of this?” I asked Dante.
“Even though I stepped down from running the organization, a lot of our family has remained loyal to me, especially those who’ve questioned Jerry’s leadership and decision-making since he took over. That includes his sister Carla. I texted her earlier today and asked her to keep an eye on her brother for me, since I had a feeling he wasn’t fully buying what we told him,” Dante said. “Turns out I was right.”
“So, what happens now?” I asked him. I was on my feet, one hand on Luca’s shoulder.
“I’m getting all of you out of here. I have a private ambulance on the way to transport Luca, I don’t think he’s safe in this hospital. I sent my husband to Nana’s house, Nico, and told him to locate your passport and pack a bag for you.”
“My passport? Where are we going?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Dante said. “Andreo, do you have what you need to travel?”
Luca’s brother touched the pocket of his suit jacket and said, “I have my passport right here. Just so you know, I’m going wherever my brother does.”
“We planned on that,” Dante said. His phone buzzed and he took it out and looked at the screen, then said, “The ambulance is five minutes out. Let’s move.”
“Luca’s in no condition to travel,” I said.
“I realize that, but the good news is, his bed is on wheels. He doesn’t have to move a muscle,” my cousin told me.
“And you think the hospital staff is just going to let us roll him out of here?”
“They’re about to get really busy,” Dante said. I could have sworn there was a little spark of amusement in his dark eyes.
While his brother was talking, Vincent released the wheel stops on the bed and slid the table out of the way. He turned to Andreo and said, “Your job is to stay right by your brother’s side and hold this up.” He unhooked the IV bag from its metal stand and handed it to Andreo, who took his post with a solemn expression.
“Alarms are going to go off as soon as you unhook him from these machines,” I said, then quickly went around the room and powered down all the monitors before disconnecting them from Luca.
A minute later, a blood-curdling scream came from down the hall and Dante grinned. “That’s our cue. We’re going in fifteen seconds, everybody be ready.” Doctors and nurses were running past our doorway, heading toward the scream, which had come from somewhere to the left of Luca’s room. Soon my cousin said, “And we’re out of here,” then swung the door open and held it while Vincent pushed the bed.
Andreo and I followed. When I looked to my left before we ran in the opposite direction, I caught a glimpse of Dante’s friend Christopher Robin and his husband Kieran. They were both in full zombie makeup and covered in fake blood, yelling and flailing hysterically while a group of doctors and nurses tried to calm them down. When we boarded the elevator and were on our way to the ground floor, I looked at Dante and said, “Zombies? Really?”
My cousin shrugged, still grinning. “I didn’t tell Christopher to show up in zombie makeup, I just told him to cause a diversion. What can I say? He’s an artist, he got creative.”
On the bottom floor we got lucky, because no one saw us as we slipped out a staff entrance. Or for all I knew, maybe there were more zombies downstairs distracting the staff, too. In the parking lot, a man and woman stepped forward and transferred Luca into the ambulance so quickly, carefully and efficiently that they had to be medical personnel, even though they were dressed in street clothes. Andreo climbed in with his brother and hung the IV bag from a hook on the ceiling of the ambulance. The medics climbed in too and immediately began hooking Luca to a bank of monitors.
Dante’s husband came up to me and handed me my backpack and a small suitcase. “I packed in a hurry,” Charlie told me. “Sorry if I forgot anything important.”
“Thanks, I’m sure it’s fine.” I checked the backpack and located my passport in the front pocket.
Dante told me, “The ambulance will take you, Luca and Andreo to the airport. We gave my brother Gianni a heads-up, and he and his boyfriend will meet you in the South Pacific. We thought it was best that you go somewhere with family, in case you need a hand.”
“Luca’s in no condition to travel that far.”
“He’ll be fine,” Dante assured me. “I had to fly once right after surgery, and I’m setting him up with a doctor and nurse on a private plane, just like I had. They’ll keep him stable.” He pulled a thick envelope from his pocket and handed it to me, which proved to be full of cash. “I didn’t have time to exchange this for the local currency, but you’ll be able to do that at the concierge desk at the hotel. Don’t use your credit cards while you’re away, just to be on the safe side. I’ll handle your financial transactions from here, call me if you need anything.”
“Do you really think Jerry’s going to come after us?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Dante said. “Now you should get going. We’ve been lucky so far, and I don’t want you to be detained by hospital security.”